October Allotment Round-Up: Harvests, Autumn Planting, Two Storms & New Projects
Oct 31, 2026
From planting hundreds of spring bulbs to checking the aftermath of two storms, October has been a busy month on the allotment!Join me, Gardening with Ben, for a look back at the planting, harvests, challenges and progress on my Sheffield plot — plus the plans taking shape for November.In this month’s round-up:
• Planting spring bulbs and creating a bulb lasagne.
• Adding pansies, wallflowers, cyclamen and hellebores.
• Getting garlic, onions, shallots and broad beans planted.
• Harvesting eating apples and discovering some lovely cauliflowers.
• Preparing for storms and checking the polytunnel.
• Clearing and weeding our new allotment area.
• Checking our dwarf fruit trees and fig plant.
• Securing and filling the bird feeders.
• Returning to regular podcasting and filming gardening content.
• Buying a 3D printer and exploring ideas for the garden.I also reflect on the most satisfying moments, lessons learned and the jobs I want to tackle next month.What was your gardening highlight of October? Share your successes and November plans on the Gardening with Ben Facebook page.Thank you to everyone who has listened and supported the podcast this month. Please follow, leave a rating and share it with a gardening friend.More gardening inspiration:
https://gardenandallotment.com (https://gardenandallotment.com/) Keep smiling, keep shining, keep gardening with Ben.
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Hey, let's grow. Grab your [music]
0:03
gloves. It's time to grow. Seeds and
0:07
flowers. Watch [music] them go from the
0:10
garden to the man again.
0:13
[music]
0:14
Gardening with Ben. Hey, let's go
0:18
with Ben.
0:21
Hey up everybody and welcome back to
0:24
Gardening with Ben. Well, we are at the
0:26
end of the month now. We're at the end
0:28
of October. Wow, hasn't it gone fast?
0:30
We're getting to the colder months now.
0:32
Unfortunately, the colder and wetter
0:34
months, but we do need the rain to fill
0:36
the reservoirs back up as we have
0:39
obviously had a lot of hot weather
0:41
during the summer period. So, yeah, we
0:43
do need the rain to help fill them back
0:45
up, which it will take a lot of rain to
0:46
fill them up, I think, as we still
0:49
having mild October.
0:52
Yes, we've had a couple of storms, but
0:54
we've still not had enough rain to fill
0:57
them back up. But hopefully we'll have a
1:00
few more wetter days and just not when
1:02
I'm down at the plot. I don't want the
1:05
rain while I'm at the a lotment. So, if
1:06
we can hold off it or even just rain at
1:09
night, uh I'd be happy with that. Rain
1:11
all night and nice in the day. If you if
1:13
only we could do that, that would be
1:16
absolutely amazing. So, October has been
1:18
a month of planting, storm checks, new
1:21
projects, and getting the podcast going
1:24
again. So, it has been a very busy busy
1:27
month down at the plot and at home doing
1:30
all these podcasts. So, the autumn
1:32
colors are now changing and everything's
1:36
starting to turn nice. We're getting the
1:38
autumn colors on the grape vines.
1:40
They're absolutely looking lovely with
1:41
the red leaves before they all drop off.
1:45
But yeah, we're starting to see all the
1:47
changes happening in the a lotment now.
1:49
And it'll start to look pretty bare as
1:51
the months go on. So, yeah.
1:54
And obviously we're getting shorter days
1:57
now as well. So I can't go to the a
1:58
lotment after work. We can only go on
2:01
the two days that I get off. So we've
2:03
got to make the most of it when we're
2:04
down there on them two days. So yeah, I
2:09
think overall we have had a good
2:11
October. It's been a good month. I can't
2:13
complain even though it's been my
2:15
birthday. I'm a year older now. So yeah,
2:17
it has been a very good month this month
2:20
and I think we've achieved a lot stuff
2:21
down at the plot. So, we're going to
2:23
talk about everything that we have done
2:25
over the October month and hopefully
2:28
things that we're going to be doing in
2:30
in November.
2:32
So, I think I must have planted at least
2:35
2,000 bulbs. And that is not
2:37
exaggerating in honest to God, it must
2:40
be the amount that I planted. Absolutely
2:43
loads. So, at the front of my plot, we
2:45
have got three new raised beds. And I
2:48
thought I'd plant them lasagna bulb
2:50
style. And I've got a lot of uh bulbs
2:53
what have been sent to me. I've had like
2:55
three different packs of bulbs in and
2:58
they've got 500 bulbs in a pack. Uh all
3:01
different varieties of bulbs like your
3:04
um daffodils, your crocuses, your higher
3:08
sims, tulips. So it's a big variety. So
3:11
I thought I'd plant them lasagna style.
