Autumn yet?

Didn't manage to post something last weekend when I was actually doing the work in the garden. It really felt autumnal then but of course the English weather threw a googlie this weekend with pleanty of sunshine and high temperatures.



Anyway last week I ripped up the tomatoes (damn that blight) and consigned the beans to non-harvesting mode (only waiting for beans for sowing next year now). Found a patty pan squash which had sprung up unnoticed. The only things that are left now are raspberries, kale, carrots, some beetroot (mainly for the leaves) and patty pan squash (I live in hope). I have some potatoes tucked away and a the world's tiniest Turk's Turban squash is growing up the fence.

Had a good browse through the seed catalogues and I think I got some ideas for next year...October is usually ordering month.

Winding down already?

Quick potter round the garden - mostly to get the tomatoes sorted out (the pink bowl is full of them). I pulled three of them up because they were rotting, the rest I am giving a bit more time in the ground. I'm very disappointed because they really looked good. I hope some of them at least ripen on the window sill.


It's been raining so much - crappy August for the veg, great for snails though. I am competing with them for everything. I had lots of raspberries during the week, so now there is jam too (the raspberry vodka was a great success). The beans are slowing down. Didn't get that many squash, just too wet. And just look at that surplus thyme and sage! What is noticeable though is that the weather is subtly changing - the garden year is definitely winding down.

Welcome back harvest

In my two-week absence it rained a lot which meant that all plants survived but unfortunately it also meant that a lot of the fruit either got mouldy, overripe or fell prey to the snails. Some beans will be left on the plant now to save for seeds. Nice trio of patty pan squash and a handful of colourful tomatoes.


Stained hands from raspberry picking - looks like I've been in a blood bath. Had some help picking them from the Girl but apparently "bugs squik her out". More fruit to save for later, although my freezer is getting full. I may have to look into alternative ways of preserving soon.

A tomato and a squash

Success!

I've been wondering for a few days whether this tomato was ripe yet. I have decided today that it is :) Maybe I should have labelled the tomatoes instead of mixing them up, otherwise I would have realised a bit earlier that it was the variety "Orangeberry". Only a couple of the tomatoes have a really distinctive shape so I need to guess a little bit. Also, one of the patty pan plants finally decided to fruit (the Mixed ones; the "Pattison Orange" is not doing much at all other than flower).


In addition, I got more beans (now some being turned into salad and the rest frozen) and raspberries (I think they may actually deserve ice-cream to go with them). I could almost survive on my garden (especially if I kept a couple of chickens and, er, a cow...).

End of July overview

Just a quick note on proceedings. I built some "cages" for the raspberries so they don't flop over so much (just some bamboo canes tied together). Harvested another bowl of blackberries and more beans. Other than that, everything is growing well and taking shape. The sunny weather also helps!

Between harvests

I'm between harvests. It won't be far off but need to just wait it out. The raspberries have finished their first crop and are preparing for the second big push. If the weather is warm enough they'll grow surprisingly quickly. One or two beans should be big enough to pull off in a few days or so.



Still waiting for the tomatoes, cucumbers and patty pans. The tomatoes have at least set fruit (all six kinds of them, I'm just showing pictures of two of them) but no such luck yet for the rest. At least there's some flowering (even though I lost one of my cucumber plants on the way).





The big-if is the greengage tree, probably ready in about one or two weeks in my estimate. It's really hanging full, so much so that I propped up the main branch because it's bending over so much I feared it would snap. However, I think I may have a stealthy enemy. Some of the fruit are rotting on the tree. I'm not sure if it's the wet weather or it could be greengage sawfly. I will need to keep an eye on it.


In other news I "found" lots of salad potatoes to sow. And when I say I found I meant I forgot about them in my veg rack and then they sprouted. They should make a nice crop later in the autumn. I'm usually quite bad about planting veg for autumn and winter but this year I should have some winter squash, kale and these potatoes. Not quite self-sufficient but nice addition to buying food later in the year.

raspberry harvest

Returned from my week's jaunt and everything is doing ok. Well, except the gooseberries - tiny caterpillars have managed to strip them more or less of all their leaves. However, it seemed to have rained enough that everything else looked lush.


It's amazing what difference a week can make. Before I went there were one or two raspberries that looked like they may be ripe soon but today I did my first substantial harvest. A good handful of nice big fruit. Which reminded me to get the last of the frozen raspberries out to use up before a new batch takes their place...

Definitely a month ahead...

A longish post before I go away for a week and everything shrivels up - it's going remarkably well and the garden is a full month ahead.

The evidence: the first raspberries. I checked back over the blog and the last two years the first few ripened end of June/beginning of July instead of beginning of June.

