Final Garden Post for This Year

I thought I had written my last post on the vegetable garden for this year as the only vegetables outdoors that I am still picking are some leeks, and the sprouts that I am hoping will get a bit bigger for Christmas.

 

But I had forgotten about these little beauties - the Jerusalem artichokes. I had noticed this year their lovely yellow flowers, which were impossible to photograph because of the long stalks. They really are the no-effort vegetable, as every year up they come, and however thoroughly I think I have dug, there are clearly enough bits of tubers for the plants to come up again the next year. So I think these are destined for a nice hearty soup.

Most of the vegetable garden has been put to bed under some dark sheeting, but I have planted one area with some green manure. I can see the seedlings coming up, and these will be dug back in the spring to add nitrogen.

The polytunnel has been tidied up, and I have just one trough left, where I have planted some sweetpeas. I never have much luck with sweetpeas, but saw the tip on Beechgrove Garden to plant in the autumn so they have a head start.

There is still quite a bit to do in the other bits of the garden, buddleia to cut back. I am hoping for a nice crisp but sunny day, which never seems to come.