3:13
So I planted the bigger bulbs towards
3:15
the bottom like all the tulips, the
3:17
daffodils. And then as we get further
3:19
up, we get the tartes, then we get the
3:21
crocuses. So they'll all flower at
3:24
different times and hopefully provide
3:26
color all the way through springtime. So
3:28
I'm so looking forward to seeing what
3:30
that them beds turn out like. And I've
3:32
even put netting over them because I
3:34
don't want the squirrel getting them
3:36
bulbs. I want them to look absolutely
3:37
great. So we'll see how they turn out
3:39
and see if we get some good displays
3:41
from them. Hopefully we'll get some
3:43
amazing ones. We've also added a lot of
3:47
bulbs in the border around the raised
3:49
beds. So, it's going to be absolutely
3:51
swamped full of B uh bulbs. I've just
3:54
shoved as many in as possible. Probably
3:56
not at the right depth. Uh to plant them
3:59
all at the right depth would have taken
4:01
absolutely forever. I have just shoved
4:03
them in. I will hold my hands up. So,
4:06
we'll probably put some more compost on
4:08
them in springtime so they're a bit
4:09
deeper uh for when I plant more plants
4:12
in the borders. But yeah, they're
4:14
probably not deep enough. And that's
4:15
holding my hands up. We've also planted
4:18
about 30 higher simps in the entrance.
4:20
So when all them are out, it'll smell
4:22
absolutely phenomenal. I can't wait to
4:24
smell them and see what they look like.
4:27
Hopefully they all grow and hopefully
4:29
they all develop. And we'll see what we
4:31
get from those results. So yeah, we've
4:34
planted all the bulbs there. We've also
4:38
rearranged uh one of my beds in front of
4:40
my poly tunnel in between my shed. And
4:43
in that it created a lot of extra space.
4:46
So I thought why not? We're going to
4:47
fill it with more bulbs. There is a lot
4:49
of bulbs already in it. Uh but I can't
4:52
remember what's in it. I think it's
4:53
mainly tulips to be honest. Um so we've
4:56
planted absolutely loads of bulbs in
4:58
there. We've planted daffodil bulbs.
5:01
We've planted aliums at the back which
5:03
are taller. Uh, and then we've planted
5:06
some tarte in there. And I think we
5:09
planted some um crocuses as well in
5:12
there. But we'll have to see now. We'll
5:14
have to have a surprise of what comes
5:15
up. Uh, and in November, I'm going to be
5:18
absolutely planting hundreds of tulips.
5:20
I must have about 20 packets of
5:23
different varieties of tulips. And
5:25
obviously, you wait until November for
5:27
planting tulips because they can get
5:29
tulip fire. So, we have to wait for
5:32
November to plant them. So, next month
5:35
I'll be getting all those in. So, I'll
5:36
be sharing a lot of videos of what we're
5:38
getting up to with all planted. I can't
5:40
wait to do all that. That's going to be
5:42
incredible. I need to go through all my
5:44
bags to find them all out to be honest
5:46
because I've just shoved them all in a
5:47
bag. I don't even know what varieties
5:48
we've got anymore. But what I might do
5:50
is I might plant them all in separate
5:52
plant pots so that we've got different
5:54
varieties in separate plant pots. We'll
5:56
see. We'll see how things go. But that's
5:58
the plan anyway of what we're doing.
6:00
We'd need an awful lot of plant pots to
6:02
do it though. We must need about 20
6:04
plant pots, even more. So, we'll we'll
6:06
have a work it out and we'll I'm sure
6:08
we'll figure something out on planting
6:10
all them bulbs. So, yeah, we're going to
6:13
have a good spring display. I can't wait
6:15
for it. I hope a lot of you have been
6:17
planting your spring bulbs as well. I
6:19
always encourage everybody with a
6:21
lotments to plant spring bulbs. The
6:23
reason being is that obviously the bees
6:25
wake up from hibernation, so they need
6:27
some nectar for when they get started uh
6:30
when it's around springtime. So the
6:32
bulbs help them get their energy that
6:34
they need for the year ahead. So having
6:39
spring bulbs does help the bees. So if
6:42
you can all just plant some, even if
6:44
you've got a brand new a lotment, just
6:45
shove them in somewhere and hopefully
6:48
help the bees out and do something good
6:51
for them.
