Thursday, 20 October 2011

...Hello Winter

Better late than never, I have been tending to some new crops for over winter and, hopefully, if they make it that far, next spring. I have a late-summer sowing of perpetual spinach doing well in a container in the garden, and a newer sowing of traditional spinach (Medania) popping up too. These will have to go under cover in our plastic greenhouse, I think, when it gets really cold.


I bought some purple-sprouting broccoli, kale and spring cabbage seedlings from Homebase in the sale a few weeks back, and I've now planted some of these out in tubs in the garden. I was hoping to put the rest on the plot but it's getting a little late now... They've been under constant attack from snails and caterpillars, but I'm just about keeping up. Pesky blighters, those caterpillars. They're too good at hiding...


Though I don't know how they think poses like this help...


Some of the psb is doing really well:


But I'm not sure others are going to make it...


I've put two kale plants into the box that grew beans all summer. Hopefully the nitrogen fixed into the soil by the beans will help to encourage lots of leafy growth. It certainly looks like it's working so far!


The chard, parsnips and leeks on the plot are all doing okay. The chard is a bit munched around the edges and needs a good weeding, which I'll do next week. The leeks are a bit bedraggled and small, but in my experience always perk up and come into their own early in the spring. The parsnips are a great size - I should probably dig them up and put them in a box of compost at home so I can get at them when the ground's frozen, but in reality I don't have anywhere to keep them... I've got some onions and garlic on order for the allotment too - I've never overwintered them before but it's got to be worth a try. I just hope I can get them in the ground in time!

Next job, though, is to sow some winter lettuces and claytonia for salads. It'd be good to sow some turnip seeds on the plot too if I clear enough soil. Is it too late? I don't have a clue. But there's only one way to find out...

2 comments:

Sue Garrett said...

It's late for caterpillars isn't it?

Nome said...

That's what I thought! Admittedly the pictures are a couple of weeks old and I haven't seen any caterpillars in the last week, but even then it seems very late!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...