Life on The Weald - September 2023

 Life on The Weald

and other distractions - September 2023

September - a proliferation of plums

1 September

September marks the beginning of the meteorological autumn.  The 2023-24 storms season also started officially on 1 September which means there is a new set of names agreed in collaboration with the UK Met Office, Ireland's Met Eireann and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.  Together they issued a warning of the coming of Storm Agnes.  Although Agnes is not expected until the end of the month, September began with a stormy Friday with strong winds and very heavy rainfall.

3 September

The heavy rain had all gone by Sunday and, apart from a misty morning, it was a glorious sunny day, but not one that I would be spending at the allotment as I was off to London for the Big Half.  It was like a pleasant summer's day for me but I fear a little too hot for comfort for the runners in the Half Marathon starting at Tower Bridge and finishing at the Cutty Sark in Greenwich.

Not only did I get to see the race but took the opportunity to meet up with my granddaughter, Tilly, who had a friend running that day.

Spending time with Tilly aboard the Cutty Sark

It was a rather special occasion as this was the last time that Mo Farah would be running competitively in London (his last professional race would be a few weeks later in the Great North Run).   It was, perhaps, a disappointing result for Mo, the defending champion, as he finished 4th, in 1 hour 2 minutes 43 seconds, 95 seconds behind the winner.  It was, however, still a remarkable run as Mo was not well on the day and probably would not have run had it not been his last race.  He had a great reception from the crowd for whom he has given so much entertainment, excitement and inspiration over the years.

 

Mo comes home fourth!

And in typical Mo fashion, he was soon back on the course, saluting later finishers offering encouragement and a high-five.

Mo cheers on later runners

It was a great day for the legendary David Weir who won the Men's Wheelchair in a a nail-biting finish in 47 minutes 26 seconds, just 1 second ahead of Danny Sidbury and 4 seconds ahead of John Boy Smith.

David Weir wins the Men's Wheelchair

There was a great run for Calli Thackery who won the Elite Women's race in 1 hour 9 minutes and 15 seconds, 3 minutes ahead of Lily Partridge who came 5th.  There was more excitement in the Women's Wheelchair event as Samantha Kinghorn and Eden Rainbow Cooper raced side by side to the finish line with Samantha winning but with the same time on the clock as Eden, 52 minutes 5 seconds!

4-10 September

Following the weekend we had a continued period of very hot weather - on Thursday 7th, the UK record was broken for the number of consecutive days in September reaching 30C. The previous record was 3 days - in 1898, 1906, 1911 and 2016.  7 September was also the hottest day of the year! This was not to be expected in September.

And it didn't stop there! The 4 day record did not last long as there were 7 consecutive days up to 10 September where a temperature above 30C was recorded in the UK.

But before we start celebrating this glorious weather, it is undoubtedly human-induced climate change that causes heatwaves to be more frequent, more intense and last longer.  This is NOT good news for the environment, our eco-systems or future generations.

It is a time of year, however,  to relax a little and enjoy the fruits of our labour.  We have an abundance of squashes and we enjoyed some Patty pan stuffed with ricotta and nuts, accompanied by our freshly lifted new potatoes and French beans,

Roast stuffed Patty pan squash

Squash with potatoes and beans, all from the plot

We also have a proliferate supply of plums!

In the garden at home we had a new visitor - a colourful Jay

A Jay comes to visit

Last month I had cleared the pond of couch grass that had invaded. This month one of our neighbours had divided her Irises and had some to spare which we have now planted in the pond on the plot.  I was pleased to see that the damselflies were still around and when pulling up some couch grass near the pond was pleased to see a large frog.

We are now regularly harvesting squashes, courgettes and cucumbers - and of course, plums!

8 September - Patty pan, cucumbers and courgette

We also have a surplus of apples and, largely based on a  Mary Berry recipe, are making apple cake at least weekly.  The rest of the apples are finding their way into other dishes or joining the plums in the freezer.

9 September - Apple cake

9 September - Apple cake

15 September

Our Fox still makes a regular appearance every day around 6pm.

15 September

15 September

16 September

We had intended to go to London on Sunday to watch the Serpentine Swim but due to algae growth on the days before the swim a number of swimmers had deferred their entry to next year, including those we had been going to support.  We could have taken the opportunity to go to the allotment but instead decided on an alternative day out involving water with a trip to Chichester and a boat-ride on the harbour.  It was another idyllic sunny day. Surely this cannot last.

16 September - Bosham, Chichester

17-20 September

On Monday there was a sudden change in the weather with heavy rain in the afternoon and evening.  On 18 September there were thunderstorms and strong gusty winds with heavy rain in the morning, but followed by a bright sunny afternoon with the temperature in the twenties.  it was shortlived as thunderstorms returned overnight and the following two days were wild, wet and windy.

