Monday, 11 November 2024

Life on The Weald - October 2024

Life on The Weald - October 2024

and other distractions

1 - 4 October
The month started with distractions! On Tuesday 1st, the starter motor on our car packed up leaving us stranded in Horley and hours waiting for the RAC.  The following day we were off in our campervan for a few days away in Norfolk to visit my brother.  The weather was glorious and we stayed in a pub car park with excellent facilities right on the coast at Bacton.

3 October - Bacton Beach 8.44am

3 October - Bacton beach 8.44am

5 October
Back home, and Saturday was a hot sunny day. I decided to sow directly some broadbeans (aquadulce) which I bought from the allotment shop. I started by removing any weeds from the bed.

5 October - Preparing a bed for broad beans

Having sown them, however, I discovered I had run out of fleece so was unable to cover them. Broad beans, sown directly in the soil are very vulnerable to rodent attack, but the mice usually wait until the beans have swollen a little and about to sprout before digging them up, so I thought they would be safe for a few days.

6 October
By contrast, Sunday was overcast with occasional showers, but I managed to get some fleece from the allotment shop and covered the broad beans, firstly with the fleece and then some old wire shelving to try to keep the rodents at bay until the shoots surfaced - then the enemy will be slugs.

7 October
At home I planted some more tulips in pots, Rococo, which have red, green and yellow flowers.  I also had a few organic broad beans left over from last year and I sowed these in trays which I placed in the mini-greenhouse, hoping that they would germinate.  I also took some rosemary and sage cuttings.

8 October
It was up to London on Tuesday to see a new Musical, Cable Street, at Southwark Playhouse at the Elephant & Castle but it was not a day for gardening as there were thunderstorms and heavy rain.

8 October - Southwark Playhouse

9 - 10 October 
After the night time thunderstorms there were occasional showers throughout the day on Wednesday 9th and it was decidedly chilly with a maximum temperature of 13C. On Thursday morning there was more rain and it was even cooler with a maximum temparature of 12C. On the Wednesday we had to be at home all day anyway. waiting for a mechanic to fix our car's starter motor, and glad to be indoors.  

11 - 13 October
A brief respite from the rain on Friday 11th and I decided to pick most of the remaining squashes and leave them in the sunshine (while it lasts!)


11 October - Squash harvest

I began the task of clearing the 3 Sisters bed, where sweetcorn, beans and squashes had been growing.

11 October - 3 Sisters bed

I pulled up the remaining sweetcorn plants, ready to be chopped up and added to the compost heap and also removed any annual and perennial weeds.


Clearing the weeds

I then laid some cardboard and put the weeds and other greenery in cardboard trays on top, to die down and ready to be sorted when I have the time.  The perennial weeds will be chopped and added to compost bins, the annuals will be spread on the cardboard with some manure & compost, when I get round to it, and left exposed over winter.

laying cardboard, sorting weeds

The weekend might have been an opportunity for some more work on the plot - although very muddy underfoot - but we were off to Geneva for an anniversary re-union with some former colleagues.

14 - 16 October
Further problems with the car!  - the new starter motor packed up so it was another day indoors waiting for the mechanic.  

It was a bit of a squash in the kitchen - as we had brought them all indoors in case of rain.


It was a week of flu and covid jabs, chiropody appointments, meetings and social events so little contact with the allotment apart from Tuesday when I moved a few stones and Wednesday when Sylvi was volunteering as a "forager" collecting food from local supermarkets in the evening for the allotment's Community Food Project

A near neighbour had cleared and redesigned her pond and was offering the surrounding stones for free, and I had put in an immediate bid.  I hadn't realised how big, or heavy, they would be and it was quite a task moving them - even with the car (which is now functioning. 🤞)

15 October - The stones

It may be some time before I get round to dealing with the pond so, for the timebeing, the stones provide a majestic entrance to our plot.

16 October - The stones

We have a plentiful supply of nasturtiums, which provided a tasty addition to a salad.  They are a great substitute for Watercress. I find that the flowers have a rather indifferent taste, compared with the leaves which have a strong peppery taste, but they make an attractive addition. Later in the year, the seed pods can be pickled and used instead of capers.

16 October - Nasturtium and Rocket salad

17 October
It was a bright sunny day but not too hot so we spent several hours on the plot. Sylvi did an amazing job clearing weeds and couchgrass from the rhubarb patch and I followed with a fork to dig out any remaining bindweed and couchgrass roots, whilst Sylvi concentrated on removing brambles and weeds from the raspberry patch.

17 October - bindweed roots

17 October - the rhubarb patch

Having cleared the area around the rhubarb (I'm sure there will be more bindweed under the rhubarb which can only be removed by lifting the crown, which I decided not to do), I left any rhubarb leaves on the ground to rot down naturally.

The brambles and bindweed are so invasive that they are coming up in and around our "dalek" compost bin between the rhubarb and the raspberries.  The raspberries have also moved eastwards and are now coming up all over the asparagus bed! This calls for drastic action. The problem is that the invading raspberries cannot be removed without disturbing the asparagus, which means we may not get a crop next year.

