Tuesday, 30th October

What a lovely morning! I had a line of washing hanging in the garden before you could say, "Househusband." Then I was off down to the allotment to do a bit of gentle digging, very gentle. It was my first go this Autumn and like most gardeners, I suspect, I know how to put your back out good and proper so I was taking no chances. Those septuagenarians around me put me to shame, plots dug over and new crops in - must be all that (perpetual) spinach they grow. It seems to grow like a weed on our site, I'm forever trying to get rid of it. Dug a few carrots while I was there but I think the raspberries have well and truly finished, 12 raspberries from 2 rows says it all.
Have you noticed there are only rubbish bins at the shop end of the West Tarring site now? Apparently the new rubbish lorries can't get down to the other end and turn round so it's no good dumping your rubbish there, as some have done, because it's not going anywhere; it won't be collected. All rubbish now has to be taken to the bins by the shop. And don't forget - it's pub night TONIGHT!

Monday, 29th October

For those of you who read this page only: take a look at the News page. A little group of us are going to see the Dutch bulbfields and now is the time to book. See details on News page.

Sunday, 28th October

Well, I hope you remembered to put your clocks back last night. Nice to have that extra hour in bed, wasn't it? But in this technological age, what a pain to reset all those timepieces! It's not just your ordinary room clocks, alarms and watches but the timers for your video, the outside light, the cooker, the microwave and the central heating. Then when you get outside there's the clock in the car and any you might have in the garden or garage. And did I do anything with the extra hour's morning daylight? No. It was so damp and miserable that just getting wet going to the shed to get some veg for dinner was enough for me. So, horticuturally, nothing achieved, except perhaps a moment's thought about next year's seeds. Still, there are things to look forward to; next year always seems so promising and in the immediate future it's pub night at the North Star again on Tuesday. Don't forget, there's a free pint for anyone who turns up and tells me what I can do with my old dustbins. Now there's any opportunity you don't want to miss! (Promised clue: I'll be wearing a green top)

Top of Page

Saturday, 27th October

End of half-term, end of visits and visitors and a return to something like normality. One of my visits was to an arboretum in the Cotswolds and I'm really glad I made it. The autumn colours were really spectacular but it's not just in parks and arboretums, everywhere trees seem to be putting on a spectacular show. I heard it's to do with all that wet we had earlier on - I'm glad it did some good.
On the normality front, I was on the allotment this morning and it was lovely and sunny while I was down there even if it did become a little more miserable later on. I decided it was time for my runner beans to come down. It was a bit of a disappointment to see that several of the canes had broken but an unexpected bonus to get aother decent picking of beans. I also dug up a celeriac but have no idea what to do with it and my wife says I should have left it to grow bigger. Like I said, back to normality.

Saturday, 20th October

A funny thing happened to me the other night. I'd arranged to meet a friend in the Chichester Festival Theatre car park. I live 20 miles this side of Chichester and he 20 miles the other side so it seems a suitable place to meet a few times a year for a curry evening and a natter. But when I got there the car park was closed and a fair was setting up, so I decided to park elsewhere and return on foot to the car park then wait in the usual spot. The appointed time came and went, still no sign of my friend, so, using the mobile phone I had borrowed specifically for the occasion (I don't possess one) I rang him. The conversation went something like this:

• Where are you?       
• In the car park
• Where in the car park exactly?
• In the usual place by the tennis courts.
• No, that's where I am.
• Well, so am I and I can't see you.
• What else is near you?
• I'm beside a huge caravan.
• So am I!!!!!!

Yes, you've guessed it.........we were standing either side of the same caravan, but we did find each other.
On the gardening front, I have thrown my non-productive pepper plants onto the compost heap along with some past-their-best enormous tobacco plants and the hanging basket (contents) which crashed to the ground recently in the wind. Time to get on with the clearing up and start looking towards the new season, I think.

