22 Nov - First Cold Snap Of Winter

We've had such mild weather throughout the Autumn though it's turned increasingly wet over the last week or so with heavy rain, making the allotment site very boggy. The main cause were two storms which hit the country; the remnants of hurricane 'Kate' swept across the Atlantic and was quickly followed by a storm called 'Barney'. Both contributed to the high winds and heavy rain.

This weekend has seen a dip in temperatures however. Overnight Friday/Saturday saw a dusting of very light snow up on the mountain and today (Sunday) saw a decent frost on the local cars and patches on the allotment site.

There's still a few things to get from the patch. I'm getting two eggs a day from the Rhode Island Red and the Light Sussex chickens, the Warren is currently moulting and the Cream Crested Legbars are still too young - no eggs from them at the moment. The sprouts are not as good as last year but there are some swelling on the stalks; the parsnips are nicely formed in their pre-drilled holes, there's still plenty of Sarpo Mira spuds, squash, onions, kale and leeks too. 

With a nod to next season, I've been shopping online for seeds which have now arrived. I've a decent range of things to grow for the 2016 season and I'll be listing everything in a separate post.

Bye for now.

1 Nov - Pumpkins & Sprouts

Things are certainly winding down now though this season's pumpkins had their spot in the limelight yesterday on Halloween. I grew two variates, Big Max and Jack O' Lantern. The JOL was grown by accident really as I saved some seed from a hybrid squash last year and it developed into one of the parents.

My wife always carves the pumpkins and she informs me that the Big Max was much easier to cut and carve than the JOL. The texture of Big Max was much softer and took mere minutes to clean out. This year she carved a 'Green Man' pumpkin and a 'Village Idiot' pumpkin (no idea where she got the idea for that one from!). (Pic - above 'Green Man', below, 'Village Idiot').

As can be expected, not too much happening on the plot at the moment. Nevertheless, I've started picking Brussels Sprouts and managed to get a small handful for a 'taste' this Sunday. The variety is Trafalgar F1 but unfortunately they aren't a patch on the Bosworth F1 I grew last year. The plants are much smaller and have been slower to develop; it'll be Bosworth next season.

I've dug up my Gladioli flower bulbs and they are currently drying out in a bucket. When the stalks die back I'll give the bulbs a quick brush to remove the earth and they will get stored for planting next spring. There's a bit more weeding to be done and a few more strawberries to thin, otherwise things are pretty settled for the Winter. 

The weather has become misty over the past few days making the days rather dull and dank. Of course, the clocks have gone back too so it's dark at 16.45 pm, all very tedious and depressing. Ho hum, I suppose that's the British weather for you. See you next time.