Mini harvest time

It's the end of October so time to harvest anything tender that's not already been eaten - such as squashes and pumpkins, ready for Halloween. Here's my mighty squash harvest. Not bad for a year's work, eh?



Mini squash.



Hmm, well maybe not. OK so what else? I also brought in the fast-growing French beans I planted in August (total six beans) and the last of my cucumbers, of which there were three, so a bit better there.  The baby carrots I planted in August all have very promising top growth so I am hoping for great things from them, after my maincrop is finished. Speaking of which, I unearthed a handful of maincrop carrots and also a huge block of concrete weighing about 10 kilos. That might explain why so many of my carrots are forked and stunted (careful how you say that). Bear in mind also, this is not the first crop in this bed or the first massive lump of concrete I've extracted. Oh well. Life is full of surprises, as they say.

On the positive side things are still fairly neat and I have managed to get both over-wintering onions and garlic in the ground nice and early. It's been cold, but not quite cold enough for parsnips - I'm waiting for a good couple of hard frosts to sweeten them up. The tops look good, let's hope there's something underneath, not just concrete.

Only one real job for the winter, build the cold frames I didn't build earlier this year, that might have saved my squash plants. Watch this space.

The allotment year begins again

I have decided that October 1st is the beginning of the gardening year. This is because harvesting is pretty much over for the season and it is now time to start planting and preparing for next year. I think I've mentioned on here before, how viewing the autumn as a time for new beginnings turns the seasons around a bit in my head and makes the winter that little bit easier to deal with. Rent was also paid on time this year after last year's fun and games with the local council. Their date for rental payments is something that new plot owners could take heed of. Most people who take on a new plot in the autumn seem to do a little bit of clearing then disappear until the first warm day of May, when they will realise they are already behind and give up.

Having said harvesting is over, I still have carrots in the ground and cucumbers keep on coming (see picture). I've been very pleased with my cucumber harvest, after a bit of a false start the one remaining plant has provided me with a steady supply of tasty fruits that store well once picked. To someone with a busy life who might not get down to the plot as often as they would like, they also have the desirable characteristic that they don't become monsters overnight like courgettes.

Spiny cucumber, plus weeds.

This weekend we had some clear weather and I unexpectedly found myself with a couple of hours to get to grips with the plot. I haven't done anything useful down there for a couple of weeks so was pleased to clear a large section at the front of the plot which had become overgrown, dug it all over, added a bit of compost from the heap and planted 50 onion sets (variety 'radar'). This year I used a nice big spool of sturdy orange string to help make neat rows, although if the birds pull up any of the sprouting sets it's never quite clear where to put them back in.

Next job is to plant some garlic in time for halloween to keep the vampires away. I wanted to get a good French hardneck variety but can't find any in the local garden centres, so I may have to order online or just replant some of my bulbs from storage.