Wednesday, 17th October

I had a voucher for seeds from the company DT Brown, so about a month ago I sent for their catalogue. It arrived this week. The good news is there was another £3 voucher inside so I might get some free seeds this year. You have to watch the postage, so anything bulky, like seed potatoes and onion sets, I shall still get from our local stores. I bet I end up topping up my order at the stores anyway as their seeds are very cheap and you can get good deals on things like fleece and Growmore.
As it turned out so nice again this afternoon, I went for a little walkies with our group through Whitebeam Woods and Longcroft Park. No woodpeckers this week to spot but plenty of other noisy birds and squirrels and a lovely Red Admiral butterfly - yes, they're still about. Not for much longer I wouldn't think though if the weathermen have got it right. In the evening I rushed to the allotment picking any squash that looked near ripe and covering the others with fleece following a forecast of ground frost. In the gathering gloom I also managed to find another picking of runner beans - surely the last, unless you know different.

Sunday,14th October

Harvest time - harvest festival time. Last night I went to our church's Harvest Supper. £5 for home-made soup, shepherd's pie and apple pie. The price included wine and musical entertainment - cheaper than staying at home! Then this morning it was our Harvest Festival after which I hared it down to the allotment store to pay my £3 annual subs before they shut at midday. After all, it would be hypocritical of me to exhort every one to pay on time (before 31st October) if I didn't do so myself. I wasn't the only one down there with the same idea: "What, another one"! exclaimed the storekeeper, so it must be trickling in. Well done! Keep it up. Without the regular income from members' annual subs we wouldn't have much in the pot to pay for your Plotholder and subsidise such things as outings, seed prices and this site, so pay up and keep us going.

Top of Page

Saturday, 13th October

A small group of us went to west Dean Gardens today for the Apple Affair and for sure there were oodles of apples to be seen, inspected, tasted and bought.

There were lots of other stalls as well there displaying and selling all sorts of apple related products.

As you can see, it was raining but there was no need to let that spoil the fun and people were still enjoying the apple shy (bit like a coconut shy) and the William Tell challenge with bow and arrow. But if you wanted to stay dry there were lots of indoor attractions such as fruit, vegetable and craft shops, museums and art galleries. And, of course, loads of greenhouses.

 Apart from flowers there were displays of fruit such as peaches, grapes and avocados and other edibles such as peppers, chilli and many different varieties of tomato. If you didn't fancy that, the house was open too, all included in the entrance fee of £6.50.

I can't show you what it looked like inside as you were not allowed to take photographs but it's certainly worth a look, especially if you like tapestries. For further details of opening times and future events go their website at:
www.westdean.org.uk.

If you got hungry, no problem. Apart from the restaurant and snack bar there were plenty of stalls selling things to eat or drink:

A cookery display was going on in this tent with free mince pies and chutney tastings.

                                                                      
                                                hog roast                                                                               boar hot dogs

Of course, I made a bit of a pig of myself partaking of pizza (with apple in the topping), potato and apple soup, toffee gateau (with apple?), free beer at 9.6%!!, ham, victoria sponge and a cup of tea. Not a bad day out at all, despite the weather.

Wednesday, 10th October

What a miserable morning! It certainly didn't tempt me to trot down to the allotment. Instead I confined my horticultural activities to the greenhouse. At the beginning of the year we had a new drive so I had to dig up some nerines before they were embedded in concrete. I just slung them as they were into the greenhouse and now they're flowering, so I decided they deserved to be potted up for the time being. I also cleared one of the tomato borders and dug in some compost and a couple of cheap growbags. This afternoon started off a bit brighter so I went for a walk with our Wednesday group which took in a stroll round Longcroft Park and there for the first time in my 21+ years I saw a green woodpecker which let me get very close before flying off. I was thrilled to bits. Doesn't take much to thrill me, does it?

