A Granny's Diary - We're now into September 2020 - Wednesday 2nd September - A month in the garden

Hi there,

I can't believe we're in September but its a fact, I believe !  We're having autumnal weather but its not autumn yet.  Its just a blip in the weather, and  our weather prospects will improve, as they always do in September, once schools open and children return to their lessoms.

Well, hi there, its still September but two weeks later, Wednesday16th September, and I've been busy harvesting since then.  In fact, I've been hard at work on all things green and harvestable since August but now the end is in sight and in fact, harvest end should be the 29th September, which is only just over one week away.  And with this present very hot spell, certain plants are delaring harvest-end already.  It's just too hot to do too much, even if you are at your site from early morning ie 7am and, unfortunately, we just cannot manage that time of the morning !  Yet we keep trying, even going twice a day - as early as possible and then again pm time, both for just a couple of hours.

So leaves are yellowing, beans are still growing and courgette flowers are still appearing but whether or not we can provide enough watering for our cottage garden style bee and butterfly garden, is a matter of some conjecture.  We shall just have to do our very best and be jolly grateful for all we've gathered in so far.

On the other hand, we do need to clear faded crops away and prepare the soil, for all of my veggie seedlings presently growing well on my garden's work table and in my greenhouse.  

Harvesting leads, inevitably, to the kitchen for some serious washing, chopping, cooking and mixing for bottling of jams, chutney, pickles even mixtures of fresh herbs for freezing in butter and ice-cubes for future cookings !!

I love the whole growing-cooking-bottling idea but OMG its an awful amount of constant work and frankly I'm looking forward to making a final mix of green tomato chutney.  The pickled rhubarb is not a total success but my first two batches of bread and butter pickle (courgette and cucumber mix) are very much liked, and my tomato pickles are interesting.  The rhubarb, marrow and ginger jam will be useful for winter crumpets and toasts and I have marmalade enough to last 'til Christmas time.

Toodle loo for now and happy days to you all x

Margaret xxx