September is here, and the sky is once again a clear, deep blue, losing the haze of summer. Now the extreme heat of August has declined, everyone here in the south of Spain breathes a sigh of relief. Now begins a very beautiful season: autumn.

Autumn and winter are the most abundant seasons here in terms of food, so one of the main activities of this season is harvesting all the delicious produce. Right now the almonds and figs are ready, and next month we will start to be able to harvest walnuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, and my favourite, avocados. Then from around November comes the very important olive harvest, when we can all make oil for the coming year. It is also the season of oranges, lemons, and by the coast, mangoes, bananas and chirimoyas.

With all of this amazing food to harvest, we are quite busy in the autumn… But there is still time for other activities. Here are my top 5 autumn activities for when we are not picking fruit.

Number 5: Make compost

In order to successfully make compost you ideally need to have a balance of carbon and nitrogen, which means a mix of about 50% green material (fresh plant matter), and 50% brown material (dry leaves, ash, etc). Autumn is a great time to make compost, because there is a lot of dry material available after the summer, but the rains have also begun, so there is green material available as well.

Why make compost? You can check out my article here: https://www.permaculturenews.org/2015/09/15/some-tips-on-making-compost/

Number 4: Cook and enjoy baked food

I love baking and now that we have cool mornings and evenings, it is more enjoyable to use the oven and eat hot food. I like to bake my own bread and pizza, and also have baked potatoes (a traditional British favourite), roasted aubergines and other roasted vegetables.

Number 3: Clean the house ready for a new season

Cleaning the house might not be a fun activity for everyone, but it feels so good once you’ve done it! A new season is also a great time to sort out which clothes you don’t want any more and give them away so you can make space for new clothes for the coming cold times.

Number 2: Enjoy the change of autumn leaves

In the south of Spain, many trees in the landscape are evergreen, which means that they keep their leaves all year round. This is true for pine trees and olive trees. If you go up the mountain you can find more deciduous species (trees whose leaves fall off in the autumn and which then grow new leaves in the spring), such as sweet chestnut, oak and poplar. So an activity which I really enjoy is to go to the deciduous forests higher up the mountain and enjoy the sight of all the leaves changing to yellow and orange. And of course, my son loves to play in the fallen leaves!

Number 1: Go to the beach

This is my number 1 favourite activity in any season, but autumn is really an amazing time to go. The sea temperature is the warmest in September and October, but the air temperature is not as crazily hot as in the summer, so it is more enjoyable to sit on the beach and relax. Water visibility is generally very good as well, so we can enjoy snorkelling and looking at all the amazing marine life. Also, from the middle of September, the school holidays finish, so when we go to the beach after that time we can enjoy a less crowded experience.

What are your favourite autumn activities? Please let me know in the comments!
Want to know more? Please book a class with me.