September Garden Tasks We All Put Off | Polytunnel Harvest

[@Littlesheddiaries]

Looks like we’re all making green tomato chutney this weekend. I loved the colour of the black tomatoes. Gave a great time at Malvern 😊

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Ha! Make it next weekend. Too busy this weekend. I need to check out a recipe. Have a great weekend too x

[@GardenofEmma]

I have heard so much about pongo beans. It’s definitely on my list next year

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

I might be buying more beans yet. I think they will be my only dwarf beans

[@bethanskitchengarden]

Lovely to catch up with you Clare, your polytunnel is still looking fab. Your melon and cucumber plants look epic, mine have been dismal this year. Good luck with your garlic and have a lovely time at malvern 😊

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Thanks Bethan. Sorry to hear your cucumbers and melons haven’t so well this year. Are you visiting Malvern this time?

[@myrustygarden]

😂😂 better flies than spiders I guess. Your sunflowers near the sweet peas still look stunning. I have my tomatoes in newspaper or a bag with a banana. The poly tunnel has been simply awesome for growing in and a place to hide from the rain 😂. It has only got to 10c at night here but rain may be coming too. Have a super eeek Clare, Ali 🌦️🇨🇦

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Oh good lord, yes…no spiders please! Shudders…. I cannot get over just how many flies there were. Sad really. Those sunflowers have been a revelation for me. I honestly never expected such a great show from them. They’re amazing aren’t they? I’m with you too, I adore the polytunnel as a place to hang out. Love it over winter. Cold outside but like a late spring day in the tunnel, even the light seems so much better than outside. I hope we don’t have a real frost for a good few weeks yet. So much needs to ripen. Hope you have a great week, Ali xx

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

Cosmos loook so nice

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

It’s getting unruly now, this time of year

[@kirstypollock6811]

Nice job on the strimmer. I got fed up with it jamming up, and got the kind of strimmer that takes replaceable plastic "blades". So that's another good option I'm desperately crossing my fingers that the rest of my bumper tomato crop ripen and maybe some peppers go red... but I've had decent success ripening in the house in a box with an apple. I'm also taking all the at least halfway ripe on a regular basis. My runners beans are covered in flowers! I hope hope hope I get some beans, I'm going to just judge leave everything until just before the frost and hope I get some and maybe even some dry.

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

I have an old Bosch strimmer that has replaceable plastic blades. The blades fly off when you hit the slightest thing. Forever searching for them or just replacing them. I think I can put a plastic blade head on this strimmer, so I need to look if the Stihl blades lock on better. I’m doing the same as you with the half ripe ones now. Like you say, they ripen in the house and let the plants get on with ripening the next batch. My freezer is full of tomatoes. I’ll have a go at canning at some point over winter 😅😅 Same as you, my runner beans look better than they’ve looked all year at the moment. I hope they get the chance to set some more beans too. It’s hard to believe we are a few weeks away from it all being over. Seems inconceivable at the moment. I’m really not ready for it to be over 😭😭 When is your first frost date?

[@AnyKeyLady]

Nice to have a tidy up before things like frost or blight come along and it takes the tomatoes and summer crops out. Fingers crossed all of our tomatoes ripen in time! They are talking of low temperatures next weekend after a week of rain! I need to remember to order some manure and compost before the tomatoes come out and the cabbages go in. Do you feel like you get enough manure to cover your beds from the cows? I find the honeycomb tomatoes tend to split quite easily as well. Was planning on saving sweet pea flowers but the stems seem to be dying off. I can't see a pod any where though. Luckily i still have some seeds from last year. It's been a very odd growing year don't you think? Once i have spilt the garlic, i like to put them in those little onion net bags that i save before i put them in the fridge. That way i know what to plant and what i am going to use/preserve. We have a tendency of them falling out the paper bags and getting mixed up, plus you can shake the bag to get any loose dry bits off and just remove the net bags to empty out the loose dirt. I am not planting ours until Feb so not splitting them just yet. They are in our workshop atm but will bring them in if it gets too muggy in there. Anyway, take care and have a fab week! x

