RAIN, CHRISTMAS, RAIN...

    Since my last post all it has seemed to have done is rain. So, not a lot done. In between down pours and showers I have managed to do some forking and weeding. Despite it being December the weeds still grow and more so as the weather here in La Creuse has generally been mild.

    Turkey's, ducks and the goose were all dealt with by my son-in-law on the 22nd December. Our bronze turkey that we had for Christmas lunch was just lovely. The sprouts (much to my surprise!), carrots and potatoes were provided from the garden. Parsnips, as mentioned before, were a complete disaster this year. Three lots sown (old, new, self gathered) and not one parsnip germinated. Back to my known and trusted method of growing parsnips this season! The poly tunnel provided some lettuce and herbs. 

   The first Chou Milan has been cut. To me it looks like a savoy type cabbage and was very nice. There are still leeks, cabbage, beetroot, celeriac and a few carrots left and believe or not celery! Peas (two lots!), broad beans, garlic and spring onions are growing away. January is coming and it will soon be time to start sowing onions and tomato seed!

  So just a short post . Happy New Year to all and I wish you a successful 2013 in and outside the garden!

Rain, mud and voles...

   Just a short posting as really not a lot has been  going on. I am now feeding the wild birds and the chickens just love the seed that gets dropped by them.
   The last couple of weeks has seen mild temperatures, a lot of rain and of course shortening days. Not a lot doing in the garden although I have managed to do some weeding and drive clearing work between down pours and showers.. The voles/moles have made a lot of burrows under the lawns and with the large amount of rain the soil has now become saturated which means if you stand on the roof of a vole/mole tunnel it collapses! I fear my tolerance of these critters is going to come to an end and I will have to start trapping them.
  Growing wise my second sowing of over winter peas are now showing. Chou Milan cabbage still looks good and there are some sprouts for Christmas! Yeah! Celeriac, celery, leeks and carrots are still being pulled/picked and the spinach is taking a rest! Garlic is growing well as are the broad beans and first sowing of over winter peas and there is still some beetroot to pull. In the poly tunnel broad beans have popped up and most other bits and bobs are just hanging in there.
  I am now looking forward to the new year and the start of  the sowing of tomato seeds. I have a number of different crops to try this season and I am really looking forward to seeing how they turn out. More on that as we move on into the year.  The picture below is our crop of fowl.

Left to right - x2 duck, white turkey, black turkey, black turkey, x2 bronze turkeys,  goose

Leaves, lots of leaves and dumb turkeys

. I continue to rake up leaves. One strawberry bed is now weeded and mulched with chopped up oak leaves. One more to do, weather permitting. I picked two ripe strawberries from the Mara Bois bed! I have not touched the leaves in the house garden and I suspect the worms will get to them before I do. All around the trees are pretty much bare. Autumn is drawing to a close and winter is arriving. Temperatures are still above freezing but I have the cuisiniere in the house going all the time now. Forecast is for the weather to get colder.

  Forking and weeding have been the main tasks to undertake although I have pruning to do and a major job to be done with a couple of old apple trees. I really want to get those done this winter.
  In the poly tunnel the temperature is staying well above freezing and what plants are in there are still managing to grow a little. Sunrise is around 0812hrs and sunset around 1710hrs which makes for a short day! The second sowing of peas has not shown yet which really does not surprise me. The ground is wet and getting colder and I will be delighted if they do show but I am not expecting it. 
   I continue to pull leeks, carrots, celeriac and celery. Some of the later planting leeks look like they have taken a hit with the mild damp weather mould has been an issue. The chickens do not help as they forage between the plants and tend to squash them! The late planted sprouts look good but I am doubtful if they will produce proper sprouts. The winter cabbage is starting to heart up. My small row of spinach is forming "true" leaves and fingers crossed it will produce the goods, chickens permitting!
   Our female duck has taken to laying an egg a day much to my surprise I must admit. My daughter has been cooking with them and they do make a lighter cake. 

Dumb turkeys

Two of our turkeys took a bath and one got very wet and cold. She did recover thanks I think to the mild weather at that time. They are really dumb these turkeys! Plenty of garden activities to do. The battle of the nettles is currently on pause. Other jobs have taken priority.

