Fruit, Veg, Flowers and Slugs

The internet will be full of listicles over the coming weeks with present ideas for Christmas. You know the sort of thing: Top Five Gifts for the Gardener. Top Ten Tipples for the Christmas Table. Top Ten Presents for Teenagers. Top Five Presents for DIY'ers etc...................... Now I am no retail expert but I do know what I would like from Father Christmas this year for the garden, providing of course I have managed to make it onto the Good List.  Below is my list. I don't expect you dear reader to purchase me anything, I post this purely to, perhaps, give you an idea of what to purchase the gardener in your life this Yuletide.  1. A new Lawn Mower . I have never owned a cordless mower and think it is probably time I did. I actually quite enjoy mowing the lawn, unusual I know, but if there is one thing that spoils a good afternoon mowing the lawn it is a tangled power cable! 😠 2. Terracotta Pots . I like to think I am anything but a garden snob but if I do have one thing

It was a chilly day down my way Sunday but one of those lovely sunny afternoons which as long as you are suitably wrapped up against the cold is lovely to work in. I dug out the old West Ham woolly hat and a thermal vest and ventured bravely into the cold.  I mentioned earlier this month that the clearing of leaves will be high on the list of jobs in November and as you can see from the photo below I've had a few fall in the garden over the last few days! It might not be everyone's idea of a fun afternoon but once you get going raking-up leaves can be quite therapeutic and gives you a little cardio workout to boot. Okay, it's not like going on a ten-mile run but you can get a sweat on plus you do get a feeling of a job well done when finished.  I decided to cobble together a Leaf Mould bin; as described in the What jobs need doing in the garden in November post it doesn't have to be the most elaborate of structures. As you can see from the photo I have  simply wrapped

It may surprise anyone new to gardening but November can be a very busy month in the garden and it's not just all about raking up leaves; that said, you will be raking up leaves! November is a great time to be planting Tulip bulbs ready for a display next year. I have usually have Tulips in pots allowing me to change displays each year and in truth very few of them come back year after year and those that do often disappoint coming back smaller and not flowering as well. You can get away with it, and I have had bulbs in borders for two or three years in the past but generally you're better off planting new bulbs this time of year in pots for late spring, early summer next year. I often sow Sweet Peas at this time of year in pots, keep them indoors until germinated and then over winter in the greenhouse. This way you get a head start on spring sown seeds and get your first flowers earlier in the season. As yet I haven't actually done either of these jobs, I may not, but prob

The vegetable patch is beginning to look a little sorry for itself now in November. The Green Manure mix sowed a few weeks ago has really shot up, I possibly sowed a little to thickly, but it will do no harm and does at least add some foliage to the plot at this time year and is of course doing a very important job. I mentioned in a previous post how Green manures stop weeds spreading and prevent nutrients leaching from the soil over winter. With the amount of rainfall we have had at times in October I am very pleased I sowed the mix! The plants will be cut down and lightly dug into the soil come spring.  The Runner Bean plants are pretty much done for with the last having been picked at the weekend. They have been brilliant this year, I have bags and bags of them frozen to get me through the winter. I will leave the plants for a week or two as they die down to let the leaves fall off; makes it much easier unravelling them from their supports. All the remains will naturally be composte

The weather was relatively kind last weekend and I was able to get a few hours in the garden and on the veg plot completing a few jobs that were on the to do list.  I mentioned in my last post that I was thinking of clearing the Greenhouse as the tomatoes were coming to an end. That job  has been ticked off the list. The last of the fruit has been picked and all the plants cleared out and composted. It is always a little sad, accepting that there will be no more Tomatoes to come but also strangely satisfying when the job is done and I am left with a clean and clear Greenhouse to prepare ready for next year. The only things left in there now are the Carrots and Spring Onions as part of my winter crop experiment.  The French Lavender has also been pulled-up and composted. I mentioned in a previous post it has sulked for most of this year, it really didn't enjoy the changing weather conditions, and I have replaced it with English Lavender which I know from past experience will be happ

I have sown a packet of Mr Fothergills Green Manure Autumn/Winter mix on the part of the main veg bed that is now empty the French Beans having finished and the leeks thrown onto the compost heap having bolted.  I mentioned in a previous post what handy things Green Manures are. They stop weeds spreading as they grow so quickly, the seeds I sowed had germinated in just three of four days, and prevent nutrients leaching from the soil over winter. Clovers fixes nitrogen in the soil whilst Rye Grass and Mustard improve soil structure - these are all in this particular mix. Green Manures are also beneficial to a number of insects when few if any plants and flowers are around in late autumn and early spring.  The plants will be cut down and lightly dug into the soil come spring prior to the sowing of seeds next March/April.  If you have never used a green Manure seed mix I would highly recommend them.  On the rest of the plot it is all about harvesting and storing at the moment. The Runner

 The Leeks have bolted!  A mini disaster has beset the veg patch with the Leeks all bolting/going to seed. I have had to accept the inevitable and dug the lot up! Each and every one had gone, all forming bulbs rather than nice long slender stems.  Some will say I planted out the seedlings too early, I put them out over the Easter Weekend in early April, but I have done this many times before and all has been fine. I think it is a simple case of the weird and wonderful weather we have had this year with it so unsettled - hot when it would normally be chilly, wet when you'd expect it dry and cold when it should be time to slap on the sun cream!  With the French Beans also basically done I have cleared half the big bed in total, dug in some Chicken Manure Pellets and sown a Green Manure mix over the bare soil.  Poultry manure is a useful source of nitrogen and I also scattered a fair helping around the Strawberry plants as I do every autumn. I will naturally add other fertilisers such