Our next event is the Autumn Show on Saturday 13th September in the village hall. The Five Bells and the church are having a Harvest Festival on the same day and we will be coordinating our events. There will be a path from The Five Bells car park to the village hall thus avoiding the road so altogether we hope this will be a jolly village event.
September is really the beginning of autumn but is also a time of great abundance.
By mid month runner and French beans will be coming to an end. Don’t forget that pods with mature beans can be picked and the beans dried for use in stews or as homemade baked beans. Also don’t be in a hurry to remove the plants because the roots will continue to fix nitrogen even if not producing a crop and can be cleared away during the winter.
Continue picking tomatoes though you can cut down on the watering. By the end of the month it’s probably best to pick the remaining crop and bring inside to ripen in the presence of an over ripe banana or to make green tomato chutney.
Chillies , aubergines and sweet peppers will be coming to the end of their season. Aubergines and peppers should be eaten but chillies can be frozen or dried for future use.
Keep checking brassicas for caterpillars and remove yellowing leaves.
Clear the remaining main crop potatoes and store as appropriate.
Pears and apples will be ripening. For apples cut one in half and if the seeds are brown it’s probably ripe. With pears gently lift the fruit in the cup of your hand and if it comes away it will be ripe.
Now is the time to plant potatoes for new potatoes at Christmas. The varieties are first and second earlies that have been held back in cold storage. Use a large pot or potato grow bag and put about 4” of compost in the bottom. Place four potatoes on top and cover. As the foliage appears keep adding compost until near the top. The main danger is blight so best grown under cover and fed weekly. They will also need protection from an early frost. In late autumn the foliage will die down and they will be ready to harvest.
Tidy up strawberries by removing old leaves and runners and give them a final feed of a general fertiliser and then they should be fine through the winter.
At this time of year there is always the question of saving seed. In general I’m not a fan. Seeds from F1 varieties will not breed true and many outside varieties will cross fertilise so you’re not sure what your getting. The exemption is chillies. Chillies are largely self fertile so will bread true but the choice is huge so once you’ve found what suits you save the seed for next year.
Please remember our show and the harvest festival.
Good Gardening
Peter Estcourt