6:53
Next up, we planted a lot of flowers as
6:56
well in October as I do want more and
7:00
more color in my plot during the winter
7:02
months as like I said, it's starting to
7:04
get bare now with color down at the
7:06
plot. Obviously, all the summer flowers
7:08
are dying off and yeah, it's starting to
7:10
look a bit unhappy. So, we wanted to add
7:13
some color into the garden and hopefully
7:17
keep that color going all the way
7:18
through to the spring bulbs coming
7:20
through. So first up we planted a load
7:23
of pansies.
7:25
Now I planted a load of pansies called
7:27
top wave. Now these are quite a new
7:30
variety of pansies and ideally these are
7:34
for hanging baskets and they will spread
7:37
and drape down. So if you've got hanging
7:39
baskets they'll like fill out and make
7:42
it look really nice in the hanging
7:44
basket. But obviously I've not got
7:46
hanging baskets outside. So, I planted
7:48
them in the ground, so hopefully they'll
7:50
spread, fill out, and create a lovely
7:52
display of pansies in my beds. We also
7:56
planted some wall flowers. I've never
7:58
had wall flowers in my plot before, so
8:00
it's something new for me. Uh something
8:03
that I've never tried before. Now, these
8:04
variety are called sugar rush wall
8:07
flowers, and they're absolutely
8:09
gorgeous. They're meant to smell as
8:11
well, so hopefully they'll add a nice
8:13
fragrance into the plot. I've put them
8:14
near the entrance so that I smell them
8:16
as I walk on. And these will flower now
8:18
in autumn and flower again in
8:20
springtime. So yeah, adding plenty of
8:22
color back into the garden during the
8:25
months when it's a bit bare down at the
8:27
plot. Next up are one of my favorite
8:30
winter plants and they're cichlemen. And
8:34
make sure that you're going for a hardy
8:35
variety of cichlmen when you're planting
8:37
them as obviously they need to be able
8:40
to survive in the cold frost and the
8:43
snow. So make sure you pick a hardy
8:46
variety of cichlmen when you're planting
8:48
them. Next up we planted winter hella as
8:52
well. Something new that I've never
8:54
planted before. Another newbie. And you
8:57
plant them about 60 cm apart. I think I
8:59
got about six plants of those all
9:01
together. So, I'm looking forward to
9:03
seeing what they'll do. They'll send
9:04
some nice flowers out over the winter
9:06
period and the perennial as well. So,
9:08
they'll come back year after year and
9:10
look bigger and better every single
9:12
year. So, some great color to add to the
9:14
garden. It's looking really nice
9:17
already. We obviously got to wait a
9:19
while for the winter hella to flower
9:21
because it's still small plants. So, I
9:23
don't know if we'll get flowers on them
9:24
this year. Hopefully, we will and
9:26
hopefully I'll be able to share some
9:27
great pictures of them along the way. So
9:30
yeah, we have planted lots of flowers
9:32
this month and I'm excited for them to
9:35
fill out and create more coloring a
9:38
lotment.
9:39
Next up, we did a lot of planting as
9:42
well as you can still plant in October.
9:46
And these four things you can plant in
9:48
November as well. So if you've not
9:49
planted them, you can still plant them
9:51
now. So first up, we planted a lot of
9:54
garlic. Now I planted some
9:58
normal garlic and I planted some um
10:04
elephant garlic. I forget the word. We
10:07
planted elephant garlic. A huge garlic.
10:09
It's not actually part of the garlic
10:12
family. It's part of the leak family,
10:14
but you can use it to the same way and
10:16
same method, but they turn out
10:18
absolutely huge. Uh I shared a photo of
10:20
the difference in size of cloves from a
10:23
normal garlic to a massive garlic and
10:25
the difference is unreal. Uh but yeah,
10:28
we planted some of those. Uh obviously
10:30
you don't get as many of those cloves in
10:32
a pack. Uh I think I only got about
10:34
four. Um but normal garlic, you'll get
10:37
absolutely loads of cloves off a garlic
10:39
clove uh when planting them. So yeah,
10:42
make sure that you plant them somewhere
10:44
cold because it needs the cold weather
10:45
to help develop the bulb. And yeah,
10:48
hopefully you'll be harvesting them
10:50
around June time. They always say that
10:52
you harvest garlic on the longest day.
