Autumn sowing and starting to think about next season...

   Knew I had spoken too soon! The chickens have taken a fancy to the Pak Choi and my two once nice looking rows are now hen pecked and with leaves full of holes. The chickens have also taken a fancy to my beetroot and just about all the leaves have been eaten. Man!

 

Waltham Butternut Squash

Hundredweight squash

   I continue to pick and pull a variety of vegetables. The tomatoes are now finished and the final few trays are being processed. I have collected Millefleur and Champion Champeau tomato seed. It is remiss of me not to have got some Latah and Ethel Watkins!.
   Butternut squash has been picked. A good number of squash and a couple of large ones. I also grew some Hundredweight pumpkins to try to have some for the grandchildren at Halloween. Below is a picture of the biggest one. Over twelve inches diameter. There were three smaller ones but each still a decent size.    There has been a massive rain storm which has caused some damage to the garden. Lots of water running off the road, down the drive into the vegetable plots. Soil has been washed away on one side of a bed leaving a deep scar in the earth. Hey ho, such as it is. Upside. The earth is too "sticky" for the chickens to scratch. LOL!
   Once again I am trying my luck with brassicas and I have transplanted a few spring cabbage into a bed that I know grew decent cabbage. So far so good. Most have established ok and I have protected them from the chickens who I am sure would just love to eat them.
   It is a sure sign the season is at an end  and a new season is dawning when you plant garlic and sow broad beans. The garlic is once again a locally bought variety called Violet (100 gloves planted) and this winter I am sowing field beans, variety called Wizard, in preference to the usual broad bean Aquadulce Longpod. Winter lettuce is in (again covered to keep my feathered friends at bay) and White Lisbon spring onions sown to get that early spring crop. The first sowing failed to germinated. This sowing has been affected by the heavy rain so I guess I will be sowing some more later. 
   There are lots of apples on the properties original apple trees. Unfortunately the varieties are unknown. They are not the most inspired eaters so I am turning some into stewed apple and freezing it while also producing apple crumble and the odd apple pie. The apple trees I planted have had mixed results with two trees of five doing quite well. one, Blenheim Orange, doing very well. I fear for my Bramley which really looks a little sad.
   One would really like to believe that the gardening was slowing down. Naaa! The grass needs mowing again, hopefully for the last time this year. We will see.