Early Autumn

Summertime

Summer

Summer has been mixed following very dry spring.

Crop results:

Broad-beans (Green Windsor): first growth destroyed just before/during flowering by vast quantities of black-fly. Any pods were stunted and grey. However, the plants fought back and sprouted new stems just above the soil. These grew/flowered and cropped unaffected by black-fly. Delicious and tender beans. Sow later next year (May).

Beetroot: Excellent, though very slow growing early on due to dry spell.

Parsnips: total failure. Same as last year, half seed direct, half chitted, results nothing. Bad seed?

Hamburg Parsley: one plant from two sowings. Same family as parsnip etc so may have been bad seed.

Turnip (golden ball): Excellent growth and flavour.

Celeriac: I waited too long to plant out, seed germinated well, but they are behind and it's been too dry.

Onions, shallots, garlic: good crops. Ruining most shallots by leaving them in the greenhouse by mistake, cooking them. Garlic taste is very good, cloves not formed that well as they missed the cold. Plant autumn, same variety.

Potatoes: Vale Emerald: Good flavour, rubbish texture and pathetic yield. Ratte/Bintje to lift soon. Have soome potatoes for christmas growing, need to plant ASAP.

Beans, yet to crop. Same with pumpkins.

Kale is doing well, cabbage and caulis suffering from pigeon attack. More spring cabbage (di verona) to go is next month.

Leesk, in and ok, sow more next year.

Witloof and raddicchio in.


Immediate tasks: Plant out spring cabbages; sow parsley, carrots, beets, turnips, chard, lettuce. Plant spuds.

Autumn tasks:

Split herbs (thyme, chives etc) and move to where beans are now.

Move gooseberry bushes, further apart, doubling the fruit area. Stake and wire for apple tree, same on either side for raspberry canes, plus 6 more canes. Put strawberries in ground in fabric.

Take out cross paths.

Dig/manure.

Sow broad beans (Aqua dulce), garlic.

My fing sunny day

Lovely sunny day, as it has been for several days. Had to get the spuds in, so went down Sunday morning and finished digging the spud bed. Put in 3 rows each (6 per row) of Ratte and Bintje. I forgot the Vale Emerald, so they'll go in in a couple of days.

The broad beans are well through now and the alliums seems to be getting going now. I have sown salad, carrots, beetroot, hamburg parsley and peas, but they are not showing yet.

The apple tree in in full blossom, the plums have finished. The gooseberry bushes look well, they have more tiny fruits on them than last year, hope for a good crop.

I was offered an old greenhouse, that another plot-holder received on free-cycle, but had second thoughts on a reassembly without instructions etc. Got it up in a few )hot) hours. Hopefully it will not blow away and will allow me to grow some tomato, pepper and aubergines, and if needed a little shelter if it rains.

This year...

And Spring arose on the garden fair

Nice early Spring weather. Cold wind, warm sun.

Broad beans sown, green windsor, a short podded green variety. Reputed to be amongst the finest flavoured. Finally got the garlic and shallots in, both new (French) varieties that advised March planting, but it seems a little late to my mind.

I received and planted four Russian Kale plants, these will complement nicely the Cavolo Nero I already have. These, in truth, have not long to go as a leaf crop as they look as if they are about to send the flower spears up. No matter, these are delicious served as for PSB.

Dug some parsnips, must have been 15lbs in all, and I still have about 8' left to dig. Gave away over half.

Further clearing on the ex-potato be revealed more Anya, cooked fine, though a few went to mush, not sweetened, thankfully, by frosts, nor riddled by the slugs.

This year's potatoes have been chitting for a couple of weeks: Bintje, Ratte and Vale Emerald, another month and they should be ready to go in. They will go in the bed I planted first with spuds in season 1 (2007-), as this is the fourth season. There is still a full row of Anya, Desiree and Charlotte each to be cleared.

The leeks are nice, good flavour, though none have got past large 'baby' sized, due to having been started late following the destruction of the first sowing last summer. Today I sowed four 4" pots densely with leeks, to be pricked-out into tray later to give, I hope, at least three times the crop as this year, and to 'full' size.

Solmonath II

Warm sunshine. Digging commences. Soil quite dry, not sticky. Started digging the ex-spud bed, where thered cabbages 'were', and around the mizuna. Also a bit of rough digging around where the broad beans, beetroots were last year.

Weeded the herbs and half weeded the leeks. They small, though they did go in late due to the first batch being destroyed, probably about thumb thickness. I will leave them for a bit and see if they thicken up a little, but if nothing's doing by the end of the month , I'll lift them; baby leeks are better anyway. The parsnips have been a major success, very nice, sweet, no woody core and a lot of them.

I have lifted some spuds too, Desiree and Anya, I will cook a few of each to see if they are ok and haven't turned sweet.

Pruned the large gooseberry, it's pretty large now, I have hopes for a decent crop this year, last year was it's forst year after being moved, so fingers crossed. I think I will remove the two older plum trees, they bear little fruit and are always rotten anyhow.

I have cut back the raddichio, as I read it will come again in the early spring. I hope so as I missed all but one (ready soon) of this crop, and I like it grilled with sweet onions and live oil.

