September has arrived and with it cooler nights, a slowing harvest and tidy up time. A time to think about what was right this year and what wasn’t. It is time to start clearing away the weeds that have crept up on us in the last month and to start digging the areas that have been cleared of this summers crops.

The area in the picture, now all weeds, was three rows of peas that a nice little mouse,or two cleared for me before they were more than 2in high and I haven’t had the time to remove the sticks and dig it over. So it is line now for a makeover as the onion bed has had. The weeds were removed before the soil was culivated and raked out then it was planted with a row of pertetual spinach and a green manure sown on the rest of the bed. This will give me something to eat through the winter and the manure will portect the soil.

There is still plenty to harvest, at least until we have a frost, when a good number of the plants will be killed off. I will still be planting some more crops for the winter in the tunnels although tunnel 1 is nearly full. Tunnel 2 is beginning to empty, the sweetcorn is now finished, the cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers are slowing down so I can start planning to use this soon.

JOBS FOR THE WEEK
1 Tidy potato bed. - Done
2 Tidy round cold frames - Done
3 Weed carrot bed
4 Weed round compost bins

WORK DONE THIS WEEK
SUNDAY
Pick
Water
MONDAY
Pull sweetcorn up in tunnel 2
Pick
Water
Weed leeks
Weed tunnels
Check onions to see if dry - no
Work over onion bed and plant out spinach
Transplant seedlings in tunnel 1
TUESDAY
Pick
Water
WEDNESDAY
Start clearing potato bed
Pick
Water
THURSDAY
Finish weeding potato bed
Pick
Water
FRIDAY
Start clearing round cold frames
Pick
Water
SATURDAY
Work today, not much done
Pick
Water
Weed round cold frames

CROPS PICKED THIS WEEK
Tomatoes
Chillies
Peppers
Cucumbers
Courgettes
Apples
Climbing beans
Calabrese
Cabbage
Sprouts
Sweetcorn

This is the fourth show held by the society, and it is held on the site in the open air. The weather this year was just a little damp, but it in no way upset the show. The afternoon is a social event as well as a show, with a barbeque to help the event along.

The exhibits are staged on tables alongside the sites roadway with the car parking area having tables for food and two barbeques.

A large bonfire at the side of the car park warmed the area up and was a distraction to the steady rain, but the whole event gave off an enjoyable feeling which was not affected by the rain.
The trophies were presented by our own Sue Roberts.

The annual show for the society is held in the nearby community centre and is a good show. The quality of the entries is good and the range of exhibits is a lot larger than most other shows.

There is a lot more fruit entered than in the other shows that I have visited, and a larger variety of vegetables.

This is a large hall and the three tables for staging, run the length of the hall and there is very little empty space on them. The poor weather, this summer, made it’s presence felt in the shortage of entries in some classes but was made up by larger numbers in the unusual classes.

The best in show was a plate of three red onions entered by Bob and Kate,and it made a nice change from the usual winning class.

This is a small society show attended by the plotholders, friends and relatives with a small group of the local residents. The show provides a small competive section, entertainment for children and the normal refreshments and raffle.

The weather was not friendly to the show, as the drizzle set in early and kept most of the visitors under cover of the stalls.

The show itself was in a large gazebo tent and was staged on tables round the edges and a long table down the centre.

The best in show was a basket of vegetables entered by C Basnet.

Levenshulme show took place on 1st September after a poor summer for growing, but the entries in the show were only a little down on the last few shows.

There was a good entry in the flower classes, with the best in show going to three gladiolas entered by E Wright.

The Vegetable classes were supported by the society members and some excellent entries were included.

The new trophies bring competed for were a change from the normal silver cups and very nice in their simplicity, the style would be appreciated by the winners as they will not need polishing before returning.