Bedding down and gathering the final harvest

Saturday 13th December

Rising late to the sound of high winds blowing from the south.
Our flag..................

......is at full stretch.
I'm going to clear out the plots and bed them down for the winter so I wont be posting every weekend as usual but will be updating from time to time.
I'm saying this because I don't want either of the two people who read this blog to worry about me when I don't put a new post up :-)

I ask Alvin and Wilson if they'd care to accompany me in my gardening efforts.................

........but they politely decline.
Tommy Ticklemouse, Man of Mystery (or Mousetery)...............

.........is always up for a spell outside.
On the way we pass the selected rhubarb patch for 2009........................

.........which I never got prepared.
I pull up the only cauliflower that I have managed to grow...........

and take it in to the kitchen.
Then all the plots get a thorough mulching.

Plots 3 and 4

Plot 5 gets an extra deep cover as I know that there are at least 2 toads wintering it out in there. I must be careful next season when I come to dig it over.

Plot 6 has been the home of my most successful tomato crop yet but next year I will be growing something different in here. What that will be is yet to be decided on.

I've left the Brussel Sprouts growing in Plot 2.................

......but I doubt that anything will come of them as they were severly attacked by catapillers and grasshoppers from the start.

The onions in Plot 1.........................

.......should hopefully survive the winter.

The garlic may be another matter but it's all a learning curve.

Temperatures are due to fall dramatically on Sunday and Monday, highs of 20F (-6C) are being mentioned. Not good for the happy gardener but all I can do is make sure that the few remaining plants I have are protected to the best of my ability.

Late afternoon skies of beauty and wonder.

Time to go indoors and decide what to do................

..............................with my poor lonesome Cauliflower.
If anyone out there has any recipes.................................