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

I really hope we get our tomatoes to ripen in time. I’m not sure I want to make this much green tomato chutney! I’ve seen some low overnight temperatures for next weekend, but hopefully warm enough in the days to help with ripening. Fingers crossed anyway! We have a lot of cattle, so plenty of manure. I’ve got the double compost bay of older manure, where the pumpkins are, but I’ve also got a big pile of the same age manure in the corner of the horse yard too. That’s a good idea with the net bags. I think I need to think about my storage solutions for next year, including see potatoes. I did realise afterwards that people don’t split the garlic until planting. Didn’t know at the time, as the garlic farm sent me garlic in loose cloves, so assumed that was ok. You plant so much later. Do you find they split ok then planted that late?

[@AnyKeyLady]

@@TheFarmyardGarden Yes sorry meant the collective of "Our" as we are all in this together! Hopefully with the bonus of a tunnel they should ripen in time for you. Hubby really didn't like green tomato soup and we still have some left over from last year! Been a few years since we had Heinz tomato soup until i remind myself that it is because of the extra salt and sugar. Have you ever made tomato soup and found it more filling than heinz? I think its from adding actual veg rather than powder and getting the extra fibre. What do you think? Your compost bays for the old manure is great and love the idea of growing pumpkins in them this year. I love that you have spaces to put your cow manure places to mature. I was lucky with the IOW garlic as my Mother in Law used to live there. I think it was like 4 bulbs for £10 mix and match and you get to choose your bulbs. Shipping it well expensive. Yes bought from Suttons before and was loose. Also another place and was awful. Kinda cheeky if you can't plant it straight away. Ordering later is a nightmere. Mersley seems to work well in our soil. Music hardneck splitted but actually is still doing well. It grows too fast for us in autumn and then goes meh in winter. Going to grow in Feb as slightly more dry for us. There's a guy i watch in Norfolk - Brimwood farms and he plants his in Feb as he has the same issue. The fridge thing 2 months before was from Epic gardening's/ "Jacque in the garden". I was telling him last year it was 15c during the day and 12c during the night on Christmas eve and i just wanted a frost for Christmas day sweet sprouts. It rained on Christmas day too! As a kid i remember 2-3ft of snow and going tobogganing down a steep road! If we get snow now it's like icing sugar for a few hours. Yes find yourself a cold store room. Save up for some storage racks from B&Q if you want to do canning if you don't already but it is good to store canning stuff like vinegar, jars, diy and garden diy tools. So are you living in the main house now? I can't remember. x

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

I mean ours as in all of us in the community too. We definitely are in this together 🤗🤗 We’ve always lived in the main house. The farmhouse is kind of split in two (although we can freely walk between the halves). The in-laws were in the other half. My father in law died in 2021 but my mother in law is still going strong. I’ve just remembered you asked this in a previous comment that was deleted …. My sister doesn’t live here. This farm is in Duncan’s family. They bought it outright from his dad’s siblings in 1999, as it had been left to them all from the generation above. Jo has no suitable outdoor growing space for vegetables at her home, 25 mins away by car. The plot for her is lovely, so we get to spend time together in our mature years. I can tell you we get on better now than we did as children growing up. Wow did we bicker then 😂😂 We have a plan for a brick building outside, currently buried in the messy corner, to be renovated as cold storage. It’ll hopefully start to appear from under decades of ivy over the coming months. It’s an exciting big project, if we can make it work I made creamy tomato soup last week. Duncan absolutely loved it. Said it was so filling. Isobel wasn’t so keen as it wasn’t quite as smooth as Heinz. However, I have a food mill coming soon, so that should help there 🙏🏻

[@AnyKeyLady]

@@TheFarmyardGarden So nice that you are able to share some space with your sister. My sister lives in the Netherlands so don't get to see her much. Ooh would love to see the cold store project also the food mill! Is that the one where you can do both tomatoes and meat to make sausage?

