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Any hopes that Monday's warmth would last into Tuesday were dashed as Tuesday started dull and cold. By lunchtime the temperature had only managed to creep up to 12°C (54°F) as the clouds refused to lift.
We decided on a short visit to the plot to do a little bit of harvesting. I'm not sure how we've come to have so many Victoria plums. I remember the tree had lots of flowers but through summer I wasn't aware of how many had set fruit. Still I'm not complaining. It didn't take long to pick about 10kg (22lbs) of plums and there's still plenty left to pick. We may have to give some away to friends and neighbours.
We left the plot late afternoon by which time the temperature had managed to reach 14°C (57°F) not very impressive for early September.
Wednesday & Thursday 09/10 September 2015
Something in the Sky but Not the Sun
Wednesday was a repeat of Tuesday it was cold and dull. Thursday was much better once the sun broke through the early morning cloud. After a couple of cold days Thursday became our warmest day of the month with the temperature reaching 21.6° C or 70.9°F.
On Wednesday afternoon I visited a friend to share out some of the plums harvested on Tuesday. It's not very often one of these lands just outside your garden.
Without doubt it's probably the quickest way in and out of Leeds during the rush hour. It's very good at clearing away fallen leaves from the lawn when it takes off too.
Thursday was a do it yourself day. The garage roof was in need of some repair. Once that was done I still had time to water our plants growing in tubs and harvest a couple of John Baer tomatoes and an aubergine from the greenhouse for dinner. The variety of aubergine is Jackpot and I didn't think it was supposed to grow fruits as large as this.
Tomato John Baer has produced a good crop at home and on the plot so it's one I think I will try again next year.
Friday 11 September 2015
A Dry Start to September?
I've been trying to decide for most of Saturday morning just what to blog about but the weather has made it a bit tricky. It was going to be about the dry start to September but it's raining on Saturday morning as I'm writing this post so the dry spell has come to an end.
On Friday afternoon I'd tried to cultivate some beds on the plot. A couple dug nicely but some others were too dry and wouldn't break down into the fine tilth I wanted.
Some of the soil had formed into small rock like pieces which wouldn’t break up with the cultivator. A drop of rain will probably help.
Having looked at the forecast for next week I don't think the too dry issue is going to last for very long. It looks like next week is going to be wet.
At least the bed for planting our autumn onions and garlic dug okay so that's one job we can do once we've bought some onion sets. That’s provided it doesn’t rain too much.
Saturday 12 September 2015
Sweet Corn Passes the Wasp Test
Saturday morning into the early afternoon was wet with a short but very heavy spell of rain over lunchtime. The day’s total came to 11.0mm or 0.43in. It put gardening on hold for the day.
We’ve tried a new variety of sweetcorn this year called Extra Early Sweet. It’s done okay but a combination of me planting the seeds a little bit late and some cool weather through most of summer have probably reduced the crop. The cobs we have picked have been very sweet.
This wasp obviously thought so as it made the most of some bits of left over kernels remaining on a cob.
Sunday 13 September 2015
In Autumn Mode
After a chilly start Sunday turned out to be a nice day with plenty of sunshine and a high temperature of 18.1°C or 64.6°F.
On the allotment I seem to have got into autumn mode far too quickly. I feel I should be clearing beds ready for winter digging. However on Sunday afternoon I prepared a bed ready for our autumn onions and garlic. It's had fish, blood and bone added and been covered with weed control fabric.
Sue was busy lifting the last of our summer onions and shallots to dry off in the greenhouse. I went round the raspberries, blackberries, plums and runner and climbing French beans to harvest more goodies to freeze for winter.
That still left tomatoes to be picked from the greenhouse and from outside. I'm amazed how well our Sungold tomatoes have performed outdoors especially as it was pure luck I bothered to put plants in. Normally the odds and sods would be dumped on the compost heap. We've been especially lucky as they haven't been affected by blight this year.
After this year’s success I might plant some tomatoes outdoors next year to use up any spare plants that haven’t made into the plot or home greenhouses.
