Grass pathways still growing out of control and having to cut regularly...due to good rain and sunny days...still some heat in that sun! Would love to replace grass with gravel, but seeing as the patch in its current state is only temporary, I shall persist.
Finally removed tomato plants and hung from eaves of potting shed to ripen...plenty of green tomatoes remaining. Don’t want to waste any of these jewels. Prepared soil with compost ready for next crop.
Planted up the last of the beetroot seedlings...not sure if they’ll do any good, but would otherwise be thrown in the compost. Have beetroot at three stages: seedlings transplanted when we moved here in September, some planted in March and today’s. Crossing fingers for those planted over the last month.
White butterfly has been busy laying hundreds of those tiny yellow eggs on the undersides of my precious broccoli, cabbage, mini cauliflower and bok choy. Have been very committed to my morning ritual of strolling through the patch with my cuppa...stopping to pull the odd weed, but more importantly squish those plump, green caterpillars doing damage to my winter greens.
Harvesting leeks as needed in our own culinary efforts, as well as for friends cooking up tasty autumn soups. Starting to thin them out...transplanting smaller plants to the new garlic and onion bed (previously corgettes, cucumber, comfrey and coriander). What a bumper crop I’ve had after the original plants flowered and divided. To think I was planning to dig them up and compost those flowering leeks with their woody stems!
Transplanted a few self-sown seedlings of creamy californian poppies, white cosmos and the lovely yellow common marigolds...all are in wonderful harmony with the white and pinks of the ever-blooming paper daisies. Coriander and silverbeet have also recently popped up on their own.
Strawberries going mad...they’ve been thickening up, putting down runners and are, for the second time this year, flowering profusely with lots of green fruit developing. Not sure how much fruit we’ll get as the weather cools, but I’ve got my eye on any starting to colour.
Broad beans are coming along nicely. Need to select strongest plants and transplant others...but where to? Hmmmm....
