Garden tour

 I'm tempted to rip all the red cabbage out from the raised bed as they are absolutely ravaged by caterpillars. I thought I had been so vigilant too and have scraped off dozens of clusters of butterfly eggs each week. I check every morning but have obviously missed a few. Oddly enough the red cabbages in the big tubs are fine and they will sit there until we need them.  The Florence fennel that I cut back has all started shooting again from the bottom so I might be able to harvest some nice tender shoots for salads in the next few weeks.  I did sow another batch and it's all looking healthy. Now I keep my fingers crossed and hope for some decent weather to give it chance to get properly established before it turns cold.  The Celeriac is coming along really well and the turnips are looking great.

Florence fennel regrowing

Chard regrowing

Pumpkin coming along nicely

Swede

Celeriac just starting to build up a nice base

The pink flowered strawberries are starting to fill with flowers now. I was beginning to think they weren't going to flower this year

Late strawberries

The 'winter sown' tomatoes that I experimented with at the beginning of the year look really healthy. I've no idea what variety they are as I saved the seeds from a shop bought one.  The tomatoes are really big and the trusses are well filled. I dotted tomatoes all around the garden and they are all in various stages of readiness

The curly kale is looking stunning and it tastes amazing both cooked and in salads

The courgettes are still producing plenty of lovely fresh tasty courgettes (what else would they be producing) :-) I have some yellow fruited ones just starting to grow and am hoping to get fruit off them before the weather turns really cold

Golden self blanching celery is coming along nicely and though the plants aren't very big there is enough to pick for our salads every day

The Gladioli look stunning in front of the shed and are a beautiful addition to our salads.

The herbs and veggies in the gutter garden have been giving me pickings of golden purslane and dwarf Greek basil for the past few weeks.  I keep on picking the tiny spring onions too as they are so nice in the salads

This raised planter has been colourful for weeks on end and gives me so much pleasure.  I intend to plant it up with low growing veggies and cover it with a cloche lid to keep out most of the autumn rain

All in all I have been so pleased with the garden this year. Next year I am planning on being a bit less erratic with my growing and intend to plan all the beds a bit better.