Preparing For Winter

With the fantastic Autumn weather here, I have been taking it easy with the garden clean up. Normally we would have already had our first frost, but they now reckoned it will arrive on 30th of October here in my valley.

This weekend I drained the pool down to below the the filter, but still need to cover it with the pool tarp. Should be a quick job, as I now have a solid metal pipe extending over the pool to rest it on. Now the rain and snow can drain off and not collect and submerge the tarp this winter.

Sadly I will be forced to remove the tomato plants that are still full of green fruit. I have made chutney, but now there are just too many left. We don’t need any more chutney than the six jars I’ve already made. So it’s onto the compost heap with them before the frost. I am still picking broccoli spears so they can stay on the bed for the meantime. I have one savoy cabbage left, so will harvest that today and the pumpkins are already harvested and waiting on the terrace to be processed into pumpkin pie filling and ginger pumpkin soup to preserve and freeze, and of course to carve up for Halloween!

I love my garden at this time of year, it literally goes up in flames, with the acers and amber tree and the holly full of blood red berries. All the work is done and I am rewarded with this exploding firework, before it all fizzels out into winterly barrenness. No wonder the  Celtic New Year  started on the first of November after Samain, separating the Summer or light half of the year from the beginning of Winter or dark half.

Acer Japonicum “acontitfolium” (Japanese maple)

Liquidanbar styraciflua (Amber Tree)

Ilex aquifolium (holly)

Some of my veg does not want to give up, the zucchini is adamant that it will continue to fruit. I love baby zucchini, so I will let it be and pick it before the frost ruins it.

Cucurbita pepo ( Zucchini aka Courgette)

My last harvest is the quince, which are now ripe and ready to pick. I have so many that a friend of mine is coming to pick what he wants to make organic commercial apple and quince juice. I have picked a basket to make quince jelly and the rest is his to take. I’m just glad they won’t go to waste and if he wants to give me a couple of his delicious lamb salamis, I’m good.

Cydonia oblonga (Quince)