OUTDOORS 8

Here is my early November frost morning shot of the leeks - including one carrot and 2 cabbages and the odd onion. In the background you can see what is left of my former fruit patch. I have moved most of the plants across to the new patch, as shown in the next picture, leaving half of the rhubarb for one more year and a couple blackcurrant bushes to be given away, and a few raspberry canes.

And here is the new fruit patch - gooseberries, blackcurrants, raspberries....the rhubarb is behind shot left front, where you can just see a dying down leaf. My final shot for this first frosty weekend in November is taken from the edge of the new fruit area looking towards the shed - you can just see my raspberry canes with the 4 bottled (and one unbottled) cauliflower seedlings up front.

Next is empty land - ready for spring planting! A trodden mud pathway splits it from the area planted with onions, broad beans, and garlic (also a row spinach/kale/3 butternut plants). The butternuts will die soon due to the frost - but I thought I would leave them another week...

There we go - the first leek pulled this year and what a big one! They look really shabby up top due to lack of rain, but several have already grown to a decent size like this one - my biggest of the year.

Mid November had me breaking the tops off the artichokes as they die back. I will be harvesting them shortly - once the ground is a tad drier. I also weeded my strawberry beds and dug out two blackcurrant bushes for my next door neighbor on a short 20-30 minute plot trot this weekend.

Back home, I pulled a few bits of bindweed from the base of the rose arch - but it will need the attention of secateurs in drier weather to remove the arch.