This morning I cleared the stumps of the sweetcorn and chopped them up for the compost heap. Later the bed was raked and watered and I sowed the mustard seed. The zinnias and JBLs are still in place for now.

I’ve done more bramble control, cutting it back to the chicken wire. I’ll be able to get at more once the everlasting peas are completely cut down. But it’s good work and I’ve stopped two huge limbs that had come over the top of the fence and were touching the ground.

I took off a few long apple branches in order to get into the corner. It’s really gone mad, with long crossing limbs and will need a lot of thinning before next year. I hope I can do it myself.

I cleared up all the dropped apples for the compost and also picked all the scabby pears for the bin. The tree is now empty of fruit, but I took home a couple of pears that D scrumped from C’s trees overhanging her new plot next to mine.

Although I’ve made a good start on clearing the plot, there’s still a lot of colour thanks to the marigolds, petunias and zinnias. The helianthus is coming into flower too.

After work I went to the plot to sow the first mustard. I raked and watered Bed 4 and half of Bed 2 and broadcast the seed. In 7-10 days we’ll know if this green manure plan might work or not.

I harvested the first four pumpkins and brought them home. I’ve left 2 and 4 in place with their small green companions for now. I’ll do a big photo and weights when everything has been harvested.

L-R:
#6 – probably the best; one of the two centre latecomers
#1 – with a few little holes, which don’t seem to be a problem as they’re hard inside
# 5 – has a light green patch on the other side, which needs to ripen
# 3 – is a bit flat on one side from growing on its side

Today’s evening job was cutting down the sweetcorn. It’s usually a pain to dig up, so I’ve left an amount of stalk in case I need some leverage. I filled 4 buckets with stalks and leaves for the compost heap.

I pulled up the big dry candytuft in order to collect its seed. I’m not sure if it will have seeded down at all again, but I’ll probably have beans in Bed 9 next year, so it’s not a problem for it to do so. I just need to remember that all this seed is from a white plant, not my usual preferred mixed colours.

I harvested some some good carrots and a snack on for lunch came with them. A couple of pumpkins will come home soon as their vines have dried off.

I pulled up the French beans this evening and filled a bucket with those chopped up plants and loads of deadheading. Eventually the darkness beat me and I had to go home.

I did an after work stint and found that the sweetcorn cob I was going to pick next had been eaten by something. So I picked the rest for blanching and freezing so we wouldn’t lose any more.

The leeks are fattening up a bit, but are still quite slim. I should water them …

I stood pumpkins 5 and 6 up properly; they’re the only ones with long enough vines. That should help them finish turning orange all over.

An after work visit to grab a couple of sweetcorn for that night’s dinner also gained me a bunch of flowers, a beautifully straight cucumber an a few pears. The pears are mostly horribly scabby, but the one clean one I’d had my eye on was now on the ground, half-eaten. I saved that one and a few more. The rest will go in the bin.

Yet another new pumpkin has arrived on new growth on #2, while the rest of the vines are dying back. I can’t imagine it’ll last, but it’ll be fun to see how big it gets before I harvest everything.

Just a quick harvest visit to get the last good beans at the top of the wigwams, a cucumber and a few tomatoes.

I did lots of tidying today with lots of deadheading, and removing of the weird tassel sweetcorn. I’ll gradually start clearing the corn as we eat it, so I can see more easily what’s left.

There’s another flush of tomatoes coming. Bed 2 has lots of little cherry tomatoes all of a sudden and the volunteers are still going, with at least one of the plants looking like a Ferline rather than Red Alert.

One of the new pumpkins noted on 26/8 has indeed begun to grow, while everything around it is ripening off.

In the afternoon, with the sun out of the way, I made a start on cutting back the everlasting pea and the big bramble. It’s taken some big liberties on my side, pushing its way between the fence and my trellis and not helping with the dilapidation of the fence. It’s about half done for now.