New season gets underway!

   Seems to me that before the old season ends the new one begins! Garlic and broad beans are showing and will be in good stead for next spring.

 Broad beans sprouting

   In the poly tunnel the last of the basil has been removed. Charmette peas are up. The "rescued" fennel is starting to produce new leaves so I am hopeful to get something. I have taken advantage of a couple of mild day and the availability water from the water butts to wash down the poly tunnel inside and out. I had to use my floor mop to get to top of the tunnel! I have abandoned my experiment with spring cabbage and bottle cloches. Out of twenty one seeds only nine germinated into anything reasonable. Those nine have been moved to the poly tunnel.  Sweet peppers and the chili are still producing and the Christmas potatoes continue to thrive. I have constructed a framework for the fleece cloche over the potatoes which I have no doubt will soon be needed. My white sage and bay tree, both in a pot, have been moved to the poly tunnel.
   The fennel outside has been all but destroyed by the chickens! Moss curled parsley is well established and ought to stand the winter. The grass continues to grown and I have had to mow it once more. Hopefully there may only have to be one more mowing before I can stop until next year. If it remains mild then maybe not. I have now picked the few apples I had on my late fruiting apple tree but those that there were are large and bug free. I have also picked all the remaining grapes probably a little late if truth be told.

Butternut squash crop

   This years crop of carrots has not been good. Lots of carrots but they have been small. Guess I need to sow earlier and keep the chickens off and investigate as to why they have been so small.

Not so much gardening but a little work in the kitchen

  This is going to be a short entry as it has been a very quiet week on the garden front. The short days and the weather have made doing very much outside very difficult. Mind you on the couple of days that were sunny I entertained the youngest grandson, Toby! Ha! Still, I managed to pick some apples from the neighbour's tree and collected up the butternut squash to put into winter storage. We continue to enjoy the buttercup squash. The garlic is now up so hopefully the chickens will leave it alone!
   So, leaving the garden behind we have been collecting sweet chestnuts. It is a great year for them. They are big and the recent high winds have brought them down and are therefore easy to collect. That means I have made sweet chestnut stuffing for Christmas and I have also made a sweet chestnut truffle cake! The truffle cake was excellent and despite the pain of have to peel the sweet chestnuts I expect to make it again.
   In the poly tunnel the Christmas potatoes continue to grow well. I will need to cover them up soon as the first frost cannot be that far away. I have sown spring onions to overwinter and the "18 Day" radish are up and looking like they will be the best radish of the year! Man! I continue to crop sweet peppers,  green, red and orange! The chilli pepper is still alive and there are a few more yet to pick.

Sweet Chestnut and Apricot stuffing

Sweet Chestnut Truffle Cake

Autumn bites.............

   It finally rained! After a week or so of fine sunny days with a little cloud the weather broke and it got cooler and it rained. The rain was very welcome and will keep the plants albeit slowly, growing on. 
   I am starting to find lots of tomato plants popping up! I guess that shows how warm it has been. These plants are from tomato's that got dug in or had been missed when clearing them. I have gathered some up but of course as soon as soon as there is a frost they will be done for. Looking back over the last week I have not seemed to have done much. Some weeding and forking and I have picked and cleared the last of the Gigante runner beans and laid them out in my porch to dry. In the poly tunnel I have removed the last of the African marigolds and forked and manured the ground. I have sown in the poly tunnel coriander, petit pois and some radish. My Christmas potatoes continue to grow well and I need to watch out for the possibility of frost. Peppers and lettuce are still being picked/pulled!
   There is still plenty of clearing up to do and of course there is the regular tasks of clearing out the chicken and turkey/geese coops. I am considering planting some broad beans but they are not the most popular of vegetable with the family. If I do I will not sow the field beans again as a crop to eat. They had shown promise and in the end were a disappointment. Back to an old favourite Aquadulce. I have done some research on field beans and they can be used as a green manure. So, I have a use for the seed I have!

Justynka pumpkin

 Walthham butternut squash

Indian Summer

   The last week or so has seen what I guess would be called an Indian summer. The mornings have been cool and most of the day sunny and warm with the odd day of rain. Grand growing weather and good working out in the garden weather. Only problem is life gets in the way!
    In the poly tunnel my Christmas potatoes have shown their heads! Will this year be the year of the Christmas potato? Sweet peppers continue to ripen as do the chillies. The few lettuce are growing well as is the latest batch of salad bowl lettuce. It has not been a good year for drying herbs in the poly tunnel, too damp. 

Water Melons

   In the vegetable garden water melon have been harvested and eaten! Yum! Carrots are being pulled and there is a marked reluctance to eat anymore aubergine! Beetroot are also being pulled. The first picking of  the Asturian tree cabbage has been made. Not a bad taste, very much like "spring greens" but not so strong tasting.  My daughter said it took ages to cook. The grass continues to need mowing and I am starting to look at the apple trees with a view to cutting out dead wood. Bulbs are on my mind but the area I need to plant them in is going to need some work first.
    The chickens continue to be a menace despite whatever I do to keep them off the plots. Latest casualty has been my fennel and the row of carrots along side them. Would not have thought chickens would like fennel. My garlic bed has been gone over a couple of times now.
   I am trying an experiment with Louvier cabbage seed. I have sown individual seeds and put plastic bottles over them. This is to aid germination and also to keep those feather menaces from eating the seedlings. The idea is to get the plants to a size whereby they will stand the winter and come next spring produce a spring crop of cabbage. Worth a try. The turnips, swede and winter cabbage are now picking up from the chicken strikes. I have covered them with netting. Fingers crossed I may get a turnip or two but I am doubtful about the swede. The cabbages will do something whatever. They are big enough now to stand the winter.

