I think that it is safe to say that the drought has come to an end. Last week, we not only had lots of rain, but it was also extremely windy.
We had wondered whether all the rain would have rendered our clay soil claggy, but as the earth had been parched of moisture, it had absorbed the water and was good to dig.
We also had a second delivery of horse manure. Piles of it have been stacked at the end of beds, where it can rot down and be incorporated in the spring. We just need to avoid any beds in which we will be planting carrots or parsnips.
Martyn dug up the second bed of carrots. We have been using these, but there were plenty left. It’s been a good year for carrots, which is surprising considering how dry it has been. At least lugging the watering can about has been appreciated by some crops.
The carrots are now stored in brown paper sacks in the garage.
I was surprised to see that the garlic, which had only been planted just over a week ago, already had some strong shoots.
The onions also have shoots albeit smaller.
Pears are beginning to fall from the tree, so we harvested them.
They came away as soon as they were touched.
We also picked more quinces.
I cut the remaining two small cabbages and cleared the bed.
I am always surprised to see the cyclamen flowering. For some reason, I expect to see the flowers in spring. Some years ago, I bought two plants – one white and one pink. They are prolific self-seeders and have popped up all over the garden, even in gaps in paving.
I’ve never planted any on the allotment. Some seeds must have arrived at the plot in old compost so they are now appearing all over the place. Ants spread the seeds, and we have lots of ants. Some must have a good design instinct as plants neatly edge both sides of a path through the plum trees.
We also came across two large white objects in a bed of rhubarb.
One looks like a giant puffball and the other a very large mushroom which we won’t be risking eating!
Some of our vegetables were used in a Thai turkey stir fry based on this recipe. I added some mushrooms that needed using up.
Our homegrown contribution to this was a red onion, red chilli, mint, garlic, frozen peas and frozen runner beans.
We had a couple of walks at Nostell last week . There is now no denying that summer is over and we have moved into autumn.
Some trees are displaying their autumn colours, whereas other trees are just about bare.
No doubt the strong winds at the weekend will have hastened leaf fall,
The cygnets at Nostell are now well grown and are independent of their parents, although they still all rest and preen together in their favourite spot before taking a dip in the lake.
I hope the young birds are not as feisty as the couple that remained until spring last year.
That’s all for this week, so as always, until next time, stay safe and stay well.
