Out of the Holding bed

Curly red kale, Nov 2018

In my Holding bed (one of five beds specified by John Seymour's gardening method), I grew on my winter brassicas:  Brussels sprouts, kale (curly and Tuscan), and cauliflower.  Early this month, the son and I transplanted the curly kale out into the main Brassicas bed where the dwarf French beans had just been cleared away.

Part of the specifics of the Holding bed is that plants are grown more closely than in the main beds:  in the kale's case, about six inches apart.  They're far enough apart not to have stunted growth, but close enough to get quite a lot of them together.

Once there is room for them in the main beds in autumn, these closely spaced plants need to be moved so they have more room to grow and, more importantly, produce.  In curly kale's case, the ten or so plants were pretty tall but quite leggy and not particularly leafy.  To transplant, I dug a much deeper hole to plant out, and then earthed them up as well.  A couple of them were close to waist height (a couple were under knee height though).  They seem to have adjusted to their new positions and hopefully will produce a bit more later this winter or in early spring.

What about the Brussels sprouts, Tuscan kale and cauliflower?  Well, it looks like the cauliflowers didn't survive the squash vine attack (overly luxurious growth overtook some of the Holding bed), while the sprouts and Tuscan kale remain in the Holding bed.  I did want to move the sprouts to a more sensible spacing, but they were already starting to produce and I didn't want to risk losing the harvest.  And it looks like there's just two (small) Tuscan kale plants, both already spaced far enough apart, now that the curly kale has vacated the spot.  They're staying too.

The end of the Challenge, 2018

We did it:  my No Buy Vegetable Challenge officially ends today.  Six whole months without buying vegetables* at all.  Not every vegetable we ate came from our own garden:  some were gifts or were otherwise obtained for free.  However, we did not buy a single one.

The husband will give a big sigh of relief when he picks up his first punnet of mushrooms in six months, I know.  And the son looks forward to some carrot and swede (aka rutabaga) mashed together on his Sunday roast dinner.  I'm also eagerly anticipating a lovely big batch of salsa with those three bags of ripe garden tomatoes in my freezer:  just need some onions!

We still have vegetables from the garden, both fresh and preserved.  We'll still be eating them.  And next year I'm pushing the Challenge to seven months in total.  Can it be done?  It'll take some planning.

*All fruits are allowed, as per the Challenge rules, including "salad fruits."  However, very few salad fruits were bought throughout this whole challenge--only cucumber from about the end of June onward.

Thanksgiving 2018

Ineffectual staking method, Nov 2018

Thanksgiving once more!  We celebrated it at our friends' house;  there were a total of four adults, and three children under the age of 10.  Because my No Buy Vegetable Challenge is still not quite completed (four more days now), we arranged that I would bring the turkey and gravy, and my garden grown Brussels sprouts, and they would supply the potatoes and another vegetable dish of their choosing.  We also agreed to each bake a pie:  mine being pumpkin--or squash in this case--which was homegrown as were the eggs (well, three of them:  only Cookie's laying and as she's a bantam, her eggs are pretty small).

---

It occured to me afterward that one of our spring hatched Australorp/Orpington cockerels would have made a fine Thanksgiving bird (not as big as the turkey we bought, but certainly large enough for a festive meal);  too bad we ate them long ago this summer.  It's something to think about for the future.

Using up the last green (and red) tomatoes

Bubbling away on my counter, Nov 2018

I bought two 1.4 L kilner jars from Ikea earlier this year, specifically to use for fermented/brined preserves.  They've been doing the honors with some salsa fresca;  the jar above has a mix of red and green tomatoes, a couple small tomatillos, some achocha, spring onion, garlic, and chili pepper.  I layered them all in--garlic, spring onion and chili at the bottom--then filled it up with a brine consisting of 3 tablespoons salt to 1 L water.  It went on my countertop for less than a week, before going in the fridge for immediate eating.

You can see the lid is clamped shut in the photo, but it needed to be loosened at least once a day in order to expel built up gasses: CO2 I believe.  At about day 4 it was very fizzy!  Even after going in the fridge after a week of fermentation, it still needs to be opened regularly;  an earlier batch from eight weeks ago (now nearly all eaten) is still slightly fizzy, though more of a tingle on the tongue than a volcano erupting.

This salsa tastes more like gazpacho to me, but I still love it.  I enjoy it on my scrambled eggs or on a salad as a replacement for fresh tomatoes (of which there are only a few left under glass in my cold frame).  Plus I could drink the fizzy brine like soda;  it's not sweet but salty/sour and so refreshing.

