25 October 2026

Garlic in, dahlias lifted

The clocks go back tonight, so today was the last long afternoon on the plot until spring. It was also the first year I've had both jobs to do on the same weekend, and it felt like proper gardening.

Garlic

Two varieties this year: a softneck for keeping and a hardneck for flavour. Cloves pushed in pointy end up, 15 cm apart, a finger's depth below the surface, into the bed where the beans were. Garlic needs a cold spell to split into cloves, so autumn planting gives the best bulbs. Netting over the top until they root, because the pigeons pull them straight back out.

Dahlias

The first frost blackened the dahlias on Tuesday. I cut the stems down to about 10 cm, lifted the tubers, washed the soil off and left them upside down in the shed to drain. Once they're dry they'll go into crates of old compost in the garage, away from frost and mice.

The plot is now mostly bare beds under compost, a row of leeks, the purple sprouting broccoli and the garlic net. The rhubarb is going dormant. As far as I know, Derek's crown still hasn't been fed.