The first obvious ground frost arrived on Saturday morning and it pretty much finished off the Moranga winter squash vines, I cut the biggest squash to take home to cure in the conservatory. I spent a good chunk of the weekend down on plot 33 getting jobs ticked off the list, this included removing raspberry canes to make room for soft fruit bushes. I felt warm in the sunshine but there was a nip to the air, the digging kept me warm but cooler weather is on its way for sure. I do love raspberries but I already have a big patch of autumn fruiting canes in my garden at home, I’d rather use the space on the allotment to plant blackcurrants and gooseberries.

The Borlotti beans produced so many beautiful pink pods through summer, I left them to dry to a deep purple which is just as pretty and picked them for shelling. They’ll fill my storage jars well. I felt sad taking the spent plants down, the hazel poles are tidied away too and the plot is starting to look bare but I’m so happy with the first bean harvest.

A job I was really keen to do before proper autumn weather arrived was laying turf down on the central path, I didn’t relish the idea of slipping around on the wet mud. I’m pleased to say it’s now done, I just hope it roots well before the weather turns very cold.

The plot is coming together and I have so much more growing space than I did at the start of the year. Soon I’ll be planting hard neck garlic ( I love the scapes and I’d like to make my own pesto next year) and autumn sow broad beans.