Already it is starting to feel like the start of Autumn

Hello Everyone,

That Autumnal feeling has arrived. The nights are becoming darker sooner and the curtains are being closed. It is much cooler with some much needed rain and we are wearing long trousers, sweat shirts and boots. The tasks also feel there is a change in the air.

The inside and outside beds which have been prepped and ready for fresh plantings are now being filled with seedlings which are for the Winter and early Spring seasons of 2026/2027! How did we get here and be talking about 2027!

Bob and I have been filling up these beds with Brassicas - Cabbages, Spring Greens, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Spring Cauliflowers, Kales and Cavolo Nero. We also had a little extra help this week. Two of our lovely customers had attended one of our full day Gardening Courses  and did ask if they could volunteer for a few hours. We said of course, so, they have actually planted the Cavolo Nero and Spring Greens they will have delivered next year. They have asked to come back for another session to sample gardening in the Winter. Totally different gardening season but they are very welcome and we send our huge thanks and appreciation of their time and great effort.

Working here at Hexhamshire Organics is a more than full time job, more a way of life. We work when we have daylight outside and even occasionally when it is dark. Certainly the admin is now all completed during the darker hours. From now on until next year, we make use of any daylight time by being in the growing areas. We now consider the weather from a different angle. Unlike the Summer, when we are constantly watering and tending due to extreme heat, the Autumn season is the time where we plant for the future seasons and harvest from the past seasons. We have an abundance of produce providing much choice. We also have a selection of climates to consider…will it be raining, will there be an Indian Summer, how strong are the winds, is it going to be freezing, will the drizzle turn to a heavy downpour, is snow on the way???

All of these choices will dictate how we tackle the day:

Which clothes to wear, do we need to keep dry or to layer up to keep warm. Bob will certainly be changing his choice of hat from Summer shade hat to a Winter woolly.

When can we start, say, planting the garlic or onion sets into the outside beds. This would be quite an unpleasant day if it was chucking it down.

If the wind was really strong, which it often is in these here parts, we would have to ensure that all the fleece coverings are secure. It has been known that someone has knocked on the door to tell us that a covering has blown over the hedge and onto the lane!

When the temperature starts to drop we close the tunnel doors and drop the side panels each night to provide that extra touch of warmth for the plants.

If heavy snow has arrived we tend to bang the top of the tunnels from the inside to prevent the snow piling up over the tunnel and when heavy, buckling the tunnel frames.

Heavy rain can cause floods on areas of our land so we ensure that all the ditches are clear of debris allowing the drained water to run freely.

These are a few examples of how our minds now instinctively work to ensure the efficient running of our little farm.

Alongside all these cold weather tasks we are going to perform lots of DIY on the polytunnels. They are getting on a bit now, the youngest being six years old. They tend to have lots of work done on them during this time of the year but we are also going to consider upgrading the gates and sides of each tunnel. We have (Bob has) already started on the gates, particularly as a rabbit has already pushed its way under the loose netting of the gate to Polytunnel two and helped itself to the newly planted Fennel tops! An indication to us that something definitely had to be done.

On that note I will take my leave and crack on!

Thank you once again for all your kind words and support. We really,really do appreciate your feed back.

Take care,

 Ann