Saturday, September 16, 2006

Garden dyes off

The garden has had enough....the plants and trees look tired and they are dying off. The tomatoes are ripening fast and there is plenty of work to do clearing space and making the beds ready for the next occupants. I managed to find another 7 lbs of tomatoes on the vines which I promptly put in the freezer. I have my fill of tomatoe soup, chutney, puree and ketchup for the winter to come so this time, I am being a bit lazy and putting them in small bags straight in the freezer. Apparently when you need to use a tin of tomatoes in a dish, you plop the bag in boiling water straight from the freezer, the skins will fall off and then you just add the tomatoes to the dish. Sounds simple in a complicated world.
My cabbages are being eaten by yet another generation of white cabbage fly........I do look after them I do, so am walking along to kill off some caterpillars. The reason you ask? They turn into butterflies, that lay eggs and then these turn into caterpillars. I have been too kind this summer but next year I am going to be more picky ( pun).

What to plant now.....
I put in some winter lettuce mix, which is mustard seed, mizuna and mibuna and a few weeks ago planted my last lot of carrots to go in the polytunnel. Its still very dry, the waterbutts are getting empty and the leaves are drying on the plants. All in all it was a good season but I am planning to be a little more organised next year. One of the projects is to use claypot irrigation and see if that makes the watering a little easier. Its good to plan.

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