Feature: October Gardening tips and advise in Poitou Charentes

Description:

Yet another month of inactivity for me and the garden is being watched quietly and with amazement as I recover. The energy that is produced by the growing flowers, fruit and vegetable is remarkable. For four months they have been almost totally ignored by me, getting water from the barrels when remembered (but not when needed) not being weeded during that time and yet it continues to provide us with its harvest.

The same as last month, the tomatoes continue to flourish, the squashes though not as prolific as previous crops are delicious-I wonder if starvation of attention creates a tastier plant! Squashes should be picked as soon as before the first frosts arrive. The persimmon or Sharon fruit a la Tesco's (kaki in the French language) are round and juicy-where does the moisture come from?

The other fruit trees have given up their crop-pears removed from a wild piece of ground close buy tastier than anything bought at the supermarket, and the apples hanging in there for a while longer. The figs are dripping from the tree and very kindly give us ripe ones on a regular basis-not too many at a time. Fig jam has been made, and more than enough to see us through the winter in the freezer. Delicious as a starter grilled with Brie!

The annual flowers are scattering their seeds for next year's show-time-collect the seeds in paper bags and sow them now where YOU wish -strawberry plants pushing out their runners everywhere-collect them, plant them up in smallish pots-they will be next years adults. If your strawberry plants have any age at all, certainly more than two years, compost them without the runners and start afresh next year. This saves a build up of any weakness in the plants.

The half-hardy annual seeds will need to be collected and stored in a cool dry place then sowed next year when all fear of frosts has passed. Any seeds that they drop now will not survive a harsh winter. My favourite of all has been the Physalis (Chinese Gooseberry). Being Scottish the only time I saw these delicious fruits were in Tesco's! I obtained the seeds by post, sowed them inside in early Spring and they have thrived! I must admit the ones I planted in the tunnel have done best of all. We collect them once they have fallen (unripe Physalis can be poisonous eaten in quantity) and they should be a wonderful golden colour. Delicious eaten on their own, with cheese, made into pies and jams. The do not produce a huge crop but well worth the space they take up. I grew mine up those twisted metal poles and it worked well.

Now is the time as the evenings get colder to keep and eye on the weather forecasts. As we move from autumn into winter we need to protect our more tender perennials. We find straw is the best-it allows the plant to breathe. Cover your plants with straw and then some kind of sacking-NOT polythene. Polythene creates condensation and kills the plant quicker than a short cold snap. The biggest killer of plants in winter is cold WET roots-so tenders in pots should either be put into a cold but frost-free light greenhouse, garden shed etc. or the pot well wrapped in straw and sacking and kept in the most sheltered part of the garden.

Check all your plantings of vegetables for next year-purple sprouting broccoli, kale, spring cabbage, sprouts etc. Bugs and beasties are now becoming rare so most survive without attack but keep ground checked for any shelter that will allow slug eggs to survive till the spring. Turn ground with a hoe occasionally and let the birds in to scavenge. Happy autumn watching!

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Story by Sheilah Kennedy of Kennedy Paragiste

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