25 Sep - Blazes: It's My New Tiller

When I took on the new plot it was in beds surrounded by scaffolding boards but unfortunately the majority of the boards were rotten and useless. I pulled up the remains and stacked them behind the shed until I could deal with them.

As we've had a spell of dry weather and I've a bit of time, I broke out the old incinerator and had a bit of a fire. The fire burned for hours and darkness eventually stopped play so I'll have to  have at least one more go sometime soon.

I've bought a new tool as you can probably tell from the furrows and ridges in the top photograph. I bought a little Mantis tiller and what a great little tool it is too. It's obviously not designed to break new ground but it's superb at cultivating existing beds. I'm really impressed with it; it's four stroke, easy to start and the tiller went through five and a half of my beds with ease only using half of its tiny fuel tank in the process. It's easy to pack up and carry short distances too, only weighing 12kg - this was one reason I bought it as I decided I wasn't going to store it on site in case of theft.

A short post for the end of the month. I'll leave you with a picture of a jolly red pepper (Californian Wonder) that looks like it's covering it's eyes and poking its tongue out. (Either that or it's pleased to see me). Bye for now.

17 Sep - Carrot Crop & Tidying Up

The weather has turned colder in the mornings but is still warm during the day, perfect for September really. There's been virtually no rain so it's been a good time to dig over cleared areas as the earth is dry on top and damp underneath.

Having harvested all the butternut squash (14 Sep 2014 post) it was time to clear the vines and generally tidy up the area. The squashes have large leaves and do a good job at suppressing weeds throughout the summer - another reason to grow them! Then it was a quick dig over.

I like to give the plot a quick dig after crops have been cleared as it stops the ground becoming too compacted. It's all about making it easier in the Spring when the time comes to plant again; besides, it just looks a bit neater over the Winter.

I took up the last of my carrot crop and took them home for processing and freezing. Some were chopped up into 'rounds' others cut into long thick strips for roasting. I've had a great carrot crop this year, the first time ever - see my post 07 Sep 2014 for the methods, results and conclusions of my carrot growing experiment. Pictured below some examples of my lovely carrots - see you soon.