Autumn seeds

The elderberries are starting to ripen so it won’t be long before we’re picking those.  I’ll Google some recipes and have them ready and waiting for a Saturday afternoon when they’re perfect to pick.

From my growing veg experience so far, I’m going to plan out next year in my book and try to stick to it religiously so that we have something available every week (day?) that’s seasonal.  Of course most people don’t think of having food growing in the colder months and indeed many people have no inclination to be growing food in the colder months.  They would prefer to be inside in the warmth with the food bought from their local supermarket.  I have nothing against this, but I would love to be able to rely on ourselves to supply our own food.  Therefore I’ve started making a list of all the items we eat weekly, such as salads for packed lunch at work, potatoes in one shape or another, onions are the basis to most meals etc and I’m going to make a note against each one as to how long we can expect to have them for, during the year.  Obviously I am taking tips from fellow bloggers on the preserving, pickling and bottling that you have been doing this year on your blogs, to allow me to extend the season as long as possible next year.  I am doing as much as I can this year, but I am running out of my own veg now. 

If I get organised over the coming months, then it will make next year so much easier having a plan to follow.  Then I can adapt it and make notes as we go.  I’m so excited already!  To start as I mean to go on I have ordered the following from T&M:  perpetual spinach (spinach beet), autumn planting onion sets 75 included (Shakespeare & Electric (Red)), pak choi purple F1 hybrid, Corn salad cavallo, garlic garcua 2 bulbs.  I’ve written the names out for my reference and so I can get the labels pre written.  I also have a £5 off voucher to use by 01^st October if anyone can use it, for T&M?  It is PVT79NA2A1J6I3Z. 

The spinach, salad and pak choi will go in the bed where the beans were during the summer.  The garlic and onions are going where the potatoes have all been harvested from.  Once they’re finished with in the late autumn/winter then I will dig over the beds are maybe add rotted manure.  I’m not sure what’s going in this bed next year yet, but I will be sure to that they like rotted manure before sowing as I know carrots for example don’t like manure.  Then again, carrots and I have never really got on!