Autumn Bits and Bobs.

[oldherbaceous]

There should be plenty of apple pies about then, Geoff!

Managed to get all my Runner beans cleared, just before the rain started, so i’m pleased about that…

[Clive.]

It's starting to grey over now this way on...rain billed for 1pm, it says.

Having just come back from the big garden, I headed down the path here and had a quick hoe and hand weed through the leek bed....my dad would be horrified at the amount of weed.!!..when it was his it was all spotless...having said that he wouldn't have had a weedy leek patch anyway because he didn't grow any...not apparently being a fan of leeks appearing on his dinner plate..

C.

[Westi]

Rain stopped play today but had a brief interlude & nothing to do so cut back the Hibiscus & along with the branches from the red fleshed apple I had already trimmed back, filled up the garden waste bin ready for pickup on Wed. The Hibiscus had dropped about 90% of it's leaves so told me it had finished & the little apple did have a few leaves but it is on such a lean I needed to get in & support it so decided to lighten it's load as well.
Cleared up all the back area in the end as I am going to get some more trees removed & I'll get them to do a proper support for the apple then.

[Westi]

Weather played nicely today so had a nice clear up! 5 bags of leaves raked up & bagged. These aren't my leaves, more likely blown my way from another plot as my trees are dropping leaves but not in the volume I raked up, nor the right colour. Bit the bullet & took the last 3 big pumpkins & popped them in the tunnel to continue ripening as warmer in there so might speed up the process a bit. Of course that gave me an opportunity to clear that area so I decided to just leave the membrane down over winter & will just cut up some old membrane & pin these in the holes on the next visit. I also covered the other bed in that area with some black plastic so that area will be fully tucked in.

Also cleared out the stones from around the now garlic bed & hoping it doesn't flood, but by removing the stones I have actually raised the bed itself. I have kept the stones nearby though just in case but it was OK to start & we have had loads of rain. That just leaves 4 smaller beds to have that side finished except for the Asparagus but it is now yellowing. Then next job is back of plot to tidy & change over the compost bins so I can treat the back beds on Plot 2! I can pretty much see the end of the plot stuff so before it gets really cold I might even be able to trim the hedge row & try out my new lawn cutter on the front & sort that area...mind if it is really cold it will warm me up & my 'really cold' is vastly different from other areas!

[Westi]

Looking a bit breezy still tomorrow but no rain or showers so I'll be going down. No doubt most of the time spent will be rescuing the netting & raking up leaves! Hoping I can do this plus some weeding & getting the stakes in for the PSB, but there is a few nice days early next week so no great panic. Temp dropping for the next few days so dug out my wooly top & vest. Plan was since I was in the wardrobe I'd do the swap over & pack away the summer clothes but just had far too much help from the cats so called it a day!

[Geoff]

Westi, almost embarrassed to ask, did the grass trimmer work?

[oldherbaceous]

What a beautiful day, compared to yesterday….did get a few barrowful’s of leaves, for the leaf stack, at the Big House, but they are still holding tight.

[Clive.]

The wind had mostly bowled the leaves of the lawns so had some time pacing along behind the big mower this morning. The grass was relatively dry and quite long.

I see we have some hours at 3C on Sunday morning.

C.

[Westi]

Hi Geoff,

I haven't tried the grass trimmer yet. My plan is to clear & weed both plots etc so everything can be tucked up as with the colder weather the weeds shouldn't come back for a while so I will have time to muck around with it then. Of course the chance of a few sunny days might be harder to find but there will be good days in the mix.

Ny neighbour is keen to try it as well so he can break it in while I weed & he didn't tut too much when I showed him it, but anticipating full feed back & possibly some tweaks to make it better. If you met him & heard him discussing adjustments to standard tools you'd be anxious but he just seems to know what to do. He's 87 so had some practice over the years!

[oldherbaceous]

I just can’t believe how lush the Chickweed is growing on one of my allotments….not that i’m proud of the fact!

[Clive.]

The big garden has the same chickweed....whilst at home it's euphorbia...

Weather today much brighter than original forecast...so I should be out there sorting it but after visit to big garden and pop to the factory shop just for some new cheap light weight slip on shoes....where I came out with a new mattress cover and a new v neck jumper too....

Washing machine going to catch up weekly wash...and for lunch a very nice plate of Boston sausage with mixed veg and potatoes a la Co-op...when I have a bag of own Maris Peer in the shed............ So a bit annoyed with myself.!

Anyway, a bowl of chicken stew has just arrived from over the road...that's amused me as I typed it, as in..Why did the chicken cross the road, etc.!

So I'm feeding well even if i'm not getting on with jobs I feel I should be....

Big clock to stop later so it's not ringing out wrong overnight and a restart in the morning ....

C.

[Clive.]

Frost on the grass in the old woodyard this morning..

Big clock back running to GMT again....and thankfully the cold morning has settled the flies that were buzzing around in the tower last week.!

C.

[oldherbaceous]

Only the cars had frost on them this morning and was up early, as I wanted to make the most of the extra hour for work!

Very sadly I haven’t wound the Church clock for a few years, since it had a problem!
They have now had it converted to electric, what I personally think is a big mistake, as no one goes up the tower, to check for leaks….it’s always running really fast, or really slow too…..

[Clive.]

Looking out to the South in the field behind the farm yard there's a combine working round the field...had the binoculars on it and it looks to have maize header on. The grain loading to trailer from auger looks quite light coloured. Another new departure for the nearby farm.

There's loads of maize grown around here for the bio digesters but for some years a farm two villages away has been growing maize for combine harvesting. One year I saw them harvesting with ground frosted and snow on the hill behind....seems a little alien to see a combine wandering a field with that back drop.

Meanwhile, I have actually ventured into the back garden today...the cordon fruit trees have had some attention...I have done some reduction to their height. I only got the summer pruning done on the sides so had the steps out and have reduced the top as they were getting a bit rambunctious...
So not Summer and not Winter....Autumn pruning....hope the trees haven't read the book

C.

[Clive.]

I hope they got their grain trailer into the shed quickly...heavy drizzle now stops 'play'.

C.