Martyn was pronounced fit to drive last week and so we can now get to the plot under our own stem and do a bit of catching up. There are still lots of medical appointments to negotiate but at least these don't involve a long, (time-wise not distance-wise) bus journey. We have had appointments at three different hospitals and so have had plenty of chance to practise learning bus routes. Hopefully we can fit Plot visits around medical commitments and the weather.
We managed a couple of plot visits at the weekend. Although our harvests are becoming sparser we are still bringing home a few things.
There were some things that I wasn't expecting to still be in evidence in mid October.
The sweet peas were still flowering. Lots of the flowers were past their best, no doubt due to irregular picking but I did manage to pick a small posy. I can't remember having flowers so late in the season before.
Another surprise was that the Cupid strawberries are still setting fruit. One berry looked red and juicy but when I picked it the underside had been enjoyed by a slug. I dare say the ones below will suffer the same fate.
At least we had a few alpine strawberries to enjoy.
Saturday's gathering was quite meagre compared to previous harvests.
| Saturday 14 October |
Over the weekend we cut a couple more red cabbage. They have done really well this year, the one above went to my sister and the one below to one of our plot neighbours, Sarah.
One type of berry that I always have difficulty deciding when to harvest is the cranberry. We have two container grown plants growing either side of the door to our plot greenhouse.
Often one plant fruits better than the other. This year it was the turn of the one on the right. As the berries were beginning to fall off the plant, I decided to pick them.
The shallots below had actually been harvested a while ago and were waiting in the plot shed until storage space became available at home. We decided to bring the remaining sack of shallots and another box of onions back from the plot and these are now added to the Summer House residents. Not only does this mean they are more readily accessible but the conditions are drier than in the plot shed.
Sunday we managed another small harvest.
| Sunday 15 October |
The plot greenhouse tomato plants were picked over and we harvested more wonky carrots. This year has definitely not been the year of the carrot as far as we are concerned.
The squash plants had died back revealing their fruits and so it seemed a good time to harvest the Crown Prince squash.
These were left in the plot greenhouse to start curing. When space becomes available these too will be relocated to the summer house. Our summer house doubles as a vegetable store throughout winter. I always cut a piece of vine and leave this attached to the fruit. Not only does this act as a carrying handle, but it also prevents moisture collecting in the hollow stem which can lead to rot. There were only five Crown Prince but that is plenty for us.
We have continued to harvest a few things from the garden. The spring onions had become over-sized but as they were needed for cooking this wasn't a problem.
The peppers in the garden greenhouse are ripening slowly. This means that, if the slugs don't get there first, we can use them as needed straight from the plant.
We pick some watercress nearly every day. It seems to relish the conditions in our garden pond and is still looking green and fresh. Other than having to curtail its enthusiasm it is proving to be a very easy crop.
Our total harvest for October so far is listed here
As usual I am linking to harvest Monday hosted on Dave's blog Our Happy Acres
