Life on The Weald - September 2024

and other distractions

We were away for the first weekend in London for the Big Half  and stayed at the Abbey Wood campsite on my old manor!  Its a very eco-friendly site and has an amazing 5-star bug house/hotel, the size of a garden shed!  So another weekend where nothing was done on the plot.

2 September - Bug hotel at Abbey Wood

3 September

A visit to the plot was full of good surprises.  The Nasturtiums, a little late, were now in full flower.

3 September - Nasturtiums

I planted out some perpetual spinach seedlings which I had grown from seed at home.

3 September - spinach

The sad news was that the sweetcorn had been subject to an attack by rodents - probably squirrels.

3 September - Squirrel attack!

The good news was that the squashes were growing in size and some beginning to ripen.

3 September - Turk's Turban squash

And the Kalettes had not been damaged by slugs or snails and as they are growing in a "fruit cage" had not been attacked by pigeons - so fingers crossed for a good harvest.

3 September - Kalettes

Despite the squirrel attack, most of the sweetcorn was edible.....

3 September - Sweetcorn

.....and delicious.

3 September - Sweetcorn

4 September

Mountaineering snails had climbed to the top of the bean poles and were devouring most of the leaves on the borlotti beans.  Thankfully most of the beans were mature and ripening so not so dependent upon the leaves.

4 September - mountaineering snails

I decided to leave the pods on the plant to ripen/harden in the sunshine, which, hopefully, we may see more of.

4 September - Borlotti beans

I weeded around the Rainbow Chard and removed some of the lower/outer leaves to discourage snails and encourage new growth.

4 September - Chard

At home the tomatoes had not been as prolific as last year and the beefsteak varieties were smaller but we are still picking them anmd more are ripening.

4 September, Marmande, Sungold & Yellow perfection

5 - 6 September

On the news on Thursday 5 September it was reported that July in the UK had been the coldest July for 9 years!  And the following dayreports were published showing that, globally, June and August were the hottest ever recorded.  We have had some days that have been real scorchers but we have also experience unseasonal strong winds - up to 75mph in parts of the UK and very heavy rain, which has delighted the slugs and caused further devastation. 

Despite the weather, and the slugs, there are many more squashes to come which will be suitable for storing but we decided to try one of the first Patty-pan, stuffed and roasted.

5 September - Patty pan - time to remove the lid!

5 September - remove the seeds ready for stuffing

5 September - stuffed and roasted

8 September

In the morning, at home, I spotted our resident fox, looking confortably settled in on our lawn!

8 September - Fox at home on Sunday 

9 September

Monday was dry but slightly overcast.  All of the rain we have had makes the plot look very lush and green.

9 September - the plot looking north

I managed to harvest a courgette and Patty pan squash

9 September - courgette and Patty pan

It was a dry day and I took some preventative measures to deter the squirrels. I neighbour said that squirrels don't like cayenne pepper or chilli powder, so I decided to go one better.  Last year I had a glut of fiery Habanero chillies and had made lots of chilli sauce much of which is still in the fridge.  I took a pastry brush and gently painted all the corn cobs with chilli sauce.  If it doesn't rain that should keep the squirrels away!

9 September - painting the corn with chillie sauce

9 September - painting the corn with chillie sauce

10-11 September

I had been given a trail camera for my birthday, which I want to set up on the allotment, but gave it a trial run at home first.

Our resident Fox arrived quite early in the evening around 7.40pm, found something to eat, returned again after 9pm and again during the early hours of the morning around 3am

And at 10am Fox was back, basking in the sunshine - whose garden is it anyway?

11 September - Fox is back

On the plot there was another Patty pan ready to pick as the foliage had died back. But I have since learned from BBC Gardeners' World  that I cut the stalk off too close for storing - they advised not to cut the stalk, but to cut the stem to which the stalk is attached, leaving a T-junction.  I'll get it right next time.  It is to help the stalk dry out properly and avoid rotting due to dampness.

11 September Patty Pan, Custard White

11 September Patty Pan, Custard White

I also lifted a few more Charlotte potatoes

11 September - Charlotte potatoes

12 September

Woke up to glorious sunny blue skies with white fluffy clouds and an ideal day for work on the plot.

12 September - Plum trees and blue sky at The Weald

The area between the potatoes and the brassica cage was covered in annual weeds that could be removed easily, or strimmed, but there was also some field bindweed  which needed a trowel and fork and a little more effort to remove. Having removed most of the bindweed I will lay some cardboard this autumn and cover with compost and manure to leave over witnter.

 

12 September - The weeds - Before

12 September - The weeds - After

Whilst most of the squashes were free from damage, there were a few that had been attacked by slugs before the skin had hardened.

12 September - slug victim

Indeed with this one, the slug, a large brown and orange one, looked very comfortable inside.  I thought I might at least let the slug finish the job and consigned both to the compost bin.

12 September - Slug, snug as a bug in a rug

At home, there was one tomato plant which was several weeks behind all the others and I wondered why.  But then I realised it was a black cherry tomato  given to me by a neighbour that I had forgotten about!

12 September -  black cherry tomatoes

13/14 September

Friday was another day of amazing cloud formations over the allotment

13 September - clouds over The Weald

I harvested some more sweet corn and the Habanero chilli sauce seemed to have had some deterence effect: John 3 - squirrels 2!  I took them home and took this photo with Wednesday's squash, just to give some perspective.