10:55
It's an old gardener's wife's tale. Uh,
10:58
another one of those, a bit like you
11:00
plant your potatoes on Good Friday as
11:03
well. So, that's around the time when I
11:07
look to harvest my garlic from my plot.
11:09
Next up, we planted some yellow onions,
11:12
some red onions, and some white onions.
11:16
Now, I talked to everybody on my video
11:18
about if you planted them outside, make
11:20
sure that you net them over to stop the
11:22
birds and the mice and the rats pulling
11:24
them out, but I put them all in my poly
11:26
tunnel. And I didn't net them over. I
11:28
didn't listen to my own advice. I
11:30
thought they'd be pretty safe in the
11:31
poly tunnel. Uh cuz obviously birds
11:33
don't get in the poly tunnel. I went in
11:35
the next day and they'd all been pulled
11:37
out. I were like, "No." I know I've got
11:39
right some mice down there cuz I've seen
11:42
damage from them before. Uh but yeah,
11:44
they'd all been pulled out, so I had to
11:46
shove them all back in and net them all
11:48
back over. Now, once they get to a
11:50
decent size and once they start sending
11:52
the shoots out, then you can take the
11:54
netting off when they're big enough to
11:56
handle themselves. So, yeah, we planted
11:58
a lot of onions in as poly tunnel. Uh
12:00
we're planting all the stuff in as poly
12:02
tunnel at the moment because I'm going
12:03
to be doing a lot of work outside over
12:05
the winter. So, I wanted my a lotment
12:07
pretty empty over the winter period so
12:09
that I can do a lot of work outside as
12:12
I've never done any work on my plot for
12:14
about 16 years now. So, we're going to
12:16
be doing some big improvements. That's
12:18
the plan anyway. Hopefully, uh the funds
12:20
will allow it. We'll see. Um but yeah,
12:23
we'll see how we get on throughout the
12:25
winter period. We might just do a bit at
12:27
a time, like one every bit every year.
12:30
So, we'll see how we get on with that.
12:32
Next up, we planted some shellots. same
12:35
way that you plant your onions. Uh but
12:38
these are just a bit bigger. And again,
12:40
net them over so that the birds and the
12:42
pigeons don't pull them out as they will
12:44
do. And next up are my broad beans. Get
12:48
ready for this everybody. So, I did a
12:50
video on growing broad beans, starting
12:53
them off in pots first because if you
12:55
plant them straight in the ground
12:56
outside, birds, mice, they'll come
12:59
along, find the um broad bean, and
13:02
they'll eat them and pinch them and
13:04
everything like that. Uh so, I grow them
13:06
in pots first to get them to a decent
13:08
size before planting them outside. So, I
13:11
did that, put them in my poly tunnel,
13:13
went down the next week, everyone had
13:16
been pinched out of the pot. the mice or
13:18
rats or something had the lot. So, I've
13:20
got to plant them all again. I've got to
13:22
buy some more and make plant some more.
13:27
So, yeah, we have got some more money to
13:30
spend on that because obviously I want
13:32
to show everybody I'm growing and
13:33
everything like that. So, we need to
13:35
grow some uh [laughter] I've got to buy
13:38
some more broad beans to get doing that
13:40
again. So, yeah, it has been a busy
13:42
month of planting. Uh, I hope that
13:45
you've all managed to plant something in
13:47
October. And if not, try growing these
13:49
in November. You've still got plenty of
13:51
time. Garden centers are still selling
13:53
all these stuff. So, have a look around
13:55
and see what you can grow yourself.
13:58
Next up, we did a lot of harvesting as
14:01
well. We had a great harvest in October.
14:03
We harvested a load of eating apples.
14:06
Absolutely gorgeous and absolutely taste
14:09
delicious. I'm not one that can bite
14:11
into them. I have to use a slicer to
14:13
slice them up. But I loved the apples.
14:15
Absolutely delicious. And next up were
14:19
my my best biggest harvest ever. And I'm
14:23
so happy about it. I actually managed to
14:26
grow a white cauliflower. I was just
14:27
going down to my bottom of my plot where
14:29
I'd not been for like a few weeks
14:31
because I've been doing all my entrance
14:33
up and everything like that. I' not been
14:34
looking around my plot. And I looked
14:37
under this netting what I'd put my
14:39
cauliflowers under. I got they'd been
14:41
absolutely decimated by the pigeons and
14:43
I thought I'm going to cover them over.
