My garden in October

Harvesting

I picked the last of the chili and peppers yesterday. They had all turned red. We grew them in quite small pots on the steps of the terrace this year. It is a great sun-trap and they were very happy there. The final courgette has now been eaten as well as the last few tomatoes. What a fabulous tomato year! I think had more tomatos than even when we filled the polytunnel with them. Growing tomatoes outside is always a gamble, but no blight this year, for that I am very thankful. We have a small patch of spicy salad leaves ready to pick but I am slightly off salads at the moment and tending towards comfort foods as the weather turns colder.

Planting

I have planted garlic, kale and onions this month. See ‘Accept feedback’ post of details of the fate of my onions!

Thinking

I need to sow some more salad leaves or a green manure in the polytunnel. I pulled up the last of the toms on the weekend, so it’s currently bare soil, not very Permaculture! To put the garden to bed I intend to cover the unused beds with garden compost, horse manure and green manures. I have been using the chop and drop method too, essentially creating a covering of compostable materials on the soil whenever you prune or pull up a plant. This creates lots of mini compost heaps that protect and enrich your soil.

I think one of my chickens is a cockerel. We brought 4 grey/blue laced Wyandottes as chicks. Two died and one of the remaining ones is looking like a boy, I am awaiting the first crow! (image below, what do you think?) My husband will kill and eat him. As a vegetarian of 20+years I am ok with this. At least I know he had a good life, was killed swiftly and humanely and the meat will be used to its full capacity and enjoyed.

Feeling

I am feeling excited about our last weekend away at the cabin. I am feeling tired a lot of the time. I don’t know if this is the result of many months of broken seep, the toil of long-term breast-feeding or just the change of seasons. I am trying to nourish myself with lots of home cooked soups, stews and crumbles. Lovely autumnal foods. I am enjoying cosy evenings in front of the logburner and snuggling under blankets. However I am not enjoying biking back from yoga class in the dark and rain or having to get up while it is still dark.