This year is moving far too fast and October seems to have flown by in a crazy haze. I arrived back in Hampshire last Friday after spending a busy two weeks working in a beautiful holiday cottage in Wales (blog post to follow shortly!) It appears my mind has been all over the place and in the process October is over just like that!
It’s now Halloween and I wanted to take the time to share a very special Autumn harvest with you all… 2019’s homegrown pumpkins and squashes.
I made sure to pick my little pumpkin and squash harvest at the very beginning of October as I knew I was going away and that heavy rain was forecast. I cut each stalk carefully leaving as much on as possible and then stored them safely inside the shed. It’s there they’ve been waiting patiently for my return and if I’m being honest I was really looking forward to opening the little purple potting shed door and see them staring back at me!
I’m absolutely over the moon with my crop this year, albeit it being a tad small. I wanted to expand my choice of varieties and also try a few new ones in the process which I was so excited about, I love squash! However, my rather tiny allotment plot has it’s limits so I had to rein myself in slightly planting a mere 3 plants in amongst my sweetcorn and bean wigwams. The 3 varieties I chose was a Tom Fox Pumpkin, a Crown Prince Squash and a Galeux D’eysines Squash.
I wanted to grow a stereotypical pumpkin for Halloween, after all it isn’t Halloween without a pumpkin right?! I’m not overly fond of the taste of pumpkins though, I much prefer squashes and you just can’t beat the beauty or the taste of a Crown Prince. The last variety is a new one to me and I was instantly drawn to it simply because of the look, who can resist a pink pumpkin!
Unfortunately nothing came of the Butternut Squash planted in the trough and yet again my Munchkin Pumpkins failed to grow up my archway. I’m not going to give up though so next year new tactics are called for! There’s been a few last pickings of raspberries and the beautiful bursts of Cosmos aren’t letting up just yet.
The allotment itself is starting to look a little sorry for itself, it needs a good tidy and I’m keen to get busy up there when I find a bit of spare time. There are new plans afoot at the moment so certain jobs are being pushed to the back of the queue and time on plot 15c is very limited. I can feel my body and mind yearning for some time in the garden though so I’m praying for some sunny days in November.
I hope you all have a lovely Autumn and a very spooky Halloween x
