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Field Allotments Hixon
Gardening
Tips
By Mrs FM
Hartley.
Unusual
& Old
Fashioned Fruit
Trees.
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Vegetables,
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Edible Plants.
Environmental
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By
Alan J Hartley
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The End of The Season.
At the start of October I was pretty much out of action for 2 weeks as I
had a Cataract operation on my right Eye. The Patient’s guide actually
forbade Gardening activities for a month, but I was soon itching to get
back onto my Allotment. I started by doing little things like a bit of
Fruit Picking and tying in branches which were certainly seasonal jobs
for October. Most of the Apples that I Picked proved to be free of
Grubs, but a lot were scarred on the surface by Moth damage. The simple
solution to this is to peel them, but it does make them look
unappealing. I did send some of the small “Eaters,” and Red Fleshed
Apples for Juicing via another Plot Holder who normally takes Trays and
Trays of her own Apples from her own Garden. Most of hers are Cookers
though that are a bit tart for Juice, so she likes a few of my “Eaters,”
to provide a bit of a balance. After picking the Apples I pruned the
Trees, not only to cut back their excessive growth, but also to make
fruiting Spurs. There were a lot of “Windfalls,” with all the Stormy
Weather that we have been having, so I made use of some of them by
making lots of Apple and Quince Crumbles, and Pear and Custard Flans for
my Freezer. However, I did keep the best of the Pears and most of the
“Eating Apples.” Although I had a good crop of Apples and Pears, there
were no Crab Apples on my Tree at home and indeed I heard it said that,
that was the case in general, everywhere.
After pruning the Trees, I tied them in again making them secure for the
Winter and start of next Season, and I also put new Grease Bands, (or
Glue Bands as they are sometimes called,) on them.
 As October finished though and we started November, I also picked my
Medlars which the frequent windy spells were blowing off the tree.
To be honest I knew I would be out of action for a while with my eyes,
so I tried to get ahead of many of the more physical and dirty jobs for
the Month and I got them done before my first operation. However, now I
have got to do the same all over again as I am supposed to be having my
left Eye done at the end of November.
Having so many Fruit Trees on my Plot I do get a lot of Leaves
everywhere, so clearing them up is another seasonal job that I have to
do at this time of year. There have been plenty of leaves at home as
well from all the little Trees in my Garden, but they have a massive job
of Leaf clearing to do at work. My own leaves have been mixed in with my
general Compost Waste, although they always say that they should be
composted separately as they take longer to break down properly. With
this in mind, at work, they have a large container made from old Pallets
that they put them in and keep them in, for a year, or more. The Manager
wanted to dispose of last year’s Leaves and offered me some for my
Garden, or my Allotment. I generally use Shreddings from my electric
Shredder as a mulch on my Allotment, but thought that the Leaf Mould
would be great for my Front Garden.
For several years odd people have said that I should be nominated in the
Village’s Best Kept Garden Competition and this year I actually won it!
I have been feeling a little bit guilty about that though, because due
to my Eyes, it has got a bit untidy with some Weed Seeds germinating in
the mild weather. So, the Leaf Mould will make a great Mulch to both
suppress them and give the Garden a bit of a boost.
Again, with the Mild weather that we have been having lately, with
little sign of overnight Frosts, many of the Perennial and Biennial
Seeds, that I sowed a little earlier, have come up quite well, both at
work and at Home. A lot were pricked out at work into modular Trays and
I have done some at home. Of course, most of the Seedlings are being
kept in Greenhouses until Spring comes around. Things like Fox Gloves
though, would be quite happy outside, or in a Cold Frame, but others do
need a bit more protection. Canterbury Bells, Chamomile, Scabious,
Helenium, Verbascum, Drumstick Primula, Eupatorium, Eryngium and Pampas
Grass, are some of those that I have sown, however, a few of them
probably won’t germinate until spring.
One somewhat bigger job that I managed to fit in before my Treatments
was to remove the 2 Honey Berry Bushes which were replaced with 2
different varieties of Blueberry Bushes. Some Blueberry Bushes are what
they call “Self-Fertile,” but others need a friend to pollinate them to
produce Fruit. When buying them you should also be aware that different
varieties will often flower and fruit, at different times. I had already
got a couple of rather poor specimens of the variety “Pink Lemonade,”
which as the name suggests, have pink berries instead of the usual dark,
purply blue. These may also do better now with friends to pollinate
them.