At home the garlic chives took a bit of a battering; but before the wild winds arrived they had been in full flower, attracting bees.  Not only do they attract bees, they are a useful culinary herb and the flowers are beautiful.

Garlic chives

Garlic chives in full flower

There was good news in the garden.  Some of the later planted Marmande tomatoes had escaped the attention of the snails and were ripening nicely under a watchful eye.

18 September - Marmande tomato

18 September - Marmande tomato

21 September

I was reminded by Facebook what the plot had looked like seven years earlier when we took it on.

Plot 247: 21 September 2016

23 September

This is how it looked today

Plot 247: 23 September 2023

At home our spindle bush produced its first berries.

23 September - Spindle tree (Euonymus)

And on the allotment, I harvested a ripe tromboncino!

23 September - we have tromboncino

24 September

We have more, and bigger tromboncinos to come.  It's often a difficult decision when to harvest them - when they are young and green and can be used as courgettes or ripe and hardening off when they are more akin to a butternut squash?  Luckily we have enough to do both.

Tromboncino

Tromboncino

Perhaps late in the day but we are still harvesting second early potatoes (Nicola & Charlotte)

2nd Early potatoes

Some of our red cabbage had been badly affected by slugs and snails and looked rather nasty on the outside but, after peeling away the outer leaves, there was wholesome cabbage within.  Another use was found for our apples - we added some to the red cabbage, a little cyder vinegar, butter and some caraway seeds - and dined on braised red cabbage - It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

braised red cabbage with apple and caraway

25 September

Who needs a watch?  Its 6pm and who should arrive for dinner?  Our fox is looking a lot better but we are still providing some food - laced with a lot of garlic to deter the mange;  but as winter approaches and the nights draw in we are less likely to be around at dusk so surviving the winter might not be easy.

6pm 25 September

26 September

Our sitting area by the pond had become somewhat overgrown - it was meant to be a grassed area but is just a patch of weeds - so I spent a little time with the strimmer just to temporarily tidy up.

our summer sitting area

One of our raised beds on the western side had become invaded by raspberries so, despite my conversion to "no-dig" gardening, I removed the frame, got out my fork and attempted to dig out some of the invading raspberries.  I relocated the frame to the eastern side near the tromboncinos, where potatoes had been growing this year and will create a new no-dig bed for onions or garlic.  In the old bed there was still a spinach plant which I carefully left whilst digging out raspberry canes.

The old bed at the rear

the re-sited frame at the rear

I have laid cardboard where the potatoes had been growing, ready for covering with a layer of compost/manure for the autumn/winter ready for planting in the spring.

Cardboard laid where the potatoes had grown

27 September

I harvested the Borlotti beans. There were not as many as previous years, but we have only just finished the 2021 crop and haven't even started on 2022 yet!

Borlotti beans

30 September

More distractions as we received a visit from my grandson, Felix and his partner. It was a fine sunny day so we paid a visit to Devil's Dyke. Although it was fine when we set out it soon clouded over and the temperature dropped suddenly. Perhaps this is a taste of things to come next month!

30 September - Fairies Wood

30 September - Devil's Dyke

John Austin

Hove, September 2023

Life on The Weald - November 2021

Life on The Weald - Plot 247 - November 2021

and at home

1 November

It had been a good year for apples, and this year they had been largely pest and disease free.  We have frozen a lot, ready for pies and crumbles and this year Sylvi has also had a go at bottling (which, for some strange reason, the Americans call "canning") and also making cider vinegar.

The beginning of the month was warm for the time of year but generally only just reaching double figures during the day and down to 3C at night.

Work continued on building a frame for our second Hugel bed, using old pallets.

1 November

The late pumpkins (Rocket) appear to be ripening, so fingers crossed that they might be ready before the frosts set in.

1 November - Pumpkin F1 Rocket

1 November - Pumpkin F1 Rocket

There was plenty of Cavolo Nero to be picked which is excellent for making Ribollita, a delicious Tuscan dish.

1 November - Ribollita

The late tomatoes which we had picked had ripened successfully indoors and we also harvested a late aubergine. We were also kept busy thinking of new things to do with squashes.

3 November  the harvest

3 November

On  5 November we gave the broad beans a top dressing of coffee grouts, tea leaves and crushed eggshells, hoping these might keep the slugs at bay.