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Aww I’m sorry you don’t get to see your sister much. I really hope we can make the building work. I’ll see how much of it is visible now for the next video. Duncan’s been clearing in that area but things often look worse before they get better 😅 This is the food mill. Predominately used for making soups and sauces. amzn.eu/d/52QkbSZ

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

Every money is busy. I want to get all my beds done in the next weeks or so

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

I’m hoping to get them sorted once they’re all empty. I do want to put some manure in them, but that’ll be once the pumpkins are out.

[@RobinGardens]

Nice catch up. Well done on those melons.....they are a tricky crop. Lost mine to the spotted cuke beetle this year. Might take a pass next year, we'll see. I bet mixing all those toms makes a nice tasting sauce.

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Thanks Robin. I’m so pleased with the melons. I had no idea they could be so tricky in warmer climates. I was thinking I’d struggle more as it’s not warm enough in the UK. Sorry you lost them and the cucumbers. So Disappointing. Can you not grow some self pollinating ones under insectmesh? I have so many tomatoes in the freezer. I WILL be trying my hand at canning at some point. Just awaiting the food mill.

[@Feelgoodgardens]

Hi Clare 👋 I've given up on dead heading in the main. Waiting to collect the ripe seeds now. Handy showing how to thread up a strimmer wire. I've been doing mine for years but like you said a lot of women wait for their men to do it. Polytunnel vedge is still coming along great especially your tomatoes. Hope you didn't encounter too many flies taking the sun shield down. Have a great week and I look forward to seeing you at Malvern ❤ x

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

I am determined to keep them going as long as I can, as I don’t want to save seed from these ones. I lost the battle a bit with the calendula, so I’m sure it’ll take over the plot next year! You are going to love your new polytunnel too Linda. Such a great space to work in. Is it bigger than your current one? I’m. debating some violas or pansies in the tunnel for winter colour. Am I mad? HA! Can’t wait for Malvern x

[@Feelgoodgardens]

@@TheFarmyardGarden Yes it's bigger than our polytunnel on plot one. We are keeping that one and putting iDanny's old polytunnel on plot 2. I love pansies and violas and I think they'll look fabulous in your polytunnel 👍😍 I've been meaning to sow my seeds since the spring but still not done them 🤭😂 Looking forward to seeing you at Malvern ❤ x

[@SundaysInTheGarden]

You are so right! I felt like things were calming down, but there still seems to be so many jobs to get sorted before the end of the season. Secretly, I love it though. Any excuse to be in the garden 😄 Good luck with the tomatoes! 🤞🏻I have just bought some new garlic bulbs, but think I will try to use some stored bulbs too next year! Have a great week and see you at Malvern! 😄🍂

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

I love it all too. I plan to grow all through winter, albeit it more undercover than outdoors. Lots of prep in the beds for next season and some changes! Have to use the plot for a season to realise things that could have been improved. I may buy some more garlic as I didn’t realise I shouldn’t have split them yet. Ooops. Looking forward to seeing you at Malvern too x

[@SundaysInTheGarden]

@@TheFarmyardGardenI wouldn’t have known about the garlic either! Always so much to learn! 🧄

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Every day is a school day!

[@SundaysInTheGarden]

@@TheFarmyardGardenabsolutely! 📚

[@trold1969]

Ooo, we have Husqvarna strimmers at work, they are way more complicated. I will suggest Stihl next time we need a new, which is soon because we won't be allowed to use fossil fuelled ones next year. I love your harvest giggle. Well done with the shade netting/fly mess! I haven't needed any shade netting, nor have we had frost yet, knock on wood. Have fun at Malvern!

