Out and about

Dark evenings and busy weekends have kept me away from gardening of late but today was bright and sunny which tempted me outside. Finally planted the radicchio (Rossa Di Teviso) which has been languishing in the cold frame. The slugs ate all of the young plants that I planted out weeks ago so I’m hoping that beer traps will keep them at bay this time. I had a pair of robins for company which were quick to spot the worms and chafer grubs unearthed before the garlic went in. Came home with a bag full of runner beans and a couple of courgettes. It’s amazing still to be harvesting courgettes in late October.

Ripening

Going



Going



Gone...












Took these pictures a couple of weeks ago but forgot to upload them 'til now...

The Big Chill

The evenings are shortening and the nights are getting colder. The frogs on the plot have taken to hiding under the black weed suppressant to keep warm. There was a warning of ground frost last night so I tucked the spinach and chard up in a layer of fleece. Last year the frost got there first and all the chard was killed off overnight. Things are slowing down on the plot but some plants are still producing well - picked a bag of runner beans, baby marrow, spinach and some remaining pumpkins. Nevertheless, it's clear the beds are starting to empty out for winter...

Many hands...

Yay! We had help today as a couple of friends volunteered to have a ‘green gym’ day down on the allotment. The weather unfortunately was pretty terrible but we braved the downpours in a spirit of dogged enthusiasm. Buddleia was cut back, shrubs tamed (for now), weeds yanked out, Jerusalem Artichokes cut down to size and bare ground covered over. Broadcast a liberal handful of Winter Tares over the ground where the onions were grown this year. It is rather late to be attempting to sow a green manure but we’ll see how it goes…