Will it? Will it not?

   Rain that is? As I sit typing this the clouds are rolling in, dark, black and forbidding! Looks like a storm is about to hit. Time will tell. I need it to rain as my water butts are now all but empty. If it does not rain I will have to get out the hose and pump water from the well!
   I guess the weather got to me. It took me far too long to weed and fork over one my vegetable beds. Yes, it is probably the biggest one in area but even so it is not hard digging. I guess I should put it down to the nice very warm sunny days and the desire once it did get warm to stop and enjoy! Ha!. Still, done now.
   The chickens continue to play havoc. I have now covered up my winter cabbage, Kohl Rabi , swede and turnips in an effort to allow them to grow a little. Of course, I made the mistake of leaving my lettuce bed exposed and yes you guessed it the chickens moved in before you could say "Jack Robinson". Oh well, I have to think that the eggs will be rich in Omega 3 and it is just another way of cycling the lettuce. Ummph! Bl**dy chickens! The fennel row is looking good. Thinned it out and hand weeded around the plants. Should be a good crop. Chickens do not seem to like fennel. Famous last words. Autumn carrots look good but you know who have taken an interest in the tops. I have for the third time resowed spinach. This time I have put cloches over them! Lots of weeding and forking done. The summer "yellow" leeks are ready to harvest. First try of the "pop" corn. Not good. Think I will leave some to dry and then try it.  Cooler weather means more work completed! Lol! 
   In the poly tunnel nothing new has happened. The basil is coming to the end of its usefulness and will soon be removed or allowed to go to seed. Sweet peppers and the chilli's are still looking good and are producing more flowers. I guess they will carry on until it gets too cold. 
   Oh, it did rain. One butt filled.

   

Weeding and forking the small triangle bed

   

   

Do not say it...

   The weather has continued to be very warm with cool mornings. Trouble is with this type of weather I want to enjoy it but there is work to do!
   Despite the fact that the melons seemed to have died off too soon and did not appear to be ripe I managed to get a reasonable number to finish ripening in my porch. So all in all a decent amount of melon was had.
   The first buttercup squash has been eaten. Very nice too. I would recommend this variety as a very worthwhile alternative to butternut squash. The texture of the squash after cooking is very much like a sweet potato as is its taste. My daughter, Sophie, I know is going to enjoy experimenting with this squash.
   So, what has been going on in and around the garden. Lots of forking, weeding and grass cutting. The local wood provider has delivered a load of wood and that has now been stacked in the hanger ready for the cold weather which is sure to arrive sooner rather than later. With this sunny warm weather I have been gathering the Gigante runner beans and Bollotti beans as they have ripened and getting them dried off. There is quite a reasonable crop. The aubergine crop continues to be good and I still picking some haricot vert and pulling carrots. The sweet peppers California Wonder and orange Mini Belle in the poly tunnel are still growing and producing as are the chillies. Once more I am trying for Christmas potatoes but I think I have planted them a little late. Oh yes. The garlic has been planted. With hindsight I looked back at my last years log and I have planted the garlic about a month early. Instinct kicking in? Umm. As a matter of interest as I was clearing and forking over last seasons garlic plot I came across some that I had not dug up. The bulbs has good root growth and good leaf growth. Umm. Sign of a hard winter?

Buttercup Squash

Buttercup Squash

A little late but welcome all the same

   Over the last week the weather has taken a turn for the better. The mornings have been cool and the air crisp. The days have been sunny and very warm. Excellent weather for working in the garden and by George there is lots to do! You can tell autumn is upon us here in Champeau as the grapes are ripening. Who gets to them first? Me or the birds?

   It is about time to plant garlic. After last seasons excellent crop I will take bulbs from my own home grown garlic. Just need to make up my mind where I will plant them.
   Once again there is a need to clear out the weeds from the strawberry beds. The Mara des Bois plants have loads of flowers on them and hopefully, slugs, chickens, mould etc. permitting there should be a reasonable autumn crop.

Mare des Bois strawberries September 2014

   I have completed my digging up of my wonderful crop of potatoes. This warm sunny weather has been perfect for this task. I have also dug up some of the "volunteer" Violet potatoes and there is a lot more of these to find yet! So, Belle de Fontenay, Rosebelle, Desiree and Franceline all produced well. I do like the Belle de Fonenay and the Franceline varieties. Aubergines, variety De Barbentane, are producing a very worthwhile crop. The fennel I sowed is up and growing madly.  I have sown some turnips, variety Nancy a Feuille. The swede plants are growing away and the winter cabbage is well established and also growing well. The outside cucumber, La Diva, has now gone over. It has been another good year for this variety. This year has been an excellent one for squash. My buttercup and butternut varieties have produce well and again with this warm weather they are ripening perfectly.
   With the drier weather I have been able to "bush whack" a paddock that has been needing cutting for some time. Good job done! The grass is definitely slowing down as is the weed growth. About time!

Butternut squash

Buttercup squash