Strawberries also ripening in the pot and I picked a couple - so sweet! I fear however that the snails are getting to them before I will, even the copper tape doesn't seem to stop them.


The squashes, cucumbers and tomatoes are growing well, too, although they could do with more watering. I ended up with three different kinds of cucumbers (lemon, ridge and "Delta Star F1" mini cucumber) alongside my six varieties of tomatoes (the first ones are now flowering). Patty pan squashes are only two varieties, to keep it simple ;)




In the other bit of veg garden there are the curly kale (starting to curl), the beetroot, carrots and leafy lettuce mix (need to remember to pick before it bolts) and the pole beans (getting there but no Jack and the Beanstalk material).




Overall the garden is looking very nice. Very "orderly" - veg on the left, flowers on the right. The level beyond the curved path hides more veg and flowers. Now I do hope that it rains a bit over the next week so it doesn't all die...

Seeds and fruit

Today I did a big clear-up of the garden, making the most of the break in the weather - plenty of weeding, cutting back and general tidying up which made the compost pile grow to enormous proportions. I also harvested some green beans which I left on for seeds and reached over the fence to retrieve a winter squash which had rambled over (the neighbours don't really do anything with their garden so I felt entirely justified).


I already have saved some Turk's Turban winter squash seeds but unfortunately the seeds of the other pumpkin went moldy. I should have spread them out more but I completely forgot about them and I obviously didn't take enough of the flesh off. Never mind, I came face-to-face with the kind of pumpkin it was in the Turkish supermarket round the corner the other day - that's where I must have got the seeds from in the first place. I'll have another go with the seeds from the one above, even though it grew into a slightly strange shape. The beans should be fine, hopefully.

The raspberries are still producing fruit and I am getting slightly worried about them, much like you would with a workaholic friend. You admire them in a way but also you are hoping they'll take a break soon before they wear themselves out. At this rate I will have fresh raspberries for Thanksgiving but I hope they don't decide to give up the ghost next year!

Talking of seeds and fruit, I should really get stuck into the catalogues...it's that time of year.

Nearly packing up for the year

I started to ready the garden for winter time last weekend, by clearing the tomatoes, cucumbers, patty pan, etc which had stopped producing. Most ended up in the compost bin or on my compost heap but then it started raining before I had time to finish. In fact, every time I stepped out, the sun disappeared rapidly. Seasonal hazard, I guess. This time of year everything looks rather bleak.


Only the Welsh onion and some white beetroot remain. The raspberries continue to produce however and I may even get another crop before the weather turns really nasty. Very good variety (Joan J), has seen me through from July to October.


In additional news, I harvested the mystery pumpkin that self-seeded itself. No idea what kind it is, probably I grew it from from a supermarket-bought pumpkin the year before. There is another vine that scrambled over the fence and is bearing some fruit, so if it turns out well I'll just lean quickly into the neighbour's garden and retrieve it (that's allowed, right?).


The other pumpkin was tasty (was turned into lentil and pumpkin stew) but the skin was really really hard. So hard in fact, that I needed a hammer to chop it and I gave up on it halfway through. Lesson for next year - eat it more quickly.

Full-on harvesting

Lots of veg still to be harvested - I haven't really touched the beetroot or carrots, and there is some strange squash that self-seeded itself. In the meantime beans, raspberries, cucumbers and tomatoes are providing lots of tasty treats. I am thinking of making proper, fresh tomato soup which is the best thing on earth. The "conjoined" patty pan I harvested last is now mercifully nearly used up - there is a limit to how much even I can eat of it.

As I was checking over the Turk's Turban squash it came off the vine so I take that as a sign that it is ready :) Looks very pretty and I bet it will be delicious roasted. There is another, bigger one still growing in the garden which I will leave alone for a while longer.

Just realised that I haven't bought any veg other than peppers and potatoes for the last few weeks so that means I am pretty much self-sustaining at the moment. How cool is that?!?

A lot of firsts...

So much to tell. The warm weather has really spurred the plants into action. I may have to edit myself down a bit...

The first raspberry - lots more to come but the first one is always the best. It's amazing that I only looked at it yesterday and it wasn't quite ready yet. Today it didn't last that long - it went straight from the cane into my mouth. So sweet and delicious!


The first pumpkin flowers - not sure if they'll do anything since I'm not sure they'll get pollinated. The tendrils are reaching out and are starting to grow up the chainlink fence, underneath the beans which have suddenly decided to climb up the poles.



The patty pan squash plants have filled out and I can see the first flower buds forming. The herb corner is awash with oregano, thyme, fennel, sage and parsley. There is even some mint - where's the Pimm's?!?

The tomatoes are getting stocky, rather than high. Even the ones that didn't start off underneath cloches have kept pace. Not sure that is good or bad but at least they all have lots of flowers.


