A new episode in the history of Lucina’s garden in England. This September is chapter number 7. At the end of the article you will find links to read previous episodes.
Seven months have passed since the beginning of this adventure. And what an adventure it has been! Summer is behind us, although here in England, except for the last few days of heavy rain, September has been a great month from a weather point of view. Here, when the weather in September is warm and sunny, they call it Indian summer . But what bad luck for the students and the people who have returned to study or work in the meantime!
I haven’t planted anything new in the garden this month but have enjoyed the fruits of the hard work of the previous months. In addition to the legendary raspberries that never end (but who’s complaining?), I picked up spinach at will, green beans, zucchini, leeks and tomatoes , although, truth be told, there is still a lot of greenery in the plants. Who knows if they will ever ripen or be killed by the frosts expected in the next few days. I’m a bit pessimistic about this. Italians will laugh to read that we still pick tomatoes here at the end of September, beginning of October. I guess the tomato season in Italy is long over!
Before I forget: another vegetable that ripened this month that I love so much is corn on the cob. . Really sweet and delicious! I have made a lot of soups by putting the grains of cob in them. They are really delicious and easy to grow! I have to plant more next year.
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What is that?
I really thought I had escaped the garden when it came to insect and bug attacks. Some plants have suffered from hives, as mentioned some time ago, and of course the vegetables are regularly eaten by various beasts, but nothing catastrophic.
This was the case until the beginning of September when I went to the garden and I saw WITH TIME that certain broccoli and cauliflower plants had been targeted by the famous caterpillars call the cabbage , the yellow and black hairy ones, as you can see in the photo, which then turn into butterflies. But although I love butterflies, I confess that I am not a lover of caterpillars, especially when they decide to devour my vegetables.
I had read an article about them on the Garden grow site, but I did not expect to meet them and see them destroy my beloved plants (they are very voracious caterpillars that like cabbage etc. -d ‘where their name- and they can be uprooted from all the crucifers in the garden if one is not careful and does not get rid of them. HELP!). So I had to run for cover. After consulting the blog to find out how to counter them I realized that unfortunately they had to be removed manually (yuck!) then sprayed the plants with a preparation of bacillus thuringiensis… Well I followed the instructions and it worked like that I was able to save the cabbage (even without the goats… ah ah). Thank you Matteo and Orto Da Coltivare!
Perfect vegetables, like the grass I want, only exist in the king’s garden
At this point I wonder: How much pesticide will they give to vegetables sold in supermarkets? They are all so perfect, without even a small hole or stain! But that does not exist in nature!
I learned very quickly that the perfect vegetables, like the grass I want, only grow in the king’s garden. In other words, they don’t exist in the gardens of normal people like me, let alone those who want to grow them organically. At first it bothered me a little when I saw leaves or chopped vegetables eaten and bulging in my garden, but then when I looked around I immediately realized that other people’s leaves are like that too and that’s the norm in nature, I haven’t seen it in supermarkets. And now I don’t mind sharing my vegetables with worms or insects.
The poor too must live! Obviously, the important thing is that they do not exaggerate and do not destroy everything: in this case it is necessary to go through strong methods (although always organic) to keep them at bay. But overall I can’t complain. It could have been so much worse!!
The sad story of the pear tree and the happy story of the apple tree
As you may recall, I wrote that one of the things you can do on my land is rent a fruit tree . You pay the modest sum of 10 pounds a year for each tree and then you can reap the rewards of that plant. But be careful!! However, the rules state that if the fruit is on the ground, anyone can pick it up.
Unfortunately in mid September I was in Devon for a week and for about ten days I didn’t check out the apple and pear tree I had rented. Before leaving, I saw that they were both full of fruit but not yet ripe. Well, the pear tree decided to bug me and leave most of the pears while I was gone. Moral? I came back from vacation and found the tree almost bare and without pears on the ground. Someone had the idea to take them away! Very little remains on the tree. What anger!
Luckily I can still make up for it with apples. There’s a lot more where that came from. Now they are maturing. Well, let’s comfort each other.
Little (and big) pumpkins grow
Last month I told you about my giant pumpkin plant all the leaves and no pumpkins that invaded my garden with impunity. Well… she was right to wait patiently because she finally decided to have a son (or should I say a daughter?) as you can see in the picture.
It’s about the size of a soccer ball now, but I guess it still has some growing to do. And more are being born (which are now as big as a tennis ball). Another dwarf squash plant I planted sprouted a small orange. As well the pear-shaped variety called butternut squash it’s making babies (from the language I use you understand that I consider vegetables as my children…). So maybe I can eat one before Halloween!
Even the cauliflower plants that until last month only produced leaves finally decided to give me some cauliflower. The shape is not the one you see in supermarkets (when?) but I’m sure it will be just as good. So you should never be discouraged in an orchard.
the winter garden
Now that the days are getting shorter and the temperature is dropping, i expect ortolan’s activities to slow down . But we don’t think it all stops during the fall and winter months. There will be cleaning, fertilizing, pruning, hoeing, etc. Plus, there are vegetables that can be planted in the winter months that really like the cold. I have already planted some (broccoli, beets, cabbage, black cabbage and beets). But there are others that could crash.
I will certainly not go to the garden so often. Working the land when the sun is shining is one thing, when it’s cold and rainy it’s another. So for now I say goodbye to all the people who have followed my blog. I promise to let you know in a few months.
I leave you an advice: If you also have space to plant something in your garden or the possibility of renting an orchard, take advantage of this opportunity. There’s nothing more cathartic and relaxing than unwinding with the earth in the open air and nothing more satisfying than eating something we’ve grown ourselves.
It may be imagination, but the taste of these veggies, no matter how much you eat them, lumpy and chopped, is definitely better than the perfect shiny veggies found in supermarkets!