Unexpected heat wave? OK!
I skipped a week but, honestly, you didn't miss anything. Last Saturday was spent tromping around Tooting Common with my friend Jane looking for forgeable things (I came home with hawthorn berries which I'll turn into...something), and Sunday I went into Central London for my first hair cut in nearly a year, followed by an episode of Tea with The In-Laws, which took up basically the entire day. Monday, a bank holiday, was spent pretty much not moving, and here we are.
The weather, today, is fucking glorious and my absolute favourite: sunny and cloudless with the air full of Autumn and just a slight breeze. The only thing that would make it better is if I were camping with my friends in the mountains, like we have done nearly every year for the last 25 years. But I am here, and those mountains are currently on fire, so I won't dwell on it overmuch. Suffice to say, though, that Autumn is when my heart comes alive.
I did spend time in the garden, this morning, adding to the soul food. The nasturtiums have exploded again, so I ruthlessly hacked them back. The tarragon, sage, and fennel starts that I bought, last week, are now in pots and will hopefully be useful in the Stew Time that is on the way. The sorrel met much the same fate as the nasturtiums, since it keeps flopping over onto the oregano which I've also cut back in an effort to revive it.
The lambs ear lettuces are poking through, now, so hopefully they'll get it through the winter, and I've just realised that I didn't check the radishes, but they've got big, leafy...leaves... so I'm assuming they're coming along. I feel like I need to sign a contract with Farmer Goth that says I'll actually eat them, though - we've been having this delightful cycle all summer where he brings them home as a treat for me, but I forget they're there and then don't actually eat them, and then feel awful about putting them in the compost. I am a terrible wife.
Also on the docket is the Great Ripping Out of The Courgettes, which I'm leaving to Himself to do. I suspect we'll also find some potatoes from way back when those were a thing. I'm a little afraid, though, because Shelob - the ENORMOUS spider that lives at the end of the garden - has her web attached to one of the plants, and I seriously have no wish to anger her, because she could totally take me in a bar fight. ENORMOUS.
I'm trying to get the spring green going, again - it may be too late, but I am ever hopeful. I'll probably keep them inside over nights, for a while, until they get going. I also put beets in the ground, a while back, and now don't remember exactly where, so I'm afraid of weeding in that spot until I know what's what.
Tomatoes continue to ripen at a steady pace. Even the plant on the end is finally getting in on the action. I've made some tomato jelly (which didn't set, so I'm going to try and fix it), and have green tomato jam and chutney recipes at the ready for when they've completely given up. The cavolo nero is very lacy from being snack food, but we're hopeful we'll get at least a few leaves off of it.
Planning for next year is sort of starting - I panic bought some heirloom tomato seeds because an email said that they wouldn't be available after the end of the year because Brexit, so we'll see if we have as good of luck with those as we did with this year's crop. I'm looking forward to seed catalogs, at any rate.
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