The autumnal allotment

We seem to have more autumn leaves across the allotment this year than ever before – here they are on the soft fruit area!

All very beautiful and at least that saves mulching the fruit, LOL! Meanwhile the Brussels sprouts are doing okay. I didn’t bother putting any slug doom on them this week as they looked okay really.

The lettuce is still doing us proud – though I’ve taken out the remains of the red lettuce now, this green variety looks unstoppable.

However, the leeks seem to have hit some kind of glass ceiling and haven’t grown any bigger for ages, we don’t think. All very odd.

Anyway, I actually went round and did a spot of hoeing though there’s really not a lot to get rid of – apart from in the sprout cages, but I won’t bother weeding those until we actually get in to harvest the sprouts.

Talking of harvest, this week’s is lettuce and a couple of the (small but tasty) leeks:

AND – BIG drumroll at this point!!! – the yacon (Peruvian ground apple) which K has taken up now. It’s produced far more of a crop than last year (hurrah!) and also has some small tubers which we can use to grow plants for next year. So thrilled about this one, as you don’t even have to cook it and it tastes great. The longer you leave it (within reason) the sweeter it gets. A wildcard substitute for potato, yum!

Have a great Sunday!

Anne Brooke Books

The Composting Queen

This week, K has mulched the bed with the dahlias in – there’s honestly nothing nicer than a newly mulched flower bed!

And I am having great fun making new compost from this and last week’s pruning:

It may not look like much now, but in a while it will be worth its weight in gold, I can tell you!

Anyway, I cut back the rest of the chrysanthemums as they’re all over now, and so our only harvest is lettuce, LOL!

At this rate, we’ll be having lettuce for Christmas lunch too – it’s the healthy option for sure.

Anne Brooke Books

 

 

Winding Down for Winter

Not much happening at the allotment this week, and there’s sadly no flowers to pick for home, so definitely the end of the season. It’s lovely to potter about though.

Still, we did manage to dig up all the gaura and compost it – it’s not good as a cut flower (too much stuff drops off and makes a mess) and we’ve got more than enough at home so there’s no need to replant it. However, I did dig up the crocosmias and replanted them at home – though they’re not a great cut flower, they do look beautiful in the garden.

However, the good news is that the Brussels sprouts are doing well and we’re looking forward to having those for Christmas:

And, of course, the lettuce is still going for the burn and there’s definitely enough to see us through this week!

So, here’s the harvest – which is basically the lettuce and the crocosmias, LOL:

Have a great Sunday!

Anne Brooke Books

Frost devastation

Well, the sharp frosts we’ve had in the mornings this week have certainly ripped through the allotment – no gentle fading into winter here! Here are the poor dahlias:

And the marigolds are a goner …

As is the Peruvian Ground Apple (Yakon) …

Oh dear me! We’ve cut down all the dead things, except the yakon as its harvest is still growing under the soil and we don’t need to dig it up until later. I don’t think the loss of the leaves will do much harm at this stage.

On a happier note, no matter how delicate the lettuce looks, it’s a tough trooper and the frosts mean nothing to it, as you can see!

The leeks continue to grow (slowly!) …

Although maybe the rhubarb isn’t too sure about the weather:

Never mind, you can’t keep a good rhubarb down!

I also planted 100 tulips in a spare bed (where the beetroot used to be – see below) – and this time I’ve gone for the scattergun approach (as beloved of Monty Don) rather than the straight lines I usually favour. It certainly makes planting less dull, and hopeful they’ll be a nice display for the spring:

Once done, K mulched them and then put netting on top to stop the squirrels digging them all up again. Funny how squirrels go for tulips, but leave daffodils alone. Anyway, we’ve used the old sunflower stems to weigh the netting down and hope that will keep them safe:

Here is the vegetable harvest, which consists of some good old lettuce and the rest of the beetroot which we can wash, dry and store at home:

Only chrysanthemums to harvest in terms of flowers this week:

And here they are in the vase:

Have a great week, everyone!

Anne Brooke Books
Lori Olding Children’s Author