Autumn in the potager

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There’s good eating here. If you can find it.

Sorrel and rocket and tomatoes and beans. Swiss chard too.

But for the past two days I have only had eyes for the paths.

It’s a bit like that mantra of sorting the edges of lawns to make the whole area neater.  I don’t have lawns at the mo; just parched dust. But the gravel paths have finally emerged from the mess.

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And my biggest pest is an edible one. Strawberry runners.

Man I have a glut.

So out they came and I couldn’t countenance just throwing them onto the compost heap. I have planted them on the edge of the potager where they can do less rampaging.

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For rampaging is what they do.  In fact this winter I want to lift every single one out of the potager beds and corral them more severely.

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They won’t get as much water, alas. I haven’t any automatic watering system in this part of the garden. But right now I am less concerned about a future crop and more worried about the jungle in the beds.

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There were actually three instances during the day when there were scudding clouds and sudden light showers. Quite a thrilling adventure. Sadly the whole tally was 1.4mm which is beyond derisory.

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But I was able to nip into the potting shed and pot on my propagated plants. New santolinas, one surviving prostate rosemary, lots of geraniums for Andrew. A forest of cerinthe plants. And of course plenty of opportunities to bother Artur.

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He is putting himself on the naughty step without any prompting.

Purring like mad, and keeping off the baby crops.

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I sowed seeds in August – partly in a response to all the death and drying around me. It’s silly of course. I doubt I will be over winter these little celosias. But the gauras and cerinthe might survive.

I wanted to have the potting shed clean and the potager orderly so I can spend the rest of this week doing the most urgent autumn task – bulb planting. More anon.