It’s a busy time of year in the Kitchen Garden. Mother nature is winning the battle of the leaves and as fast as we clear the autumn debris, she litters the paths and beds again. Recent windy days have exacerbated the situation. But the sun is shining and still has some warmth to it, the leaves are dry making them easy to rake, and the end result of a tidy garden is worth the effort, however short-lived it is.
The climbing French beans and rhubarb have been the casualties of recent cold weather and now have layers of yellowed leaves around their roots. It’s time to clear them away to the compost heap before treating the rhubarb crowns to a winter mulch of well rotted manure and giving the bean frame a good clean.
Inside the greenhouse the shelves are up and the aeoniums from our ornamental gardens have now joined the chillies and aubergines under the protection of the glass. Spinach and rocket seedlings are filling out the raised tomato bed and the garlic and onion sets, along with the broad beans seedlings are showing the merest hint of green.
Last week we made use of scaffolding at the back of the greenhouse, used by the thatcher’s, to clean the rear roof of the greenhouse. It is in an awkward spot making access difficult so that part of the roof really needed a good clean. Now that we have a section of clean glass, it has highlighted how dirty the rest of the glass has become over the dusty summer months. It’s time to give the whole structure a good clean to allow more light in to the overwintering plants before we put up the bubble insulation.
At this time of year, I like to tailor my jobs to the weather and we have lists of wet weather jobs and fair-weather jobs. Cleaning the inside of the greenhouse windows is a wet weather job and can wait until then. In the meantime, while the sun is shining, it’s back to the leaves. Fetch me the rake!