Time for raking up the leaves

   Finally most of the leaves have fallen. The garden oak tree is starting to look bare and its time to rake up the leaves and put them on the leaf mould pile. This autumn I am also going to use them to mulch the strawberries but I am sure there will be plenty to go around. Oh, our mallard/muscovy cross duck is laying!

Raked up oak leaves

   The garden has been pretty quiet. Sprouts, cabbage, broad beans spinach, garlic and peas are all growing. Celeriac, celery, carrots, beet root and leeks are being pulled. The herbs are still ok to pick and there is curly parsley. The green manure crop, Luzerne, after quickly germinating is now establishing itself. The mild weather will help it I am sure. I continue to tidy up and I have managed to finish burning a big pile of plant material. The resulting ashes will be used on the garden along with the ashes from our wood burning stoves. This is a very good source of pot ash.

   In the poly tunnel no sign of the broad beans yet. Transplanted kohl rabi are establishing themselves and the other brassicas (purple sprouting, cabbage, cauliflower) are looking healthy. The sweet marjoram that I planted is looking good unlike the outside plants which have now died off. Fingers crossed I might get some cuttings in February. Beetroot looks ok but I fear that they are going to be all leaves and no beet! There is lettuce (Batavia Grenoblise and salad bowl) but they are small and some have succumbed to stem rot. The tunnel looks under utilised!

   The nettle battle continues and I have cleared another small patch. The nettles left are growing back! I have some major pruning that needs to be done on the old apple trees and now that the leaves are down that job is creeping up the list. I must not forget the vine.

   I very pleased to say that I have managed to pickle some of my Cheltenham green top beetroot. Despite being in the ground a long time they are still very nice to eat. They have not gone woody at all.

   Right. Lots to do, only short days to do it in! This mild weather cannot last much longer surely. In the mean time I need to get as many jobs done as I can, like clearing weeds and forking beds.

Wet, cold, sun......

    What can one say? Rain, frost and sun all in a couple of weeks. As I sit typing this the sun is shinning and the sky is clear. The forecast is for more of the same. The days are short and I find that I do not get going until about 1100hrs, that is when the sun gets over the ridge! It is gloomy by 1700hrs and dark by 1800hrs. I am just looking for excuses not to do work!
   The ground has just about come back to being workable after torrential rain. I have sown another row of the pea variety, Plein le Panier (Fill the basket), a round pea, good for freezing and early! The packets says the seeds can be sown in October, November, December and January! It will be interesting to see how they do. The first sowing is now about 4" high.

Plein Le Panier peas November 15th 2012

    Outside the poly tunnel the battle of the nettles continues.Only a few square feet cleared. The weather has not been kind, however, I have strawberries that are ripening! I keep thinking that a frost will do for them but nope they are still going.

Mara Bois strawberry taken on 15th November 2012

   Seems to me that the garden has a lot going on at the moment. Cabbage, leeks, sprouts, celeriac, swede, carrots, peas, garlic, broad beans,shallots and even some celery growing! A critter has taken a fancy to one of my leeks. It ate all that was underground and it was only because it was wilting a little that I investigated and found a big hole under it and the white part of the leek eaten! Must have been the same critter that ate my carrots last year with same result - all top, no root! A cartoon would not have been any funnier!
    In the poly tunnel I have transplanted the last of the Kohl Rabi. I have sown broad beans with the aim being that these will be my "seed" crop. Cauliflowers have been harvested and the brassicas are growing and are looking ok. The lettuce looks good although not big and "winter leaves" are up and coming along. I have put up a fleece door which is covering one entrance and at the other end I have fitted some draught excluder on the edges of the sliding doors and that has closed the gap. Hopefully both will help keep the temperature up.
   So, despite it being the middle of November I am still busy sowing seeds and pulling up weeds! Bonfire to light and far too much to do. The apple trees need pruning but the leaves have not yet all fallen so that job will wait a while!

First ice of the winter and a policy change...

