November 2019 in pictures

It has been a relatively mild autumn so far with only a couple of frosty nights so far, but it was definitely time to pick any chillies still on the plants outside and bring indoors to ripen. And while I was tidying up the strawberry beds I found some beetroot stragglers. They were not massively big but there was enough for a couple of meals and the leaves were a welcome addition to our green veg.

The kales come into their own at this time of year and I'm wondering how long I can keep the larger of the two, shown on the left, going. Both have been in the ground for over a year.

I always have to remember that I have Jerusalem artichokes in a growing sack as the leaves have now died back. There are always some left behind ready to spring into action in the new year.

At the front of the house I decided to see how field beans would fare. I have tried various heat loving plants in this area but very few survive without constant attention and watering. In the summer, the patch is hit by full sun and quickly dries out. The rosemary bush loves it and you can also see some garlic coming up next to it. This was missed when I picked the few bulbs that grew there in the summer. 

In the winter, the sun is low and we usually have enough rain to let the plants look after themselves so I am hoping the beans will do well. The seeds looked to be from two different varieties and they are growing at different rates. Although, usually grown as a green manure they can be eaten and there is an interesting article comparing field beans and broad beans on the Garden Organic website - Growing field beans for human consumption 

https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/growing-field-beans-human-consumption 

Also at the front of the house is the last of the rudbeckia (self-seeded). It is in a sheltered spot against the wall and shielded from the worst of the cold weather by a neighbour's bush and a wheelie bin. I was tempted to cut the flowers and bring them indoors but it such a pleasure to see a splash of colour outside at the this time of the year.

July 2019 in pictures

Not many photos this month as we've been busy with work and other projects, but we have been harvesting plenty of fruit and veg (See A Caversham Garden: July 2019 harvest summary
https://cavershamgarden.blogspot.com/2019/12/july-2019-harvest-summary.html )

We were delighted to see that the bumble bees were back this year. They had found a way underneath the shed through a hole close to the ground in the corrugated iron. An excellent choice as there is flowering comfrey next to the hole. Ideal for breakfast for the bees as they leave first thing in the morning.  

A very different bee was spotted in residence in the garden wall: a mason bee. All I ever managed to capture on camera was the hole in the wall that was the entrance to its nest. 

Flowers were really coming into their own this month. At the front of the house the self sown rudbeckia were showing off and in the main veg garden one of the radicchio underneath the damson plum was sporting mauve/blue flowers.

July 2017 in pictures

Golden sweet mange tout. Very pretty mauve flowers, yellow pods and delicious but not very prolific. I'm not sure it's worth growing them again in any quantity.

Flowers and bulbils on Babington's leek. Nice garlicky flavour. I used some in cooking and kept some bulbils for growing on. 

Monster purple sprouting broccoli. This beast stood at 3ft 6in. The others around it were a normal 2ft max and had long finished sprouting. This one had only just started. It lasted another month and would have probably gone on for at least another year had it not been so shallowly rooted. A few blustery winds and it started to keel over and eventually I had to remove it. But it died give us plenty of broccoli spears and leaves before its demise. 

The start of our garlic harvest. I did label the three varieties that I planted but when it came to harvest the labels had disappeared! So I have no idea what is what. I'm not sure it really matters as I will use the cloves from the best specimens for replanting this autumn.

First of this year's cucumbers

Potatoes, Golden Sweet peas and first of the runner beans

Cherry plums

Grapes forming

Gorgeous colours on this monster that landed on a grapevine leaf. It was one inch long and buzzing loudly. I thought it was hornet of some sort but it is a hoverfly - the Hornet Mimic Hoverfly also known as the Belted Hoverfly, Volucella zonaria. Harmless.

Rudbeckia adding a splash of colour

Cinnabar moth caterpillars munching on ragwort.

The temperature may be in the 30s but Ms Moggychops
has found a cool, shady spot in the garden