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

I was so surprised how easy the wire was to change! I can’t believe Duncan’s never shown me. Could have saved himself so much nagging over the years! I used to edit out the harvest giggles, for fear you’d think I was somewhat deranged. Then I realised that giggle is the joy of growing and I wasn’t showing it. So I leave it in now… even though I sometimes embarrass myself with the pitch I can reach. I’m thinking I need to grow some taller crops next to the tunnel next year. I intentionally kept it free from being shaded, thinking it needed every bit of sun it could get. Turns out it’s too much at times. Have a great week, Trude. x

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

I really need to can my tomatoes I just don't have time as we have building work

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

You’ve done loads of them already. I haven’t started yet! I am amazed you’ve managed to do so many already. You’re a legend x

[@TheRightPearPlot]

Finally managed to sit and watch your latest video :) Tiny MELONS lol how did it taste? and have you tried the one in a salad yet? Definitely growing more melons next year like you, who needs that many cucumbers lol. I could have done with just one good plant, not 4 that didn't produce much. Must sort through my dried garlic to put some in a shoebox for planting out in October. I can never remember varieties once it comes to having picked and storing them. Garlic is garlic to me so doesn't really matter. Glad you have found some you enjoy eating Clare. All those flies 😮 so glad I put my shade netting on the outside of the greenhouse. You thought well in wearing your hat!! Maybe you could have made some fly biscuits (Gariboldi) lol lovely update on your space and jobs to complete in September. See you at MALVER!!!! Allie & Tricia xxx

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

MELONS!!! I preferred the Arava to the Minnesota Midgets myself. Duncan thinks they all taste the same 😂 I haven’t tried the other yet in salad. I will do this week. Got cucumbers coming out of my ears Allie. They’re everywhere. Need to make that relish. I think it’s only easy for me to tell at the moment because my 2 varieties are pink and white. I’m sure over time I’ll forget 😂 I couldn’t think of a way to drape shade net over the outside of the tunnel and not have it risk the plastic if it caught the wind. I might wear a poncho next year to take it down. 😂 Looking forward to Malvern now. Have a lovely week both of you xx

[@potagermalo]

Coucou Encore une vidéo au top A bientôt

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Merci beaucoup. Bonne semaine, à bientôt ❤️

[@potagermalo]

@@TheFarmyardGarden de rien

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

☺️

[@dogontheplot]

Proper race against time with the toms now! Altho by this time last year everything had been wiped out by blight, so I'm pretty happy actually (jinxed it now with all this rain!!). Squirrels/fox/mouse/rat/hedgehog... whatever it is! - has been digging around my toms. Not sure what it thinks it's gonna find! Interesting that you found the homegrown garlic less off putting - i'd have thought the homegrown would be more pungent! But i love garlic. Smellier the better 😂😂😂

[@dogontheplot]

Also, MELONS!

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

😛 🍈

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

It’s just a fresher smell I think. I don’t normally cook with fresh garlic, but processed garlic products have a distinctly less favourable scent. I’ve always said it’s not the flavour of garlic I dislike, more the smell. I am hoping we can keep blight away for a bit longer but it’s most definitely going to be on the air after all this rain 😔 You really do have all the pests don’t you? 😅

[@Jacqui-Pen]

Cucumbers, I've been wrapping mine in kitchen roll then putting them in a zip lock bag & storing in the fridge. They've been lasting weeks Clare. I've not lost anything during the colder nights. My melons are just holding on. I'm in South Yorkshire & the weather has really turned. Cold, grey & wet! The Carmen F1 are fantastic cucumbers. Marketmore are ideal for outdoors being a ridge cucumber. I'd highly recommend the mini munch F1, quite prolific but only around 3/4 inches. 😊

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Oh wow. I’ll do the silver foil too. Thank you Jacqui. That’s a fabulous tip 😍 The polytunnel dropped to under 4° for 3 consecutive nights. The melons just couldn’t cope. My sister’s died in her greenhouse too. 😭 I’m so lucky to have had the melons I did though. Definitely want to grow more next year. Mini munch sounds good. Isobel (my daughter) loves gherkins, so I need to grow those too. Basically .. I’m going to end up with 5 at least aren’t I? 😂

[@Jacqui-Pen]

@TheFarmyardGarden not silver foil, kitchen roll & zip lock bag lol. I'd definitely recommend growing the marketmore outside if you grow it next year. You shouldn't grow an open pollinated cucumber near an all female hybrid. They would cross pollinate, causing fruits to become bitter. I'm definitely going to try the minnesota midget next year. I'm hoping they're a sweet melon. Oh and ive found the honeycomb tomato to become less sweet the more ripe they get. Try Alice's dream tomatoes. They taste amazing