  Frost and ice! On the morning of the 29th October there was a frost and the water on the ducks bowl had ice on it. The minimum temperature overnight on the thermometer outside the front of the house showed -3C. At 0840hrs it is -2C! After a couple of days of -3C starts to the day it has warmed up a little and I have managed to finish mowing the grass. Hopefully this is the last time. Now it is raining. I have started to light the fire in the evening a sure sign it is colder.
  The nettle battle continues. Progress is slow but sure and more black currant bushes have been cleared and pruned. I have transplanted self grown bushes and now have three more. In my head I have a plan coming together as to what to do with the reed bed area. It will take quite a bit of effort but I think in the end it will look very nice. The days are short so time will be the telling factor here as I still have to keep the rest of the garden in check.
   In the poly tunnel the tomatoes succumbed to the frost and I have picked what was left. They have now been cleared. The poly tunnel now contains asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, khol rabi, coriander, beetroot and parsley (flat leaf and curly) with an odd plant of basil and fennel! It will not be long until the cauliflowers are ready. I am having a good deal of success with cauliflowers (variety All the Year Round) in the poly tunnel. This is my third lot that I have managed to get to produce decent sized heads. 
   Everything is slowing down and leaves are falling more frequently. In the outside garden the over winter bought cabbage plants continue to do well as do the Brussels sprouts. I do not believe that the Brussels sprouts will be ready for Christmas though. Some others that I grew from seed look like they may produce a few helpings. Overall though growing plants from seeds particularly brassica's has not bee the most successful. The broad beans and peas survived the frosty mornings without any sign of damage. The garlic has put on a good growth already. Much to my surprise the celery also stood up well. I think it will take more than -3C to damage it.
The celeriac looks good and I should get some decent sized ones.

SPRING ONIONS

   I have decided this season to try to grow only "real" seeds. These are seeds that are not F1 or other hybrids. Some are heritage types and I am going to have go at saving my own seed. So as I have invested a reasonable sum of money in buying these seeds so I looking forward to planting and eating the results and see what difference there might be. It is interesting to see that a number of the seeds are French varieties.

2013 Season underway!

   I have closed the book on the 2012 season and have started a new one for 2013. We continue to have meals of  everything on the plate "produced and raised at Watermeadows".  Latest has been a turkey casserole. For the 2013 season I trying out seeds from the Real Seed Company. They sell rare and unusual varieties but the main thing is they are not F1's. This means I can save seed from them for the next year and also bred my own if I want to. It will be interesting to see how the seed fair. I noticed that a good number of the seeds originated in France!
   In the outside garden the garlic are now showing and the De Milan rouge turnips have germinated. Peas and broad beans are doing well. Chou Milan looks just fantastic and the late transplanted Brussels sprouts are also putting on growth.  I fear my packet of Limousin turnip seed has past its best as the row of Limousin turnips sown at the same time as the Milan rouge ones is showing no signs of germinating. I am pulling lovely carrots that number three grandson Toby is starting to enjoy. The game with the nettles around the reed bed continues and slowly but surely it is looking better. Lots of nettle roots to dig up and fortunately they are not too hard to get up as nettles tend to have roots that do not go too far down. Trouble is there is lot of them.  I am going to have to prune my black currant bushes and as a matter of urgency there is one that is crying out to be pruned! Having returned to this posting the one black currant has now been pruned. A new battle has been engaged with the fight for who gets the strawberries under way! Two rows have been protected with netting, so chickens go hang!                       

Two strawberry beds protected by netting

This autumn/winter I am trying out a green
manure called Luzerne (or Lucerne). I have wondered about green manures over the years and have never had the opportunity or space to try it out and it so happens that I have managed to work a couple of beds so that I could try out planting a green manure. It is already germinating and I have read that chickens like it! Darn! They would, wouldn't they! 
  The grass has now grown to a point where it once more needs to be mown, however, it is too wet! Fingers crossed for a few days of warm dry weather! The grues (cranes) have been gathering overhead and that is a sure sign winter is not far away.
  In the poly tunnel I have harvested another 2.5kgs of ripe tomatoes and there are a few more that have a chance to ripen before it is too cold. All in all I have been pleased with my poly tunnel tomato crop. There are also two cauliflowers which look like they will turn into something decent.  I have managed to clean the outside of the p/t and some of the inside. What a difference! It is amazing how much dirt (soil mainly) accumulates on the roof and sides. Rain is dirty! 
 Outside work has slowed up due to the weather but the forecast is for cloud/sunshine so I am hopeful to get moving again. In the poly tunnel I am making internal draft/frost doors and not being the most handy of handy man it is so far not looking too bad!

