‘Twas like a scene from that poem by Keats on Friday morn as I sallied forth to deliver vittles to the peasants. The photo above was taken just after leaving Whepstead, but it doesn’t really capture how atmospheric it was in reality. The weather continues to play games with us. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday offered spells of unseasonably warm sunshine once any murk had retreated. Yesterday morning, unfortunately for the farmers’ market, was damp and miserable, and today the wind blew – though not like it did further north and west. I was checking the forecast for where we go on holiday in Cornwall, and it’s actually warmer down there now than it was when we were there late June/early July! The week ahead is looking fairly settled, so I will get the broad beans sown in the bed that I have already prepared as soon as the soil is dry enough.
The grass continues to grow like topsy, so in the sunshine on Wednesday afternoon I got the ride-on mower out to give it a last cut of the season. It was as dry as it gets at this time of the year, but the thick thatch was still wet underneath, so the machine struggled in places to crop the sward, so much so that the blades got very clogged up, to the point where the drive belt to the deck shredded under the strain – and that was with the machine set to its highest cutting position. I had to leave the mowing part finished, but I have procured a new belt that I will fit tomorrow and will hopefully complete the job….slowly and carefully.
The picture below was taken during a stroll down to the woodland last week. For 11 months of the year the Spindle (Euonymus europaeus) is a nondescript small tree, some might even say boring, but in the autumn this ugly duckling becomes a swan with its vibrant pink fruits. In my photo the fruits have not yet opened up to expose their bright orange seeds – that will probably have happened by now. The seeds are a source of food to small rodents and birds but are poisonous to humans. And then the foliage puts on a great blousy show, turning pink and red before dropping, returning the tree to one that you wouldn’t give a second glance.
Last week I cleared another bed in the greenhouse and planted it with spinach. I have made a partial clearance of the polytunnel, but there is a lot more for me to strip out before being able to plant it up for the winter/spring. I made an additional compost bin from pallets to accommodate some of the mountain of crop residue that is created by this operation, but I will probably need to construct yet another one to take the overspill. It’s amazing how quickly it compresses as it decomposes, so one is constantly topping up.
I will be making the final pick of apples this week. To be honest I’ve had about enough of apple picking, but I don’t want the remaining fruit to go to waste, and some of the late varieties are actually very tasty. I just hope that the stiff wind today didn’t make too many of them drop.
The shop this week takes on a proper autumnal feel with the introduction of swede, parsnips and January King cabbages. The compressed daylight hours suggest comforting food such as soups, pans of roasted root vegetables and stews/casseroles, and with a good selection of winter squash, carrots and beetroot you have the ingredients to create some wonderful dishes. There is still purple sprouting broccoli, red cabbage and cavolo nero, and the last of the green peppers this week. The first of the new season of European oranges make an appearance, but at the time of writing I have no idea what size they are likely to be, so I have hedged my bets somewhat with the pricing.
By the time that next week’s blog is published the clocks will have changed. Flipping heck, that will mean that we are into the dark days before Christmas, and sunset at about 4.30! I don’t like it.
I just mentioned the C word, and I have decided that I will not be delivering in the week before Christmas this year. What I propose doing is to make all of the deliveries on Monday 23rd December, so that your veg is as fresh as it can be. Customers that collect from Wyken will do so at the Christmas market on Saturday 21st. I will give you much more notice of this closer to the time, and I will be interested to know if my cunning plan meets with your approval….or not.
Right that’s me done, I’m off to make some dumplings. Enjoy the week ahead.
Phil