The Spinach has had it. I knew it would happen. It was one of the first things I sowed in early Spring and has been happily producing these past few months. But Spinach doesn’t last forever. It’s one of those cool weather plants that really just gives up when the weather heats up.
It’s started to go to seed so I harvested everything that was left, pulled up the plants and put them in the compost bin. I’ll leave it a few months until I sow some more.
Never one to leave the earth bare, I have already sown some Swede in place of the Spinach :)
My Tiny Plot is surrounded by leaves. On one side there are evergreen Laurel bushes. The south-facing wall is topped by deciduous Ivy, then half our house is covered in Wisteria that sheds its leaves too.
Consequently, at this time of year the ground is thick with Autumnal leaves - even the Laurel seems to shed the odd one or two. So, it’s high time that I stopped filling the council’s leaf mould pile and started my own.
When I first moved into the house the garden was a wreck. Apparently, the previous owner were not ‘into’ gardening. You don’t say? There was a five inch thick layer of something thick and black and crumbly on the roof of the outhouse. Part of the roof had caved in under the weight there was that much of it. What was it? - leaf mould. The leaves had been falling for so many years, untouched that the good stuff had just built up and up.
I tried to salvage as much of it as I could and dug it into my new garden. But that’s the last time mtp has seen any leaf mould (two years ago). But this year I’m determined to bring it back. So, using my Love Em’ and Leave Em’ leaf sack, I’ve started to collect the fallen leaves and I’m hopeful for some blackstuff come next year.
Here’s a few things I’ve discovered about making leaf mould.
- The leaves that can be easily turned into leaf mould are Oak, Alder and Hornbeam. They will soon rot down, but Sycamore, Beech and Horse chestnut might take a little longer.
- Some people will suggest that you don’t use conifers and evergreen plants. You can but it will take between two and three years for them to decompose. They’re best added in small quantities, shredding them first will help to speed up the process.
Anyone else have experience producing leaf mould. I’ve heard you can use a black plastic bag with holes in in the same way.
I managed to get in half an hour in the garden today. I started to clear away some of the crops that were starting to look a bit straggly, like the Climbing French Beans and most of the Tomatoes (there are a few still left hanging on). But it was such a beautiful Autumn day that I couldn’t resist taking some photos too. Here is my Ghost Rider pumpkin. Last week it was green, this week it has turned orange. Just in time for Halloween!
Now that I’ve harvested all of my Grapes the vine has started to show its Autumn colour. Just the tips of the leaves are changing but I think we’re in for a pretty spectacular display from this one.
My Calendula is STILL producing flowers - I’m amazed. It has been flowering all Summer long. Just before I went on holiday I cut it back quite hard. When I came home it was covered in flowers again and it’s still going. Wow! If any cut flower is worth its place in the kitchen garden it’s this one.
The last, lonesome Apple is picked from my espalier. But boy will it taste good!
The whole time our cat, Candy, was lay dozing in the sun - ‘well thanks for your help girl, couldn’t have done it without ya!’.
Yesterday, I harvested the last of the Leeks. Now the ground is ‘really’ clear and ready for those heaps of manure I plan to buy any day now. I also brought in my plant tags in order to give them a Winter wash. They came up really well with a bit of a scrub and now they’re drying off in an old clay plant-pot just waiting for the sowing to commence.
I took the opportunity to take a photo of the cleaning process (tags and Leeks). Don’t they look neat in their separate compartments?
