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.

A close call

Disaster was narrowly avoided last week when, after forgetting to pay my annual rent on time, the council threatened to evict me from my plot!

After calculating a suitable opportunity during the wafer-thin window that the council offices are actually open, my good wife popped in clutching the cash. There, she was told in no uncertain terms by Clerk No.1 (excessively rude and unhelpful) that we were too late and we had to collect our stuff and be gone by Monday! On hearing this, I went down there myself and had a polite, yet heated debate with Clerk No.2 (excessively jolly but still unhelpful). She, despite not really appearing to know what their own rules were, waved a copy of the allotment agreement in my face and kept repeating the words 'it's a legal document' until I finally convinced her to check to see if I'd been sent an official Notice To Quit (I knew damn well that I hadn't). After a few minutes of panicked searching through folders with Miserable Clerk No.1, Jolly Clerk No.2 came back and promised me that Clerk No.3 (demeanour to be confirmed) would phone me back in the afternoon when she rolled into the office after lunch. This she duly did (turned out to be very helpful and polite, if somewhat abrupt) and I was allowed to pay my rent at last, as long as I could get there between 2.30 and 3.00 and pay cash or cheque only before they closed for the week.

So there we are. Disaster averted, no friends made, I fear.