I’ve dug up the sweetcorn stalks at long last and done the weeding in that section. The robin buzzed by me a few times in a panic before coming to visit for a moment on the other side of the bed from me. We’ve not had any rain for ages (some forecast for tomorrow though) but the soil wasn’t hard, just dry and fairly powdery.

I’ve weeded and edged this side of the tomato bed, taking out all kinds of horrid things. I’ve also collected up lots of orchid nasturtium seed, which is now balanced in an overfilled pot on the back shelf in the shed.

I’ve weeded and edged this side of the bean bed too, which has made it look much better. I’ve also taken out a few big thistles and weeds from other beds, which kept catching my eye. One bean plant was nearly out of the ground, but I’ve put it back in and with any luck it’ll survive until tomorrow’s rain, because I was devoid of energy to do any needed watering.

As preparation for future renovations I’ve put weedkiller on a variety of particularly annoying docks and dandelions in the grass. I’ve also done the nettles that were starting to grow back by the compost bin.

When I started the deadheading, it wasn’t long before the robin came to see me, checking out where I’d pulled out the uchiki kuri plants. I’ve cleared up those vines and some more pumpkin vines.

I’ve cleared up a good bit from the front bed, including the huge nettle that was taking over. I’ve started to reduce the big grass heap that I had to make outside my fence from the car park by integrating it into my weed buckets. We’ll no doubt be back at the tip before too long.

I carried on doing lots of tidying after lunch, cutting down, pulling down and chopping up. This also included an interlude of web work in the shed with my hoodie over my head and laptop. Speaking to H while clearing up by the apple tree, I was serenaded with: “Don’t sit under the apple tree / With anyone else but me / Or I’ll kill you”.

This bed still looks rubbish, but I’m still working on chopping down and pulling up. Lots of bramble, toadflax and everlasting pea has gone.

Grass mowing today; managed to get it done before it got too long again. While Mum mowed, I did some deadheading and harvested the last two uchiki kuru, some more broccoli and a couple of beetroot  – one of which was growing another baby beetroot halfway up its stem. We’ve taken most of the remaining beans off the very bare borlotto bean vines. Remainders can either dry off a bit more, or head to the compost, depending on my mood. The first good quality windfall has also come home for a taste test.

There was a very dim-looking bird looking at me when I went through the main gate this evening. He just sat looking at me and I was busy taking photos of him when someone came up by the car and asked if she should shut the gate for me. I made it clear that I hadn’t just been waiting for someone to come along and do it for me 😄

I’ve now picked most of the borlotti beans. Not all fed quite dry, but they’ll be harvested soon. The pumpkins looked a bit drier all of a sudden too, so I’ve taken them in before any mice help themselves. Bed 1 is now ready for proper weeding and clearing.

I’ve cut back a bucketful of mint, which had suddenly sprawled everywhere. Over on the ledge there’s way too much that’s gone leggy and flopped over. There definitely needs to be some thinning out of my tall plants. I discovered a big thrift that I didn’t even know was there. Over in the triangle, I went looking for the base of the hyssop (also completely sprawling) and discovered that it’s way too close to the fence and everlasting pea. It’s going to get a really tough cut back and be moved. If it survives, great. If not, I’ll try again.

I did about an hour of deadheading and cutting back first of all and then moved on to all kinds of autumnal tidying. The courgettes have suddenly given up, so they’re now on the compost heap. I have a new theory about who got the last sweet corn as there’s a track in the grass that goes from the fence line – where I saw the field vole – to the corn.

I cut back an amount of the gourd vines and then ended up harvesting one pumpkin, one uchiki kuru and both the Jack Be Little. A lot of vines have gone to compost and I’ve made start on scooping up the straw and what weeds come with it. There are enough weeds that the straw has to go the tip this year. I’ve cut the borage down a bit further, down to the next flower buds. So Bed 1 looks different all of a sudden.

I nipped down to the allotment between rain showers this morning, forgetting my phone for about the first time ever. So when I pulled up to the plot, the helianthus was flowering for the first time ever and there was a squirrel – another first – running down the fence post by the pear tree. He then headed off along the right hand fence into Mr B’s.

I picked the harvest and then in the afternoon there was a sort of break in the rain that allowed me to take L and D down to the plot. We met the squirrel on the path this time!

I was 24 hours too late for the last sweet corn cob. Something, probably a bird, had completely eaten it and shredded leaves were at the base of the plant. So now all the sweet corn stalks are cut down and chopped up. Just the stalks to dig up soon.

The robin came back later and was very close to where  I was working, just the other side of the tomato netting from me. Then it flew off to stand on the stalks to have a look around.

Most of my time was spent making a start on the trellis bed. I’ve cut down some of the purple toadflax, but I also plan to take at least some of them out as there are too many tall things here. The bed is now in that scruffy half-done phase. The toadflax up by Mr B’s gate will be kept as it seems to suit there and is covering anything else up.

My buckets and sacks are now officially completely full, so we’re going to the tip tomorrow to empty them out – and throw away the bucket I broke today 🙁

Today was a mammoth edging, weed-picking-as-I-go day, topped off with a mow of the allotment. The robin came to see me again. I’m keeping some sunflower hearts in my pocket now to see if I can get it to come to me. He certainly took a good look at the food I was holding out in my hand.

It was a two person harvest, but the head of the big sunflower has now been chopped off, all intact. The remaining stalk still looks rather nice, so it can stand there a while longer. The head is about 16″ / 40 cm across.

The pumpkins are now stood much more upright and I’ve trimmed off excess foliage. The pumpkins are orange all over, so it won’t be long before they come home. There’s a huge amount of weeds in all that straw, so that’ll be going to the bin rather than the compost heap.

I was doing pick weeding as I went around and discovered a dead carrot frond, which led to this squishy carrot. No idea why it’s like that.

Having had a few caterpillars on our plates – and with not much broccoli left – I decided to remove the netting. It was the small cabbage white that had somehow got through. It if it had been the large one, I expect the plants would have been history by now. I did a very careful examination of each piece I harvested.

I did a huge amount of deadheading. It might be a time suck, but it’s rather therapeutic and enjoyable.

The borlottos are turning towards a different stage of dry. I need to harvest them when I can hear  them rattling in the pods. One pod had split open, so I picked it to see how the beans are doing. They might be Christmas presents this year, depending on the size of the harvest.

The big sunflower has now bent so low that I can’t walk under it. I need to cut it down before anyone helps themselves to the seeds and ruins its look.

The gourds are also close to harvest too. It won’t be long before the office starts filling up.

I’d come down after work and my shed looked rather lovely in the setting sun with all the marigolds in front of it.

I’ve taken the runner bean roots out now and weeded and edged the bed. There were almost no nitrogen nodules on the roots, so those plants really were done for.

Continuing the rolling tidy up, I’ve cut down the finished sweetcorn stalks and cut them up for the compost heap.

This is the prettiest gladiolus so far. It had fallen over a bit, so I took it home for the vase. They have reasonable vase life, which is better than having them being pretty down the allotment while I’m not there during the week.

The two JBLs are suddenly looking much more orange.

In the afternoon I finished tidying up Bed 3 and edged it. I can’t wait to get rid of the big slope at the front of the bed, so I can stop falling down it. The big coreopsis is still flowering. I’m not entirely sure if it’ll come back next year, but it could do with being moved a little further into the bed.