Top of Page

Tuesday, 9th October

"Just a little rain falling on the ground............" I was going to insert a snippet of that Joan Baez song here so you could all listen to it but decided against it because:

• I'd probably get done by the copyright police
• I'd no idea how to do it

Sunday, 7th October

It was such a lovely day today I decided to walk to the allotment - I was pushing a wheelbarrow so I didn't have much choice and no, it would not have gone in my car. I was delivering my new acquisition to its allocated spot by my allotment compost heap. All I intended to do there was water the squash, which are pathetic compared with last year. Last year I bought my squash seeds from the allotment store but they were a bit too prolific if anything, 30 whopping great squash the size of babies in your arms, so this year I bought a named variety from a garden centre. Next year I shall be buying from our stores again. Whilst down there I fell into conversation with a couple of other chaps and it's amazing how time flies when you're chatting away on a lovely sunny evening. Before I knew it, it was time to rush back for tea. I pulled up the last of my greenhouse tomatoes too this weekend; any unripe ones I put in a drawer in the spare bedroom to ripen. Obviously my wife hasn't found them yet - I'm sure I'll know when she does.

Top of Page

Friday, 5th October

sabre-toothed cabbage white

I went to the allotment this morning and shooed off the cabbage white butterflies onto a neighbouring plot. I'd covered my cabbages with fleece but these cabbage whites must have some darn good teeth because there were whopping great holes in my fleece where they could get in. I had a similar problem last year and was advised that the reason my fleece had torn was because I had put metal hoops under it, so this year I didn't and it still tore! Mind you the wind might have had something to do with it, that and the fact I had achored it down with bricks. Anyway, looks like I shall have to buy another lot next year.

24 carat carrots?

I dug a few carrots too, then what did I hear on the news? There's going to be a national shortage of carrots this year. They say that it's been the worst growing conditions in Carrotland in living memory, far too much rain at the wrong time. Yet it's been my best carrot crop ever. Ithink I'd better padlock them into the ground before the carrotnappers start to dig them up.

Thursday, 4th October

I pulled up the last of my outdoor tomatoes today. They were a bit blighty but until now had still been producing some edible tomatoes so I left them for a while. Those in the greenhouse have just about had it too so they'll come out this weekend. Have you ever noticed when you're working with tomato plants (nipping out sideshoots, removing unwanted leaves, pulling up plants, etc.)how your hands go green? I always wash them thoroughly and yet when I dry them I still leave green marks on the towel. Doesn't half make me popular with the other half!   toms

Wednesday, 3rd October

Went to another Association committee meeting last night. It's amazing what goes on behind the scenes that you just don't realise, not just organising shows, trips and social events (Quiz evening and Christmas dinner coming up) and juggling the finances but a real fight on behalf of the gardeners and allotment owners of Worthing. We have quite a long waiting list for allotments in our area and, with the support of Worthing Borough Council and their contractors, Continental Landscapes, there's a real campaign to free up allotments which are not being put to good use so that eager souls can take them on. You wouldn't believe the amount of time and effort that goes into it, inspecting and taking photos of neglected sites, meetings with the council and Continental Landscapes, contacting plot holders, etc so that a good service can be provided for all. On top of that the trading secretary is trying to get the best deals on seeds and sundries (red onion sets available next year) so we can continue to enjoy great value at our Stores. And yet - our membership is still just below 500, with 1,000 allotments in Worthing and thousands of other gardeners out there. So come on, sign up, it's great value and service for £3 a year (£5 first year) and if you're a member already, don't forget that subs are due in by the end of the month. (See Membership page for details)

Top of Page

Tuesday, 2nd October

I cut my last three courgettes today and threw the corpse on the compost heap. As many of you will know, it was not a good year for my courgettes and next year I shall be acting on some of the advice you were kind enough to send me. Only two of my six plants made it past the slug attack stage and went on to produce any fruit but the two that did tried hard and kept up a steady supply but we didn't have any courgette ratatouille to freeze this year even though the onions and the tomatoes did OK. I don't think I'm going to get much more from the outdoor toms and I've started clearing plants from the greenhouse, only three left now. I think I shall need the space quite soon for other things like pelargoniums and fuchsias, and the orange tree already takes up quite a bit of space. Having said that, the promised frost didn't come to much and my begonias are still thriving - when they go I tend to whip everything else under cover. They'll have to go soon as I've got nowhere to put my recently acquired wallflower plants.