My little taste of the Med!
The greenhouse is just bursting with brightly-coloured crops
The brief interlude of dry weather over the past weeks has almost brought my autumn work up to date and the ground is prepared for the ravages of whatever winter has to throw at it.
Nevertheless, there’s always something to do out on the plot and when heavy rains start to fall you can always retreat to the dry of the greenhouse. The ‘mood’ in there this month is hot, hot, hot! And that’s not the temperature but the abundance of red and orange colours. Late peppers are aplenty and the brilliant fruits are ready to harvest.
The pepper variety ‘Corno di Toro Rosso’ has finally ripened to red and the mini peppers I saved from my own seed are hanging there in an abundance of orange. It’s difficult to believe these seeds were sown back in February. Even if it’s cold outside I’m greeted by a little bit of Mediterranean in there!
The last cherry tomatoes are ready to be used and ‘Gardener’s Delight’ seems to produce unlimited supplies. Also in the greenhouse, finally giving me crops at last, are my grafted ‘Scorpio’ aubergines. These are laden with fruits and have grown well in a season that’s been somewhat unpredictable!
I make the most of these last remaining harvests before they, too, are banished to the compost heap and the clean up of the greenhouse begins before long.
As the nights cool so the climbing bean harvests come rapidly to an end. The French beans are showing autumnal yellow and brown hues on their leaves and the runner beans hanging on the plants are tough and unusable. So the mass of foliage can be removed and consigned to my compost. This stringy foliage makes a good aerator and its bulk is added to the ever-growing heap! Having strung up my summer onions in the cool shed for autumn and winter use, it’s time to plant some autumn sets. When properly dried, these stored onions will provide a tasty supply up to the end of next April. However, my need for onions in May and early June will hopefully be fulfilled by this autumn planting. I don’t plant them into my slightly clay soil as they tend to rot off during the winter. Instead they’re planted into two half drums filled with a mixture of good compost and well-rotted horse manure. These drain well and are protected by my shed. At the garden centre I bought some loose sets of ‘Senshyu Yellow’, where I could hand pick firm and good-sized bulbs. These are planted just below the surface and then left to their own devices during long winter days!