Wednesday 1st October 2014 – That’s the last of the Rhubarb.

I spent the afternoon on my plot weeding the Rhubarb beds. I have 2 areas of Rhubarb, and they don’t get too bad with weeds, but tend to get forgotten more than the other beds. I started with the smaller area, which I also had my Butternut Squash growing in this year. I’ve harvested all of those and they’re sitting in the greenhouse waiting for me to use them. The Rhubarb is now coming to the end of producing for this year. It’s done excellently this year, and I’ve had some huge, long, thick stalks. So I’m very pleased with it, and it can have a rest now until next year. I cleared away all the leaves that had gone brown or were very wilted, and any weeds, and then moved onto the other bed and did the same. I ended up with a lovely bag full of Rhubarb, which I’ll take to ringing tonight and give away. They’re always very thankful for it. At least I know that it’s going to a good home. I then harvested some more Carrots before I came home. I’ve got some lovely sized ones, and they smell wonderful when first dug up. Make sure that you cover up any exposed carrots with soil, that are still in the ground, as the smell can attract the carrot fly, which you don’t want. As I went to empty my wheel barrow and get some wood chips to put on one of my paths, I saw a fox wandering across another plot. I was rather surprised to see it, but it didn’t rush off when it saw me, instead it just sauntered along minding it’s own business. We do have a family of foxes on the site, but in all the time I’ve been on site (nearly 10 years now), it’s the first time I’ve ever seen them.

8 Responses to Wednesday 1st October 2014 – That’s the last of the Rhubarb.

T Jenneson says:

October 2, 2014 at 5:19 pm

A fox! Thankfully I haven’t seen any of those here, but we do need to make sure our chicken coop is mink and raccoon proof – even though we technically live in town, the wildlife is abundant. The rabbit and deer are always in my garden, and this time of year a big, fat black bear pushes over the fence to get to the apple trees. We harvested the apples earlier, but he still came in to check it out. My rhubarb started out magnificent, but I think the dry summer took it’s toll on the neglected corner of the garden that it is in. But on a brighter note, the green beans are still producing a bit and so sweet off the vine! The kale looks like trees and the tomatoes are all getting better every day (as long as I can keep my hens off them)

- clairesallotment says:
  
  October 7, 2014 at 2:11 pm
  
  They tend not to eat any of our produce, so that’s ok. They are rather partial to slugs and snails, so that’s great news for us gardeners. I’m not sure how I’d react if I saw a bear on site. I’d most probably run screaming into the car. Rhubarb like water, so if it is a dry summer then it won’t do great. If you can give it a thorough feed and water once a week, and it’ll be very happy. If you can find some manure, then cover it with a thick layer over the winter months. You just can’t beat freshly picked tomatoes. I had some for lunch, and they were still warm from the sun. Oh so flavourful and delicious!!
  
Benjamin says:

October 2, 2014 at 7:41 pm

A fox sighting means good luck! (I just made that up, but I’d feel lucky if I spotted a fox so it must be true!) I’m determined to plant a couple more rhubarb plants…I didn’t get nearly enough pie this year 😉 Cheers, Ben

- clairesallotment says:
  
  October 6, 2014 at 2:43 pm
  
  I’ll go with the lucky theme. We have lots living round by us, and they make a heck of a noise in the summer when they chase each other round the square where we live. They wake us up!! I had on for a couple of weeks come in my garden every afternoon for a couple of hours and fall asleep on my grass. Cheeky thing. It was beautiful to see, but I couldn’t go out in the garden whilst it was napping.
  
Helen says:

October 2, 2014 at 7:52 pm

A tame fox then! I like its manner.

- clairesallotment says:
  
  October 6, 2014 at 2:40 pm
  
  I was so surprised to see it.
  
keith says:

October 3, 2014 at 6:48 am

Another lovely blog. I always look forward to reading your explots. I’m surprised that you haven’t seen foxes before. I’m always worried when thay don’t run off when they see people. I always chase them as I believe they should not get use to humans !! (After all I AM TOP of the FOOD CHAIN not them !!)

- clairesallotment says:
  
  October 7, 2014 at 2:06 pm
  
  I see them round where we live, but I’ve never seen them on the allotment site before. I know they come out and play on the site at night, because once I had a frisbee that was on my plot, and each day when I went down it had moved. We have a mound of earth over on one side of the site, and they live inside it.