October 2026
This diary is a summary of our garden activities. The links are to blog posts that often give more detail.
Week 40: 26 September - 02 October
🌱 Weekly Gardening Summary
September 26th to October 2nd, 2026
🌤️ Weather Overview
The week brought some lovely late-September and early-October weather, with several warm, sunny afternoons and temperatures reaching 22.9°C on Wednesday 30th. Overnight temperatures remained fairly mild, ranging from 6.4°C to 13.1°C.
Rainfall was generally very limited. There were a few small amounts of rain and drizzle, but the ground remained very dry, particularly around the new borders and side border. Despite the lack of significant rainfall, some areas felt surprisingly damp following the light drizzle on Tuesday.
Overall, it was a mild and mostly dry week, providing some good opportunities to continue the autumn clear-up and preparation work.
🌿 Key Activities & Observations
The main focus this week was continuing with autumn preparation and tidying.
We started top-dressing the new borders, with both borders receiving a good watering. Sue completed the top dressing on Friday and watered the borders again.
The brassicas in the raised bed and recycling crates were given a good watering and continue to grow well.
At the allotment, the bed on plots 28/29, which had contained last year’s overwintered onions and salad crops, was dug over. The remaining runner bean plants were pulled up, and the poles were stored away for winter. Some of the poles will need replacing next year.
Sue also painted the front of the allotment shed, table and seat, giving the area a useful autumn spruce-up.
Back at home, more work was carried out on the side border. The soil has been broken up, although it is still very dry and will need digging over properly once we get some worthwhile rain.
A nice sign of new growth was spotted when we noticed that the garlic Sue planted last week has already sprouted.
Work also continued around the magnolia tree, with more cleaning and tidying carried out underneath and around it.
🐕 Trips Out with Ruby & Other Visits
Ruby enjoyed several walks this week.
We visited Temple Newsam on Monday afternoon, where we enjoyed a lovely warm and sunny late-September walk. There was plenty of work taking place in the gardens, so it will be interesting to see how they develop over the coming months.
On Wednesday, Ruby had two walks at Springhead Park, making the most of another pleasant afternoon.
Thursday brought a walk at Nostell Priory, another enjoyable autumn outing.
With the mild weather continuing, it was a good week for getting out and about with Ruby while also keeping an eye on the changing gardens and parkland.
🧺 Weekly Harvest Totals
The harvest was relatively small this week as the focus moved towards autumn clear-up, but there were still some useful finds.
Chillies
- Buena Mulata — 12 chillies, picked for freezing
Tomatoes
- Oh Happy Day — 2 medium fruits
- Summerlast — 1 small punnet
- Additional tomatoes picked for salads and sandwiches
Courgettes
- Defender — 1, discovered while clearing the bed
- Tromboncino d’Albenga — 1, also discovered while clearing the bed
🍅 Harvest Highlights
It was particularly pleasing to discover two courgettes hiding in the bed while clearing it. The 12 Buena Mulata chillieswere also picked and put aside for freezing, adding to the supply for winter use.
🌱 Week in Summary
A productive week of autumn preparation and clearing up, with the new borders taking shape, the allotment beds being cleared and the runner beans finally put to bed for winter. The garlic has already started sprouting, while the brassicas continue to grow well.
The mild, mostly dry weather also gave us plenty of opportunities to enjoy some good walks with Ruby at Temple Newsam, Springhead Park and Nostell Priory.
Week 41: 03 - 09 October
This weeks video
Week 42: 10 - 16 October
🌿 Weekend Gardening & Home Life
Saturday 10th
(13.5°C / 8.7°C | Rain: 1.2mm)Spent the showery day tidying up the home greenhouse.
The local stray cat remained unfazed by the tidying, happily sleeping in a seed tray on a sunny shelf.
Sunday 11th
(14.4°C / 4.7°C | Rain: 0.0mm)Afternoon visit to the allotment for maintenance.
Plot 42: Sue cleared away old brassica remains.
Plot 41: Covered a bed with weed control fabric.
🐕 Monday Walk at Temple Newsam
Monday 12th
(15.8°C / 3.8°C | Rain: 0.4mm)Took a break from gardening to walk Ruby at Temple Newsam.
Damp, cool day with intermittent drizzle—Ruby wore her raincoat for the first time this autumn.
🍓 Allotment Plans & Initial Incident
Tuesday 13th
(17.8°C / 8.3°C | Rain: 0.2mm)Visited the allotment planning to dig over a long bed on Plot 28/29 for a potential new “unusual berry bed” next season.
Accident: Sue was accidentally bitten by a stray cat.
After visiting two walk-in centres without success, spent ~2 hours at A&E (returned home around 10:00 PM).
🏥 Medical Care & Surgery
Wednesday 14th
(17.8°C / 8.3°C | Rain: 0.2mm)No gardening due to medical needs.
By evening, the bite looked significantly worse; returned to A&E (4-hour wait).
Evaluated by a Consultant at ~1:00 AM and referred to Plastic Surgery. Scheduled for finger surgery early Thursday morning (returned home to sleep due to no available overnight beds).
Thursday 15th
(18.7°C / 10.8°C | Rain: 3.0mm)No gardening.
Sue underwent successful surgery on her finger and was discharged by lunchtime.
Follow-up appointment scheduled for the next morning.
Friday 16th
(13.0°C / 7.4°C | Rain: 3.0mm)No gardening.
Early 7:30 AM check-up confirmed the infection was successfully cleared; home by mid-morning.
