October – What a Treat – Steph’s Allotment

Well wasn’t October just wonderful! The weather we had been craving all summer finally arrived (although not quite the summer temps we would have liked). The days were warm and dry and filled with sunshine, just what we all needed. Bee’s and butterflies were still busy going about their days which reminded me that I need to grow much more calendula next year for the garden as it’s still flowering well.

October for me was filled with autumnal, country walks, pottering in the garden and starting to clear areas of the plot. This time of year for walking is really special. I love watching the seasonal changes, the beautiful bright warm colours of the trees and the sunrises and sunsets are quite spectacular too. It won’t be long until the trees are bare and winter takes hold so we get out as much as we can whilst it’s nice. Don’t get me wrong we love a winter walk too but not always possible with winter in the Dales.

On the plot we were still harvesting tomatoes, beetroot and the first leeks. I’m amazed how well some of the tomatoes have done especially good old HoneyComb. Definitely one of my top 3 varieties. Some varieties have succumbed to the colder weather and the plants have died back but others are growing still and producing fruit. A very mixed year for tomatoes indeed.

We also lifted all the pumpkins and winter squash to bring indoors for ripening and curing. A small harvest from my 9 plants but we harvested some and that’s the main thing. I’ve put them all in the spare bedroom in front of the south facing window. It’s warm and bright so they will finish ripening and start curing well. I probably won’t grow big butternuts again as they really do need much more warmth than our North Yorkshire summers provide. In a poly tunnel would work well but I’m going to stick with smaller winter squash instead.

Mid month was garlic and onion set planting time, one of my favourite dates on the growing calendar. This time of year it’s easy to feel like that’s it all over but actually planting something in the ground now marks the start of the growing year to come and it fills me with excitement and anticipation for the following seasons.

I’ve planted a few new varieties of garlic this year and a couple I’ve grown before. Violet de Cadours, Blanc de Lomagne and Rose de Lautrec are all new for me and I’m hoping for some great results from them. The aim is to replant some of the harvest next year so I can be completely self sufficient in garlic.

I’m trying my onion sets in groups of 3’s to see how well they grow and if I still get a good sized bulb from them. Planting this way has definitely saved on space but hopefully not at the expense of the onions overall size. I’ll keep them well fed and watered when needed.

I’ve planted my garlic much shallower than usual to see if that helps keep them a little drier. The past 2 years I’ve lost so many to rot from being too wet so hopefully this will be an effective way of growing going forwards. Again I’ll keep them well fed and watered when needed.

In the garden I’ve been cutting back and tidying as well as collecting leaves off the lawn and gravel paths to cover the beds and borders instead. Leaves make a fantastic mulch with huge benefits so its worth clearing them from any hard standing areas and lawns. You can also add them to compost heaps or create your own leaf mould by filling bags with leaves and poking a few holes in the bag for air. Then sit them somewhere out the way till Spring.

I’ve been super fortunate this month to have had 2 visits to Beamish Museum. It truly is an amazing place and if you haven’t been before then I urge you to go.

It’s filled with so much history and loads to see. On our 2nd visit we stayed for 6 hours and still didn’t see everything! Situated in County Durham not far off the A1.It’s fast becoming one of my favourite places to visit.