Autumn? Winter? False spring?

   What can I say? In the last couple of weeks the weather has swung from very warm and dry to freezing cold to warm to damp to flipping soaking wet! Of course, the grass which has lain dormant for at least two months sprang into life and I had to mow it (13/10/12). Hopefully that is the last time this year but I fear if it stays mild it will not be!
   Two nights of mild frost killed off my haricot vert /buerre and my runner beans which had just started to set beans again. So they have been cleared away! I have sown outside over winter peas (which have now germinated) and White Lisbon spring onions (which have now germinated). Chou Milan and Brussels sprouts planted out a few weeks ago are thriving. The Chou Milan are going to be big cabbages! I think I have lost the potatoes that I was trying to grow for Christmas dinner. It was a chicken strike! I have several rows of carrots ranging from fully grown to just germinated. The just germinated carrots are a hardy variety that I have grown under a fleece cloche which in theory should stand over the winter! Celeriac and the remaining stands of celery are still looking ok. I have had to resow the Limousin turnips (only two germinated!) and I have added a row of Milan rouge turnips just because I can. Final harvest made of the sweet peppers (over 2 kg) and they have been cleared also. They were disappointing, a bad year for sweet peppers. I have managed to clear the nettles from the reed bed and I am now starting to dig up their roots. That is going to be a long job. 

Clearing nettles from the reed bed 

   I have dug up one bed of strawberries (virtually non existent due mainly to the dry summer) and replaced them with Mara Bois strawberry plants. I took out a big pile of stones from this bed!

Rocks removed from strawberry bed number 2

   In the poly tunnel tidying up is the main preoccupation There are more tomato's to pick. I picked 500grams of yellow toms today (14/10/12) and I reckon there is at least two or three kilos of reds to come  yet. They are defying the cool nights (down to zero degrees at times). With the mild weather and the damp fungus has been an issue as it was last year. It has attacked my flat leaf and curly parsley. Nothing I can do about that except clean up the mess! Transplanted some Kohl Rabi and All the Year Round cauliflower. Lettuce, beetroot, coriander are growing nicely. Winter leaf lettuce and Red Salad bowl are doing fine. The basil has been removed and there are spaces in the borders!
  It is only a matter of time before the cold snaps in and everything slows really down but meanwhile plans for next year are hatching! The garden is still producing leeks, carrots, beetroot, potatoes and celery. We had eaten our first "all grown and raised" meal of chicken, potatoes, peas and carrots! RESULT! 

Normal?

   Rain! It has rained here in Champeau de Bas and a reasonable amount too. That is going to help the winter cabbage, carrots, turnips and swede. It also means the grass will grow!. So, not a lot done in the garden due to the rain. Continue to tidy up between showers and take a look at other clearing jobs that have been ignored over the summer. I have a large area of nettles that need to be tackled and really should be done before the end of October. We shall see. I am waiting to sow broad beans and peas until October but the temptation is great! Some of the potatoes I planted for Christmas are showing so with a bit of luck and plenty of fleece we may have new potatoes for Christmas. Chickens willing! Spring onions sown. More weeding and forking done. The outside garden is starting to look a little bare. 
   In the poly tunnel all the plants continue to grow but I am very concerned about the cleanliness of the plastic. I had bought a cheap "squeezy" mop but that was a mistake and it was broke before it got used! Serves me right. Generally, you get what you pay for! I threw some coriander seed saved from last year in part of a small poly tunnel bed just for a lark really and it is doing well! Best sowing of coriander this season so far. I have sown some winter leaves. Mixed result last year so I am not too hopeful. Latest batch of salad bowl is taking off. 
   I have discovered that the aubergine variety that I planted in the poly tunnel is a french variety that was developed to grow outside! Pooh!
  The weather has turn fair but the days are short. Sun rise is around 0750hrs and sunset at 1930hrs. Makes for a shorter working day!

Cleared and dug courgette plot

Nature is fickle. Umph!