14:45
If they come back, they come back. If
14:46
they don't, they don't. Uh I covered
14:48
them with netting that I got from
14:50
Oakland Gardens and wow, there was some
14:54
ripe cauliflowers hiding underneath it.
14:56
Absolutely amazing. And they tasted
14:59
absolutely delicious. I've never cooked
15:01
cauliflower before myself, so it was
15:02
something new for me to cook as well. Uh
15:05
I know you only cook it like broccoli,
15:07
but yeah, absolutely tasted delicious.
15:09
There's a lot of slug hiding in the
15:10
kernels, but we did make sure we gave
15:12
them a good wash before we boiled them
15:15
uh to get them all out. But yeah,
15:17
absolutely delicious. I even had some
15:20
fantastic purple cauliflowers as well.
15:22
Now, I've grown purple cauliflowers in
15:24
the past because I've never had success
15:26
with white ones and purple ones always
15:28
seem to grow well for me. Well, the
15:29
white ones outshone themselves this
15:31
year. So, we've managed to grow white
15:33
cauliflowers this year. We've managed to
15:34
grow decent carrots this year. So, I'm
15:36
off to a winning start this year. It's
15:38
only took me 20 odd years to do it, but
15:41
I've managed it and I'm really, really
15:42
happy with how well that's done. So,
15:45
yeah, we had a fantastic harvest during
15:48
October. Did we harvest anything else as
15:51
well? Oh, we've got some cabbage to
15:52
harvest and we've got some kale to
15:54
harvest, but I've not harvested them
15:55
yet. I need to get them harvested and
15:58
hopefully cooked. So, I need to learn
16:00
how to cook them as well. Now,
16:02
honestly, most stuff that I grow, I just
16:04
give it to my mom and dad so that they
16:06
can cook it for me and then give it me
16:07
back. [laughter] I think I've got the
16:10
best setup, don't you? Uh, grow it and
16:13
let them cook it for you. Absolutely
16:16
amazing. So, yeah, if you've got any
16:18
good kale recipes, do let me know
16:20
because obviously I need to know what to
16:22
cook with it.
16:25
Next up, we obviously had two big storms
16:29
and the second one was worse than the
16:30
first one. Uh we didn't get hit much on
16:33
the first one, but the second one we
16:34
really did and I were absolutely
16:37
dreading going down to the a lotment.
16:38
The storm was like on the Sunday, but I
16:40
couldn't get down to the plot till
16:41
Tuesday uh on my day off. So, I was
16:44
absolutely dreading it. And first up, I
16:47
looked at my shed, noticed one of the
16:49
panels were missing off the roof. Uh, I
16:52
have got some spare plastic, so
16:53
hopefully I can get that repaired and
16:56
fixed up. Uh, I couldn't find the panel
16:58
anywhere. I looked everywhere and it's
16:59
obviously blown miles away. So,
17:02
somebody's got a nice piece of perspect.
17:05
Uh, so we've got that to repair. Uh,
17:07
thankfully everything else was stood up.
17:09
Uh, the shed on uh it looked absolutely
17:11
fine. So, I'm happy about that. It
17:13
survived. Uh, to say I built it myself.
17:15
It's lasted a long time. And if you know
17:17
my DIY skills, they're absolutely
17:19
rubbish. Um, then I went to check the
17:22
poly tunnel. Obviously the week before
17:25
I'd gone around it all. I'd checked for
17:28
rips or anything like that. I'd fix some
17:30
with poly tunnel tape. If you've got any
17:32
rips in it, honestly, don't use duct
17:34
tape. Get some poly tunnel tape. It
17:36
costs about12 a roll, but it works
17:38
wonders. It's very sticky. It's
17:41
waterproof and it will hold as well. And
17:44
I had no damage on the poly tunnel.
17:46
Absolutely amazing. it stood to last
17:48
another storm until the next storm. But
17:51
obviously keep checking your poly
17:53
tunnels and your green houses. Make sure
17:55
that they're secure. Check that they've
17:57
got enough clips in your greenhouse
17:58
windows. Make sure there's no rips in
18:00
the poly tunnels. They tend to rip on
18:02
the creases uh where it originally
18:04
folded. But yeah, it I'm I'm outstandard
18:08
that it's managed to last again. Uh and
18:10
the only other damage is that some of my
18:12
archers had blown over, but we're going
18:14
to leave them laid down until
18:16
springtime. Now, I'm not going to put
18:17
them back up at the moment. There's no
18:19
point when we're going to get loads more
18:21
storms. Uh I don't want to risk damaging
18:23
them anymore. So, yeah, I'm happy that
18:26
everything managed to survive during the
18:27
storm. Oh, and the other thing was about
18:30
my bird feed as well, which I mentioned
18:31
in one of my other podcast. I got my
18:34
bird feed in a uh wheelie bin uh so that
18:37
it's safe away from uh rats and mice.
