September

The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder despite the still relatively warm days.
In my vegetable garden the summer crops are done, tomatoes, chilli, cucumbers, gherkins, French beans and sweetcorn are all going over and the plants are going straight to compost. Getting the nutrients ready to go back into the ground next year.

The winter salads however are growing strongly, still some warm sun and good light to get them to a good size before the real cold weather arrives. Mizuna, Mustards, Lolla Rossa, Rocket, Lambs Lettuce, Spring Onions and Chinese Cabbage. My first batch are already starting to fill the pots and I’ve made a second sowing today, these will take a bit longer to get going but will provide some fresh food in the months ahead.

The cacti and succulents will be popping in and out of the warm holding area where they spend their nights under cover and on days that are a few degrees above freezing they will come out to get some winter sun but all watering has now stopped.

I have a number of Auricula and primula seedlings coming on and the cooler weather will suit them well.

Much of the stock is starting to either loose leaves or die back now and will retreat underground until spring, in their pots.

The Iris and Lily are starting to die back, however the bulbs and rhizomes will be ready to go again in a few short months. I have invested a large amount of resources and time into the lily stock so hoping that we will have a few plants to offer in 2023.

The ferns are coming along slowly, they’re slower than a Diplodocus to be fair but hopefully they will produce some plants in 2023 that we can make available.