Entries from October 2007 ↓

It has been a topsy turvey year really for growing things.

This was my Delphinium this week

This is the third time it has flowered this year. I am worried they wont have enough energy for next year. I said that last year when they flowered twice, so I guess I shouldn’t worry that much.

Anyone else have strange stories to tell?

I have left the grass this year as it is too late to mow again. It has already grown more than I thought and I am now contemplating getting the mower out again.

Well, it’s the end of the season now and most things I had been growing have finally given up for the year.

These runner beans for instance were the last of their kind. I let them grow so I could collect the beans for next years plants.

As you can see there were not many left on the plant. Runner beans are good nitrogenators of the soil. So they will put back more than they use. Next year I will move them to another patch so they can add to the soil there.

I took these picture a little while ago as I let them grow on a bit.

The rest of my day at the plot was spent getting rid of weeds and clearing some of the ground by using weed killer on it. It shouldn’t do any harm to the crops next year.

I noticed that some of my fellow plot holders had bought in piles of manure. One had a huge pile that could have covered the whole plot an inch deep! I thought that was a bit over the top as you really only need to dig in some manure closer the the season. I will get mine from a friend and of course I have the spent hops from the brewery as well. These I will be variously holding on to or digging in as and when I plant. Some vegetables cant be planted with manure as it burns them, so that does need to be dug in ahead of time, but mostly they love a good bit of horse dung to start them off.

I didn’t see anyone at the plot yesterday, so I guess they have all been during the week – lucky them to have the time really. Some of us still have to work 9 to 5.

The winter sprouts are doing well, buds have formed and should be good at Christmas and beyond. Also the parsnips and swede are doing well.

I finally took down my tomatoes and put the last few on the windowsill to ripen. We have had a bumper crop this year and I have frozen quite a bit for later use. I have also been using them for my lunches in the week and in any cooking I do. You cant beat home grown tomatoes for flavour, especially when used with home grown chiilies. Although I didn’t get a bumper crop of those – for obvious reasons – there are still a good few and of course, last years dried crop have lasted as well.

I went to check on the plot today as it was on the way to work and I haven’t been since the weekend and wanted to check on my handiwork.

I noticed that the strawberries were doing rather well. They have put their runners out everywhere and although I have plotted some of them up, I have left some of the rest to just root where they fell.

This shouldn’t be much of a problem and will thicken out the bushes, while still allowing for easy access.

I did have to pull a few up that had found their way into the plot next door.

We had a large crop this year, but I’m expecting a bumper crop next year.

Well, it looks as though the summer has come and gone for this year.

I went up to the plot to weed a bit and harvest some more swede for supper.

I noticed the Limnanthes were still flowering, which is odd given that they are supposed to be there at the beginning of the season to hold back white fly and so on.

This is what it says on the Fothergills website:

“The Poached Egg Flower is one of our earliest, and showiest annuals. Its cheery saucer-shaped yellow flowers are edged with white, and borne above fresh, pale-green leaves. Attractive to bees, it is also a very useful winter flowering pot plant. Grows to a height of 6in. (15cm) and a spread of 15in. (38cm). Hardy annual.

Flowers: June – August”

Early? August! I think not!