Vivi's Kitchen Garden

It’s the time of year when beds become empty and need tucking up for winter……and a few beds are emptied of one crop and prepped for another. It’s winter bed prep time. Here I talk about how I prep my beds for a follow on crop and how I prepare them for the winter if they are going to be fallow by using my crop ‘n’ drop technique.

Hurray for my favourite day of the year! I know it’s a favourite for some of you too…..the squash harvest! It doesn’t matter how many times I do it…I love it. All the colours and shapes and sizes and textures……these truly are a beautiful harvest to gather. They are a real staple for me too, as a self-reliant person……they will store for ages with no fuss, they’re versatile…..and they’re yumlicious to scoff.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Yippee! It’s time to make like a pirate and dig up buried treasure! It’s one of my favourite harvests each year….I never know what I’ll get…..but I blooming love going down there to get it! I also have a wee chat about tools and general garden kit…….prompted by a bit of a fail in the garden recently…….which landed me on my back!

It’s hard to believe the summer is over and I’m taking stock of things with the October garden tour. So much changes so quickly at this time of year! There is still plenty of food in the garden and lots of lovely jobs to get on with this autumn…….but it definitely feels like the beginning of the big wind down.

Oops, my ‘thoughts on’ for the end of September seem to be following a pattern…..I’m late! Today I’ll be reflecting on how my life is going without a wage and with trying to grow most of my own food…but…also….before that, I’m musing on the subject of advice…..it has come up quite a few times this month so I thought I’d reflect on it here. Advice, whether receiving or giving can be a whole can of worms! I am sure it is a subject that most folk will have feelings about…..and we can share them here.

Dashing between more rain showers……today is all abut harvesting the chickpeas and saving some of the dried beans. The weather doesn’t play ball so there’s some shed chat time all about chickpeas and why they are such a great addition to the kitchen garden. I’m chatting all things, sowing, growing, harvesting, processing and storing them (both dry and demi sec)…..all the principals apply to beans too….plus a bit of chat about vegetable protein sources.

I haven’t been able to get to the garden for the last ten days….the last time I was here the sun was blazing, the sky was blue, the temperature was nudging 30 degrees c….. Today is a different story; after two days of heavy lashing rain it definitely feels like autumn has arrived and time is fast running out for the garden. I need to have a good look around and decide on the priority jobs to hurry up with.

It’s the time of year when harvesting needs to happen almost everyday…….in order to keep on top of the kitchen time needed to store all this lovely food. It’s also the time when the garden is fading quickly and foliage is dying back……it feels a little sad but the dying foliage can reveal hidden treasures….as it did for me today…and a lovely little bonus crop it is too. The garden fades but the colour of the harvest glows!

Chatting and chilling. Today it’s all about relaxing…..I’ll be talking about some bath products, some journals/magazines and a book review….yes, it’s all about slowing down for a few moments to enjoy some of the more simple pleasures. Perfect for the weekend!

It’s hard to believe it’s September with temperatures above 30! It’s a scorching day so I need to go slowly………the perfect day for harvesting flowers; in this case the Lavender. As I get stuck in to harvesting I also spot a few jobs in the herb bed that I need to tackle. Pour yourself a glass of something cold and join me in the herb bed.