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On My Oasis – Winter Veggies and Deadheading Dahlias
What a weekend! We had glorious weather in Suffolk – crystal clear blue skies and baking sun. It was perfect for a couple of the Brimwood Farm projects; scything the wildflower meadow and planting the bluebell wood. Once I’ve worked my way through the vast number of photos, I’ll do a proper post! In the meantime, here’s an update on my oasis back in Essex.
A continuation of veggies
I’ve still got a few foods on the go. I grew the runner beans in a trough, and they’re just starting to go over. I’m going to pop garlic in once I’ve cleared the greenery and once they’re complete next year I can tip out the earth for use elsewhere in the garden. We have REAMS of chard, though I’m yet to find a decent kitchen recipe; it’s a bitter plant and husbo isn’t keen so I’ve got to keep cooking different methods because it’s one thing I’ve grown a lot of. The radishes are starting to go over, but the tiny sprouts are now starting to appear on the Brussels – exciting!
Keen to try and get some overwintering stuff on the go, I’ve just begun germinating some Pak Choi and winter lettuce. I’ll be honest here – I’m a bit crap at thinning out. I’m always keen to get as many plants as possible. When it comes to all plants, but veggies in particular, this is just NOT a good idea. I’ve begun thinning out – grimacing as I do it – but I hope I get better harvests as a result. There are also some young spinach plants on the go and I MUST get my onion sets in soon!
Pak Choi and Winter Lettuce seeds are quick to germinate.
Realising there’s all this land in Suffolk too, I’m keen to try some crops next year. However, as it’s a two hour drive away, I need to try veggies that require very little intervention. I reckon I can put a few rows of spuds in and leave them – yes, I won’t be there to earth them up, but at least they’ll grow. The only other thing that might be a possibility is onions. However, a) sets are pulled out by birds – of which there are many and b) onions can get very weedy, very quickly. I might circumnavigate the bird problem by starting the sets off in trays first, and if I weed a good patch, the creeping grass might stay out just long enough (wishful thinking). Still, it’s all an experiment!
The flower garden
I’ve never been great at extending the flowering season, and it’s never been more apparent in moving to the new garden and bringing my old plants with me. I still have wonderful colour from the dahlias – particularly Arabian Night (below) which is doing wonderfully. There are a few late flowering geraniums from the second flush after I slashed them back earlier in the year, and the sedum herbsfreude is now coming into vibrant life. Also, the verbena’s are all still on the go. Next year I need to concentrate on more autumn plants – rudbekia’s, echinaceas, grasses etc so I get a good show well into November.
One of the huge Arabian Night’s flowers.
I’ll also just mention that the two olive trees bought from IKEA for £10 have done exceptionally well this year. I planted them up into two larger planters and put them either side of the lean-to – a real suntrap – and they’ve thrived.
A quick-growing Olive tree from IKEA
Lifestock
Chicken frenzy is most definitely still here. However, of the ten hatched chicks this year we got SIX roosters and only four hens! Luckily, one of those hens is a Barbu d’Anver so we now have a lovely little pair of these birds for breeding next year. Meanwhile, the two cinnamon Polish chicks are hens, as is the black-dotted girl from the second batch. There’s a poultry auction at the end of the month, so I think I’ll sell off the three younger roosters and keep Ivy Winters and his brother. It’s not the ideal scenario, but only Ivy is crowing at this point – and fairly quiet at that.
But wait – there’s more. Tomorrow we’re expecting ANOTHER batch of eggs to start hatching! Yes, I’m mad. Hubby really wanted some Ayam cemani’s but the two pullets at the auction last month were bought for too much. So, instead, we grabbed some hatching eggs and they’re due to start tomorrow. Five of the six are fertile, though I’ve not had huge luck so I’m expecting two hatches at most.
So, despite the autumn quickly rolling away and winter looming on the not too distant horizon, there’s still a lot going on. To keep sane, I need to garden all year round, and slowly, I’m filling as much of my time as possible with growing and livestock husbandry chores. 😉
What’s going on in your patch? Growing anything through the winter?
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