Life on The Weald - September 2025
and other distractions including the garden and kitchen
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| 1 September - Yesterday's plums |
Tuesday 2 September
It was time to do something with all those plums which we had picked at the weekend. One solution was a plum tart but it was also time for jam making.
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| 2 September - Plum tart |
Wednesday/Thursday 3/4 September
There was heavy rain on Wednesday but a few sunny periods on Thursday when we picked some yellow courgettes, some Achocha and Purple Jalapeños and a lone tomato.
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| 4 September - Courgettes, Achocha & Jalapeños |
Sunday 7 September
At home the quinces were getting bigger every day and I wondered if the young branches would be able to support them!
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| 7 September - Quince Serbia Gold |
Monday 8 September
There were still loads of plums to be picked!
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| 8 September - Plums |
The beefsteak tomato which I had picked the previous week and which was only half ripe had fully ripened indoors 😊.
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| Tomato when picked 29 August |
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| 8 September - fully ripe beefsteak tomato |
Sunday 14 September
After a few days away, the quinces were still getting bigger...
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| 14 September - Quinces |
...and the dahlias were blooming.
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| 14 September - dahlias |
I picked a few beetroots from the rainbow collection.
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| 14 September - beetroots |
The ground was covered with plums that had fallen from the trees
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| 14 September - plum windfalls |
Tuesday 16 September
I hand weeded one of the hugel beds in preparation for planting some onions and raked in some fertiliser of blood, fish and bone and then planted some onion sets, Winter Red, which I then covered with horticultural fleece to prevent birds pulling them out of the ground whilst they established their roots.
This is some of what lies buried under the bed (created in 2021)
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| 2021 - the bottom layer - logs laid in trench |
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| 16 September - getting ready for planting |
Wednesday 18 September
I picked one of the tromboncinos...
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| 18 September - tromboncino |
... and admired the handiwork and beauty of a garden spider on the shed.
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| 18 September - European garden spider |
It was difficult to resist the temptation of picking the quinces, they look so good, but I'm told they should be harvested in October, so I have left them hoping they will survive the strong winds.
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| 21 September - quinces |
It was a bright, clear sunny day, so I planted out another bed with red onions. Sylvia tackled yet more brambles and in sieving a pile of compost (mostly old couch grass) discovered a smooth newt. The presence of newts might explain why our frog spawn disappeared.
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| 21 September - Sylvi's newt |
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| 21 September - bed for more onions |
Sunday 22 September
There was a sudden drop in temperature of several degrees. I lifted the remaining Charlotte potatoes and harvested a large courgette and some cucumbers.
Monday 23 September
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| 22 September - potatoes, courgette and cucumbers |
At home it was time to taste the fruits on my labours. The tomatoes and beetroot were full of flavour.
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| 22 September - beefsteak tomato |
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| 22 September - orange beetroot |
There were still a few beefsteak tomatoes in the garden and we were still picking sungold cherry tomatoes almost daily
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| 23 September - beefsteak and cherry sungold tomatoes |
Tuesday 24 September
Some of the rainbow beetroots were enormous. I thought they might be mangel-wurzels! But they came as seedlings from a reputable garden centre so I think I must have magic soil.
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| 24 September - beetroot and a Size 9 (43) shoe |
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| 24 September - almost too big to handle |
I may have a small head, but here's a comparison!
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| 24 September - orange beetroot |
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| 24 September - preparing bed for broad beans |
Thursday 26 September
It was time to lift some Jerusalem artichokes
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| 26 September - Jerusalem artichokes |
Saturday 28 September
I sowed some Super Aquadulce broad beans in trays at home, leaving them to germinate indoors, but I also sowed some directly in the soil on the plot and covered with fleece and some old wire shelves in an attempt to protect them from mice and squirrels.
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| 28 September - broad beans sown and covered |
At home, I had some purple sprouting broccoli seedlings, grown on from plugs amd decided there was room top plant a row next to the Brussels Sprouts where the potatoes had been grown this year. The ground was fairly weed free as I had only recently lifted the potatoes. I forked in some organic fertiliser ready for planting.
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| 28 September - bed prepared for broccoli |
It was now time to plant the purple sprouting broccoli. It was a late season variety called Cardinal, one recommended by Charles Dowding as producing large deep-purple spears with excellent flavour. Hopefully they will be ready for picking in the spring of 2026
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| 29 September - broccoli planted |
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| 29 September - fleece tunnel to protect broccoli |
At home I sowed some sweet peas from seeds saved from this year's flowers and put them in the mini-greenhouse to germinate. I also strimmed and scarified and area of lawn ready to sow some wild flower seeds to create a spring meadow. - sprinkled some Love-in-a-mist seeds (Nigella damascena) that I had saved from some self seeded plants on the allotment, but will buy a packet of mixed wildflower seeds from the shop. I will look for a mix that includes yellow rattle as I am told this competes well with the grass and helps other wildflowers to flourish.
Monday 30 September
Monday was a day for harvesting chillies
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| 30 September - clockwise from top left Aji Red & Aji Limon, Basket of Fire, Jalapenos and Apache |
There are more to come. I think I will freeze some for use throughout the year an make chilli sauce with the others.
