Rainfall in the TopVeg garden in September 2010 was 81 ml
January 2010 was 57 ml
February 2010 was 59.5ml
March 2010 was 26.5ml
April 2010 was 18 ml
May 2010 was 8.25ml
June 2010 was 28.5ml
July 2010 was 25.5ml
August 2010 was 47 ml
Rainfall in the TopVeg garden in 2009 was 518.75
| Month |
Rainfall ml |
| January |
32 |
| February |
45.5 |
| March |
17 |
| April |
7 |
| May |
41.5 |
| June |
13 |
| July |
111 |
| August |
40 |
| September |
11.5 |
| October |
63.75 |
| November |
69.5 |
| December |
67 |
The annual rainfall in the TopVeg Garden:
| Year |
Rain ml |
| 2006 |
631 |
| 2007 |
795 |
| 2008 |
571 |
| 2009 |
519 |
The ground is now very wet, it has not been an ideal moth for lifting onions and potatoes. They need to be dry before going into storage, so lets hope for an Indian summer! The rainfall in September 2010 in the TopVeg garden was higher than average.
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TopVeg received an SOS for Hessian Sacks needed to decorate for the Harvest Festival. The problem was they were ordered at 6am on Tuesday, (must have had a planning meeting on Monday night!) with a note saying:
‘As these are for our harvest festival at the weekend, I wonder if you would kindly send them as soon as possible, as ideally would like to set up on Friday. ‘
TopVeg packed the sacks and sent them with the morning post, & they arrived today, Wednesday, the very next day.
The purchaser kindly sent this note: ‘Thank you so much, received today.
I really appreciate speedy turn around from TopVeg’
Click this link to buy some Hessian Sacks.
TopVeg Hessian Sacks have been used for sports day and the school play. They are ideal for storing potatoes and onions as they allow the vegetables to breathe, and keep the light out. Using TopVeg Hessian Sacks to decorate for Harvest Festival is a first as far as we know.
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RHS Vegetable & Fruit Gardening is a reference book which deserves a place on every gardener’s book shelf.
It has everything you need to know about growing your own vegetables, fruit, and herbs in the kitchen garden:
- advice on growing over 150 vegetables, herbs and fruit.
- specialist tips on seasonal tasks, yields per crop, sowing and harvesting times and controlling pests and diseases.
RHS Vegetable & Fruit Gardening gives all the advice needed to grow healthy and tasty crops for the table.
Apples and pears are closely related, but there are many differences between apples and pears in the fruit garden.
- pear trees usually live longer than apples.
- pears are fussier than apples when it comes to site. They do not like wind, but need the sun, which is probably why they were usually grown against walls.
picking-pears
- pears do better on heavy soils than apples, but pears will not grow well on light soils.
- pears flower a couple of weeks before apples, so are more prone to frost damage.
- pears suffer more in a drought than apples.
- pears are healthier than apples – not suffering from as many pests & diseases as apples.
apple-basket
- pears only store for a few weeks, whereas apples will store into April.
It is lovely to be able to grow apples and pears in the garden, but it is important to realise that there are differences in their requirements.
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The two most important virus infections of courgettes are cucumber mosaic virus & zucchini yellow mosaic virus.
If the virus appears in the courgette plants:
- there is no cure or treatment
- it is spread by aphids & by knives cutting the courgettes off the vines
- virus resistant varieties can be grown (e.g. Defender, Primula, Supremo, Tarmino, Zucchino).
mildew-resistant-courgette
The two most important diseases of courgettes are the mosaic virus and powdery mildew.
If the virus appears in the courgette plants there is no cure or treatment it is spread by aphids & by knives cutting the courgettes off the vines Virus resistant varieties can be grown (e.g. Supremo, Tarmino, Zucchino, Defender).
Temperatures are dropping, strong winds are blowing leaves and twigs off the trees and it is time for an autumn tidy-up in the kitchen garden.
The lush summer growth of courgettes and runner beans is still allowing the plants to fruit, so we will leave them until they have finished producing, although they are starting to look untidy.