I finally got round to planting 2 Grape Vines, that were more suitable
for being outside in the UK climate, into my existing row. They were a
lot more expensive than the old vines were, but sometimes you have to
pay the money to get better and more suitable varieties of Plants.
Another Seasonal Job that I finally got round to doing was to put in
some Hardwood Cuttings of things like Figs, Black Currant, Cornus var,
Kerria, Hydrangea, Buddleia, Broom, Escalonia, Deutzia and Viburnum. I
also decided to try some Twisted Hazel cuttings again. Last year’s batch
completely failed, because I think I took them too late and they had
lost their Sap as it had gone down the Stems back into the Roots before
they were cut. Senecio Brachyglottis, which looks like a smaller version
of a Phlomis, but with a somewhat different, yellow, daisy like flower,
was another Shrub that I have tried. Most of them will take up to 12
Months, or more to root, but a few like the Black Currant should be
rooted a bit quicker. Hopefully, a selection will be ready to pot up
before next Autumn’s Plant Sale.
By mid October we had had a couple of light Frosts, but then we had
nothing more for weeks and it stayed quite mild. The odd few colder
nights didn’t really take much with my Yacon barely being touched and
even the Beans were OK on the odd few Plots that still had them. Just on
a couple of nights, there was a bit of soft ice on my car windscreen
though and the edges of some of the leaves of more tender things were
scorched. However, we had almost torrential rain from storm Babet with
some places getting over 8 inches of rain in 24 hours and it seemed to
never stop. About 15 years ago we started having strange, freaky weather
and as autumn approached, a friend said, after a particularly bad
summer, “And now the Monsoon season is starting up!”. Indeed, this year,
after storm Babet, that seemed to be the case with several more storms
following on close behind it.
With the change in Seasons I cut down and Divided my Blue and Pink
Asters. I also dug up, divided and potted my Chrysanth’s ready to over
winter in my Greenhouse. There were a lot more than previous years, but
I had brought some old Stools from work. At work they did the same with
their Dahlias, although I don’t grow them on my Allotment.
I did dig up and divide the blue Scabious though which had done
particularly well on my Allotment.
Some of those will go for the future Plant Sales.
An Allotment Friend told me that he had got a large Rhubarb on his Plot
that he wanted digging out and removing altogether. As Winter comes each
Year, I am always on the lookout for such Plants to divide up and Pot to
go with the other Plants that I grow for our Spring Plant Sale. So, I
enthusiastically agreed to have it. He told me he hadn’t dug it out as
the last time he had tried to dig up a Rhubarb he had broken his Fork! !
! Well, I didn’t break my Fork, but I did break my Spade! ! ! However,
it wasn’t all bad as I potted about 20 decent sized Crowns from the one
huge one and a few days later I was at Work when we had some old Tools
donated. The Manager asked me if I wanted anything, so I picked out a
halfway decent Spade which I got for free to replace my old broken one.
Apart from Planting/Potting Rhubarb there are other Planting Jobs that
can be done at this time of Year and one of those is to put in over
wintering Broad Beans of the Aquadulce Type. Some years I put them
directly in the Ground and usually get a few eaten by Mice who love
them, but this year I sowed them in Trays because of the wet spell when
I couldn’t get on my Plot to dig it. It is also time to plant “Early
Onions,” and Garlic, but I didn’t bother with either of those.
There is still some Harvesting to do and that will carry on for weeks
yet. I did dig out most of my Yacon roots though as the Frost may damage
them and they will rot if left in too long. I have also dug up and
harvested other things like Leeks and Potatoes both of which seem to
have done particularly well this year. I have been able to make several
Chicken, Leek and Ham Pies for the Freezer. I have dug up some Jerusalem
Artichokes, but they should be OK in the ground pretty much all Winter
as will the Parsnips that I haven’t started on yet. Even my little Oca
plants seem to have done better this year than most with some worthwhile
Tubers on those. I did come across another little Tuberous Plant that I
would like to try and that is ”Mashua,” or “Tropaeolum Tuberosum,” which
is basically a Tuberous and Perennial Nasturtium. I have known that you
could eat parts of the peppery Nasturtium for some time, but hadn’t
heard of this variety before seeing it recently on TV. I will have to go
Online on a cold day to try and see where I can buy some from. While
hunting them down I may find some other interesting things to grow next
Season!
 
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