For one reason or another, but mostly due to some serious rainstorms, I had not been to the allotment for several days. When it wasn’t raining, slithering across the field in the mud did not appeal. And then the wind got up. And then just when I thought I’d go, another downpour began. And so it seems that after our too arid summer, we’re in for a very wet autumn.
But yesterday came the window of opportunity. The morning was almost sunny. We anyway needed some veggies. So wellies on, off I trudged along Townsend Meadow, which is now a green haze of sprouting wheat. The rain is suiting it. It has also been suiting all the field beans spilled during the summer harvesting. They have been pushing up through the wheat, and I noticed yesterday that the farmer has clearly been over the field with his big herbicide sprayer. I find it astonishing that plant-killing chemicals can be so attuned as to know a broad bean seedling from a wheat stem. Anyway, the application is clearly doing its stuff, and the wheat looks fine.
*
Up on the plot all is soggy and much blown about, and certainly not at all photogenic. There was lots to gather though – leeks, beetroot, chicory, carrots, and still some tomatoes, lettuce and rocket in the polytunnel. I didn’t stay long. The wind was gusting up into a small gale. You can see what it did to quince crop. The tree this year was laden. It seems a waste not to use the fruit, but apart from quince jelly, which needs loads of sugar, it’s not really a favourite in the Farrell household.
Townsend Meadow: wheat and field beans (before the spraying)
#WalkingSquares This November join Becky in her daily walks, or whenever you can, the only rule, the header photo must be SQUARE.
Tish Farrell 
Same here, with the rain vs dry seasonal imbalance. Can’t help but internalize it as a natural tendency to just laze around and nap, or drag oneself from room to room right? Was nice to see this view into the allotment though, thanks for sharing Tish! And more when you’re able please, when the wind takes a pause to reload. Be well!
Yes, there’s definitely a yen to semi-hibernate, Bill. I never understand how putting the clock back one hour ends up the very next day or so with afternoons growing dark twice as quickly as they did the day before the clocks went back. Does not compute. Who stole the light? All wellness thoughts heartily reciprocated.
I know! The math with the light can be confounding like that. Some futile race it seems. But then it goes in our favour again come January, and I love that. How just a little more each day means so much! To that, then. We change ours over this coming weekend, here.
Share the rains, my dear.
I think we must have stolen some of your share, Mak. Or the monsoon has experienced some serious slippage in a northerly direction. In the past few years when it starts raining in October, it keeps it up till March.
I think you have stolen rain meant for us.
it is good for the body to get out after rain or even the rain, so pleased the veggies were calling you.
How about quince cheese?!
Now I did once have a go at making quince cheese since it sounded most appealing, but I didn’t care for the end result.
oh that’s a shame. Perhaps there is a liqueur?!!
Now you’re talking!
Looked a few recipes up and seems as easy as making sloe gin, just use vodka instead.
Many thanks, Becky. That sounds rather exciting. I will look to it. While the fruit is still intact.
Brilliant, and I’ll have to happen to drop by after you’ve made some!
Now there’s a very lovely thought.
😊
When I lived in France, I always felt I ‘ought’ to like using quince, which were omnipresent, but I found them hard work and not my favourite. I’m relieved you seem the same!
I’ve come across some recipes where one mixes them in with apples for pies and crumbles. That could tempt me perhaps.
It scarcely matters. I never see them here. Well, maybe once at Waitrose, at a mortgage-level price.
As they say – you don’t get many to the pound 🙂
I love the fugitive flavour of quince, but never see any. But now, anyway, I don’t have the strength to prepare them….
V. sorry you’ve lost processing power, Sue. They are hard work to chop.
They certainly are, Tish
Wow, impressive. Our Quince tree produced two or three blossoms this year and that was that!
Once again, no fruit.
I don’t know if we will ever get quince.
*Sigh*
I think this tree only started fruiting a couple of years ago. It’s been on the plot quite a while, now a communal orchard. This year it just went flipping bananas!
You should definitely mention this to those at Guinness – a quince tree producing bananas. What a bonus. I’d plant one of those trees!
Magic, innit!
It certainly looks green, Tish. I’m not a fan of quince either. All those lovely nitrogen fixing legumes being poisoned. So sad but I guess they would decrease the value of the wheat crop.
Yes, crop devaluing, that’s the problem. If farming weren’t quite so knife-edge critical, economically speaking, I guess the ideal situation would have been to leave the volunteer bean seeds to grow (and not sow another crop) and then cut the plants down before flowering, and leave to rot down and harrow in. Ploughing of course is frowned on these days.
It’s hard to know what’s worse, the ploughing or the glyphosate. By the way, we use many chemicals in Australia that are banned in the EU and other places. It is no wonder our environment is in such a mess.
Watching UK farming vids on UTube, I was surprised to find that glyphosate is also used on crops just prior to harvest – to dessicate same.
The more I learn, the more horrified I am, Tish.
Reblogged this on Hutts Ultra Blogging World.