5 November - broad beans

I have moved two chilli plants to the conservatory at home, Basket of Fire which is moderately hot at 80,000 Scoville heat units and the slightly hotter Apache at 80,000-100,000 SHUs

Apache chillies

Hügelkultur, a German word meaning mound culture or hill culture, has been practised in Central and Eastern European countries for centuries and is one form of permaculture.

Permaculture is a method of gardening, horticulture or agriculture which is based on natural ecosystems, working with nature rather than against it.  Essentially it is sustainable gardening, mimicking  what happens in nature and in turn reducing energy consumption, conserving water and safeguarding the natural environment.

Traditionally, a Hugel bed would be a mound maybe 1 – 2metres high with sloping sides, thereby increasing growing area compared to a flat bed. 

Picture from Wikipedia

Picture from Paul Wheaton  

In the wild, plants die, leaves fall, trees decay and an army of insects, funghi, and micro-organisms get to work transforming dead matter to rich compost which can support new growth. Usually, a Hugel mound would be a pile of logs, branches, leaves, grass clippings, straw, cardboard, manure, compost or whatever organic matter is available topped with soil in which you can plant your vegetables and flowers.

On my plot, I have combined the principles of Hugel culture with the more familiar  raised bed, by digging a trench to bury the wood and twigs below ground and filling in with other organic matter, finally topping with compost and topsoil. I ensured that there was a  layer of at least 6 - 8 inches of top soil and compost on top of the unrotted and partly composted material. The process of composting requires a lot of nitrogen and if the top layer is too thin the composting process might deprive the plants of this vital element for their growth.  We have added nitrogen to the bed by the addition of "worm tea", the liquid run-off from our wormeries.

As the buried wood decays, it provides a consistent source of nutrients for the plants above for 10-20 years. During the first year or so it will need regular watering, allowing  the logs to soak up the water, but after that it will need only occasional watering, possibly only once per season (unless there is a prolonged drought).  The wood can absorb a lot of water acting as a huge sponge during  the rainier seasons.  Hard wood is better for this.  During the composting process, heat is generated which can extend the growing season and the process also aerates the soil - so no digging is required.

Hard woods are generally better than soft woods for this process although there are some woods which should be avoided such as Walnut, Eucalyptus and Black Cherry.  Soft woods are usually OK but there are certain varieties, high in resin which are allelopathic,(they contain natural herbicides and pesticides) – ones to avoid are Cedars and Juniper.  Yew is also highly toxic.  To be safe, it is better to use wood that has already started to decay. If using prunings, especially from fruit trees, it is important to ensure the twigs/branches are dead to avoid the possibility of them rooting or sprouting.

  

returning the top soil to the 2nd Hugel bed

adding some well rotted manure

"muck spreading"

The weather was beginning to get much colder, although on 7 November the sun was shining brightly, but I thought it was probably time to harvest the remaining tromboncinos and take them home.

7 November - tromboncinos

7 November - sunshine and blue sky

Tromboncinos, at home at last

On 10 November I sowed some early peas in the first Hugel bed at the opposite end from the broad beans.  We then went away for a few days for a well earned rest.  After our return I sowed a double row of broad beans on 25 November in the second Hugel bed and covered them with fleece and some old wire shelving to hopefully keep rodents away.

25 November

The beans which had been planted out in the first Hugel bed were looking healthy

25 November - broad beans

The Rocket pumpkins looked almost ready to harvest and with heavy rain forecast it was the time to think about taking them home. But as the sun was still shining I thought I would give them a few more days to harden off.

25 November - Rocket pumpkin

25 November - Rocket pumpkin

We had picked loads of apples and have given away bags full.  After the strong winds there were now very few left on the tree, but lots of windfalls

25 November - the apple tree

At home we had a cooking session, making tromboncino and ginger soup which we have frozen to see us throught the winter!  Usually we have roasted them in their skins and then used the pulp for the soup, but this time we peeled and boiled them.

peeling tromboncinos

tromboncinos, onions and garlic

The beginning of the month had been warmer than usual for November but the month ended with freak storms and, in some parts of the country, the lowest November temperatures for 20 years - minus 8.5C in exposed places.  Our Sheffield family saw heavy snow falls and Northumberland, where my younger son lives, experienced winds of 98 mph.  They were also without electricity for two days.  

When my nephew, who is only 26 miles away from us, on the south coast, visited his local golf course at the weekend, this is what he found:

 

Goodwood golf course 28 November

Goodwood golf course 28 November

We hadn't experienced snow or stormforce winds but the weather in Hove wasn't pleasant. We did experience zero temperatures, rain and a lot of strong winds - enough to keep me off the plot for a few days.  Hoping that the winds subside and we have a few dry days next month as there is still a lot to do.

John Austin

Hove, November 2021