Meanwhile up in the Veg Garden ....

 We,ve had a very windy night and heavy rain ... but the sun did make an appearance and I thought take that opportunity to wrap up warm and venture out to check my greenhouse hadn't blown away .
 On the way up I can see that I,m going to have to replace the windbreak mesh that I had sewn on to the fence that surrounds the vegetable garden .  Especially behind the Labyrinth ...I am also going to plant something along there that will look nicer too , although I do like that I can see through the mesh across the meadow ..hmmm ... will have to have another think about that ...but that windbreak is so important to shelter my veg beds .

 The VegTrug is full of goodies , but we're in for a cold clear night sky tonight so I have put on the plastic cloche cover and fastened it down with some of those metal tent pegs and some bricks .

                                           That looks so much better !

                                      Lettuces , onions , kale, cabbages .

Oh dear ! The greenhouse is leaking ! I,m not sure where it's coming in either !
 Anyway , So I tipped that water away , moved a whole lot of precious cacti and put a bowl under the place where I suspect it is coming in .

 I have covered over the more tender Cacti with newspaper to keep them warm over night . I will pop in again later on with two 8 hour candles to take the edge off the cold and everything should be fine . I will uncover in the morning .

In my husband's solar shed , the Gete okosomin is just fine..the two little ones have begun to turn black , I will throw these on the compost heap .The seeds I am sharing will be from that big one !

 This is the awesome no dig keyhole bed that I made over the last year and a half.
This is the basket in the middle , the watering hole that , has a large bucket/tub with holes in the bottom .....this was brilliant for getting the water deep down into the earth and around the roots ..it kept the whole thing cool and moist .
If you are in a really hot zone , or if there were drought conditions , you could weave a simple shade with sticks or straw ,to go over the top of this basket to help prevent evaporation .

 I did cover this now empty bed over with cardboard ..but it has blown away ,so I will have to start again..remember to weight it down with rocks ...note to self !!!

( For those who can see fairy spirits .. there's one in the middle of this photograph !   Can you see her ?  ..yes !....For those that can't...it will just look like a pink orb ! )  :)

Here's another no dig /lasagna bed being prepared for the next veg growing season .

I know all that cardboard and sludgy seaweed , newspapers and manure looks untidy to some..but it keeps down the weeds...cuts down on digging...and improves the earth and feeds the good worms ...and grows great vegetables !

 This bed has next season's onions, a leek soon to be taken and put into a meal .
I,m also trying to get perennial kale growing .

  The Tetrapanax papyrifer rex  is not really enjoying the winter ...but will revive in the Spring .

                                                   Lots of Leeks .

      Leeks are so useful and stand the cold very well and we love them !

                                           We use lots of Kale too .

                     The odd Nasturtium still flowering and romping away .

                                         A few Roses to surprise me !

               Brrrr.......time to go in..I'll just  top up the bird feeders  .

 What ?  No peanuts ? !   So expensive ...but the birds give me so much pleasure from my kitchen windowsill ..o.k..We're wrapping up warm again and off to the shops to buy some more .   Byeeeeee !

Purple Tree Collard

                                                      Look what I,ve got !

                                                 
                                                        Purple Tree Collard !

Gete-okosomin Harvest !

                                    Whoo - hoo !  My Gete - okosomin harvest !

 Those who have been following this story will know that I only had one plant germinate , of how the vine got broken off just above the cotyldon leaves , how I took that broken plant and treated it as a cutting and had to wait a further couple of weeks for that cutting to root ..which it did ...of the storms..followed by drought ...followed by relentless rain showers just as I wanted to hand pollinate the flowers .
 People giving me advice I could have done without..like only allowing the one I put on the chair to develop and cut the others off !..the one on the chair rotted ..so I,m glad that I didn't cut all the other shoots off .
 It certainly is a very vigourous variety and can root into the ground as it spreads .

                                     They are best if raised off the ground .

   This one got to a fairly good size though hanging over the chicken wire fence .

I dont know how much it weighs .....I think it might break my kitchen scales...big strong  husband carried it in for me . This one , is the one that I am hoping and praying , will have the best chance of having seeds in .
  I already have a list of veg gardening friends who want to try these seeds and I will be happy to share them out later on in the year .( It will be awful if it has no seeds in ! )
 Thanks to Nancy Wolfe who was very generous in sharing them with me , I have learned so much through growing this interesting Squash  .
 Are there any interested (geeky) Pumpkin / Squash growers around here in Mullion ?

 I brought in all the others and they have to cure in a warm place for a day or so before putting them into a cooler but frost free storage place ...shed / garage / loft .

