Powering on

   OK! I am now reasonably recovered from my illness. Still have a bit of a runny nose and a little phlegm on my chest but most certainly an awful lot better.

Turnip/swede

   I have started to catch up on jobs in the garden. Of course I had to cut grass and if the weather stays dry I suspect I will have one more round of grass cutting to do. I have been sorting out some of the vegetable beds. The turnip/swedes have been thinned and weeded. The carrots have been thinned and weeded. The winter cabbage is looking very good and is well established. Just need to keep the chickens off and the white butterflies away until it gets colder. Just to see what happens as I have missed out on planting Christmas potatoes I have put some turnip/swede plants in the poly tunnel.  I have prepared the garlic bed and planted it with Violet garlic bulbs. Maybe this season they will not get rust. The outside tomatoes are still ripening fruit but the plants are definitely on their way out. So far some thirty eight kilos (approx 84 Ibs)of tomatoes picked.  The pumpkin and squash plants are have now died away leaving a lovely collection of 100 weight and Justynka pumpkins. The butternut squash has been disappointing. The plants were good but the squash did not set well. I think the plants did not like being under the branches of the oak tree, however, buttercup squash has done very well. There are plenty of apples about and I have been busy picking some. I have four varieties in my pantry and still one more to add. I am not convinced that it is worth picking a lot of apples as they do not get eaten even if made into apple mush and put in the freezer. I have also been looking at the quince tree in my neighbours hedge. There is a lot of fruit on it but quince is one of those fruits that I am not convinced is really worth doing anything with.

Bed one of winter cabbage