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

@Jacqui-Pen oh silly me. I read your comment without my glasses on, sorry. Kitchen roll and zip lock it is! I just shoved them all in as I had totally mixed up which were all female and which weren’t. Maybe they can go outside on some nice trellis to help shade the polytunnel a bit. I don’t think my Minnesota Midgets are the best example to give you a taste review. I’m sure they’re not quite ripe enough. I prefer the Arava at the moment. Think I’m going to do Sugar Baby next year too.

[@Jacqui-Pen]

@TheFarmyardGarden I've not heard of the arava. My hubby wasn't keen on cantaloupe. He said they weren't sweet. Reviews I've seen on the minnesota midget are great. I grew my marketmore ridge cucumbers up an arch. Because they get both male & female flowers, they need pollinating, but the insects did a great job. The all female variety don't need pollinating, so they're perfect for polytunnels or greenhouses 😀

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

@Jacqui-Pen there you go, you’ve convinced me ❤️

[@TheGrowUpChannel]

Place some banana peels underneath each plant clare. Bananas naturally release ethylene, which will ripen your tomatoes faster! Danny 🌱

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Why didn’t I think of that? I do know about them releasing ethylene but it never occurred to me to take some peel to the tunnel. Thanks Danny ☺️

[@Jacqui-Pen]

@TheFarmyardGarden when we tried banana peel, we just ended up with loads of bugs/insects. I did see someone started putting their tomatoes inside a glass cake dome. Within a few days, they were ripe. I'm guessing the cake dome became a mini greenhouse indoors 🤔

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

@@Jacqui-Pen that makes sense!

[@adysveggarden]

Hi Clare, nice to see that you now enjoy your home grown garlic. This must be about a year since your first harvest last year, have your meals changed with all this additional veg?

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Well… I’ve gotten fat this year! I make my own bread now. What matches sourdough better than thick slices of cheese with your salads doorstop! 😂😂😂

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

Nah that's a bob job I don't shrim coz I find it hard to pull the cord on the petrol one. I have muscle weakness so I no longer have the arm strength and speed needed

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

I struggle with our petrol Stihl but it’s also very heavy and has the handle frame the wrong way for a left for me hander. Makes it even more awkward to hold. It also buzzes through my hands and I hate that feeling. The cordless one is a dream

[@Tea_and_thyme_2012]

A job well done there Clare. Can I ask what melons you were growing as I’d like to give them a go next year. Also, where did you buy the organza bags from? I bought some for my homemade confetti for my daughters wedding on Friday 27 September and when I opened the big organza bag they were in they were tiny and a quarter of the size I needed!!!! Note to self “read the measurements” 😂😂

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Hi Debra. The ones harvested in this video are Minnesota Midgets but I prefer the yellow ones I’ve harvest earlier in the season, which are Arava F1. The organza bags are from Amazon. These ones are the ones used in this video: 20pcs White Organza Gift Bags,... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C7GW2Q3W?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share I am terrible at not getting the sizing right too. I tend not to read enough 😂 I hope the wedding goes well. How exciting ❤️

[@doras.allotment]

Your polytunnel has been fantastic indeed! So interesting how you liked your own garlic, but not supermarket. I have just bought SO much garlic to plant this year as I did not have anywhere near enough this year. It's a shame I'm not able to make Malvern autumn this year but will definitely be blocking it out of the calendar next year. Hope you all have a wonderful time - fingers crossed for the weather improving! Lovely video as always, I really enjoy the snippets of the farm! 🥰

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

I’ve never bought fresh garlic, so to be fair it’s not a true comparison. I just mean shop bought products that have garlic in them are usually a smell I dislike. Which varieties have you bought? Definitely mark the time off for next year. Would be lovely to meet you and Mr Dora. I need to include more snippets of the farm but I’m not sure where the tolerance would lie with regular viewers.