greentapestry : End Of Month View ~ October 2012

Wednesday 31 October 2012

End Of Month View ~ October 2012


A repeat of last October's weather was sadly not on the cards but on the whole the month passed with less rainfall than we have had for several months. In fact we even managed the odd consecutive couple of days without any of the wet stuff! It would be premature to celebrate as with winter not far away the garden and allotment are both absolutely sodden.

Starting with the allotment the good news is that I think that my plot passed muster when it was reviewed - I say think because you do not actually get formal notification to inform you. Anyway no more letters have come my way so I am highly relieved. Hopefully the elements will be kinder to us in the next growing year. I've tidied up bar from removing the debris of the courgettes and sweet corn, which will soon be assigned to the compost heap. I have garlic ready to plant which I'm hoping to get in this weekend. I also plan to sow some broad beans in pots and overwinter them at home before taking them up to plant at the allotment come spring. The two strawberry beds which we cleared are already sprouting forth fresh couch grass growth, so will need to be watched over with an eagle eye. We have decided that two strawberry beds is one too many so will be downsizing. I've been pouring over the catalogues and books making notes of varieties that I would like to grow. I am now at the stage of shortlisting the candidates.

The main jobs to do on the to do list overwinter is to clean and tidy the shed as well as to do more laying down of membrane and wood bark as the original stuff we put down has worn thin. We also plan to some more rabbit proofing - one of the local factories fills skips with surplus plywood boards which are kindly left for the public to help themselves to free of charge. Just right for what we want to do. 

Back to the garden where I'm still debating which trees to plant in the newly created gabion garden area. No orders have been placed yet though so I will need to move sharply to get them planted this autumn. I also need to plant the bulbs which have been arriving in the post as well as occasionally coming home with me. I am determined to get them all in by the end of November. On day last last week I went through all the pots in the cold frames and inspected everything which will overwinter there. I am so glad that I did as in doing so I discovered a myriad not only of slugs but also their beady glistening eggs, which would have morphed into trouble in the spring. Now the plan is to move round the corner and tackle the greenhouse which is a job that I would prefer to do on a dry day. 

If I stand at the back of the greenhouse in one direction I look out at the ash tree, which you can see part of in the above photo. We inherited it when we moved here and reckon that it is probably at least 60 years old and and at least a good 60 feet tall. As well as providing shelter for birds and other wildlife it provides us with a good degree of privacy from the neighbours behind and above us. Both Veg Plotting and Wellywoman have recently written excellent posts about the ash tree fungus disease, which already present in Europe, has now been identified affecting ash trees in East Anglia and which could potentially threaten up to eighty million ash trees in the U.K. I am sure that there will be many people keeping a close vigil over their ash trees in the coming months. I will report back here on the state of our tree.

On a happier note I am sure that there is much good news to share, plans in the making and great new plantings in over at other 'End Of The Month Views', kindly hosted each month by Helen over at ''The Patient Gardener's Weblog'.

9 comments:

  1. Well done to find the slug eggs! It is incredible how they hone in on new plants in the cold frame or greenhouse. You’ve had a very busy month, I’m glad to hear others have a compulsion to buy and plant bulbs. Christina

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  2. Glad to hear that the allotment inspection went well, now you can make plans for next year without having that niggle at the back of your mind. After growing broad beans for the first time this year, I've also decided to get some growing in pots ready to plant out in spring. The rest of the beans were a bit of a washout this year so I was pleased that I had a go at them. I'm looking forward to hearing which trees you decide on for the gabion area, I suppose there's so much to consider when planting trees as they'll be with you for some time.

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  3. Pleased to hear that all is fine with the allotment. At least you can move on now and make more plans on what to do next there, which should be nice. So much to do for everything else but getting these activities done in the next few weeks can keep you nicely preoccupied for a lot of the cold months, and come spring you're nice and ready to get started with rest of your plans.

    Weather October last year was so lovely wasn't it? Especially compared to this year. Roll on spring!

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  4. It's a good thing you found the slug infestation before they proliferated. I rarely used to get slugs in my garden, but over the last few years they have become more of a problem.

    Planting bulbs will be a lot more fun than dealing with invaders, as will choosing new trees.

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  5. I am determined to get my bulbs in by the end of November too. There was a really interesting review of strawberries on the Great British Food Revival couple of weeks back including a tasting, it might be worth watching

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  6. You still have your allotment, hurray :)

    I too have bulbs to plant, plus garlic and autumn onion sets - which will become winter onion sets if I don't get a wiggle on ;)

    Thanks for the mention Anna - I've added news of a phone App that's available since you last commented. Looks like any news of the disease spreading will happen quite quickly!

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  7. Good to hear you passed your Allotment inspection - good luck with the rabbit proofing. Not a problem to be welcomed in the veg garden.
    The slugs have been terrible this year and we rarely had a problem with them before this wet summer. I also had to remove numerous snails and slugs from inside the greenhouse while I was preparing it for my tender plants to go in.

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  8. I'm interested that both you and Jo are growing broad beans in pots over winter ready to plant out in spring - I thought they could go straight into the ground? I sowed mine in early spring this year and they did very well but it would be nice to have an even earlier harvest! Your to do list sounds like mine - I was going to garden today but wimped out when it got too cold! Excellent news about your allotment, especially at this time so you can plan. I'm on the list for a tiny little 'allotment' garden at the back of my flats but the wait goes on - I just need a little safe haven for a greenhouse as the gardens that I manage are public and therefore prone to small boys with footballs!

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  9. It is a good thing you found those slugs and their eggs. That is one pest I consistently battle in the garden. Rabbits are one as well. We have been successful in keeping them out of the veggie garden. Wish you the best of luck on that.

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All your comments are much appreciated and treasured. I wil try to reply to everyone who leaves a comment, but it may take me a few days, especially when I start spending more time in the garden and at the lottie. I know that you will understand :) I am sure that I will also visit your blog if I have not already done so. If you have any specific questions I will either reply to them here or you can email me at : thegreentapestry@gmail.com

Namasté

- Anna.