Early October

Early October and the weather is defiantly on the change, after a mild September the nights are now getting cold (3 degrees last night) and pretty soon it will be too dark to visit the plot on an evening.

The plants seem to have noticed the change too –all the flowers have started to get past there best, soon I’ll be pulling up the Runner Beans, the last of the lettuce which has gone to seed will be going on the compost heap, remaining toms will be harvested and the greenhouse given a good clean out.

I’ll still have Swede, leeks, sprouts, cabbage and parsnips in the ground through the winter, and the Japanese onions, shallots, garlic and spring onions on the grow. The remaining beds will be manured (with the exception of my onion bed) and it will be time to do some general maintenance and planning in preparation for the spring!




As you can see, little shed has now gone to pastures new. It was emptied on Saturday and shifted Sunday morning before I got to the plot. Apparently it took 5 blokes to lift it, still built, and move it about 3 plots down. After remembering how heavy it was when we originally moved it to the plot I've gotta admit that I was quite glad I wasnt about to do the obligatory `helping out`!

With the chilly nights and a risk of frost we decided to hack through the Pumpkin plant, and put what fruits we had in the greenhouse... despite high hopes for monster Pumpkins too heavy to carry after adding trailers full of manure to the bed this seemed to be the biggest we got! Not a record breaker, but undergardener was still impressed, and after a couple of weeks in the greenhouse we might even be able to carve it for Halloween


Set of secatures and five minutes later the pumkin bed was no more. The soil texture in this bed is lovely now. I used to call it the `weedy` bed, as it was full of crouch, but it looks like a good couple of inches of manure, combined with the dense foliage of the plants has blocked out enough light for the year. I think this will just have a light forking over, be covered with manure again, then I'll grow some early potatos followed by leeks next year



Back to my new shed - despite moving everything from little shed into new shed I still seem to have loads of space! Ive put some of the staging from the greenhouse in, and also two shelves down one side. Just need my old camping stove and kettle in there now for winter warming cups of soup/coffee!



The remains of the compost heap I moved to fit the shed in stacked up next to the greenhouse. Not too sure what I'm going to do with these yet! There a little too large to fit into the back of the car and take to the tip, and out local one wont let you take large trailers in! I might try to break some up to use round my beds, although from experiance the majority just break into fire wood! Still though, I'm sure I read somewhere that wood ash is good for onions?????


After emptying the compost out a couple of weekends ago the bin in now full again. Last weekend I gave the front garden at home a good tidy up, this was a pic before the pumpkin went in.... its now overflowing!!! At least with everything being added at once it should heat up nicley and start to drop over the winter.



Out the front of the greenhouse now all flagged, just need to put some cement round the edges - should help keep my feet clean in the wetter months...



... then the path goes up the middle of the plot to where the shed used to be...




...heres the old shed base and patio. All these flags need lifting, and I'll probably try to get my path to go round to the door of the new shed. all this will then need digging over, and boarding round for a new bed. I'll have to move my herbs though, and I dont have any space for them anywhere else at the minute! I'll also need somewhere for my bench by the shed... and another water butt.... hmmm... to think I thought this plot was massive when I first viewed it covered in weeds a couple of years back!!!!

Only problem with this area (which is why the shed was put there in the first place) is that the ground is infested in crouch grass, growing in from next door! One of my neighbours (brian) suggested I built a pen and put some chickens here (donated by him) or rabbits (also donated by him!) ... nice thought, but I cant garentee getting to the plot often enough to look after them properly!

Still though - this will be something to keep me busy over the next couple of months!

And finally.....



... Undergardeners Sunflowers which he sowed back in April direct into the soil have finally opened... if you click on the pic you can just about see him giving the `thumbs up` hiding behind them!!! Think his smile is down to the fact that his have lasted longer, and grown taller then mine did!!!