13 September - squash and sweet corn

Saturday was another day away from the plot as I was in London to cheer on the 5,000 swimmers in the SwimSerpentine event organised by the London Marathon, and in particular my stepson, Luke who was doing his first Mile swim in an event.

Obviously the "no swimming" notices did not apply today!

14 September - The Serpentine, Hyde Park

15 September

Onions and garlic will soon need to be planted so it was time to prepare the beds by removing any weeds and applying a layer of compost with a light dressing of blood, fish & bone fertiliser raked in.  The frame around one of the beds was in good condition but the other was rotting away and full of woodlice.

15 September - Bed prepared for onions

At some stage I will need to decide whether to renew the frame and if so with what material.  Wooden frames have a limited life and any frame becomes a home for slugs and snails.  Many "no-dig" enthusiasts don't use frames at all for their raised beds, so I may give that a try.  It does provide more flexibility.

15 September - 2nd bed prepared for onions

We had picked a number of squashes and hopefully they will store well through the autumn and winter months.

15 September - Turk's turban & Custard white squashes

16 September

Having prepared the beds, now was time to plant out the onion sets, red onions, Electric, and yellow onions, Shenshyu, and the garlic, Kingsland Wight, a hardneck variety.

Hardneck or Softneck? So what is the difference?  The main difference is their hardiness. Hardneck garlic is very hardy and will tolerate cold winters better, and would certainly be recommended in more northerly locations. Softneck varieties are less hardy, but normally produce more cloves and can be stored for longer. Softneck might be the choice for southern counties, such as ours, perhaps with a back-up of Hardneck just in case we have a very severe winter. Some would argue that the Hardneck varieties have the best flavour whilst those preferring a milder taste might opt for Softneck.

The Hardneck varieties are closer to wild garlic and will readily produce a flowering stem (scape) which should be removed. The scape is perfectly edible though and can be used in stir fries, salads etc.

16 September - garlic planted

16 September - Shenshyu onions

16 September - Red onions, Electric

I still have a few onion bulbs left from the sets, which I will plant out later to fill any gaps.

Our bay tree was now encroaching on the footpath and putting the garlic bed in the shade, so I cut it back drastically,  I have left the cut branches on the ground for the leaves to die back and will then shred the wooden branches.

18 September

A cooler day, so decided to use some of the squash in a warming,Thai coconut curry.

18 September - Thai coconut curry

19 September 

Snails seeem to like my broccoli and kale, so I sprayed all the brassicas with home made garlic spray, while Sylvi was tackling the brambles and bindweed that had invaded the raspberries.  We still had some wood chips with which we renewed the paths around some of the beds on top of a layer of cardboard to suppress weeds.

19 September - Path renewal

20-23 September

A weekend away from the plot and a trip to London and another weekend with our campervan!.  It was the Westminster Mile on Saturday and the London 10k on Sunday and we had decided to stay at the Abbey Wood campsite in SE London,

situated in what used to be the Co-operative Woods, previously owned by the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society, joining Bostall Woods

20 September - Abbey Wood Campsite

On the Saturday, I was actually running the Westminster Mile, with lots of family and friends to celebrate my 80th birthday and raise money for the Friends of Brighton and Hove Hospitals for improvements to end of life care. We raised £1,500.

Westminster Mile 2019

Westminster Mile 2024

I had previously run the Westminster Mile for my 75th birthday - what a difference 5 years makes - in my case two minutes (slower)!

2019                                        2024

25- 30 September

There was more heavy rain and strong winds - not conducive to allotment work!

Between the showers I managed to plant several pots and troughs at home with spring flowering bulbs that I had ordered online.

I had two large square pots. In one I planted white tulips, Swan Wing, and in the other, near black, Queen of the Night . Above the tulips I planted some mixed crocuses which hopefully will appear before the tulips and planted some Cyclamen on top to provide some winter colour.

We have also acquired a number of new containers from a friend of a friend who is having a clear-out before moving to Australia.  These include 4 Grey troughs in which I have planted Tulips as follows:
        1.      Rasta Parrot (Purple, red & orange) and Shining parrot (Red), plus Crocuses, King of the Striped and winter pansies
        2.      Belicia (pink & white) plus Eyelash (pink, purple and white), plus Crocuses, King of the Striped and winter pansies
        3.      Dow Jones (red and yellow) plus Anemones and pansies
        4.      Firework (red and yellow) plus Anemones and pansies

There are also two large round pots which I have planted with Narcissus.
        1.      Narcissus Apricot Whirl (peach, salmon, cream and white) plus Anemones
        2.      Narcissus Fragrant Spring (white,cream and orange) plus Anemones

I've written it all down now so that I know what they are when they flower next year, providing that the squirrels don't eat them first!

There was a brief dry period on Saturday 28th when I managed to get to the plot to lift a few Charlotte potatoes. 

28 September - Charlotte potatoes

Sadly the yet to be completed greenhouse had lost a couple of panes in the high winds - another task for Sylvi!

28 September - storm damage

And then it was back up to London, for my Grandson Felix's Golden Birthday - 28 on the 28th - for a small family dinner at Restaurant 28, Marylebone

Granddaughters Tilly & Kitty, Felix's partner Lauren, and Felix with me and Sylvi

Back at home the following day, I sorted my Borlotti beans.  There had been so much rain that not all had dried out on the plant and I had brought them indoors away from the damp.  Sadly quite a few had rotted so we had fewer than previous years - but, with our home-grown Cavolo Nero they will be excellent in my Ribollita  a great dish for cold autumnal nights.

30 September Borlotti beans

John Austin

Hove, September 2024