[snowdrops]

Hi DBG. what variety of spinach would you recommend? I sowed some winter giant a couple of weeks ago and they havent germinated yet.

Have you tried Swiss chard? Leaves are very similar to spinach, I actually prefer the cooked texture

[Steveharford]

i did grow swiss chard this year snows but even that went to seed. didnt get around to eating  any.

[devonbarmygardener]

I generally do 2 sowings of perpetual spinach or swiss chard - one for summer which  (will bolt eventually) but I cut the flower stem out as soon as it appears - makes it last a bit longer and one for over winter

[pigguns]

I generally do 2 sowings of perpetual spinach or swiss chard - one for summer which  (will bolt eventually) but I cut the flower stem out as soon as it appears - makes it last a bit longer and one for over winter

or keep it short and it'll last you over into early spring.

[snowdrops]

i did grow swiss chard this year snows but even that went to seed. didnt get around to eating  any.

Just seen in Gardeners World mag to dig up a root & you'll have baby leaves all winter, I've not read it yet but I assume you put it under the greenhouse bench or somewhere similar.

[gypsy]

My swiss chard has been bitter this yr.  and I have not had a lot of success with spinach this yr.

[grendel]

picked 4 large takeway tubs of raspberries, and half a bucket of beans.
Grendel

[Snoop]

Got water up from the well and gave everything a good soaking. Wish I hadn't bothered. This afternoon we had 5 cm of rain in 45 minutes. On our land alone, we had 2.5 million litres of rain. There are hectares and hectares of land that feed water into our valley...

The mushroom pickers will be out this autumn.

[Steveharford]

Mowed (and mulched) the Phacelia on the onion and garlic beds. Lightly rotovated it in. Tried strimming it down first but it was flying all over the place and landing outside the bed. Not the idea. The ground is very dry. Watered leeks.

[chillimummy]

Trimmed grass around edges. Weeded and dug over area where lettuce had been. Picked some raspberries. Front of compost bins full of long couch grass. Dug it all out and laid weed membrane in front of it to try and keep weeds from returning! Looks so much better.

[grendel]

3 icecream tubs of rasperries and some beans picked, plus rent paid for next year.
Grendel

[blackberryjam]

Harvested some of my carrots today but found most of them have been eaten by slugs except for my purple haze carrots they didn't like them .

[Snoop]

Walked around yesterday and lamented the state of my calçot bulbs that I planted a while back - they're now swimming in their own individual ponds and likely to rot. Everything is utterly waterlogged, and more rain is pouring down again. So far this morning since 6.00 am, 35 litres (3.5 cm) per square metre and rising. Looks like it'll rain all day.

The chickens are drenched, quite a few of my overwintering brassicas are keeling over to the side as the ground gets softer and softer, the lettuce full of mud from being submerged the other day are about to go under again, tomatoes are splitting and rotting (helped by birds taking pecks out of them)... On the bright side, the carrots come out of the ground nice and easy and the parsnips actually look like they're enjoying the conditions. The snails are also loving it and all my overwintering lettuce seedlings that they seem to have chomped in the night. They didn't eat a single raddicchio, which doubtless Mr Snoop will take as an indication of their utter inedbility.

Mr Snoop has just gone out to see if he can make some channels to divert water off the road, which is fast becoming a watercourse and losing all its gravel and stones.

[miggs]

Went down to the plot for an hour after work. Just strimmed a few of the paths, planted 50 onion sets, picked more sweet million Tomato's. Oh, and got bitten about 7 times, got lumps allover me now. Back down Tuesday night to plant another 50 onion sets.

[kc110]

Did a bit of weeding.
Picked raspberries.
Brought more beetroot (golden) home.
Chatted.
Kicked a few snails into touch.

Then spent the arvo making beetroot chutney, pumpkin scones and freezing beetroot greens.