Kitchen Garden Forum

Where have you been excavating soil from, Geoff? Lovely pictures indeed....

Your description makes it seem as if we are there with you, Westi.

Geoff wrote:(especially the neighbouring docks I have to put up with!)

On the subject of docks, I always make sure a few clumps get left in our field. The hens make a feast of the leaves all summer and the mature seeds make a tasty autumn snack for both the hens and the ducks!

I'm changing the soil in some fruit cage beds. I've done a strawberry bed but am waiting for the last few of an old row of Autumn raspberries before they come out and I do that one as well. Using this year's pea bed as the source.

Our miniature iris Katherine Hodgkin (pale blue with beautiful markings) is flowering! It shouldn't do so until about February/March!

Now they are early, Monika, the Reticulta that I give a light forcing to, are only just popping through, although they have got roots coming out of the bottom of the pots, that I like to see......

I love it when you gain an hour, now what job shall I start.....chop some kindling I think....

We still have quite a bit of colour in the garden and had a Red Admiral butterfly in the garden on Friday(probably frozen now though).

Just notice some serious pruning will need to be done

Well that is it then , it's over.

Just gone 5:30pm and it's pitch dark

Dark and cold.
I wish humans hibernated like bears do.

But the mornings are a little lighter, Pa Snip, well, for a couple of weeks anyway.....

OH, none of the other I. reticulata and I.danfordiae are showing anything, it's just Katherine Hodgkin, so we'll just enjoy it!

I spent all morning emptying one compost bin (gorgeous black stuff!) onto the vegetable beds, then shuffled the compost in the other two from one bin to the other - hard work but very satisfying. I also collected a large bin full of leaves to make leafmould. More of that to come ....

Overnight frost in this part of Berkshire has left shed roof white and ice on the cars.
At 07:55 it is sunny & bright out, with light blue sky. I've not ventured out yet but I bet it is chilly.

Radiotherapy treatment later but I might try and get some garlic planted first.

Minus 1.9 overnight and still minus 1.0 so dahlias and nasturtiums looking rather sad.

We were forecast a frost, but cloud rolled in and it's been raining, cold though. No gardening today and it looks too dull to bother doing any photography, so I might work on my model railway instead and pretend it's 1957 again.