Last-minutism

In the last couple of weeks, I've done some rather hopeful last-minute seed sowing, with an eye to some autumn and winter crops. Possibly it was rather too optimistic, but September has been very mild so far, and I'm banking on Brighton having a longish growing season. Anyway, cavolo nero, mustard greens, turnips, fennel and winter radish have all gone in; the last three are already showing signs of life, although I think something has been digging up the bed housing the cavolo nero.

I've also planted some little chard plants, which will hopefully keep us in greens over the winter, and have garlic to sow somewhere. The runner beans have finally finished, and the bed is cleared and sown with green manure - I plan for that bed to house the asparagus plants. The courgettes are still producing; we've now eaten all the sweetcorn and a bit of the beetroot, partly thanks to this wonderful pie recipe. Carrots have been an utter failure; out of two rows I got one adolescent carrot that had been pre-enjoyed by some underground creature. The mizuna, rocket and endive continue to do well, and the aged lettuces sown in the spring are now producing crunchy, slightly bitter, radicchio-like leaves - very tasty.

I dug over the space for the next raised bed at the weekend, and discovered that a strange lump in the plot, covered with black plastic until now, seems to be where a former compost heap was - anyway it is full of lovely rich friable compost. Half of that will fill the putative raspberry bed.

Colour has come to the plot, too, in the shape of a few cyclamen plants and some chrysanthemums, and I've done a few spring bulbs as well.

Bolted

Yellow flowers everywhere on the pe tsai and cime di rapa, which has developed woody, inedible trunks. The leaves are still good, we just can't eat it fast enough.

A gale last month left the bean wigwams sagging and askew, and today I took down the worst one - surely the beans must nearly be over now? We've eaten about half a kilo a week for the last four weeks, and I've frozen about two kilos for winter nourishment. The gale also snapped off the flowering spikes of the sweetcorn, but the cobs seem to be fattening well enough without them. The courgette plants are still producing, although they look to be coming to the end of the season now.

I've been clearing more plot, and have planted the apple tree and gooseberry bush, and put in the beginnings of a lavender hedge beside them, and some cyclamen and chrysanthemums for a bit of autumn and winter colour. Another raised bed has gone in, and there is one more to do; one for some optimistic winter seeds, and one for raspberry plants. I have a lot of clearing of the existing beds to do, too, to make room for winter crops.