My neighbour severely cut back his old sweet chestnut tree that grows across the entrance to our yard. I had feared we would have poor picking from it this year. While the quantity is down somewhat, the size of the fruit is very good, and I've salvaged enough for some special Christmas dishes. I've lifted a few early jerusalem artichokes - the indications are they have done much better than last year. That's just as well as there is a small queue of people wanting to get their hands on some :-)
I've cut a few sunflower heads for seed, and left some for the birds. Unfortunately I won't be saving any maize this year - the birds, particularly pheasants have been stripping the cobs - there's is not one left on the experimental couple of hundred plants I had growing. The birds have also had a few of the overwintering onions, but there's plenty left and they are growing well. I must weed through them very soon. Something (mice?) has also been eating the white beetroot. I've lifted a few to put in a sand box to keep for replanting next year. With luck I will be able to harvest my own seed next year -beetroot is a biennial. I wouldn't normally bother, but like a lot of the slightly(!) obscure varieties I grow, you can't get organic certified seed. I can get derogations from the Soil Association easily enough, bit it is not ideal.
I urgently need to get my preparations underway for autumn sowing broad beans and garlic, all of which are saved from my own crops this year. I've scythed of a deal of grass, and mixed with the sunflower and maize stalks to start of a new compost heap. Having lost time because of the elections, I've had to use the rotavator - the ground should settle enough for sowing and planting mid November. By then the seed catalogues will be here and I'll be deliberating what delights to produce next year.
À la préchaine
- In the Field
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st_ouennais- 26th October 2008
- In the field
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- st_ouennais
- 10th September 2008
We have been enjoying a decent crop of 'sweet' corn. I grow an open pollinated variety Black Aztec. Its usually used for grinding for flour. The near black cobs produce a blue flour used in mexico for making totilla. Its rather less sweet and more chewy than modern super sweet sweet corn varieties, but we all like it. I put in half a dozen pumpkin plants earlier in the the year, but they really have not performed and we'll be lucky to get 3 decent pumpkins off the whole lot. The jerusalem artechoke plants are looking very healthy and vigorous. I anticipate a good crop there.
I have been having real problems with the tractor/rotavator and have had to start digging beds by hand until someone with better mechanical knowledge than mine can figure out the intermittent and very frustrating problem. Just in time I've enough space to plant out several kilos of overwinter onions that arrived yesterday. If I can keep digging at this rate not only will I have arms like Popeye, but i'll also have the beds prepared for the broad beans to go in next month and the garlic the month after that. I know it probably sounds strange to other people, but this planting of things to harvest for next year always seems the the start of a new year to me.
- In the field again
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- st_ouennais
- 6th July 2008
Well thats the rest of the shallots lifted, and the last of the overwintered broad beans harvested. I am concerned about the garlic. Usually I would expect to lift it at the end of July or early August. However they are already very yellow and a decent size. Shall I wait and get even bigger bulbs, or lift now before there's any chance of them splitting and reshooting? For sure I won't be doing anything to them until we get a dry spell.
We've had the last of our main strawberries, though there wil still be a few of the tiny alpine ones until October. I have started picking the blackcurrants, and the summer raspberries are still coming too. Oh and the damsons are just getting the first faint blush of red colour.
The barley is also changing colour rapidly and the golden heads are starting to turn down. It wil be ripe for harvesting soon. I just hope my replacement part for the broken scythe arrives in time. The heads wave wildly in any decent breeze in a mesmeric wafting shifting pattern. It 's captivating in a similar way to watching rolling crashing waves are down at Grève de Lecq.
Just in time I have this morning found my small packet of yellow carrot seed, to compliment the white ones I already have growing. I've sown some climbing black beans at the foot of the established maize since I don't have enough canes to support them any other way. Shortly I'll be sowing endive, kohl-rabi and leaf beet.
À bé
