Early autumn bits and bobs

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Monika, congratulations indeed, i should think you are very pleased with your efforts.

Dear Barney, thank you for posting your hay-cart photographs, they brought back some very happy memories.
Hard work, but very happy times.

[Parsons Jack]

Morning all

Watered the leeks and beans yesterday.
The leeks, parsnips and carrots are looking really good this year, and there are loads of borlotto beans which should be ready for picking when I get back from holiday. Should be a bumper crop of squashes as well by the look of it
It's turned out to be a pretty successful year really, which I am quite surprised about

[Monika]

Thank you, Alan and OH.

No, Alan, Derek Raw was our judge! The chap I beat was Peter Leach who also judges in the area. I don't think Derek (he is getting on a bit, you know) still exhibits but he still grows giant onions and supplies "Raw strain" seeds to people aspiring to such huge specimens. Some years ago he showed one of his whoppers to my 4-year old grandson whose head was smaller than the onion!

[Primrose]

Despite the atrocious summer and the fact that I've never been able to grow carrots successfully in this garden, I have just pulled up some beauties, so am very pleased. Also dug up my first parsnip yesterday which was a very adequate size. So despite the failure of most of my French beans and peas, I am having some success. But right now the blight is creeping up on my tomato plants and it's going to be a race this week whether enough of them ripen in the sun to be saved or I end up pulling them all up.

[Westi]

My toms have been blighted, my squashes have surprised me - even got some butternuts! Talked about my french beans, runners caught up, carrots doing OK and couldn't help myself took a really long leek. Misses were most salad stuff although that seems to be just coming good, brassicas looking weak especially summer sprouting but have some nice cabbages - all in all with autumn coming feel more optimistic. It has been a strange year but I'm plodding on - it will be fine!!! Shame the light levels are declining too quickly!

Westi

[vegpatchmum]

First female Cobnut Squash flower opened today - yes I know 'tis late in the year but I was still hunting amongst my male squash/pumpkin flowers this morning, armed with my fine paint brush looking for a prime specimen to take a pollen sample from

Well we may get a late summer ......... after all autumn followed a very short spring earlier this year and summer more closely resembled spring sooooooo perhaps summer is on its way

VPM
x

[alan refail]

Down to a chilly 5c this morning. Frost next? Polytunnel tomatoes exceedingly slow to ripen. From 30 plants I would expect to be well into glut-time by now, as I have been the past five poor summers. Most I've picked at on go has been twenty of various varieties

[Ricard with an H]

I don't know what to do now, I cleared the beds but left the French-beans and a square metre solid of beetroot. I like a bit a beetroot.

All three beds need attention to the soil-structure, I can't get grit sand so i'm thinking of using peat and cow-compost but I feel I should be planting something after all the cost and hard-work of creating the beds.

To be honest I don't eat enough veg to warrant growing it so i'm considering perenial-type flowers next year though I could get through some garlic and onions. Would that be a good idea ? Everything I cook has garlic and onion in it.

[Primrose]

Do you eat soft fruit like blackcurrants, redcurrants & strawberries? If so, you could plant some of these & leave them permanently in place to use up some space. Then your garlic & onions could be planted in the remaining areas and rotated around according to what else you grow.

[Ricard with an H]

Thanks, I didn't think of that.

Would soft fruit cope with coast-conditions, days on end of high wind. The only wind breaks I have are growing slowly and I have more to create. Escalonia bushes dotted about but i'll be dead before they're big enough and even escalonia suffers from desiccation.

You really do have to be an optimist if your growing food, i'm looking in my RHS allotment book at onion and garlic. Clearly my soil needs to lightened and they keep mentioning sand, surely not builders sand ?

[vegpatchmum]

Popped into the Foundation area of the school garden today to plant up some of the 90 Strawberry runners we have been given by the villagers (after I appealed for a few spare runners in the village magazine ).

Thought I'd better water the tubs as they were starting to look a bit dry and suddenly remembered that the cherry tomatoes last years' Reception class planted with me were actually a yellow tomato variety ........ care to guess what jogged by truly appalling memory?

VPM
x

[Geoff]

Now is the season of mists and mellow fruitlessness

[Geoff]

Well it's a good excuse to watch it again!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19534262

[Geoff]

Alan style pessimism descends again. What's ever reasonable about persistent rain? And as for -1 °C tonight!

Forecast
North West England
Headline:
Occasional rain today, clear and very cold overnight, fine tomorrow.

Today:
Some reasonably persistent rain in the south of the region first thing, soon clearing southwards. Then more occasional rain or showers for most, mainly light, with a fair amount of cloud. Sunny spells spreading from the north later. Maximum Temperature 14 °C.

Tonight:
Any remaining showers dying out this evening to leave a clear, dry night with light winds. Becoming very cold, with widespread ground frost and isolated air frost by morning. Minimum Temperature -1 °C.

[Clive.]

A lovely sunny day today.

....and it's Harvest Festival tomorrow...

Clive.