Garden Round-Up

While we have been caught up in our heating drama, autumn has crept up on us outside and suddenly we are into November. We haven’t forgotten the garden though – it hasn’t let us.

Up in the kitchen garden, the sweetcorn was our shock success this year. Last time I mentioned them, they were wearing silly wigs and the corn was just starting to form. We watched carefully over the next few weeks, unsure how we would know when they were ripe. As time went on, it became a race against time – would they be ready before the warmth and sunshine disappeared? As we weren’t sure and we didn’t want to lose the crop, we harvested it in early October. It wasn’t all quite ripe to the ends but what was ready was absolutely delicious. We are converts and will definitely be growing it again.

We also left the cauliflowers with their brand new heads starting to peep through. We have definitely had more success with them this year. Last year we sowed them too late and had nothing to show for it. But we now have several caulis safely chopped and frozen, ready for the traditional Christmas cauliflower cheese. Cleaning them was a nightmare though – the dirt gets into the tiniest cracks and we had to cut them into quite small florettes in order to get them fully clean. It made us wonder about the beautifully white cauliflowers we buy from the supermarket. Where are they grown to be so white and pristine and are they cleaned with a Karcher?

The first frost took us by surprise, although luckily we had already harvested everything which would have succumbed to the cold. We are told that parsnips need a frost before harvesting so we are happy to leave them where they are for now – Christmas dinner is going to be truly great this year! We still have some carrots and plenty of leeks as well. It seems a long time since we had to buy vegetables from the supermarket – and we are loving it.

One thing we may need to buy at Christmas though is potatoes. As you may remember, after the success of our early and mid-season crops, we got a bit over-enthusiastic with late potatoes in bags. “Plant now for Christmas!” proclaimed the packaging. Hmmm, and then again … They flourished in the greenhouse, growing far too quickly and then, when we needed to move the bags outside to catch the rain while we were away, they were hit by high winds and suffered as a result. We harvested the last bag last week and, although what potatoes we got were tasty, they didn’t match the earlier harvests. Next year, we need to try planting a little later and either growing them totally outside or start them outdoors and then bring them in later. Still, it’s all a learning experience!

Another thing we are learning is that the planning and planting never stops. We planted several rows of garlic recently and they are springing up already, ready for us to harvest next year. In the flower garden, the patio pots are full of Sweet Williams and winter primroses, with spring bulbs nestled safely underneath, waiting for the worst of the winter to pass. And the seeds I collected at the end of the summer – poppies, foxgloves and sweet peas mainly – have germinated in the greenhouse and are waiting to be pricked out and turned into plugs. They will stay cosy in the greenhouse through the winter and then be planted out next spring. Well, that’s the plan anyway!

Also in the flower garden, the roses have been an unexpected delight. They flowered through the summer but have had a new lease of life over the past few weeks, even surviving the frost and providing a much-needed burst of colour as the rest of the garden settles into its pre-winter rest. And, best of all, the Pampas grass has survived its haircut and has flowered to bring us pleasure throughout the winter to come.

We are all too aware that we are fair weather gardeners, that the time is rapidly approaching where gardening becomes a quick dash to the greenhouse or planning and dreaming in front of the fire. For now, though, we may have a couple more weeks to enjoy getting out there and to have an autumn tidy up and we intend to make the most of any sunny autumn days we have left.