18:39
The wind had blown open the uh wheelie
18:42
back bit wheelie bin lid and
18:47
I had 50 fat balls in there. Everyone
18:50
had been eaten and gone.
18:53
So, there's going to be some very fat
18:54
birds around or some fat squirrels. Uh
18:57
but they've obviously enjoyed it. So,
18:58
yeah, we need to get some more fat balls
19:00
for next time when we go down to the
19:02
plot.
19:04
And then the next big thing that we did
19:06
down at the plot was obviously we've
19:08
started our new area which I'm excited
19:10
about. It's my seating area where I can
19:12
sit back, relax, and enjoy my cuper
19:15
while I just chill and enjoy being out
19:17
in the fresh air. And I love my little
19:20
seating area. I didn't have a seating
19:22
area until about four years ago. And I
19:25
thought I needed somewhere to go and sit
19:27
and just chill. even if I don't fancy
19:30
doing anything on my a lotment that day,
19:31
just sitting there and relaxing and
19:33
enjoying it. And I love my seating area.
19:35
So, I thought this year I'm going to
19:37
improve it. I'm going to make it better.
19:39
I'm going to add some uh nice raised
19:42
beds hopefully uh new fencing um and a
19:46
feature, but I'm not telling you what
19:47
the feature is. I'm still not telling
19:49
you yet. Uh a nice feature. Um and we're
19:53
going to have some nice roses in there
19:54
so that the smell is absolutely amazing.
19:57
Uh we're also going to be
20:01
going to be uh having those raised beds
20:03
in where I'm going to have like lavender
20:05
in anything that's scented, some nice
20:07
flowers that smell really well. So
20:09
that's my plan anyways, just so that I
20:11
can zen out and enjoy being in that
20:14
area. So yeah, lots to be done in that
20:17
area. Um I've just ordered my we've
20:20
cleared it all. We've stripped it back
20:21
back to its bare bones now and that's
20:24
all ready for the next step. Uh we've
20:28
ordered as black membrane. I've measured
20:29
it all uh the area that I'm doing. So
20:32
we've got this black membrane coming in.
20:33
And the pegs, remember to put pegs in
20:35
when you're putting black membrane down.
20:37
Uh unless you are putting wood chip over
20:39
it, it'll hold it down. Uh but I always
20:41
buy pegs just to extra secure it down.
20:44
And I've done it so that it overlaps
20:47
some of the areas so the bind can't
20:49
sneak through. I know it will. It'll
20:50
find it. It'll find its way out. Uh but
20:53
yeah, I've done that. So I've ordered
20:55
all that. So next week when I go down to
20:56
the plot, I can cut it all to the right
20:58
size. That's per my big plan next
21:01
weekend. Um when you're doing big
21:04
projects, best thing to do is do it in
21:06
bit by bit. Don't try and do it all at
21:08
once or it'll become too much of a um
21:11
job rather than a hobby and you won't
21:14
enjoy it as much. So try and break jobs
21:16
down and do a bit at a time. Don't try
21:18
and rush it and do it all in one go.
21:21
But obviously I'm sharing all that uh
21:23
video progress with you on YouTube and
21:25
on Facebook. So if you've not seen the
21:27
videos, feel free to check them out and
21:29
you can see exactly what we're doing on
21:31
that area and you can follow along with
21:34
us. Um next up are we've put us bird
21:37
feeders back up. As I just mentioned
21:39
about my fat balls, we've got those bird
21:41
feeders back up. They're now enjoying uh
21:44
the birds are enjoying it. I've bought
21:46
I've invested in squirrelproof bird
21:48
feeders because I was spending that much
21:49
on bird feed from the squirrels pinching
21:51
them all. So I've invested in squirrel
21:53
proof bird feeders cuz it'll save me
21:55
money in the long run. Yesterday they
21:57
were about $17.99 for three which I
22:00
didn't think were too bad to be honest.
