Brassicas, beetroot and bl**dy slugs! The 80 Minute Allotment in October

I'm trying to grow my own fruit and veg, but I've only got about 80 minutes a week to do it, and slugs aren't helping! Here's what I've been doing lately on the 80 Minute Allotment...

 October on The 80 Minute Allotment

Removing caterpillars from brassicas

I'm growing cabbages, broccoli and kale, all inside a mesh cage to keep out the cabbage white butterflies. If they manage to lay eggs on the plants, the emerging caterpillars can decimate them. Up to now it's worked very well, but this week I discovered these on some of the kale and purple sprouting broccoli. I don't think they are cabbage whites, they may apparently be cabbage loopers, another brassica pest. 

Whatever they are, the risk is the same - they could eat all my cabbages, broccoli and kale!

Caterpillars were munching kale and broccoli

I try to keep as organic as possible so avoid spraying any pesticides. I picked off all the caterpillars I can see and removed any leaves that had any eggs left on. I just hope I got them all. 

I leave the caterpillars on the ground outside the cage for the birds to help themselves, and compost the leaves. 

I'll check for any further damage on my next visit to the plot. If there's no more damage then there's every chance that the plants will recover and still provide a decent harvest.

Staking brassicas

Checking the other brassicas, they are looking pretty good. The savoy cabbages in particular look very nice, but need a bit longer to reach a decent size. I'm aiming to pick them from December onwards.

Savoy cabbages looking good

We're likely to get some stormy weather between now and then, so it's important to stake any brassicas that have grown a bit tall and leggy, to stop them being blown over and damaged. I do this even though they are protected by their mesh cage, as the wind can still whistle through sometimes.

Staking brassicas stops them being blown over

I get a sturdy stick, push it well into the ground and tie the stem of the cabbage or broccoli plant to it using twine.

Removing dead leaves from brassicas

Because they are growing inside their cage, the autumn leaf fall from surrounding trees doesn't affect the brassicas but some of their own leaves turn yellow and fall to the ground every  so often.

Remove old leaves from cabbages and broccoli plants

I pick off any yellow or brown leaves that are still on the plants, and remove any on the ground below. They can all be composted, but removing them avoids any fungus or disease developing and spreading to the plants.

Harvesting vegetables in October

Harvesting broccoli and kale

I've already been picking some of the broccoli, and kale this month. I take a few leaves of kale from each plant at a time, leaving the plant in place to grow some more. 

The purple sprouting broccoli (if it doesn't get eaten by caterpillars) will grow through the winter and be ready in spring. It's the green, calabrese types that are ready now. 

Mine are struggling to develop good sized heads, tending to produce smaller clusters of flowers on individual stems, a bit like the purple varieties. If you have any tips for growing larger broccoli rosettes, let me know.

I harvest broccoli when the flowers are ready to open, but before they actually do, though there is no reason why the flowers can't be eaten once opened. I think the stems tend to thicken up and get tougher though, which is why they're picked just before that happens. 

Harvesting beetroot

Timing is less important with beetroot. You can more or less see the size of the root as it develops, as part of it sticks up above the soil surface. I lift them once they reach golf ball size, by just gently pulling them away with the finer roots attached beneath. 

You can in fact leave them in the ground for a long time until you are ready to use them, but depending on the variety, much larger ones may have a tougher texture.

GREEN FINGERS TIP: If you break off any part of the plant, the beetroot tends to start spilling pink juice everywhere which stains almost everything, so leave stems and roots in place while they are stored, and only remove anything once you are ready to prepare them for cooking. Use a ceramic plate to cut them, as this is about the only thing that doesn't get stained pink! 

Freshly lifted beetroot

Checking crops that should be ready soon

Courgettes/Zucchini

Slugs are getting really annoying! They are determined to stop me eating courgettes!

I should have been picking courgettes by now too, but they keep getting eaten. So far, two successive sets of potential harvest have been munched to oblivion. I've seen slugs on them, but also suspected birds might be pecking at them too. 

I've covered them with netting so the birds are now out of the equation, and mulched with straw and used some organic slug pellets to try and protect the next set of zucchini to develop.

To be fair, my courgette plants are tryers. They are not giving up, they are still flowering well and developing small courgettes. It's just a matter of keeping them safe for long enough for them to get to a size that makes them worth picking and eating. This is how the third attempt at a harvest is looking at the moment:

A third set of flowers on my courgettes, but will I get to eat any?

Here's hoping the slugs keep off these long enough for at least one to reach harvest size.

Autumn fruiting raspberries

This is my first year growing raspberries on the plot. They seem very late to develop, probably due to our cold spring and dry summer inhibiting their growth somewhat. They are going well now and the autumn varieties are starting to produce fruit. 

I've tied the canes (stems) into the wire supports to keep them upright, and I'm hoping the weather remains mild enough for long enough for them to ripen. 

I can't wait to taste my first ever grow your own fresh raspberry!

Related: Grow Your Own Raspberries: The 80 Minute Allotment

Raspberries just need a bit longer...

Planting garlic for next year

It's already time to plant things that won't be harvested until next summer! Autumn is when I plant garlic, as it needs some cold weather at some stage in it's development. I planted mine earlier this month:

Grow Your Own Garlic: The 80 Minute Allotment

Preparing ground for next year's crops

I'm also starting to prepare other beds for next year, as the ones that are empty over winter can simply be covered in various organic matter that will work into the soil over the winter months without me doing anything - the worms do the work for me!

I'll do more of this in November but this month I've sown some "green manure" seeds on one of the beds. These are crops that germinate now in autumn, grow over winter and are then dug into the ground in spring.

While they're growing, they help suppress weeds (hopefully), and retain soil structure by sending their roots through it which helps stop it getting compacted. Digging the crop into the ground later will add nutrients to the soil. They basically serve the same purpose as a good mulch of ordinary animal manure - hence their nickname.

I've sown some Grazing Rye and some Phacelia, while the soil is still warm enough for them to germinate. It'll be interesting to see how they do.

Green manure seeds - sow them now!

So that's what I've been doing with the limited time I have to grow my own in the last couple of weeks. I'll be posting another update soon - no putting the plot to bed for the winter here!

Happy growing,
Paul

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