​Autumn, time to prepare for winter

Thursday, 29th September
The plan today was to start preparing for winter. I wanted to empty the oldest leaf mould bin so I have space for this year's leaves so I had to sort out the now empty potato patch ready to spread the leaf mould from the year before last. (After two years the leaves have broken down into a lovely brown crumbly leaf mould and can help our sandy soil retain a bit more moisture.) But before I could spread it I had to smooth out the ridges left after digging out the last of the potatoes.
However, on arrival I found a dead rat on the path halfway down the plot. 

Hopefully it was the one I chased along the track and into a neighbour's plot on my last visit. Presumably someone's rat poison is working as I have not got any set out. Having scooped it up on my spade I decided to dispose of it next to my plum tree as that is where I won't dig it up accidentally and where it can do some good for the tree.

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​That done I had to catch up with putting the bags of last Autumn's leaves into the other leaf mould bin. That meant I could get at the two year old leaf mould and open up the wire mesh enclosure as in the photo.

​As can be seen in the photo, dusk was imminent, so I left actually spreading the leaf mould until next time and got on with harvesting. I got lots of raspberries as the plants I inherited have started cropping just as the bought in plants are going over. The runner beans seen to have stopped, not surprising given the cooler nights. The climbing French beans still had quite a few beans to pick but the quality is suffering. However the dwarf French beans still gave me a good crop of lovely tender beans.
I was also able to cut a clutch of yellow courgettes and one round courgette. I found two vegetable spaghetti squashes that had broken free of the vine.
I chose to pull up the largest fennel as I can't wait to taste my first homegrown as I love the mild aniseed flavour.