October. Time for misty mornings and the sound of rustling leaves as Autumn sweeps in. The garden is winding down and other activities fill my thoughts as Christmas edges nearer.
Before the festive season occupies my time though I have jobs to do in the garden. I have kale to plant out and broad bean seeds to sow. Bare soil needs to be covered and leaves to be swept up and stored for leafmould.
I picked the last of the tomatoes. A few were ripe and I found some large green “Roma” ones to bring in to store in a basket. They will slowly turn red in a cool room.
Then I removed the tomato plants and composted them. I spread a little fresh homemade compost on the greenhouse bed and planted winter lettuce.
Behind the tomato plants I found some fascinating fungi. I looked them up and I think they’re Coral Fungi, possibly Ochre Coral. A bit unusual, it seems.
I’ve planted garlic cloves in the tunnel. These need the cold months of winter and will be harvested in late May or June. I will need to protect them from Allium Leaf Miner with fine mesh cloches around the end of February. I’ve lost two leek crops previously to this new pest in our area so I hope I can prevent them from ruining the garlic which is also an allium. Homegrown garlic is so delicious. Well worth growing.
I’ve planted the onions I grew from seed in an outside bed. These will be vulnerable to allium leaf miner as well so I’ll protect them later on.
The Cabbage White butterflies have finished their reproductive cycle at last. I’ve been able to expose the sprouts and feed them with some chicken manure pellets. These are very stinky but are a good source of the nitrogen which green leafy vegetables need. The rain at the beginning of the month has washed it into the soil and tiny sprouts are forming.
Aphids have been a serious problem this year. They can damage plants if left alone. I just squash them as soon as I find them because they reproduce rapidly. You can see them on my photo of the growing sprouts.
The fruit-cage has been dismantled and most of the old blueberry bushes removed. This part of the garden will be used for something else next year. Lots of weeds to remove first and the soil replenished with compost.
The roses have had their late summer show but a few pretty flowers continue to give me pleasure. The asters have been wonderful this year. They seem to have benefited from the wet July. Fuchsias are also lovely at this time of year.
This warm damp weather has confused some plants. They’re reacting to Spring-like conditions. For example, I found a crocus flowering.
A few months ago I planted a few Nerine bulbs. Sadly, only one has produced a flower stem. But what a beauty!
Some lovely leaves are falling. Pleasing shapes, like a fig leaf and an acer leaf which fell on the wet stones, and others showing their autumn colours.
Indoors, when it was too wet to work in the garden I did some knitting. I’m making toys again to give away at Christmas. I’ve made a small teddy and I intend to do a few more.
The pattern is from Val Pierce’s book “Dressed Up Bears”. It’s very easy. Worked in garter stitch throughout and really simple to make.
Food is always on my mind and I’m keen to keep experimenting with my airfryer. My recipe for a delicious parsnip flan is included in my Earthy Homemaker’s Cookbook but was intended to be baked in a conventional oven. I wanted to try it in the airfryer but as mine is so small I wasn’t confident. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained!
I reduced the amounts of ingredients and used a little flan tin which luckily just fitted into the airfryer basket. I realised it would be difficult to lift out the hot tin after baking so I put a folded sheet of aluminium foil underneath with flaps to hold onto. That worked well. I baked the flan at 167C for about 23 minutes. It was a great success although the pastry was a bit pale.
In my original recipe I used creme fraiche. I hadn’t any handy so I used a spoonful of oat cream. A dash of milk would probably have done as well. It was so tasty and the filling set perfectly.
If you have a big airfryer which would take a normal sized flan tin, you could follow my recipe and cook it for about 25 to 30 minutes instead of the 40 minutes in the conventional oven.
Here are my original ingredients.
Creamy Parsnip Flan. Pastry for a flan dish approximately 8 inches/22.5 cm in diameter. Approx. 500g Parsnips 80g Cashews 1 small Onion 1 Vegetable Stock Cube (I use Kallo) 1 large Egg half to a whole small red Chilli or Chilli Powder Salt and Pepper 2 heaped tablespoons Creme Fraiche Line the flan tin with pastry. Wash, peel and slice parsnips. Cook in a little water for about 10 minutes. Drain and cool the parsnips and put into a food processor. Add nuts, egg, crumbled stock cube, sliced onion, creme fraiche, chopped chilli or chilli powder, (quantity according to how hot you want it), and salt and pepper. Combine well on high speed. Fill the pastry case. Preheat the airfryer to about 167C on Bake setting. Add the flan when airfryer is ready and bake for about 25 minutes. Very satisfying and goes well with a good home-made chutney. A lovely Autumn meal.
Seasonal changes always make me reflect. Often I’m inspired to write a poem. Here’s one about October which I composed a couple of years ago.
October Days
Sunny spells and sudden rain.
Rustling leaves and drooping flowers.
That time of year is here again
With daylight's fleeting hours.
Spider webs are glistening wet.
The moss is emerald green.
Sombre clouds, a constant threat
And whipping winds are keen.
Then the sun bursts through again,
Golden light upon the wall,
Glowing on the windowpane
Where the raindrops fall.
Scents of earth fill the air.
Damp morning mists arise.
Trees are almost bare
As the restless wind sighs.
Darker days lie just ahead
And though Winter may be cruel
We need not fear or dread
As we plan for Spring's renewal.
Bye for now. I hope you enjoy the changing season. With you again soon.
Living a contented creative life. 