Kitchen Garden Forum

Afternoon, Clive, hope you soon get shot of the lurgy…..it’s horrible not feeling right!

Hope the craft fairs go well, retropants…..

Have you got a date for when your building work starts, Westi?

No OH! Thanks for asking.

All the measurements & stuff have been done & they are just drawing up the actual planning application. Part of the team are coming next week to do the pointing at the back which we left as originally thought we would extend out there but the cost of removing/relocating the drains was was extortionate. They also advised the new dropped back door is in transit so that will be next thing. Really, really looking forward to getting rid of the ramp, can't count how many times I've tripped over it! Elf & safety non existent!

Really can't wait until everything is done; I'm of the age I like predictability & routine!

Another quiet spell on here…..
Been sorting my cold frames out today….seemed to be a bigger job than I first thought!

Good craft market in Chesham today, lots of people and reasonable weather

At the big garden for a time today....measured out for some replacement fruit tree locations and knocked in stakes ready...then packed some previously lifted Canna into old veg' crates and covered with leaf mould...

Foggy misty start and mostly a grey day with a couple of doses of large rain spots...sun appeared briefly late on.

beans on toast for tea..

washing machine having a run...dryer, out in the shed next..

...just fiddling about with clocks now..........

C.

..forgot to add...just stewed the last of this years Queen apples. I was wanting to try a couple of my Newton Wonders...but Queen was ahead in the queue on the kitchen worktop... one dish for pud now and another for tomorrow.

C.

Rained overnight but cleared by the time I went down, but big puddles around the site & my flooded beds are flooded again. The work committee were out filling the holes, watched them from afar while I took down the net cage so no worries about birds getting in there, but still couldn't find any tears in the net so mystery remains how the little fellows got in. I certainly built it securely as it took ages to dismantle as plenty of ties to cut & collect.

Managed to weed the empty beds near this bed but didn't cover them as I left the black plastic out ready for this job but it was too wet & muddy to muck around with, so will do that when down on Monday. I just continued weeding some of the other beds in this section & only 1/2 the cabbage bed left & this whole side will be complete. It actually feels like I am starting to win with the beds as the list is getting shorter. Bring it on! The rest of the chores after this won't be weeding at least...well except for the Asparagus which is finally yellowing!

Seemingly endless weeding of the flower garden. Never got it properly sorted Autumn last year when the deluge came and with all my distractions this year it has not had enough time. Buttercups have loved all the wet and crept everywhere, how do you weed hardy geraniums infested with buttercup. Having bought the trimmer to sort the hedge some shrubs have had a rather crude but quick prune. One truly disastrous area is the rose bed. It is probably slightly too damp for roses anyway but they have hated it this year, quite a few seem almost dead so it's been a hard prune (properly not with hedge trimmer) and wait and see. At least I was able to cheer myself up with a big bonfire before the rain came, smashed up a pallet as kindling and with the rose and shrub prunings it got a good foundation to get rid of the wetter stuff. I love a good bonfire.

Cheeky fox got into the tunnel again despite there being nothing in there for him. While collecting all the wee bits of torn paper & foil I noted quite a few crisp packets. I don't ever take any crisps or the like down so deffo not mine so wondering if he is stealing from somewhere else & just using the tunnel as his private restaurant to eat in peace.

Game up for him as I closed the door, but also managed to get the neighbour to have a wee at the front & back tunnel doors & along fence line. Well eventually he obliged when he stopped laughing & made me have a walk around & not peek. I hope he stayed inside the plot boundary though as the CCTV points right down the lane!

It must be winter already, my only trip outside on a wet day was to pick the first sprouts, I fear they aren't going to last the season. We have already been eating purple sprouting and again I don't think we'll have any when we really want it. Anybody else getting unseasonably earlier brassicas?

I have to admit that my sprouts come from the Co-op these days...but have been an element of tea for a couple of weeks...

On to a Newton Wonder and a Bountiful stewed apple yesterday and today...and a couple more Newton Wonder are in the microwave as I type.

I lifted some gladioli first thing this morning and then back to some herbaceous border work...

Dentist visit yesterday, a rebooked appt after having to cancel when in the grips of lurgy...I can't quote the wording of the old Crest toothepaste advert...as it was..one filing needing grinding out and re filling...paid for..and appt booked early in Nov..

C.

Today I managed to cut back all the outside beds roses on both plots & cut them up for tip, even edged & weeded Plot 2. Won't take as long to weed & edge Plot 1 when down next with the roses out of the way; damn things try really hard to bite me when I try to approach the beds as really tall & established. They bit me several times even through my thick gloves & deffo off the Xmas card list!

Famous optimism as usual! 'Won't take long to weed & edge Plot 1'! I certainly made inroads but not finished as not only dealing with the ground elder was masses of bind weed & next doors escaping mint fortunately all in just in one end & but had encroached about 4'/5' into the bed. I took the obvious but it needs another thorough dig over which I will do next time but as I wanted something to show for my graft so I lugged out a couple the big bags of grass a friend gave me & mulched the other sides I had cleared.

In between this I met 2 new plot holders who were attacking their new plots with multiple trips down to the bins with their wheelbarrows. Nice guys both of them & easy to chat to so probs could have done more but nice to see new faces!

Dear Westi, you probably were a much needed lift for the new guys….as the initial clearing of a new site is one of the toughest jobs when taking on a new plot…..so your never ending enthusiasm and cheery nature, would have gone down well!