planting in the dark

What a difference an hour makes! Since the clocks went back, I can't believe how dark it is so early. Though it does mean that the mornings are light enough to allow me, before I set off to work, to empty the previous night's food scraps onto the compost heap with a fair idea of where I'm throwing it. But it has seriously curtailed any post-work gardening - unless Santa gives me a head torch for Christmas...
However, I've managed to finish planting out all the overwintering garlic cloves and onion sets - very important if you want to get a head start on the spring planting and get a slightly earlier July harvest.
So the final roll call is 60 Senshyu Yellow and 50 Radar sets - neither of which I have grown before; and 32 Solent Wight cloves (ditto previous aside) and 18 Purple Moldovan cloves - these are from my 2009 harvest which is still lasting well.
I got into a bit of a panic the other week upon reading a veggie gardening forum where it seemed that I was the only person left who had yet to plant any broad beans seeds for overwintering - Aquadulce Claudia being one of the most recommended for this purpose as the small plants are hardy enough to stand through the winter months and then spring into life again as the soil warms up. So out I ran to the suburban veg plot and hastily sowed 4 or 5 short rows and covered them in holly cuttings to keep those pesky critters off. The following
week or so was still unseasonably not frosty and so the plants have shot up even faster than they did last year - hopefully they won't get too tall before the winter winds start up.
The Boltardy beetroot are all harvested as of this weekend - their growth seemed to have stalled with the loss of any real sunshine, so I figured they were best pulled up and turned into something lovely and comforting (soup perhaps?). So the suburban veg plot is looking much sparser now with only 2 sections of leeks to show for this years' work.
But there is plenty going on behind the scenes - planning the veg plot planting scheme for 2010. Onwards and upwards!

AWOL on the plot

Okay, okay, I know I said I would post more often - but when you're moving house, things such a blog do tend to take a back seat. So, we finally moved into our house and are slowly getting through the dust left behind by the various tradesmen. A few last light fittings and radiators plus the installation of the ensuite shower and we'll be done.
Anyway, back to the suburban veg plot. Things have been rocketing along despite the variable weather. Thank heavens for the greenhouse - a veritable array of chili peppers have been fruiting and ripening: from purple jalepeno to scotch bonnet, from hanoi red to peruvian chinense. Every stir fry is a party on the tongue!

The onions have all been harvested now - the best results came from the Senshu variety - but I got nothing from the Swift or Red Barons. We got bored of eating runner beans after the first harvest - I don't think I'll bother with any next year. I have some soya beans to try instead.
And at long last I have managed to grow beetroot! Last year ended in very few seed germinating and those that did were eaten by those nasty molluscs so I'm very excited. Not sure exactly what I'm going to do with it yet, but that's what internet recipe sites are for!