Shwmae! This is an overdue post but It's been a (mostly) quiet time in the Fort. It's been a liminal period; harvesting a few bits while patiently waiting for other crops to mature while maintaining the infrastructure. And at the same time I'm already looking at how I need to start prepping the Fort for winter. And so the world turns.
Before we get into this report proper I have a personal request. I know that several witches and pagan folk take an interest in the goings on at the Veg Fort. Now for the record I'm not pointing fingers or looking to blame, but the weather lately has been very erratic and I can only assume that if not wholly down to climate change, one or more of you have been practicing weather spells... Or fighting amongst yourselves... Or doing battle with Elementals. The damage the wind has done is severe and will be documented below. All I'm asking is possibly hold off until the end of August maybe please. Diolch. And now the news.
So starting with the harvests. The po-tay-toes have been picked along with a third crop of radishes.
The potatoes are delicious! They were this year's major offensive against big salad and they were a success! There was 8kg in total. I've roasted them, mashed them, boiled them, each equally tasty. Considering growing a mini crop in the cold frame for winter.
My radish crop was only half what I was hoping as several seeds deserted like cowards and have been court martialed in absentia. But they are the backbone of the Veg Fort and I have a fourth and fifth crops getting ready to do their part for the revolution.
I've also pulled up the onions and shallots. Wasn't the best harvest but they've taken a beating since they were planted and I wasn't expecting a great deal. I'm going to see if I can replant the shallots this winter and hopefully they'll do better next year.
I pulled up a few of the carrots as well and they're good but short. I think all the wet weather has meant they haven't had to grow too deep for water. I'm going to tempt fate and race the clock to try getting another crop started and harvested before end of Autumn.
The rest of the garden is ticking along. The corn is meant to be ready by the end of August but with the weather being the way it is I'm not sure.
My spinach plants have been dreadful this year. Both the wind or slugs have had at them and they just haven't produced good leaves this year. I've got some winter spinach that I'll be seeding soon, so hopefully that will do better.
The fennel has exploded. It then occurred to me that I have no idea how or when to harvest it. So research is being undertaken.
Over in the mini Hugelkultur bed the kale and three leeks are doing well. The Lettuces I planted there just withered and died. I'm thinking that the heat from the bed was too much for them. So in their place I've put a few carrots and I'm planning to put some new lettuces in one of the other beds as space becomes available.
So now we start cataloguing those crops affected by bizarre weather. The beans have started emerging but the poles either broke or bent in the wind. Thankfully the beans are the combat engineers of the Veg Fort and the stalks held the lot together enough for me to put some support poles in.
The tomato plants. So when the weather was warm and beautiful I decided to take them out of the cold frame as they were just too big for it.
The very next day a fierce wind decapitated the lot! But I wasn't going to let them go in vain, so like a battlefield medic with only a my trusty secateurs, some soil and the necromantic arts I performed some emergency propagations. Of the five cuttings four have bounced back and rooted, one is still in intensive care.
I'm now lumbered with as many tomato plants as I started with. At least I have more to hand out to fellow revolutionaries.
So now begins the winter planning. The tub the potatoes were in is probably where I'll plant some pak choi at the end of August, hopefully this year's attempt won't be as bad as last year.
I've also got to work out a plan for rotating as much soil as possible between the tubs & beds and how I'm going to compost in situ over the winter.
This feels like an end of year report with all this winter prepping but there are still a few sunny days left and plenty to do. The industrial salad complex doesn't sleep so neither shall we.
It's sobering to contemplate that the warm days were too brief and the cold days arrive all too soon. But there's also a defiant anticipation, we've braved the cold before, we can do it again.
Hope you're all doing okay. Stay safe and don't let the bastards grind you down.