22:02
Um so obviously they'll pay for
22:03
themselves because I'm not paying for as
22:05
much bird seed and feed and I've noticed
22:08
they aren't going down as fast. So it's
22:10
definitely working. Um I've definitely
22:13
started saving money on them. So, that
22:15
is one good thing about it. And we've
22:18
got some new dwarf fruit trees to put
22:20
in. Uh we've got two apples, a cherry,
22:23
and a pear. So, we need to get them
22:25
planted. Now is the perfect time to be
22:27
planting your fruit trees if you want to
22:28
plant fruit trees. Uh just remember to
22:31
check the rules on your a lotment site
22:33
because some a lotments don't like uh
22:35
large trees. So, I keep my large trees
22:37
to a decent height. I don't let them get
22:39
too big. And obviously, dwarf trees
22:42
don't grow very big. You can grow them
22:43
in a pot as well if you want if on your
22:45
patio or in the garden and they'll be
22:48
absolutely ideal. But if you're growing
22:49
them in a pot, remember that they will
22:51
need a lot of water because obviously
22:53
they do drink a lot to produce the fruit
22:56
on them. So yeah, let me know if you're
22:58
going to be growing any fruit trees. Uh
22:59
I do love to find out what everybody's
23:01
up to. So that has been the bird feeders
23:05
and the fruit plants.
23:07
And then the next big thing was the
23:09
podcast returning. Um, my laptop had
23:13
broke, my old laptop. My microphone were
23:16
rubbish
23:17
and I thought it needs to come back.
23:19
People keep asking me for it. And I keep
23:22
saying I haven't got enough time. So, I
23:24
invested in a new laptop. We've got a
23:26
new microphone. And yeah, we've even got
23:29
a new jingle at the beginning. I hope
23:31
you like the jingle. It's very corny.
23:34
And at the ending of the podcast as
23:36
well. I hope that you enjoy that. Uh,
23:38
obviously they're AI. not me singing.
23:41
Um, but yeah, I'm glad to have the
23:43
podcast back. We're making them longer
23:45
as well. Uh, they've been about 15 to 20
23:47
minutes long. Obviously, this one's
23:49
going to be a very long one because
23:50
there's a lot to talk about what we've
23:52
been up to in October. Uh, but I'm happy
23:54
to see it back and I'm happy to be doing
23:57
it again. I'm absolutely enjoying doing
23:59
it. Uh, I'm loving doing it and we're
24:01
getting new episodes out every single
24:03
day. Hopefully, we can keep that up. And
24:05
if I don't, send me a message saying,
24:07
"Oh, Ben, you said you're going to do
24:09
them every day and you've not done. So,
24:11
do pest me if I do disappear again as I
24:14
hope that you are all enjoying them."
24:16
And it's great to see how many people
24:18
are downloading them because obviously I
24:20
see the stats on how many people
24:21
download them and they're getting about
24:24
150 downloads today. So, absolutely
24:26
amazing. It's getting a good response.
24:29
If you can leave a review as well on the
24:32
on the app that you watch it on, please
24:35
leave a review as it does help push it
24:37
out. And I looked on the Apple charts
24:39
and I think I'm like number 22 in the UK
24:42
on uh home and garden. So, thank you for
24:44
everybody that is listening to them. And
24:46
thank you for uh the support on it. Make
24:49
sure that you do share it to anybody
24:51
that listens uh is into gardening and
24:53
hopefully we'll be getting a thousand
24:55
downloads a day. That's the aim uh to
24:58
get bigger and better. And it's great to
24:59
see that it's going out to different
25:01
countries as well. I can see what
25:03
countries are listening to it as well.
25:05
So, it's great to see that it's
25:06
worldwide podcast and I hope that you're
25:09
all enjoying it. Obviously, I'm doing
25:11
stuff at different times of the year to
25:13
when you are if you're in a different
25:15
country. But I hope that you're finding
25:16
it all useful and I hope that you're
25:18
enjoying everything that we've been
25:20
doing.
25:21
I've been doing a lot more filming as
25:23
well. Uh, I'm getting back into posting
25:26
more videos of what I'm getting up to
25:28
down at the plot, new areas that I'm
25:30
doing, improvements, and just little
25:32
jobs what I'm doing down at the a
25:33
lotment. Obviously, I don't get as much
25:35
done because I'm filming for you. Uh,
25:37
but yeah, I'm enjoying doing the filming
25:39
again, and I hope that you're all
25:40
enjoying it. Obviously, listening on the
25:43
podcast is different to watching it on a
25:45
video because you can see what I'm
25:46
actually doing. So, I do try and explain
25:49
as much as possible on the podcast what
25:50
I'm actually doing as well. So, I hope
25:53
that you find them both useful. And the
25:56
next big thing is that I'm getting my 3D
25:59
printer. It's not being delivered yet as
26:01
I've recorded this episode. Uh, but I
26:03
can't wait for it to be done. Um, that
26:07
you can like look in cataloges of stuff
26:09
what you can print, uh, self-designed
26:11
stuff and they've got like selfwatering
26:13
planters, they've got plant pots,
26:15
they've got all sorts of gardening
26:17
delights. I can't wait to try it. And
26:20
I'm just going to be printing everything
26:21
out on these 3D printers. I can't wait.
