Beginning of the end?

I had a bit of a shock when I spoke to John last, as I mentioned planting some more radishes, he said, "well, yes, there is just time if we get the right weather." It hadn't occured to me that the growing season is beginning to draw to a close.

Turns out he's right. I'd been so busy with the joys of weeding that I hadn't noticed some of my plants beginning to wane. Half my pea plants have turned yellow, and there's a distinct lack of flowers - I'll only get one more crop off those. The French beans, which have produced a magnificent bumper crop and filled my freezer, are also starting to slow down - again, hardly any flowers and the plants have stopped racing up the canes. My autumn raspberries are starting to fruit, too, it was only last week they were covered in bees.

But of course it's not over yet. I've still got plenty to go - maincrop potatoes are still 4-5 weeks off maturity, lettuces are doing fine as are spring onions and carrots (splitting problems aside). My leeks and parsnips are looking good for the winter too.

So, it's not bad news, just time for a change. That's one of the pleasures of gardening, it's never finished, and there's always something happening or something to do. Soon it will be time to start planting autumn crops again (more garlic - it doesn't seem long ago I planted my first ever cloves!), to learn from this year's mistakes and try something new.