Slow down

   What can I say? I just do not know where the last two weeks has gone. Cannot say I have been particularly busy but the short days seem to make time go quicker. So it has been two weeks since the last blog. Apologies for missing a week but looking at the gardening log there has not been much activity in the garden.
   A reasonable number of nice looking butternut and blue squash harvested. The grand children enjoyed picking the pumpkins for Halloween. One nice big one and several small but useful sized ones harvested. Quite pleased with them considering that all I did this year was put seeds directly in the ground instead of starting them off in pots.I have sowed some peas in the poly tunnel. You never know! My nice crop of lettuce had grown to the size of small footballs and have been fed to the chickens. They loved them. There are still some sweet peppers and chili's and I guess they will continue until the first frost. Plenty of beetroot, swede, carrots and spinach! The very last Gardeners Delight (Champeau) were picked and put in the freezer. The garlic planted two weeks ago is up and going well.
  On the animal front all are fine. Herr Jumper ram is being a pest but I have constructed Stalag III and that seems to be containing him for the time being. Plan is to move him out of site of the ewes. The chickens are not laying well and I guess that is partly due to the short days and the fact that they are coming out of their annual molt. 
  I have read that the grass will keep growing until it regularly below six degrees C. Could be mowing grass well into November then! Lots of weeding to do but I sometimes wonder if it is really worth it at this time of year as there is nothing to sow or plant and they will only grow again!
  Below is a picture of the end result of forking ground, sowing, weeding, digging up, drying, peeling and pickling shallots!

Blue squash

Pickled onions