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October.
My statement about the first Frosts not coming until November proved to be totally wrong this year as towards the end of September we had at least 3 mornings when I had to scrape ice from the Windscreen of my car! However, they weren’t penetrating frosts and they only barely touched things like the Courgettes, Runner Beans, some of the leaves on my Yacon and my Jerusalem Artichokes. The plants seem to have survived, so for the moment I am leaving them for the last few fruits to develop and ripen. The Artichokes must be just about ready anyway, because the Flowers are starting to open which is usually a good sign.
With the colder nights coming I have picked most of my Apples and put the better ones into store using the damaged ones to make Apple Crumbles. To add a bit of something to the Crumbles and make them a bit less bland I chopped up some Quinces that a friend gave me. They were as hard as bullets, but with a firm hand and sharp knife I managed to peel and prepare them. I did pre-cook them a little before adding them to the Apple as they need a bit more cooking, but the end result went down very well with the family. Their flavour is a bit like a scented Pear. I have got a little tree on my plot that I did from a cutting, but it is still far too small yet to fruit, although I planted a slightly bigger one at home that I bought this year for my new garden.
With the changing season it is time to plant things like the Japanese onions that over winter and are then ready to harvest about a month earlier than normal onions. I shall be planting some Garlic that can also go in now, as it needs a real cold spell in the Winter to form Cloves properly the following Spring.
With the colder nights some of the Leaves have started to turn on the trees and it won’t be long before my Medlar fruits will be ready to pick after they have been properly frosted. They are developing nicely at the moment and, as with most fruit this year, it looks like being a good crop. They will be about the last fruit to be harvested though.
After the leaves have dropped it will be time to start planting "Bare Root," fruit bushes and trees. In fact it is a better time to plant most things, even pot grown plants, as they will not be stressed by hot, or dry weather. With this in mind I recently bought some fruit plants from a large DIY chain that had a great selection at £3 a pot including a tiny Mirabelle Plum tree and I couldn’t resist buying a black Raspberry that I guess may be the result of a cross with a BlackBerry as it has got proper thorns on it – not like those of a normal Raspberry. I will have to take out some of my ordinary "Late," red Raspberries to make room for it, but one of the other Plot-Holders recently asked me for some "Canes," as she had lost hers, so they won’t be wasted.
The Blackberry by my toolbox and cold-frame had run rampant over them, so I cut some non fruiting shoots back fairly hard. It really is quite a vicious variety with some really nasty thorns, but it is a good fruiter. Some time ago I did put a little thorn less one in, further down the fence, but it is struggling to get established. I think when it does, it will be time to deal with the vicious one and I may then pluck up the courage and bite the bullet and remove it altogether. Afterwards I will replace it with another of the new, thorn less, varieties that are now available.
As the weather gets colder, the Autumn fades and Winter starts to show itself I will switch from planting to tidying up my plots and manuring them in preparation for next Spring.
 
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