Our tumbler compostor has given us good service since we acquired it a couple of years back but the seam is rusting away and needs some serious repair.  It also takes up a lot of prime space, so we have decided to give it away.

We partly emptied it and it has produced some rich organic compost. It did contain some woody stems, however, that have not fully broken down.  If we wanted to use it immediately it could do with sieving but I decided to just pile some of it on cardboard and leave it to nature over the winter.

17 October - Compost from the tumbler

18 October 
The weather forecast said there would be a maximum temperature of 15C, but there was no wind, and with cloudless, sunny, clear blue skies, it felt much hotter. I continued with clearing the asparagus bed of raspberries and the front of the plot is looking a lot tidier.

18 October - Rhubarb and Asparagus patches

The Garlic has arrived In the Allotment Shop, so I need to get a note round to plotholders to give them the good news.
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18 October - Garlic and Elephant Garlic

18 October - Garlic

I had been impatient, however, and didn't wait for the shop to get stocked up and I had already bought some hard neck garlic online which I had planted earlier (Kingsland Wight) and I was awaiting delivery of another hard neck variety (Eden Rose),  but I will buy a soft neck variety and perhaps some Elephant garlic from the site shop.

19-20 October
Heavy rain had been forecast for Saturday morning and that is what we got, although it did brighten up later in the day, but on Sunday, Storm Ashley arrived with wild, wild winds and heavy rain.


22 October
Fortunately the storm had done no damage on our plot, although a near neighbour had lost their polytunnel. I finally emptied the remaining contents of the tumbler compostor. I advertised the tumbler on the Allotment WhatsApp group and had an immediate taker.

22 October - preparing to say goodbye!

22 October - emptying the contents

23 October
I had laid cardboard in the bed near the pond, where I would be planting broad beans. Two years ago, I had buried some large logs and other organic material under this bed - effectively a sunken Hugel bed (John's blog October 2021) (John's blog November 2021)

I spread the contents of the tumbler compostor on the cardboard and intend to top this with some rotted manure and more compost before sowing my second crop of broad beans.

23 October - spreading the compost

The contents of the tumbler were not fully composted but the process would continue in the bed.  The process of breaking down organic matter requires a lot of nitrogen and spreading partially composted material would not suit all plants as it would deprive them of an essential nutrient.  Broad beans, however, fix nitrogen in the soil through a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in the soil. (See Kew Gardens) so I am hoping all will be well.

The fleece had been removed from the Kingsland Wight garlic which had been planted on 16 September and the cloves seem to have rooted well and were producing healthy shoots.

23 October - Kingsland Wight garlic

24 October
I carried on clearing the 3 sisters bed of the squash plants, beans and sweetcorn, and the weeds.

24 October - sweetcorn stems ready for composting

24 October - weeds removed from 3 sisters bed

I laid cardboard....


....and emptied some of the contents from the wormeries, which was fairly well composted and full of worms.  The pistachio shells had not broken down, but they will eventually, and in the meantime add texture and drainage.

24 October - contents from a wormery

25 October
The tomatoes at home were nearing their end but I was still picking some Sungold cherry tomatoes and a few Yellow Perfection

25 October - Sungold & Yellow Perfection

There was a dramatic sky that night, predicting good weather the following day.

25 October - Hove sky

26 October
I lifted some of the Jerusalem Artichokes.  The reason they are called Jerusalem Artichokes and the difference from Globe Artichokes are in my blog at Jerusalem ArtichokesWe roasted some in their skins - the easiest way to deal with them, but peeled and boiled some and then pureed them to go in the freezer.  They are excellent to add to soups through the winter.  I did post a couple of Recipes a few years back.

26 October - Jerusalem Artichokes peeled for purée


27 October
It was a bright sunny day and I removed the fleece from the onions and broad beans.
27 October - broad beans under fleece

The broad beans had been sown on 5 October and were doing well...

27 October - broad beans (sown 5 October)

...and last year's organic ones, sown in modules at home on 7 October, were looking very healthy and would need planting out soon.

27 October - organic broad beans sown 7 October

We managed to persuade our grandson, Jerome, to deliver 4 barrowloads of manure to our plot (with a little financial incentive)!  Some was put in the bed by the pond on top of the compost from our tumbler...

27 October - a second bed for broad beans

...and some on the 3 sisters bed which we plan to use again for 3 sisters (sweetcorn, squashes and climbing beans) next year.

27 October - 3 sisters bed

The rhubarb patch had been cleared a few days earlier but now fresh shoots were appearing. It is probably a little early but I decided to try forcing some by placing a recycling box over the emerging shoots.

27 October - emerging Rhubarb


27 October - forcing the rhubarb

Meetings and getting the electrics sorted on the campervan put paid to any more visits to the allotment this month, but getting the van sorted did result in a visit to a delightful garden centre in Horsham where we bought a few plants for the tubs that had been planted with bulbs, to give us a bit of colour through the winter months whilst waiting for the tulips.

Autumn is officially over and winter beckons!

John Austin

Hove, October 2024


Monday, 28 October 2024

Life on The Weald - September 2024

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