I went to the allotment today and discovered a jungle growing all over my raised beds!
I spent four hours trying to start the Autumn clear up of the lost plot.I brought home a Cabbage which we had for tea,and some Turnip Snowball.They tasted okay,but the crop was very hit and miss.Most of the plants had grown skinny taproots and not the nice round snowball pictured on the seed packet!
The slugs and snails have wreaked havov on the Cabbages.The rain has destroyed all the Potatoe and Onion foliage.They need lifting tomorrow and drying in the shed.
I looked back at the photos to find this gorgeous photo of the Getrude Jekyll Rose when she was in flower.
I need to go back to the drawing board for the allotment.I need to keep the areas between the raised bed clear of weeds.Black Tarp and bark chippings may do the trick.Bare soil just gets colonised by weeds and grasses.The wet summer has seen them explode.Eating the Cabbage and Turnip tonight with Pork steaks was amazing.I could taste the sunshine and rain,and chemical free plot..
I will also sit down over the winter and work out what I want to grow.I think I will move away from Potatoes and into exotic crops.James Wong will have a new series out soon exploring growing exotic vegetables.I will watch that with interest..
1 comment:
I had a hit and miss year on my little patch - my first three beds of tatties were great (2 earlies and Charlotte) my main crop - pathetic not even 5lbs worth on to beds! Slugs (the size of snakes) destroyed all but three kohlrabi and one cauliflower - beans destroyed ... I too will be going back to the winter drawing board and thinking up a plan for the paths - only thing good about this year is that I think I have made headway with destroying the nettle invasion - by frequently visiting and pulling up the tiniest hint of one!
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