Barry Cuff takes a look back through his notes of what happened on his Sturminster Newton plot last month

The weather throughout September was perfect for the growth of both vegetables and weeds. Just over an inch of rain, combined with mild nights and daytime temperatures around 20°C, provided ideal conditions for the last sowings and plantings of the year. Dry days also allowed us to tidy the plot and clear away old crops.

Autumn and winter salad plants
The radicchio planted in August put on good growth. Blue Moon, Red Moon and daikon radishes, all sown at the beginning of the month, established well, while spinach, mustards, mizuna and a spicy leaf mix all germinated successfully.
All were protected with a light fleece to protect the germinating seedlings from Flea Beetle damage.
Multi-sowings in plugs were made of Winter Cress and Winter Hardy White Lisbon spring onion on 6th and planted out on 29th.

Beetroot and carrots
Those sown in July and August during the drought put on excellent growth. Earlier sowings also grew well and harvested in small quantities as required.

Brassicas
Most were planted during the drought and are taking some time to recover, as well as now suffering bad attacks of whitefly and mealy aphid.
Interestingly, this year we have seen only very small numbers of cabbage white butterfly caterpillars.
All the plants were given a liquid NPK and seaweed feed, and we have now harvested our first red cabbages and Ironman calabrese.

Celeriac
Giant Prague and Asterix were mulched, fed with liquid seaweed and kept well watered, ensuring good root growth. We are now harvesting them as required.

Celery
Golden Self Blanching has been kept well watered and harvested as needed for soups, stir-fries and salads.

Chinese cabbage
This put on amazing growth in the cooler conditions and should be ready to cut in October.

Cucumbers and gherkins
These are still producing fruit throughout the month, albeit in smaller quantities.

Flowers
Many have recovered in the lower temperatures and were well visited by bees, hoverflies and butterflies. Tithonia, tagetes, cosmos, zinnias and nasturtiums have all been flowering.

French beans
The final pickings of the season were made on 23rd.

Garlic
Four varieties have been ordered for planting in November.
Green manure
All bare ground has been sown with phacelia.

Leeks
These have put on good growth. A few smaller plants were dug towards the end of the month.

Lettuce
Our final outdoor planting of the year went in on 25th. These will need to be protected with a cloche as the days become colder.

Manure order
We have made our annual order – 30 wheelbarrow loads – which will arrive next month.

Parsnips
Looking well!

Runner beans
A few were still harvested in the middle of the month. The old plants have now been added to the compost heap, with the canes dried and put away under cover.

Seed catalogue
Is this cheating? Not a crop, but the Kings Seeds catalogue arrived and we have ordered our seed for 2027. As members of our allotment association, we are eligible for a 40 per cent discount. Having worked in the seed trade all my life* I know that Kings Seeds offer very good value as well as an exceptionally wide range of varieties.

Site inspection
Every year we must have an inspection of all plots on the site, highlighting issues requiring remedial action.

Sweet peppers
A few plants were still producing at the end of the month.

Tomatoes
The greenhouse plants have slowed down, but many varieties are still producing fruit. There are also plenty of plot holders on the site with excellent outdoor plants carrying large quantities of fruit.

Water
The well was back in action after the rain, but quickly ran dry again towards the end of the month. Fortunately, we do also have mains water on the site.

Weeds
Weed growth has been phenomenal, with new flushes of seedlings appearing almost every day. The worst offenders on our plot have been gallant soldier, chickweed and fat hen.

Winter squash
The foliage has now died back, revealing our Butterfly butternut and Crown Prince squash. Most are smaller than last year and they should be ready to harvest around mid-October.

• Barry is a seed analyst – read more about his ‘day job’ in our interview with the gardener with 10,000 pictures