Loads of carrots in the ground all have now spilt or are riddled with worm holes, though the Nantes variety I sowed, clearly

grows well in this soil. New seed for this year arrived, I am trying a new broad bean which I will sow this week. Green Windsor, supposed one of the better flavoured varieties.

On the way down, I spotted a cormorant sitting in a tree. Quite what it was doing, I've no idea. After about five minutes of occasionally sunning it's wings in the usual cormorant style, it flew off in a rather uncertain manner towards Catford.

L: Parsnips, celeriac, beets, chicory roots.

R: Kale, never fails.

2011

It's been a while. Early September was the last visit, for a bit of a harvest. First visit since then due to injury (ribs), work (oct-Nov), snow and Christmas etc. Not as bad as I had been expecting. I went with some mind to jack it in, just have a last look and hand it over. However, as soon as I saw that there was still celeriac, kale (ye old faithful), parsnips, beets and some carrots doing ok, despite the cold and snow, I felt the urge stir again. Brought home 2 medium celeriac about 3.5 ilbs parsnip, three beets and some witloof roots for forcing at home.

Rather sad to see was the collapsed and rotting carcasses of 2 large french squash, a good size too, about a basketball. A butternut squash lay turned to orange mousse, where in September the plants had not even flowered , at least they worked. The radicchio did well, I may go back and cut off the topes, as I think they spout again. Under brown slimy leaves are some nice tight red heads.

There weeds are not that bad considering, I could probably clear most of it in a 3 decent visits.

preserved

In the last few days I've made two jars of spiced pickled plums, two of pickled shallots and six large jars of chutney, all from stuff from the plot (and some foraged apples).

Hopefully the chutney will be more flavoursome this year, it certainly smelled good.

Cabbaged

Oh dear, the red cabbage is suffering badly at the moment. A multitude of pests are attacking: small cabbage white caterpillars, mealy aphid, club root, cabbage root fly, gastropods.

I pulled and binned a few and I have sprayed soap to counter the aphids, though I don't hold out much hope.

Planted out the leeks in holes, about 50 plants. they may be a little small, but hopefully they'll bulk up quite quickly.

The squash are growing very fast and still more fruits appear, but nothing from the butternut.

Sowed more short carrots. Might have to rethink the chard and extra raddichio rows as nothing appears to have germinated, or more likely has and been eaten.

Put in two rows of Mizuna, hopefully these will not bolt.

Turnip rooted celery

Too dry this year, I'd say it is the worst year I've had so far, certainly in terms of yields. The slug and snail damage has been lower but the seedlings are simply shriveling in the dust and heat.

The potatoes I've lifted this far have been pretty poor, in yields, OK sizes (for first earlies and salad), no scab or slug damage, but just few in number. I will persist with potatoes, but next year only Ratte and Bintje (assumingI can get the seed, not that widely available in the UK and not all this year).

The beans are pretty slow

this, the runner beans are weeks behind, the french (blue lake) is good, and a great flavoured variety, the borlotti are finally cropping in numbers.

Squash: the old french type seems well, four large fruits growing well and a few of small ones, the butternut have not set any fruit at all, I think it is too dry at the back, due to the trees, however they remain in flower, so one hopes for the best.

I prepared the bed for the leeks today. Hard going in the concrete like soil. A lorry load of manure or mushroom compost would do wonders for it. I will get the leeks in this week. Not really expecting large ones, due to having to re-sow, but smaller plants suitable for serving with a vinaigrette or whole in a red wine sauce.

I have also some kale and cabbage seedlings for spring crops going, as the first lot withered somewhat and the kale was allowed to get too leggy, it is growing on the plot but doesn't look great.

The celeriac seems to be doing well, roots have swollen somewhat, I hope if it starts to rain ore frequently I can get a really good crop of these.

The fennel bulbs are also starting to swell. I hope these do ok.

I think I may cut down the plum trees, or at least two or them and keep just one. Most fruits rot on the branch before even reaching ripeness, this may be due to too many fruits being left on. Must read up on this.

Some of the courgettes have gone marrow, picked some apples in the park, and will make chutney with the plums, these marrows, my onions. More spices this year, last year's was anaemic.

Broad bean and gone

Beans are finished, did really well this year, estimate 35-40 lbs from 2x 3m rows. I will overwinter again.

Shallots are done and are drying. Red onions have done rubbish again, I think I'll just grow shallots and leeks next year.

Summertime

Away for a week and the weeds are rampant. Fat hen everywhere and the marestail is spreading.

Peas have done really well, especially Alderman, the Sutton did ok but is nowhere near as prolific. The courgettes are doing well, although one has made a bid for marrow status during my absence. The squash have grown very well and are flowering well but do not seem to be setting fruit. Same with butternut.

Lifted 3 'Belle de Fontenay' spud plants, look and smell very nice but a poor yield about 2.5 lb from the three, they'd better taste good.

The climbing beans are doing ok, not as advanced as previous years. The dwarf french are just in flower, however there are masses of blackfly around.

Two of the red cabbage plants are infested with mealy cabbage aphids, must take some soap down to spray them.

Horseradish is doing well, too well, it is everywhere.

harvest

Crops are a coming. Had sorrel (in sauce), herbs and salad with broad beans as garnish. Bumper crop of broad beans to come this week. Huzzah!