Sunday 24th September
After doing some work on the new container with John Bachelor our chairman, and recovering with a delicious slice of cake and coffee despite the damaged café shed, I arrived on the plot quite late.
My main priority was to prepare the patch next to the leeks where I had lifted the potatoes ready for planting the garlic and shallots. Buying the bulbs from InExcess means little choice but they are ridiculously cheap. I am still checking whether garlic 'Germidour' is a hard neck variety that doesn't store - or not. However the cost was only 15% of the £30 I would have paid if I had ordered online.
Having already dug out the rows of potatoes I only needed to dig the trenches between and remove the odd weed. I then decided to weed the rows of leeks next to the patch. I managed to hoe most of the weeds without chopping through a single leek plant but I really need to leave a bit more space between rows as I trod on several! I tried to range off the weeds with a cultivator as the rake was too wide but eventually found the fork was the best implement. For once I even remembered to hand weed between the plants where the hoe couldn't reach without damaging the leeks themselves.
After doing some work on the new container with John Bachelor our chairman, and recovering with a delicious slice of cake and coffee despite the damaged café shed, I arrived on the plot quite late.
My main priority was to prepare the patch next to the leeks where I had lifted the potatoes ready for planting the garlic and shallots. Buying the bulbs from InExcess means little choice but they are ridiculously cheap. I am still checking whether garlic 'Germidour' is a hard neck variety that doesn't store - or not. However the cost was only 15% of the £30 I would have paid if I had ordered online.
Having already dug out the rows of potatoes I only needed to dig the trenches between and remove the odd weed. I then decided to weed the rows of leeks next to the patch. I managed to hoe most of the weeds without chopping through a single leek plant but I really need to leave a bit more space between rows as I trod on several! I tried to range off the weeds with a cultivator as the rake was too wide but eventually found the fork was the best implement. For once I even remembered to hand weed between the plants where the hoe couldn't reach without damaging the leeks themselves.
Now all I need to do to before planting the garlic and shallots is rake it over to get a good tilth and work in some fertilizer.
After exerting myself doing that I cooled down by picking some greens for my evening meal. One of the cabbage stumps had produced several shots with good heads of 'autumn' (not spring) greens so I pulled up the one plant and trimmed off the heads to take home. A Savoy cabbage had formed a good solid head so rather than leave it to go off, I pulled it up and plan to hang it in the garage to eat later in the week. As I was leaving the brassica tunnel I noticed a broccoli head and then found a couple more I had missed - just enough for a meal!
Then I looked at my squashes as Monty Don said to clear leaves away from them to let the sun ripen them. I did this by removing most of the mildewed leaves, revealing 5 well developed marrows as well.
After exerting myself doing that I cooled down by picking some greens for my evening meal. One of the cabbage stumps had produced several shots with good heads of 'autumn' (not spring) greens so I pulled up the one plant and trimmed off the heads to take home. A Savoy cabbage had formed a good solid head so rather than leave it to go off, I pulled it up and plan to hang it in the garage to eat later in the week. As I was leaving the brassica tunnel I noticed a broccoli head and then found a couple more I had missed - just enough for a meal!
Then I looked at my squashes as Monty Don said to clear leaves away from them to let the sun ripen them. I did this by removing most of the mildewed leaves, revealing 5 well developed marrows as well.
I also found a courgette which I put by on a slab ready to take home. It is still there as I forgot it! I hope it doesn't suffer overnight before I collect it tomorrow.
Before going home for a late lunch I harvested a good helping of raspberries and blackberries though I got caught in a shower before I had finished.
Before going home for a late lunch I harvested a good helping of raspberries and blackberries though I got caught in a shower before I had finished.
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