Still have the main bulk of the ripe tomatoes in the freezer, on the countdown to the end of the No Buy Veg Challenge...just one week to go!

State of the flock, November 2018

100% garden produce, Oct 2018

My flock is currently two small flocks.

At the allotment

Four hens are working hard in their tractor at the allotment.  They've gone over about half the available space (not including the planted cabbage bed or the sheet mulched section), and over the past two weeks or so, regrowth has been minimal.  Up until then, regrowth (mainly grasses but a few nettles and thistles) had been quick and lush.  They'll definitely have a second pass, once they've finished the first.  Hopefully a third pass too, before spring.

We're getting the occasional egg from these hens, though two of them are currently in molt.  Maybe 2 eggs a week in total.  I wish it was more but don't mind too much, as they are doing excellent work in the tractor and luckily not eating too much feed.

At home

Now that we've eaten the two male cheeps hatched this July, there is one remaining cheep left in our garden along with her adopted mother Cookie.  They're joined by Cookie's earlier hatched cockerel, the Australorp/Orpington cross who was bred from our own rooster and hen (both now sadly deceased).  He was hatched in early April, and had been at the allotment up until about three weeks ago.  We discovered he'd started crowing, and brought him back home, put a no-crow collar on him, and let him free range with Cookie and the cheep.

Family photo:  can you spot all three?  Nov 2018

This A/O cockerel is massive, particularly next to his new/old flockmates.  And he's been practicing mating with Cookie;  she honestly looks the size of a chick next to him, so I don't think this will be a successful endeavor.  His technique involves grabbing her by the back of the head (her comb is too small to grab, luckily for her) and pinning her down with his body with his feet on either side of her.  I'm glad he can't seem to properly jump on top of her, because it's entirely possible he'd seriously injure her.  Cookie for the most part seems quite happy for him to try, though the cheep still runs away from him.

Cookie has surprised us by starting to lay again. A Pekin bantam, she only lays eggs in preparation for going broody.  This is not a good time of year to go broody and we won't be giving her any fertilized eggs to sit on until at least February.  If she decides she wants to sit on eggs, we'll try to break her of broodiness;  hopefully it won't throw her off permanently, as we still want her to hatch chicks--just not in the coldest part of winter.

No eggs from the remaining (female) cheep just yet, though she's finally losing her cheepie call and is starting to say "bok" like the rest of them.  She, Cookie, and the A/O cockerel are all quite shy of us, though the cheep is the first to the gate when we bring out the corn!

Growing for Halloween

All homegrown, Oct 2018

Well, we did it.  My softball sized pumpkin became a cute little Jack O'Lantern.  I think in future all our carving pumpkins should be this small--after I cut the top out, it only took one scoop of a spoon to get the entirety of the seeds and pulp out.

I grew that tiny yellow pumpkin, too (variety unknown), from a seedling given to me by a friend.  It's the size of an old-fashioned tea cup, I think.  I do want to eat it, but it's so small (and cute) that I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

Size comparison, Oct 2018

And those two green/white squashes are still decorating that table in my living room, along with their youngest--though similarly sized--sibling (not pictured).  The son and I carved the pumpkin on Halloween itself (he drew the face on and I cut it out), then I peeled and chopped it for stew the next day:  a perfect size for one meal, and very tasty.

Kohlrabi

Too dry this summer for kohlrabi, Oct 2018

I like growing new vegetables.  Like the achocha and Aztec broccoli I tried for the first time this year.  Bonus:  I'd also never eaten (or even seen) them before. 

Well, another new vegetable for me was kohlrabi;  this however, I've definitely both seen and eaten before.  I'm not very successful at the usual root vegetables:  carrots, beets, onions, etc;  I thought this one might grow better for me, as it's actually the swollen stem that forms, not the root.

Well, I sowed seed in situ, both in the Brassicas bed--which it belongs to--and the far edge of the Roots bed--which it doesn't, but it was the only place with any room left.  This section is in partial shade and had extra chicken manure seeing as was the chickens' permanent yard two winters ago.  And wouldn't you know it, the one kohlrabi I harvested came from this partially shaded bed.  I speculate that it managed to grow (as did some turnips and beets) because of the combination of manure and shade:  the main beds got full sun and not enough water, where this bed was able to conserve its water for much longer.

I don't know if this counts as a success, though.  I mean, yes it was tasty and a good size, but there was only one!  I think there may be another three or four plants out there still (in both beds) but none have formed a bulb, and I think it's unlikely they will now, in November.

