Autumn sowing

 It's been a busy start to the day in the garden for me now that the season is about to turn. I pulled out some tomato plants that had been growing in my porch and reused the pedestal planter that they were in for a few veggies. I moved it back outside into the back garden as we'll need the porch for the Christmas tree in a few months. I've emptied some shallow crates and sown some veggies for the coming months. I decided to sow a few varieties of radish as they are really useful in the salads. We love to eat the young leaves too so it's a double crop for us both. There's beetroot which I grow more for the leaves than the bulbs and spinach for the baby leaves. I've transplanted some dwarf pak choi and purple sprouting broccoli into one of the veg beds and popped three spare pak choi into the pedestal planter. I have no idea how big it's going to grow but I do like to chance my arm trying new ways to grow things. 

Next to the pedestal planter is the tub of leeks.. I had thought they were spring onions so it was quite a surprise when I discovered my mistake. Oh well, they will get eaten at some point. I moved them up onto the dwarf wall to give me space for the shallow crates.  These crates have been so useful this summer for growing radish and little round carrots up on top of the woodstore.  I've added fresh compost and sown a load more of the two along with some beetroot. Because the crate is only about three inches deep  I'm not sure how well the beetroot will do but as I want them for the leaves as much as the beets it won't matter too much. A while ago I discovered a long sheet of perspex next to our shed and neither Tony nor I can think where it came from. It's been really useful to lean against the wall and protect the newly planted seeds and then simply tucks away next to the shed when it isn't needed.  A couple of heavy bricks keeps it in place while it's in use. The plastic bottle sitting on the wall has a pinprick in it to spray water across the seeds.  I intend to add a few more pinholes so that the water comes out in different directions.  It's been  a useful addition to the garden this year and I dotted them around a few troughs when the weather was really hot. They stopped things from drying out and as the spray is so fine it doesn't just pour straight out through the tubs. It's a simple matter of filling each one up when needed. 

In the second crate I have sown lettuce though I'm not sure how well they'll do.  They will be a useful addition to salads if they come to anything and a pinch or two of seed is hardly going to bust my budget if they don't succeed.