The main autumn jobs in the kitchen garden include:
- Weeding: Weeds are easily pulled up when the soil is damp – but we avoid treading on the soil, particularly at this time of year when it paddles easily and the soil structure is then damaged. The walkways come into their own, as we can access the garden, and keep our feet dry and the soil un-trampled!
falling-leaves on walkways
- Collecting up bits & pieces – such as cloches, pots, and netting. These will be cleaned down and put away until next year. In fact everything that is not in use should be removed. Even bricks & stakes that had a perfectly useful purpose in the growing season should be cleared. All these objects provide shelter for garden pests such as slugs, snails, rats and mice, or overwintering sites for insects and fungi.
tidy up!
- Staking the sprouts and kale will be finished off, so the stalks are tied to the stake. These brassicas get top-heavy when they are wet and could topple over.
- Autumn Lawn Care – the most essential job is to remove the leaves as often as possible. It is easier to do this when the leaves are dry, when they can be mowed or raked up. If leaves are left to pile up and get wet, they become mushy and are then difficult to collect up. Heaps of leaves covering a lawn obscure the light, so that the grass will go yellow, eventually die & leave bare patches. Weeds and moss will then colonise these bare areas.
collecting-leaves
- Collecting leaves from vegetable beds - although leaves eventually rot and provide nutrients it is better to remove them to the compost heap & return them to the beds later on as compost. This keeps the beds tidy and pest free.
autumn-leaves
- Pruning soft fruit - if not already done. Strawberry leaves are cut back to the crowns, so that all the old diseased leaves are discarded and fresh new ones can grow to take the plants through the winter. The fruit bearing canes of the summer fruiting raspberries are cut down, and the two strongest new canes are left.
An autumn tidy up in the kitchen garden is well worthwhile, making the garden a more enjoyable place to be over the winter.
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BBC News has reported that ”a Swindon farmer has taken to using customers’ bras to support the melons she grows on her farm.
Rowie Meers, of Purton House Organics, started growing galia melons this year but found the heavy fruit were falling off and getting damaged.
So she put out a request for customers to send her their unwanted underwear to suspend the melons.
“The smaller bras, the melons spill out of them, so we need the DD cup which sort of cradles them nicely,” she said.”
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CenturionOnionLeafBent
When the onion foliage bends over and turns yellowy, it is almost time to harvest onions. Leave them for two weeks, and then pull them on a dry day.
onion-leaves-bent-over
The bulbs must be mature if the harvested onions are going to be stored. Leave the pulled onions to dry and ripen
pulled-onions
The skin of the onion will turn shiny as it ripens, then it will be fit to store.
ripe-onions
If the weather is set fair the onions can be left outside to dry and ripen:
drying-onions
- lifted up so that the air can circulate round them, such as tied to the washing line or sat on netting
new-onions
If it is a damp time, it is safer to move the onions under cover, where they can be hung up in an airy, dry place.
boxing-onions-for-drying
Onions can be stored in a cool shed or garage. The conditions necessary for onion storage are:
- good air circulation
- cool temperature
- dry air
Store onions in:
slated tray
- hessian sacks
- plaits – using their foliage to make the plaits, then hang the onion ropes up
store2
Onions with thick, fleshy necks will not keep & should be eaten first and not stored.
If onions are not completely dry when they are put into storage there is a risk that they will develop neck rot. This is when a fungus starts to develop around the neck area and gradually rots the onion from the neck down. Onions must be checked for Neck Rot (latin name – Botrytis allii, B. squamosa and B. cinerea) regularly in storage, & removed, because the rotting onions will destroy other onion bulbs in storage.
White onion varieties are more susceptible to neck rot, but red and yellow varieties may suffer. Garlic, shallots, chives, and leeks are also affected by neck rot.
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Jealott’s Hill Research Research Station has been investigating the components of taste and flavour, and have now manipulated them to produce a milder tasting cabbage variety called Belada.
Researchers have discovered that using DNA marker analysis of seedlings enables them to select traits which influence glucosinolate levels and volatile metabolites that affect flavour and smell.
cabbage
Has this research has produced a cabbage which no longer leaves a smell in the kitchen after cooking, as well having a mild taste and flavour?
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