Still too wet but improving!

  What can I say? Very little done over the last week. Too wet. The ground is too wet to do any work on. I have cleared the perennial beds and tried to light a bonfire a couple of times with limited success! Of course, soon as I wrote that the weather has taken a turn for better! Dry, overcast and a cold wind but at least the ground is drying out a bit! I have apples still to pick and weeds that need removing not to mention a vine to prune and bullock hoof impressions and mole tunnels to fill in to mention some of the tasks still waiting to be done and Christmas is around the corner!

Clearing the perennial beds and bonfire

   Unfortunately the farmers bullocks got out of their field and wandered into the garden. Ten or more bullocks weighing probably half a ton each wandering around on saturated turf did not do the ground any good at all! At least I was able to keep them off the majority of the garden but there are some hoof prints in a couple of the plots. Minor damage to the garlic and the rest is just cosmetic. Where they walked on the grass though is a mess and will require some tender loving care in the spring. Man! Bullocks and moles not a good combination.
   Autumn/winter animal husbandry moves on. The white turkey was starting to unsteady on her legs and was being picked on by the others so we decided to dispatch her. After processing we got 6kgs (14lbs) of meat. Next to go will be are old cockerel, Wally2, who is looking his age. One of our chicks who we believe is a cockerel will replace him. Coq-au-vin is on the menu! 
   In the outside veggie garden last of the early leeks and carrots have been pulled. Spinach, fennel, orbis,beetroot, celeriac (small but edible), celery, carrots, leeks, Jerusalem artichokes still available. In the poly tunnel I have planted french shallots (as an experiment) and there is lettuce, cauliflower, kohl rabi, celery, fennel, sweet peppers and herbs. Not a sniff of my Christmas potatoes. What is the betting that they grow straight after Christmas. 

Sometimes the weather works against you!

   Not really a lot to say this week. The weather has really been against me. Wet, cold and on/off rain. The ground is wet and sticky and I really need to leave it alone, however, I had to rescue my over winter onion seedlings so a small patch was hand forked and weeded. Unfortunately I only rescued eight plants! The chickens had struck and eaten/scratched up the rest!
    In the poly tunnel I continue to pick sweet peppers, red and green ones. The end is close though as I am now picking quite small peppers. The kohl rabi is promising and fingers crossed I may get a cauliflower or two come spring. There is some lettuce, winter leaves, coriander and parsley (curly and french). The asparagus is going over inside and outside the poly tunnel. Guess it will not be long and it will be sprouting again! I have top dressed a couple of the beds.
   Outside there are leeks, celery, small celeriac, swede, parsnips, orbis, large turnips, Jerusalem artichokes and carrots to harvest. I will probably dig up the artichokes and use them to expand the bed this year. Depends I guess on how many there are. The garlic and field beans are standing up to the weather just fine. I think I got my garlic in at the right time as at least they had time to sprout before it got really wet.  Runner bean sticks have been taken down and the remaining beans (variety Czar) left gathered, dried and hopefully will be used as "butter beans". The Champion of England pea poles have also been taken down and a few peas gathered for seed. I have been very pleased with this variety of pea and even more surprised that I managed to get a autumn crop off them. I have gathered a lot of windfall apples but there have been so many apples this year. I am now waiting for the trees to loose there leaves so that I can get on with pruning. The plum trees need attention as they had so much fruit some branches broke. The grape vine is now loosing its leaves but very few grapes are being eaten by birds. Last year they took the lot in a very short time. Chickens love them though!
    How I managed I do not know but I got the grass cut! High setting on the mower but least it took the worst off. Several stops to clear out the blade cover of wet cut grass! Hopefully, fingers crossed etceteria no more grass cutting till next spring.

Rain runoff pouring down the road

Water flow down the lane at the side of my property

   

Rain? More like the tropics but not so hot.

    This week continues to be wet. The weather is on the mild side but with lots of showers. This means the ground is still unworkable and although the grass needs cutting I cannot do it! Water is running on the surface of the ground and in places it it decidedly muddy.
    I have at least managed to plant my large bag of narcissus and small bag of english daffodil bulbs. Assuming that the mice do not have a winter feast of them there should be a nice display come next March.

Bottle cloches

    In the poly tunnel the sweet peppers are still clinging on. The peas I sowed are now showing and are covered up with bottle cloches. Other crops in the poly tunnel are fairing well. Kohl Rabi and cauliflower are doing ok. No sign of my christmas potatoes! Hey ho! Another failure at this. Next year I am going to plant early potatoes for christmas rather than second earlies or main crop.

Front to back - celery, fennel, corriander

   In the outside garden the only real work being done is either picking up windfall apples or pulling carrots, swede and turnips! The ground is so wet that to walk on it invites clods of wet sticky dirt on my boots. So, it is left for the weeds and boy they are still growing.
   The final four table chickens have been despatched and processed. The freezer has at least 20 chickens in it!
   Well, I guess what I need to do is to plan where  next years sowings and planting is going. It certainly does not look like I am going to be doing much else for a while!