Sunday, September 20, 2009

Gardening v Rugby

At the moment gardening, at any rate blogging about gardening is loosing steadily to U16 rugby administration. Gardening has been done, but not as much as I'd ideally like to do.
All Potatoes harvested, most Tomato plants just about finished, Chilli Peppers mostly red, Sweetcorn eaten, Autumn/Winter digging well under way.
Here is plot 17 and the steady progress made on digging has reached a line from the top of the raspberry canes at mid left and straight across following the weed growth.
The nice fresh horse manure is courtesy of my good friend Robert and I have also neatened up the path edge which had meandered considerably over the years.

On plot 18 some weeks ago I had to employ Derris dust on the brassicas to deal with Cabbage White caterpillars, the odd looking barrowload is squash and sweetcorn, topped off with sunflower heads. I have chopped down all the sunflowers as they were overshadowing the ripening squash and some had fallen across the path to my shed, all the leaves went in the compost bin, followed by the cut to fit sweetcorn plants.
Today I paid a flying visit to the plot and spent my gardening time picking over all the onions that have been drying in the shed at home. Some losses to rot and a few where the neck is going to succumb to rot, so they went for early consumption.
This shot is my Banana Shallots var Piglet Willensis all neatly rowed up after loosing the loose skins.
Also packed away the fourteen Crown Prince squash that had been curing on the garden table and laid out another batch from the allotment, together with (at last) some Butternut squash that had emerged from the dying squash leaves unscathed by rot.
All new squashes harvested yesterday and also got a large number of minature pumpkin type squash, can't remember the variety, but breakfast teacup sized, fluted fruits and three that looked the same, but instead of bright pumpkin colour were deep dark green. Some dark green Australian squashes are awaiting harvest.
These two shots are for Johnboy on Kitchen Garden forum, they show how the seed-bed ( left in ground from 2007 to seed) Banana Shallots have divided, each bulb growing a fresh bulb under the brown-skin next to the flower from this year.

Extreme close-up showing where the flowerstalk broke off from the new bulb.

First ever Raspberry Vodka sieved and bottled to clear. Second roasted Crown Prince squash today with roast chicken and the 80% uneaten roasted squash awaiting its conversion into Squask, Bacon and Chilli Soup featuring Onions, Shallots, Potatoes and Garlic. The same fate as last weeks one, yum.