Gardening Diary
This is the third quarter of the diary, the one when you can enjoy the fruits (and the vegetables!) of your labour.
August
This month is all about harvesting and clearing the ground for autumn sowing of onions and transplanting winter greens, cauliflowers, sprouts and savoys. A second sowing of peas and runner beans would not go amiss, possibly carrots. Sweet corn should be ready when 'tassel' is brown. One good thing about this year, potato blight and most pests were minimal although spraying potato tops with a diluted mixture of milk helped. Continue to sow lettuce and a few early potatoes, hen egg size, for Christmas.
September
Clear ground, order manure, prune fruit bushes especially branches which have born fruit this year. Continue harvesting 2nd early potatoes, possibly main crop. Mid month plant onion sets in different area from this year's crop. Draw up plan for next years planting. Bank up potatoes planted earlier when tops are 6 ins. high.
October
Continue clearing crops, dig ground over and spread manure on surface of plot. Leave for a few weeks then turn over and dig in. Leave manure in lumps, do not break up. Clean out greenhouse now tomatoes and cucumbers are finished. Check autumn and winter greens and onions. Apply some fertilizer - two handfuls per square yard. Do not walk on sodden ground, wait till it dries out. To test condition of soil, if it sticks to stainless steel tools, leave alone. Dry soil will slide off blades or prongs leaving surface clean.
Happy eating!
Don Holmes