Getting Ready for Christmas

 

Italian inspired snack food. Taralli and grissini.  Both keep well - and taste a treat.

End of Year Report

 

Pride of place has to go to the brassica patch. Brussels, kale and PSB still to come. Far left is a short row of mooli that I keep forgetting to check for root development. 

The old potato patch looks like a building site, but there are garlic bulbs planted at this end and two short rows of potatoes left under the fabric. 

At the far end are parsnips for this winter and 10 bags of farm yard manure to beef up the fertility for next year.

The contents of the fruit cage looks suitably dormant. I am currently half way through pruning . The net has been removed to avoid the danger of snow damage.

My customary "view from the end" looks a bit bleak but the leeks in the foreground should come on in the spring. The net hides the end of this year's carrots and next year's spring cabbages. To the right of the net are the last of the celery and celeriac.  Both were high on expectation and a little short on delivery. ( The white piping is just awaiting deployment as protection for plants)

Just for completion, here is the pumpkin patch, currently fallow. There are beets, root and leaf, under the net, and some spring onions.  Beyond are strawberry plants and a wannabe asparagus patch.

After The Fire - The Frost

 

Here's the scene on awakening this Sunday.

Fiery Sunset

 The Edinburgh sunset this afternoon was so dramatic that it deserves a post of its own.  There seems to be a fire breathing dragon looking down on the pizzeria - or maybe  I just have an overactive imagination.  

It was enough to distract some from their shopping imperative!

Autumn Watch

 

November is not far off and it is time to gather in produce that is susceptible to the cold nights ahead.

Surprisingly the runner bean stand is still green and still producing some edible beans (in addition to the few swollen pods left to mature and produce seed for next year)

Next door the blueberries have definitely got the message that autumn is here and are putting on a fiery display.  Still one or two berries have persisted or rather have been overlooked.  These have been left for the birds, particularly as we had a bumper crop over the summer.

Jack frost has not appeared yet this year, as proven by the beans. But it won.'t be long now.

A Result

 

A year ago we grew winter squashes Crown Prince, Golden Hubbard and Uchiki Kuri in the school garden.  When October arrived the clamour went up.  Why don't you have any Halloween Pumpkins???  So this year I am happy to report that I have taken the criticism on board🙂

A First

 Since 2003 I have never gone a whole month without posting, yet here I am on the last day of the month without my first September post.  I guess gardening is a repetitive process but there is always some novelty to report on. This month it is harvesting my first celery.  As you can see from the brick it is not massive.  More suitable for soup than salad.  That's alright with me, as I don't like celery raw.   

There are a few of them planted closely together to aid the supposed self blanching.  The variety is Victoria.  

There I've saved myself from a September duck!

Wildflower Meadow 2021

 Here's how the wildflower meadow looks now.  

It has got a bit of height with teasel, thistle, wild carrot and yarrow all standing out.

Tracking through the season, dandelions looked like they had taken over and then buttercups as you can see here:

But both flowers receded in turn.  Here is the same end on view now.

For comparison here is the wildflower meadow last year.  There were more poppies and corncockles than this year and lots of wild radish. 

And going back another year this is how it all started:

As  it is now the end of August it is time to start clearing the meadow "progressively",  that is bit by bit.  The grass and other plants have become a matted thatch so I remove them to a sacrificial pile at the end.  There is ample opportunity for wildlife to move on as progress is slow - I use a pair of hand shears!

Here is a gallery of some of the current occupants:

Hope you enjoyed a mosey around the wildflower meadow!

Allotment Tour Summer 2021

It is a sure sign of summer progressing when your fennel is ready for harvest.  After a summer where my focus has been elsewhere I realise it is time to do my "warts and all" tour of the plot. 

The parsnips are progressing steadily regardless of the stop start weather.  Alongside I have some second sowing of  autumn crops where the elephant garlic was.

The fruit cage is looking very green where the gooseberries and redcurrants are, A really good redcurrant crop but only a few gooseberries. I might have been a bit vigorous with my winter pruning?  The blackberries and autumn raspberries behind are yet to come. The two summer varieties are finished

Spring planted Onion from sets are flopping over of their own accord.  The early leeks behind show no such tendancy. 

For the first time I have tried to grow onions from seed too.  They are behind the celery and celeriac in this bed.  (It is also the first time I have tried to grow celery)

Moving along to the brassica patch there are three distinct phases as indicated by the height of the plants. The early cabbages and cauliflower are all gone but the Brussels remain tall and now suitably distanced. 

Further along the beans are hitting their peak.  Both Runners.

and Dwarf French

The winter squashes are the sea of green next door to the beans - although there are some flowers.  Fruits?  So far three marrow sized courgettes.

The foreground bare patch here is where the peas were and are now sown with winter leaves (Land Cress , Claytonia and Lamb's Lettuce.

Bringing up the rear I have hedged my bets trying to establish an asparagus bed but growing strawberries in between - at least until the asparagus gets going. It was grown from seed. (The rhubarb blueberries and globe artichoke just get on with their business year after year.)    

The final area is not very pretty,  It is the potato patch with nearly all of the tops cut off.  It looked like this in the middle of June.

But now it looks like this.

Hope you enjoyed the tour around my patch.

Meet My New Friends...

Kitchen Compost, Coir and Perlite:

I am determined to make my own seed growing medium and potting compost after my recent bad experience with commercial peat free products.

The coir comes in a dry brick which is easy to rehydrate.

The kitchen compost  just needs to be sieved.

Then it is a simple mixing job.  After searching the internet I went for 2 scoops compost, 2 parts coir and 1 part perlite.

Now I am ready for my end of season sowings. At least I am confident that there are only healthy ingredients in my mix.  I feel sure that I won't be buying any proprietary mix next year, which is admittedly a leap of faith at this early stage.