Things To Do

Apologies for the silence - I've been fighting a horrendous cold, which has kept me out of the garden, uninspired in the kitchen, and generally unable to do very much at all. (I always seem to get these things ten times worse than anyone else - especially since a spot of bronchitis a few years back scarred my lungs.) I'm getting waaay behind in the garden and allotment now as winter approaches, and the list of things to do is getting longer and longer!

• Plant out broccoli, kale and spring cabbage plants - I picked some young plants up in Homebase.
• Buy, and plant, overwinter onions and garlic - I've never manage to autumn-plant before and I'd really like to try this year.
• Sow spinach and winter salad greens.
• Sow overwinter carrots and onions - it's probably too late for this now, I'm not sure...
• Pull last beetroots and make chutney.
• Dig the rest of the potatoes!
• Tidy and cut back the strawberries.
• Clear old bean plants - the French beans have kept producing all summer, despite a rough patch in the middle - I'm so pleased! - but they're just about finished now.
• Weed EVERYTHING!
• Sow green manures, if it's not too late - I have a big pack of Phacelia seeds I bought last year and didn't use.

What else can I still sow for the winter, when I get back out there? I've been very good at clearing old crops this year, so I have lots of bare soil to fill!

In the meantime, and because I hate to write a post without a picture, I have really been enjoying this bunch of sunflowers we brought home from the plot three weeks ago! They were still closed when we cut them, but they were self-sown and in the way, and had to be sacrificed. They've done really well on our windowsill and look amazing when the sun shines through them in the morning.