I ,ve brought in some of the many smaller zuchinni/courgette sized ones for us to try too .
                                          Looking forward to cooking them up .

                     I stripped out the bed and we're back to square one again .

The slugs ate all the leaves off these purple kale stalks, actually I think they were Red Russian Kale ....I,m leaving them ..they might re-shoot  .....they WILL reshoot !  (got to think positive ! ) :)

It is time to feed and replenish the earth and I try not to walk on this beautiful crumbly soil ...wow ! ...it still looks amazing !
  Today I will let the birds feed from it , tomorrow I will begin to cover it up , layer by layer build it up again .

                              Leeks , onions ,  kale growing away beautifully now .

  A few cabbages and Purple Sprouting Broccoli under cover , the other side of the bed is resting and being built up again .

                                          Another bed being prepared .

 This plastic mesh fencing hasn't lasted even a year , I couldn't afford chicken wire last year , I,m having a re-think about this . I hate plastic !

 So I have coppiced some Hazel and I,ll see what I can do with that around the veg beds.

                                                     Leek seeds drying off .
                                             
Hurricane Ophelia is a coming in from early tomorrow morning , batten down the hatches and take very great care everybody  .

Autumn Equinox Important Visitors

 I,ve been feeling a bit poorly this week with a bad cold and toothache ....so I,m a bit late with my Autumn Equinox post .
  We are one of the few places left in Cornwall , where you can still see fairies !
You have to sit very still for a long time and be very , very quiet ......

                    .....if you keep very ,very quiet......then you may also hear them sing .
                   I was delighted to get a couple of photos to share with you !

 Our grandson came to stay with us for the weekend and brought Parc Eglos School Helston Chester Bear with him . Chester Bear is sometimes allowed to go home with children who have been very ,very good in class all week .

 He enjoyed walking round the garden .. like a teddy bear  ...especially walking around Grandma's labyrinth ...

                                     ....oh ...well ..he did get a little bit dizzy !

                         Then into the greenhouse to see all Grandma's plants .

           Did you know that Bears can climb ? Oh ! Teddy ! Do be careful !

He climbed up to see Harry's Runner Bean Plant ..the one he brought home from school for the Summer holidays .

                    Chester Bear admiring Grandma's Gete -Okosomin Squash !

                                        Cornish Piskie watching all the fun !

Gete-okosomin Squash 19th September update

The sun shone warm up in the blue sky, after a chilly sunrise . Plenty to be done up in my veg garden , but I wanted to show you how the Gete-okosomin Squash plant is doing today .

It is escaping the keyhole enclosure ! Leaping over the chicken wire fence , scrabbling into the labyrinth .

 On the other side it clambered over the fence and here it is , scrabbling up and into a Hydrangea bush .

             The flowers are still coming , both male and female and lots of fruit !

I have raised some of the best ones up on to slabs of rock , a stool and even a chair .
 It was climbing up that tree to the right in this photo ...but I decided to take some cuttings , to see if I can get them through the Winter and get an even earlier start next year .
I doubt it, but I,ll give it a go anyway . Has anyone done this ?

Can anyone tell me how big these have to be to guarantee viable seeds inside the squash ?

 A couple of beautiful fruits still growing on the vine resting on  a stool , to keep away from the slugs and snails . I am surprised at how the slugs are so attracted by the pollen and the tasty flower petals..and I wonder if the slugs are part of the natural pollination process ?  I wonder how the slugs actually get into the flower centres , the stems being so hairy/prickly , but they certainly do, I keep finding them there !

Gete - okosomin scrabbling into the labyrinth ! By the way , the rabbits don't seem to be interested in eating it ! Maybe I didn't need all that expensive chicken wire after all !

 Here are the cuttings I took two days ago , maybe a little wilted and I did find a slug trail in there  , so I have put down slug pellets . I could not find the slug !

                                                Can you see that slug trail ? 
 This takes me back to the beginning .......remember that broken seedling stem ?

I am really hoping to get lots of seeds to share out and if these cuttings make it , I will have a good early start next year .
 The weather is becoming more and more Autumnal here , I hope we get a couple more weeks before I harvest these beautiful Squash fruits .

One more question ...can the small Gete-okosomin squash that don't make it to full size be eaten as zucchini /courgettes ? Does anyone know ?

 The weather was beautiful , sunny and warm this afternoon , not even the slightest breeze and we enjoyed coffee and chocolate ice-cream down at Poldhu Beach .

          Tomorrow's weather forecast ....yep ..clouds are already gathering .
           Rain coming for tomorrow in Mullion ...oh those slugs will be so happy !