Harvesting is in full swing!
We’re having a lot of showery weather. On dry days I’ve been tidying up on the allotment, clearing finished crops, and forking over the vacant ground. The runner and French beans, sweetcorn, marrows
and courgettes have all been cleared away onto the compost and long canes put away in the shed. I’ve still got sprouts, cabbages, turnips, swedes and a few beetroot for harvesting and I’ve planted some more cabbages, broccoli and onions to overwinter. I removed the netting, which had been over the brassica bed in summer to keep off the butterflies, because it’s no longer needed.
Dahlias have been cut down and tubers stored under the greenhouse staging until next spring. I clean off the loose soil, then knock a screwdriver down the hollow stem and out at the bottom, which helps to free any water in the stem. I tie on the label with waterproof string right round the tuber and not just round the stem because the stems shrink when drying and the labels would come off. The tubers are stood upside down in deep trays to dry off.
All the annuals have also been cleared both on the allotment and at home. Canes are examined to make sure they’re still sound, then sorted into sizes and tied in bundles. At home I’ve re-planted my hanging baskets, and some for a friend, with winter and spring plants, mostly from plugs I’d ordered and a few plants from the garden centre. My tubs and other containers have also been planted with similar plants as well as daffodils, tulips and crocus.
Another job I do at this time of year is wash all my seed trays and pots ready for next year. Before the end of the year I’ll also be cleaning my propagating greenhouse. I completely empty it by transferring all the plants to my other greenhouse. I then brush the staging and shelves and spray them with disinfectant and sweep the floor. I have a large propagator and three warming benches consisting of warming cables between layers of sand. These get cleaned too and I put fresh sand in the warming benches.
My highlight
The arrival of my seed orders. I’m looking forward to sowing them next year.