Autumn

This month has been mostly catching up on jobs which got out of hand during the Summer, especially weeding... I feel like I've been pretty much non-stop weeding! It's been quite nice to not have any big projects to do, so the smaller jobs can finally get a bit of attention that they deserve.

The vegetables have still been doing very well, so we're largely eating home grown veg. We still have crazy courgettes, although they're starting to slow to a pace where we can eat them all! We have runner beans still, although they're also slowing down. I've just harvested the last of the tomatoes and beetroot...must plant more of those next year. Lettuce and chard are still producing more than we can eat, so they're making their way into a lot of our meals! We still have loads of carrots and some turnips, and nasturtiums along with a few radish pods, so our diet is staying nice and varied.

Lettuce still going strong and some of the last tiny tomatoes

There were a few tomatoes which hadn't ripened yet, but I picked them in case frosts come, as I do love a bit of green tomato chutney. I'll put an extra post with a recipe for this when I get around to making it. :)

Unripe tomatoes to be used for chutney

One new veg which is taking over on the crazy front is butternut squash. I ventured into the mad tangle of vines to see how they were getting on and was over the moon to find 6 ridiculously massive fruits and a few normal sized ones, and many more which are close to being ready as well as lots and lots of babies... Looks like we'll be feasting on squash for a good few months now! Yumyumyum...

Butternut Squash and beautiful Dahlias from Ruth!

This month I've also been doing a thorough check on our trees. Through the Summer I'd done the odd bit of looking to see how they were getting on, but never felt I was getting round to them all, so it's been nice to go around and weed round each tree to give them less competition and to see just how well they're taking. Some have died off, as to be expected (it would be a minor miracle if 800 trees all survived!). But the vast majority are still alive, and many are thriving and so tall already! I've even been given a few extra trees from my Dad which he accidentally grew in his garden, so hopefully we'll end up with a similar amount to what we planted anyway.

Rowan tree growing big and strong in our field

I will miss the long days of sunshine, but Autumn is one of my favourite seasons with the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets (which often are too early and late to enjoy during the Summer!) and the beautiful, colour-changing foliage everywhere. It's hard not to be happy when living in a place like this. :)

Gorgeous sunrise over our main field