Luck was on our side this week and the sun was shining at all the right times!  Hundreds of garlic cloves and onion sets have been planted by dedicated planters on their hands and knees…. Even more leaves collected, paths laid, compost heaps turned, and a smoke tree planted near the banana.

The elephant garlic planted by the nursery children has started to sprout.  Growing these will be an interesting experiment as the bulbs have been in suspended animation since last year, with nowhere at the time to grow; they should have been planted or eaten by this time last year, but spent the winter, spring and summer in the fridge to see if they would hang on until now to burst into life.  We shall see around June next year if they have succeeded with their mission!

This is such a good time of the year for things to establish themselves before the winter sets in, and we are awaiting a big delivery of hedge plants and raspberry plants.  Without warning they will arrive in bulk on the doorstep and it will be action stations to get them in the ground before they dry out, as they will arrive bare root, no pots, no soil, but dormant and cheaper!  Although the leaves are gone, the roots will get a chance to cosy down into the soil ready to explode into growth in the spring – that is the theory.

The autumn sunshine enables seeds to sprout, and they have to take their chances.  They are up against the frost, being stood on, or dislodged by the gardeners hoe.  Many seeds have come from the last season’s crops and flowers, they are a free bonus as they can be brought on and established for the next season.  The thing is being able to work out what is an unwanted pesky weed and what is not…. That is a skill, and so we shall have to see what will try to establish itself and if we can manage to, at times, refrain from hoeing everything in sight and allow them to come through!  Picture below shows just how many seedlings are popping through at any one time!

The woolly blankets have been made and drawn over the more tender established plants for winter cropping, and prevents the birds from taking an easy meal.  Protection can be down to minus five degrees, so let us hope we will not have to test that!

What’s next?

• Set out exactly where that hedge is going to go

• Keep collecting fallen leaves

• Protect the sown pea shoots

• Check for any dislodged onion or garlic sets as birds can pull them up

• Check all covered crops for mildew – remove any rotting leaves and weeds.

• Weed the weeds!

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The Wednesday session was busy, leaves got collected, the newly dug area raked over, and some new paths created with wood chips.  The plan is to keep to the pathways, trying not to compact the soil by treading on it, therefore keeping it workable.  We emptied a compost bin onto the plot to be used for legumes (peas and beans), these are the hungriest of the vegetables, and this was our first home made compost!  It seemed like a lot inside the bin, but spread out, it goes nowhere at all, and it will be at least three months until the next of the compost is ready to use.  Luckily we have now been directed towards a possible local supply of horse manure, and if regularly collected and added to our compost bins, will make the dream of a ‘no dig’ policy come true!  Simply add a layer of compost as a mulch, and let nature do all the work, it is magic!

The broad beans got planted, some peas to harvest as pea shoots, and sweet peas for an early flowering crop, but the garlic and onion sets are having to wait for the weather to improve!  Saturday was a complete washout and mainly involved replanting violas that got ripped out of their planting holes by the wind! 

We still have food that can be harvested and has not as yet been eaten by the wildlife.  The sawfly disappeared from the Chinese cabbages as quickly as they came and have left the hearts to mature.  The kale has been giving us leaves for a couple of months now, and an excellent kale lasagne has been made and the recipe shared.  The purple sprouting is starting to show the first broccoli heads which is very exciting, reward for the months of fastidiously removing cabbage white butterfly eggs and caterpillars!

Fingers crossed for a break in the weather next week, so much still to do.  A couple of pictures of the nursery playground have been added below to show how much work the children have done…….looking colourful! 

What’s next?

• Any more wood chips available for the paths?

• Collect leaves for the leaf compost bin

• Plant the onion and garlic sets if the weather allows!

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