Monday 3 October

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It is that time to start planning Christmas. I don't know why; it'll be sweet peas again. It's always sweet peas at Christmas. It is just a question of whether there is enough Indigo King, star of the 2022 season here, to go around. As I move to organic certification, there is a rather tricky patch where I have to produce everything organically (which I always did anyway) but not be able to either say that it is organic, or top up from specialist sweet pea growers. If you have got in touch with me this week with messages of support and celebration after I finally said my goal* out loud on Instagram, a huge thank you.

*My life goal is to become the first organic, biodynamic, specialist cut flower seed grower in the UK.

Tuesday 4 October

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And talking of such goals, I am thrilled to bits with some of my green manures this autumn. A square patch of peonies was underplanted with phacelia last year and it dropped its seed at exactly the right moment so that we could clear it in late summer, compost the stalks, and there is now a perfect green carpet of new plants on the bed. It is only ever serendipity when these things go right. I was too late sowing it last year, and too early the year before. Sometimes it is better just to leave it to the plants to do themselves.

Wednesday 5 October

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I am feeling a little rusty creatively and, having thought I had better things to do for a week, I finally decide to just go and lop off three cables of rose hips and make them into a wreath. The base of the wreath is a tangle of akebia, bodged together on a whim four or five years ago, and it has proved its worth a hundred times over. With the addition of some scarlet hips and held together with a little twine, it is autumn on a hook.

Thursday 6 October

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Finally, a flower day. We did as much direct sowing as I am going to risk in the middle of September, but the greenhouse is still snug and warm. More annuals from Chiltern seeds and more perennials from Green & Gorgeous (I am about to put another order in). The first sowings of scabious are potted on, and a second sowing, simply because I was tempted by the colour combination of 'Summer Fruits', has been made.

Friday 7 October

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Today is the day for sweet peas. Hundreds of them. Or, as many as I can fit in the loo roll inners that haven't been stolen and devoured by Maud anyway. I make a whole video for Gather about the tips and tricks that I have learned over the years and how planting into cardboard tubes has its pros and cons. By the end of the day, I cave, and order 96 proper, plastic root trainers.

Saturday 8 October

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The weekend dawns with big blue skies. A beautiful day and perfect for drying my wood chips. I collected two large bins full from the sawmill during the week but they need to be bone dry to make carbon-negative biochar. I lay them out on tarpaulins in the orchard and look at the sky with concern. The weather is hard to predict at this time of year, although we have been enjoying the cooler, sun-drenched evenings. It is perfect dog-walking season, apart from the burdocks that Hugo seems to attract magnetically to his feet, and I am determined to make the most of it.

The picture below is of the quince. After a year of hopelessness, I think we will actually have a decent crop. Who needs more than ten anyway? Enough is as good as a feast.