Next follow-up scheduled for Monday morning at 09:00 AM.
📊 Weekly Summary Overview
Gardening Completed: Greenhouse cleanup, brassica bed clearing (Plot 42), weed fabric installation (Plot 41).
Future Gardening Plans: New unusual berry bed on Plot 28/29.
Key Focus of the Week: Medical care and successful recovery following Sue’s cat bite surgery.
This week’s video
Week 43: 17 - 23 October
Weekly Gardening Summary
Weather Overview
It was a cool, unsettled week, with a mixture of dull, drizzly days, some welcome sunshine and periods of rain. Temperatures remained fairly low, and the strengthening wind on Friday made it feel particularly cold.
Highest temperature: 14.2°C — Monday 19 October
Lowest temperature: 4.6°C — Saturday 17 October
Total rainfall: 17.2 mm
Rainfall recorded by your weather station, 17–23 October.
The rain, particularly on Monday and Friday, should have helped to replenish some of the moisture in the allotment soil after the prolonged dry conditions. Hopefully, the beds will become easier to work as we move towards winter.
Key Gardening Activities & Observations
It was another very quiet week in the garden and allotment, as Sue continued to recover from her injury.
- Saturday to Monday: No gardening was undertaken, with Sue’s injury and a hospital appointment taking priority.
Tuesday: Visited the allotment briefly to take some video footage, but no gardening work was carried out.
Wednesday to Friday: No gardening activities were recorded.
Soil conditions: The rainfall this week was welcome after the prolonged dry spell. Hopefully, it will soften the soil and make it easier to prepare the beds for next spring.
With the weather turning colder and wetter, this is becoming a time for planning ahead rather than doing much outdoor work.
Trips Out with Ruby & Other Visits
Thursday 22 October — Nostell Priory
We enjoyed a walk with Ruby at Nostell Priory on a lovely sunny afternoon. It was a welcome opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy the autumn surroundings after several quieter days.
Other visits: A hospital appointment on Monday was the main commitment of the week.
Weekly Harvest Totals
No harvests were recorded this week.
Looking Back on the Week
This was a week when family circumstances rightly took priority over gardening. Apart from a brief visit to the allotment to film, the plots were left undisturbed. The most encouraging development for the garden was the 17.2 mm of rainfall, which should help ease the dry soil conditions that have made autumn preparation difficult.
The sunny walk with Ruby at Nostell Priory was a welcome highlight in an otherwise quiet week.
Hopefully, with Sue recovering and the ground receiving some much-needed rain, there will be opportunities to return to the allotment when conditions improve.
This week’s video
Week 44: 24 - 30 October
Weather Overview
The week began with the arrival of Storm Boelo, bringing strong winds and some heavy rain. Although the worst of the winds gradually subsided, it remained unsettled for much of the week, with occasional showers.
The strongest winds were recorded over the weekend. My sheltered garden weather station recorded a maximum gust of 32mph on Saturday, the highest October reading since 2010. On Sunday, gusts reached 37mph, the highest October reading since 2020.
Weekly weather statistics:
Highest temperature: 16.9°C (Tuesday 27th)
Lowest temperature: 5.0°C (Thursday 29th)
Total rainfall: 14.0mm
Strongest recorded wind gust: 37mph (Sunday 25th)
🌱Key Gardening Activities and Observations
Saturday saw me heading to the allotment ahead of Storm Babet to close the greenhouse door, which had been left open since early summer. While there, I took the opportunity to pick a few remaining tomatoes.
With the storm bringing particularly strong winds, it was sensible to make sure everything was secure.
On Wednesday, I sorted out the trail camera and installed a plastic tray for feeding the foxes. The tray has been secured to the ground using a strong metal pin to prevent it being carried away.
I also made a temporary repair to the greenhouse window, now that our stray Ragdoll cat has gone into the care of Cat Protection.
The ground adjacent to the magnolia tree was dug over again. After the recent rainfall the ground dug over nicely.
On Friday, I continued clearing along the fence line behind the magnolia tree. The next job will be to remove the existing fence so that I can take measurements before arranging a replacement.
Trips Out with Ruby and Other Visits
Sunday and Monday brought some important developments concerning our stray Ragdoll cat.
We had a visit from Cat Protection on Sunday to discuss finding her a new home. They initially allowed two weeks for anyone to come forward and prove ownership.
On Monday, Cat Protection collected her. She will receive a veterinary check before they try to trace an owner. As she isn’t microchipped, if nobody comes forward she will eventually be offered for adoption, with prospective owners being checked for suitability.
At least she now has somewhere warm to sleep at night. If all else fails, we would have her back.
On Tuesday, we took Ruby for a walk at Temple Newsam. There wasn’t much obvious damage from the recent storms, although we did come across one tree with a large branch broken off and lying on the ground.
Thursday was another enjoyable day out, visiting both Benningbrough Hall and Fountains Abbey to collect two more pouch passports for Ruby.
At Benningbrough Hall, Ruby received a bag of treats to celebrate collecting her fifth stamp!
Weekly Harvest Totals
There wasn’t much harvesting this week, although I did manage to collect a few remaining tomatoes during my visit to the allotment on Saturday.
Harvest: A few remaining tomatoes.
Looking Ahead
The main jobs for the coming week will be continuing the garden clearance behind the magnolia tree and removing the old fence in preparation for measuring up for its replacement. I’ll also be keeping an eye on the trail camera to see whether the foxes make use of their new feeding tray.