Today I planted the last of my shallots.
The red onion sets and the 'Jermor' shallots I planted a week or so ago are already growing away well. The 'Grizelle' shallots have not yet emerged though.
The last shallots I planted today are 'Escallotte Grise' (French for 'grey shallots'). If they grow, I hope they will dry out hard so I can dice them finely onto my salads next summer the way my French (farmer's son) friend does. However, he has long hot and dry summers and even the South coast summers may not be enough to get a good crop.
As always, I bury my shallots/sets just below the surface and try to make sure nothing actually shows as the birds think they are something tasty and pull them out if the top sticks out of the soil. It seems to work in our light soil even though the advice is to plant so shallow that leaves the tops showing.
I then weeded the old sweet corn patch. The weeds have grown so large in the warmth we have had this autumn that I had to loosen their roots first with a fork before pulling them out and dumping them into the newly emptied compost bin. few weed seeds went in with the weeds but it was too much hassle to separate them. In future I shall have to get better at hoeing weeds down before they seed!
I took some photos but I had been caught by the early dusk and it was too dark for the camera! I harvested a couple of smallish cauliflowers and some turnips. I also tried to dig up a single parsnip in the gloom, only to find I had left two seedlings together and one had 'hugged' the other in an embrace that meant I had both, one with two arms (or legs). However, both were quite big enough to use.
After a quick tour of the site to make sure I was the only one idiotic enough to be working in the dark, I arrived at the gate to find it wide open! I hope it was not because someone dived in for a quick visit behind me as I locked the gate behind me.
The red onion sets and the 'Jermor' shallots I planted a week or so ago are already growing away well. The 'Grizelle' shallots have not yet emerged though.
The last shallots I planted today are 'Escallotte Grise' (French for 'grey shallots'). If they grow, I hope they will dry out hard so I can dice them finely onto my salads next summer the way my French (farmer's son) friend does. However, he has long hot and dry summers and even the South coast summers may not be enough to get a good crop.
As always, I bury my shallots/sets just below the surface and try to make sure nothing actually shows as the birds think they are something tasty and pull them out if the top sticks out of the soil. It seems to work in our light soil even though the advice is to plant so shallow that leaves the tops showing.
I then weeded the old sweet corn patch. The weeds have grown so large in the warmth we have had this autumn that I had to loosen their roots first with a fork before pulling them out and dumping them into the newly emptied compost bin. few weed seeds went in with the weeds but it was too much hassle to separate them. In future I shall have to get better at hoeing weeds down before they seed!
I took some photos but I had been caught by the early dusk and it was too dark for the camera! I harvested a couple of smallish cauliflowers and some turnips. I also tried to dig up a single parsnip in the gloom, only to find I had left two seedlings together and one had 'hugged' the other in an embrace that meant I had both, one with two arms (or legs). However, both were quite big enough to use.
After a quick tour of the site to make sure I was the only one idiotic enough to be working in the dark, I arrived at the gate to find it wide open! I hope it was not because someone dived in for a quick visit behind me as I locked the gate behind me.
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