The last week has seen poor weather with cool temperatures and long periods of heavy rain. I suppose you could call it a typical Bank Holiday in August! Luckily there has been the odd sunny break and I've been able to get on with a few jobs on the plot.
Firstly I decided to check on the parsnips; as I planted more this year than last season I thought I'd dig one up to see where we are. The blighter put up a fight but I eventually got one out of the ground with the minimal of swearing. Quite chuffed actually, they are looking good and there'll be another two months before I start taking them properly so plenty of time to put on a bit more growth. They should be a decent size by the end of Autumn. (Pic - first trial parsnip - picked 2 months early but a good size nevertheless).
Well, as I hinted in my last post, my cauliflower experiment has gone to pot! The plants were firmed in well, grew strongly, I ensured that they were watered regularly but, they still formed little florets which bolted to flower. Oh well, win some, lose some! Maybe I'll have another go next year with a couple.
Still, this has given me the opportunity to tidy up the brassica bed. Out went the cauliflowers; along with them I picked the last of the kohl rabi which has been very successful this year - I've still got a load prepared and stored in the freezer. (Pic - kohl rabi - variety White Vienna).
I've added a bit if granular fertilizer to the sprouts and kale, both looking a tad small to me but, there is still time for them to grow larger yet. There are sprouts developing on the stalks so I'm pretty sure we'll have something by Winter. There are still a few summer cabbages left too; they look a little untidy but that's just the outer leaves, the heads are heavy and solid. (Pic - brassica bed weeded and tidied up - sprouts in the foreground; a few summer cabbages, kale, and carrots under cover in the background).
Thanks to Croesyceiliog & Llanyrafon Community Council, we had some funds this year to buy and repair tools. We finally managed to track down a part for our broken strimmer which arrived this week so I was able to cut the grass around my plot.
I consider August Bank Holiday a high-tide mark in the season - it's an opportunity for many plot holders to put a few hours in at the allotment. Crops are harvested, the ground is weeded and turned over, grass is cut and things are put into some order because, from now on, the season is beginning to wind down.
Autumn is just around the corner, yes we will hopefully have some fine weather ahead of us with warm days still to come but, the evenings and mornings will start to get increasingly chilly and more and more allotment beds will become empty. It's a time for blackberry picking and wine making, storing harvests and picking tree fruit. I love the approaching time of year, it's fantastic, lets hope we have some fine weather to enjoy it.
See you next time.
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