Will I grow this again?  Yes.  I'll try it again next year with hopefully a little more water this time.  The variety is Giganta (I think).  Mine definitely wasn't gigantic, but hopefully I'll improve next year.

October 2018 garden notes

Artichokes (and comfrey between them), Oct 2018

Roots

Harvested a handful of small beets (tasty);  another handful remain, but even smaller and probably not worth the effort by now.

No celery or leeks harvested this month:  both still growing.

Peas and beans

Harvested one small handful of runner beans per week throughout this month--even fewer French beans;  both pretty much finished by the end of October.  Left a couple pods on runner beans to save for seed.

Brassicas

Purple broccoli, Brussels sprouts, curly kale all growing strongly, but none harvested this month;  all started to flop over and need staking (only staked a couple so far).

One cauliflower resolutely forming a head;  the rest have disappeared.  Regrowth from earlier spring cabbages forming smallish heads.  Picked the one kohlrabi with an acceptably-sized bulb;  another three spotted, but no real bulbs to speak of. 

One small Savoy cabbage cutting still growing;  half of the Savoys (from seed) planted at the allotment have wilted terribly--root fly?  Don't know.  The rest are good sized, though not forming heads yet.  A couple old plants have regrowth;  harvested a few outer leaves this month. 

Planted out 18 spring cabbages in main Brassicas bed and six in the cold frame.  Sowed a tray of cauliflower seed in the cold frame.

Miscellaneous

Slow growth from youngest leaf lettuces (in planters);  self-sown lambs and miners lettuces and arugula also growing slowly.  Harvesting a little of each throughout this month.  A few smallish spring onions left in planters.

Still harvesting a handful of achocha per week throughout October--the vines of which have taken over most of the Misc bed.  Finished picking Aztec broccoli mid-month, to try and let the plants go to seed.

Harvested nearly all of the regular tomatoes, and just a couple more cherry tomatoes this month--a few of these still on plants by the end of the month.  Harvested a couple ripe chili peppers.  Picked one ripe melon (lemon sized).

Picking chard throughout the month, both as salad greens and for cooking.

A bit late for raspberries, Oct 2018

Fruit

Harvested all the Sparta apples, with a couple dozen left in storage by the end of October.  Harvested all the almonds.

More flowers formed on the yellow raspberry, with a couple tiny fruits too;  probably too late in the year to ripen.

Leaves beginning to fall on fruit trees and bushes by the end of the month.

Perennials and herbs

Picked a tray of mint to dry for tea.  Harvested a small amount of basil over the month (very nice in scrambled eggs).  Most herbs died/gone dormant by the end of October.

Old growth on artichokes died back, but plenty of new growth from the base this month.  A very small amount of growth spotted from the rhubarb, but asparagus is unknown.  Harvested a few young sorrel leaves for salads this month, though most of the plants have died back now.

October 2018 Food Totals

Spring cabbage seedlings on the left, random assortment on the right;  Oct 2018

Vegetables:

7.5 oz Aztec broccoli
10.5 salad greens (leaf lettuce, miners and lambs lettuces, baby chard, sorrel)
48.5 oz tomatoes
2.5 oz cherry tomatoes
37 oz achocha
18 oz runner beans
12 oz chard
1.5 oz chili peppers
4 oz patty pan squash
2 oz melon!!!
0.5 oz nasturtium leaves
4 oz beets
3.5 oz immature green squash
3 oz cabbage greens
9.5 oz kohlrabi
5 oz leeks

Total:  169 oz, or 10 lb 9 oz

Note:  I weigh all my vegetables after preparation:  peeling, trimming, etc.  Does not include some fresh herbs which were too small a quantity to weigh, i.e. less than 0.5 oz.

Does not include one large green squash which was unweighed.

Fruit: 

77 Sparta apples
156 almonds

Eggs:

Total:  23 eggs from 5 hens
Total feed bought: 1 bag layers pellets (20 kg)

Preserves:

1 very small jar fermented hot sauce
1/2 medium jar dried nasturtium leaves
1/2 medium jar dried chard leaves
1 small jar dried mint leaves

Homebrew:  

4 L cider started from wild harvested apples

4 L cider vinegar started using pulp leftover from cider making

Elderberry/blackberry wine still fermenting
Fizzy elderberry/blackberry wine still fermenting

Previously made cider still fermenting

Previously made cider vinegar still fermenting