26:24
And I'll be sharing with you everything
26:26
that I'm getting up to and everything
26:27
that we're making. I can't wait to share
26:29
it all with you. So, yeah, it's going to
26:31
be an exciting few months and everybody
26:34
deserves a little treat now and then.
26:35
And that's my little birthday and
26:37
Christmas present to myself this year.
26:39
Uh, so I'm looking forward to doing
26:40
that. And who knows, I might even do
26:43
some merchandise on it like Gardening
26:44
with Ben keyrings and stuff like that or
26:47
Gardening with Ben plant pots. Uh the
26:50
the world is endless. But yeah, it's
26:52
exciting and hopefully we can get some
26:54
great stuff made on it. So, what's our
26:58
next big projects for November? Well, as
27:02
main project is obviously my seating
27:04
area. Uh that's going to take a lot of
27:06
work. It'll probably take me all months
27:07
to do it because I need to invest in
27:10
some fencing and my uh central piece
27:13
what I'm going to be adding to it.
27:15
That's going to cost a bit of money and
27:17
obviously all the roses are going to
27:18
cost. But now is the time to plant
27:20
roses. If you're planting ros want to
27:22
plant roses, it's good time to plant
27:24
them as obviously they'll take root
27:26
better and they'll get established for
27:28
flowering next year. Uh so that might
27:32
take a bit longer than November
27:33
depending on funds if we can afford to
27:35
do it or not. Uh but like I said, try
27:37
and do bits at a time. Try and not do it
27:39
all in one go and then it won't be as
27:41
expensive. It obviously it'll be
27:43
expensive overall, but it breaks it down
27:45
and you're just paying for bits at a
27:47
time.
27:48
And obviously one of the other jobs is
27:50
I've got to tidy out my poly tunnel.
27:52
I've got to take all the old tomato
27:53
plants out. There's still flowering and
27:55
fruing in there. Absolutely amazing.
27:57
We've also got to tidy in the shed out.
27:59
But the poly tunnel and the shed are for
28:02
days when it's raining because whenever
28:04
it's not raining, you need to be
28:06
outside. You need to make the most of it
28:07
while it's nice. Who knows? November and
28:10
December could rain all month. Uh and
28:12
you might not be able to get any done
28:13
work done outside. So try and save those
28:16
jobs for rainy days. Don't waste
28:18
sunshine days when it's uh nice outside.
28:22
Be outside and enjoy it and make the
28:24
most of it. Uh so yeah, we're going to
28:27
be doing all that. Um
28:30
obviously our
28:32
next episode after this one will be all
28:36
the things that you can plant in
28:38
October. Uh what vegetables and flowers
28:40
to sew or plant in November. Uh like I
28:43
said, you can plant your tulips in
28:45
November. So that's one of the things
28:46
that you can plant. Uh that's one of the
28:48
main things done. Um, but yeah, overall
28:52
October has been an absolutely fantastic
28:55
month and I'm so glad to have this
28:58
community. It does mean the world to me.
29:00
I do enjoy what I do and yes, I do get a
29:02
lot of comments on my Facebook post and
29:04
I don't reply to them, but I do read a
29:06
lot of them. And yeah, thank you
29:08
everybody that does comment. I should
29:10
really start commenting replying back to
29:12
my comments. I should really do that.
29:14
Uh, that's one thing I'm lacking. So
29:16
maybe I need to start doing that in
29:17
November, but we'll see. It's it's
29:19
finding time to do it all. But yeah, I
29:22
hope that you all enjoy these podcasts
29:24
and I'm so glad they're back. And as
29:27
always, everybody, please do remember to
29:30
keep smiling, keep shining, and keep
29:32
gardening with Ben. Everybody
29:37
>> se,
29:40
[music]
29:44
keep shining. Until then, keep guiding,
29:47
[music]
29:48
guiding with men.
29:51
See you tomorrow.
Hobbies & Leisure