The cucumbers are refusing to wind themselves around the poles or string but I'll keep at them. They are round cucumbers anyway so it doesn't really matter, except that they will take up less space if they are growing up rather than out.


And I have ended up with a bucketful of mixed leaf salad! Wish me luck, I will be munching my way through this and another row over the next few weeks - every day...

June rains

The warmth and the recent rains have really moved the garden on from its pitiful initial state. Still not great but getting better. The cucumbers especially appear to enjoy this kind of weather and have had a growth spurt.



The rows of carrots, salad leaves and beetroot are also doing well, surviving the onslaught of slugs. I noticed that a cat has started digging around a bit (or is that foxes?), and on the other bed some stray potatoes are coming through. Still, suddenly I can recognise what the seedlings are supposed to be - and tell them apart from the weeds. Note to self: more weeding needed.


The patty pan squashes are filling out and are complemented by two self-sown ones. The "volunteers" may actually turn out to be be courgettes, or they may be patty pan. Time will tell which is kind of exciting. I have been finding lots of self-sown tomatoes, too - surprising, given how cold it was over the winter. There are some beans now, mixed results on those since as soon as they break through the soil they have their buds chewed off by slugs. Not the most promising year for beans, I have to say.


I am the proudest of my tomatoes and my raspberries. Tomatoes are nicely showing flower buds and are growing at an amazing speed. The raspberries have set fruit and I am hoping for at least one cake out of them (and plenty for the freezer).


Other fruits are doing well, too - I have three (!) gooseberries - ok for the first year and considering the plants came from Lidl - and a few greengages - not as much as last year but it goes in swings and roundabouts anyway. I hope the weather stays like this (sorry folks!) for another couple of weeks and then I am ok with it turning drier.

Dead of winter

Lots of snow this year and cold too. At least next growing season there should be fewer snails and slugs (hopefully).

The garden is mostly shut down. I left some white beetroot leaves out there, not sure if they survive or will be any good. Raspberry canes have been cut down. Plenty of material from guinea pig cage cleaning is being dumped on the beds. The ornamentals look a bit bedraggled but that is to be expected in early January (especially as there are some where frost-hardiness is doubtful; at least I managed to bring my pelargoniums inside).

I still need to go through the seeds which I ordered and that have arrived (rhubarb will arrive for planting in March). There are some items in there which I may be able to start off early inside. I am also contemplating getting a cheap greenhouse, which means I can move things (like tomatoes) outside much earlier. This year I am going to try the individual growing medium, having not had much success with the toilet roll method and also the normal seed trays.

Still haven't had a chance to build myself a better compost bin - lack of light/time and surplus of snow has been against me. As soon as it warms up a little bit I shall try though.

Probably not much happening for the rest of January...

Full of beans

I have been wondering about the right time to harvest my beans. My usual first reference (Pears Encyclopedia of Gardening: Fruit and Vegetables, Roy Genders (ed.)) is not much help on this matter, only giving a reference to haricot beans: "These are grown chiefly for their beans, which should be dried, first by allowing the pods to hang until the weather loses its summer look [...]". This would have been mid-July then (mind you, this is also the book that attributes the decline of growing jerusalem artichokes to the shortage of kitchen staff willing to clean them). I decided to harvest some and see what they look like, the rest I will leave on to ripen a bit more. Also gathered more tomatoes and raspberries.



A slightly puzzling development on the patty pan front - some are looking like patty pans, some of them have the ridges of a patty pan but are more round and green like a zucchini. I think, since they are open-pollinated, I am getting a cross-breed.



Flowers in the garden are providing plenty of pleasure. The solanum 'Alba' is so pretty along the fence and in the back of the garden the cyclamen are popping through the woodruff. If the sun is out, it's a lovely time of year.

my spider sense

Life is hard this time of year for an arachnophobe like me...lots of webs built exactly where I want to wander and water. I am gingerly picking off the tomatoes, avoiding the giant spider that lurks there. A careful sideways approach to the waterhose reel because another spider has used it as an anchor for a thread. I am trying to ignore the one dangling over my head as I step out the kitchen door. I don't even think about dashing out to get some herbs after dark anymore, instead I plan a minor expedition involving a stick to knock down the webs and a torch. I guess they are very useful...but I just don't like 'em.


A few rays of sun are still about. Raspberries doing very well and I am even getting a little Serrano pepper. My bean experiment is nearing the end, there is a substantial amount of dark purple pods which, I hope, will contain black beans.

The Thompson and Morgan catalogue has arrived and I have leaved through it a bit. Disappointing selection of cucumbers but interesting beans. Need to sit down soon and make a list.