1 September
The first thing that we noticed on arriving at the plot was that men in orange jackets wielding chain saws were perched in the branches of the huge conifers that border one of the site boundaries. The conifers which cast dense shade onto all the plots along this boundary were interfering with the overhead power lines and so the Electricity Board had said that they needed reducing. It will also make a great difference to the light level at one side of the site.
We made a start on planting out the winter brassicas including the poor plants that we received from Marshalls which needed to be planted so deeply that they are just about planted into the clay subsoil! Time will tell whether or not we achieve any sort of harvest from them. The spring cabbages plants raised from seed by comparison look strong and healthy.
The net that was covering the mature brassicas has been removed to use over these young plants. Hopefully the white butterflies have finished laying eggs and the plants are large enough to survive a pigeon’s onslaught. We’ll just need to keep a close eye on them. The whiteflies haven’t been too big a problem this year but they are starting to move in and so we have resorted to using an organic spray. It is either this or risk having no sprouts for the third year running.
The last of the old strawberry beds is now clear except for one young self seeded buddleia plant. This will be dug up and potted on to be relocated at a later date.
Back in the garden we were treated to the sight of no less than 18 goldfinches feeding from the ground feeding station. Two were adult birds but the rest were young birds just beginning to grow their adult feathers – surely they weren’t all babies from the two adults accompanying them!
2 September
Young swede plants were added to the brassicas bed. Hopefully these will make up for the lack of carrots. The carrots in the potato sacks are growing well but I’m not sure how quickly they will grow to a size worth harvesting.
The herb beds that were planted up this year have been weeded. Other than that it was a case of lots of harvesting.
A clump of heuchera – Plum Pudding and some pieces of achillea were brought back from the plot and planted in gaps in the front garden. I may have planted too many of the heuchera but as the pieces don’t really have a root system there is the chance that not all the pieces will grow. The aim is to have them spilling over onto the paving to soften the edge.
3 September
The new bird bath was set in its permanent position. It is level but it is surprisingly difficult to take a photo where this appears to be the case. Plants have been moved into place around it.
I have also taken a few more perennial cuttings. I don’t know whether all will be successful but there is nothing to be lost in trying. A rudbeckia had conveniently grown some young plants around it and so these have been dug up and potted to grow them on.
The grass shows just how dry it has been this year. The edging along the border needs redoing and also I want to plant another laminum at the front of the bath.
4-11 September
Most of our time has been spent harvesting see here; once harvested, lots of time is being spent stewing and freezing fruit and vegetables. Like squirrels we are stocking up for winter!
4 September
We harvested our first red Jimmy Nardello pepper.
7 September
The weather has turned damp which means that things are starting to grow a little faster including the weeds.
Most of the dahlias raised from seed are now flowering. A couple are still too small to produce flowers and don’t look as though they are going to do much more growing. To be honest I’m rather disappointed with the results. I like he colours of the flowers but the shape lets many down. The petals are rather ragged and few have produced the full decorative dahlia flower head that I had expected.
The leeks are growing well and the sprouts have started to produce the little buttons so maybe we stand a chance of harvesting some sprouts this year. After having less of a problem with whitefly this season it seems that the number of these pests is increasing with signs of the sooty mould that often accompanies them being seen on the sprout leaves.
9 September
A few years ago we planted a fig in a pot in the garden. We thought it had been killed by last winter’s big freeze but when I started to chop it I noticed some green just under the bark. This was enough for me to leave it alone to see what happened. It hasn’t a single leaf on and to all intents and purposes looks dead but tiny figs appear to be developing at the ends of some of the branches. The urge to grow must be really strong so I’ll leave it in its pot until next spring.
13 September
Our first visit to the plot after the battering received from gale force winds revealed surprisingly little damage.
The environmesh tent, although still covering the carrots, has been reshaped. I think one or two on the struts supporting the mesh have collapsed. As it was still windy this has been left as it is for now.
Bean structures have developed a lean and plants on the windy side of the teepees are battered but the plants are still producing plenty of beans to harvest.
Our small quince tree, although still hanging on to its fruit is also showing the effects of persistent winds. We now have to decide at what stage we take off the fruit. From what I have read maybe I should wait ‘til October
The main reason for a plot visit was to plant out the rest of our winter brassicas plants, sweet Williams and some bellis that will be later used in containers to replace our summer display.
14 September
We picked all the peppers from the garden greenhouse and froze them. We wait so long for them to go red and then lots redden at once – too many to use before they spoil.
15 September
The main task was tidying up the grass paths – after the recent rain the grass and weeds have started to grow. At least the dry weather has meant less mowing and weeding although instead we have been lugging watering cans around.
A couple of the seed raised dahlias were uprooted in the strong winds but there was still plenty of deadheading to do.
17-24 September
No gardening at all this week as we spent the week on holiday in North Wales. Click here if you are interested in seeing some photos
26 September
After a week away our main priority was harvesting. We are still picking strawberries from our Flamenco strawberry plants – these are a everbearing variety which we have been picking from 20 May and there are still lots on the plants to ripen. We are also picking a few berries from the late fruiting variety Marshmarvel.
The autumn raspberries are also still providing plenty of fruit – especially the transplanted Joan J variety. Moving them worked wonders and so the rest will be moved next spring.
We have managed to dig a few carrots but nothing like the size and quantity of roots harvested last year.
The old cauliflower roots were dug up and showed no sign of any club root so the variety – Clapton – that professed to be club root resistant really was. We’ll be on the look out for more club root resistant brassicas for next year.
27 September
The fig mentioned early this month has now started to sprout leaf shoots and the tiny embryo figs have started to swell so it is definitely alive. More can be read here.
Other latecomers to the party are the gazanias planted in pots by the garden greenhouse. These are only now beginning to produce flowers but they are beautiful and well worth the wait/ I’ll grow some again next year but maybe cosset them along a little to try and encourage them to flower at a more appropriate time.
30 September
I potted up the cyclamen that I grew from seed. They have developed into strong little plants and are already showing a few flower buds. They’ll have to leave the growing light now and live on a window sill so we can enjoy the full effect of what I hope will be lovely flowering plants. Five cyclamen coum seeds managed to germinate but these are still very tiny. I don’t know whether more seeds will germinate but I’ll settle for five.
Our first lot of autumn onion sets from Dobies Senshyu Yellow – and Autumn Champion arrived which was a coincidence as I spent a large part of the day tidying up the dried stored onions and shallots and sorting out any that were showing signs of softness. These won’t store well and so will be used first.
