1/2 November 2008 - A word from our sponsor

Once again, an unconsciable lack of communication regarding the plot for which the usual drivelling apologies. Two reasons mainly - first, K's mobile, which had the latest plot pictures on, broke and had to be sent off to be fixed; and second, we snuck away to France for a much-needed two week holiday. Having now retrieved the phone and pictures, bloggery can commence.

Unfortunately, the site was subjected to a particularly unpleasant attack of vandalism about a week before we left. Our neighbours Jan and Pat suffered the most and had to rectify all sorts of damage on their return from holiday. Our famous saloon bar entry gate somehow caused offence to the morons concerned and was kicked away from its hinges. Appropriate action is being taken but it seems as though other local sites are also been targetted. The only mildly positive note is that the produce itself was not trashed, only people's "hardware" (sheds, equipment, etc).

The weekend of 4 October we spent some time weeding and tidying the plot, and discovered much to our astonishment that the so-called "pumpkin" had in fact been masquerading as a butternut squash, of which it managed to produce one. We were still able to pick carrots and of course the trusty raspberries and kale, which is pretty good when you think about it.

The green manure (field beans and clover) was beginning to get well established. We shall have to remember to dig it in at some point. We. are unsure as to whether field beans actually produce any beanage.

N pulled up the dead courgette plants and, because this variety grows kind of upwards, it was very obvious to see where a fruit had been removed. N counted 89 such marks - from 4 plants! We were amazed and pronounce it the most productive of our crops this our first year. Everything looked sad and wan, but we still managed to find a few runner beans and although the sweet peas were definitely beginning to flag, their flowers still smelt sweet.

Fast forward to 1/2 November - quite a lot has happened in the intervening period. We suspect that there have been many raspberries in our absence as there are still some coming now (though not as many of course). The leeks look really leekish and we have chosen one for N to pick for supper tomorrow. The most exciting thing is that there was a heavy snowfall earlier in the week (in October!) while we were still away and while other structures on the site yielded and buckled under the weight of the snow, the Pagoda stood firm. N is quietly smug.

Otherwise, the kale is still good and very tasty. The cabbages that K had thought of as purple broccoli are now looking significantly better, presumably because the cold has killed off whatever was eating them. Indeed, they look uncannily like January King (JK) cabbages. The other cabbages, that K thought of as JK cabbages, now look as though they are purple broccoli. There was obviously an elementary slip-up in the process earlier. It shows the importance of good labelling but does add a certain element of "je ne sais quoi" to the growing process.

Disappointingly, the seeds planted in September in Bed 2 failed to materialise. The overwintering onions in Bed 1 are still there but not as many as we would like, and the chard has been munched on. The seedlings in the seedbed (spring cabbage and overwinterinig onions) seem to be OK, though the cabbage has been a little eaten. (If indeed it is cabbage as I seem completely unable to identify the damn things again after sowing.)

Bed 4 (ex-courgettes, beans, sweetcorn, butternut squash) has now been completely cleared and dug over. We intend to put compost on and cover it though want to make sure we are doing the right thing for what we want to grow next year. Bed 2 (ex-carrots - got the final ones up today) etc - needs digging/composting also.

We also stripped the last vestiges of dead sweetpeas, beans and thousands of nasturtiums from the Pagoda. It is sad to do this yet very satisfying at the same time.

We look at the bank with its weeds and stroke our chins meditatively. We hope to acquire a free greenhouse from somewhere and want to put it on the bank (once cleared). It's going to be another busy winter.