   Serves me right! The night after the day I had said that a frost was needed there was a frost! Pooh! Killed off my runner beans, courgettes, haricot buerre and haricot vert. That has just about finished this season for me. Really is time to move on.
    Most time has been spent on getting the strawberries sorted out. I really ignored them this season and they have suffered. There are three beds of strawberries. Well, there were. There are only two with plants in and they all needed weeding and forking. No problem with bed 1 as it was a new bed dug last year and was cleared up quite quickly. Bed 2 was another matter. I found once I started to clear the weeds that all the strawberry plants had died. I decided to dig the bed and replant. Mistake. I think the bed had never been dug. I think someone just put down a load of soil and planted the strawberries into that. About four inches down it was pretty much solid clay and that was for over half of the bed. The rest was not much better. So it was to Irish navvy class for me and I learnt how to swing a pick axe! Several days later all is done. Bed 3 still had plants in it so I decided just to fork it over and remove the weeds. Even so it is going to be the same problem as bed 2. That will be next Septembers job!

Three strawberry beds

Rocks removed from bed 2

   











 
  Outside tomato's have now been cleared. There is more and more open ground as crops are cleared and beds given a fork over. 
   In the poly tunnel the tomato's continue to ripen and look a picture. They will have to be picked soon. Other plants continue to grown and cauliflowers are forming. I fear these autumn ones are not going to be as good as the spring ones. We will see.
   Over the next few weeks broad beans to sow and winter peas. Seed box needs sorting and consideration given to buying new seed is required. Next years crops need to be decided on now and an action plan put in place! Not that an action plan always helps! Nature has a way of upsetting the best laid plans of mice and men!

Stepping into the new season

   Here we are in the middle of September and it is time to start to plan and get set for the new garden season. 
   My compost experiment laid down in the spring and encouraged by my good friend Keith who has had good results by it, I have declared a success. Layers of leaves and grass cuttings have turned into a very useful mulch for my new apple trees. I am sure the chickens will not be able to resist scratching in it though.
   In the poly tunnel brassicas are being seriously attacked by slugs, caterpillars and white fly. I need to resolve this issue or maybe I will not bother with brassicas next year. The tunnel plastic is in need of a wash and I really need to do it before winter kicks in. Tomatoes continue to ripen, lettuce, cauliflower, beetroot, kohl rabi, purple sprouting are growing away. The toms in hanging baskets are all but done now and I have removed one. The other still have viable toms on it and I will leave them to ripen. Thinking now of creating the poly tunnel fleece clouche.
  Outside Chou Milan and the brussels sprouts planted the other week are going great guns. Celeriac and celery still look good. I have picked ripe (red) peppers and got two "quart" freezer bags worth. Still some to pick. Carrots looking good and I am currently pulling from one row. Harricot Vert/Buerre are in flower and as long as the weather holds I should get something from them. Runner beans are in their second flush of flowers and there are even some beans forming. Better than the first flush. Courgettes are all but finished as is the sweet corn. Leeks look good and I am pulling some and others are growing well. I still have some onions in the ground and according to the label they are shallots but they do not look like shallots to me although I have learnt that you can have shallots that do not divide! Weeding and forking continues getting ground ready for the winter.
   Work to do includes clearing the strawberry beds and dealing with the raspberries. I have cleared, weeded and forked one strawberry bed. There were still some plants left! Not so good on the second bed. Having cleared the weeds I found very few strawberry plants. I have removed those that did survive to plug the gaps in the first bed. I have started to dig strawberry bed 2 but it is proving to be hard work! The bed has had little work done on it since I started in this garden.
  Ok, enough for now. The warm sunny spell continues and I am having to water every evening but that is paying off in that plants are growing well still. About a month to go before the possibility of a frost...ha!

What can one say? Report time.

   The rain that fell freshened up the crops and they now look a little happier. The grass though has not budged. Horray! Downside. Leaves are falling and I have been gathering them up for the leaf compost heap.
   I decided to dig up all the rest of my potatoes and that has taken some time. Reasonable crop but a fair few have been got at by bugs. Note to self. LIFT THE POTATOES EARLIER! Still, I am happy with them. Desiree, Blue Avergne and Rosebelle. I have cheated and bought some winter cabbage and brussel sprout plants. As it is fairly late for these it will be interesting to see how they do. I reckon to have (fingers crossed) about five, maybe six more weeks before the winter really kicks in. I have concluded that growing cabbage from seed is almost not worth it. Golden Primo works well for me but just about everything else fails. For this season I even prepared a brassica bed last autumn but it did not make any difference. Cheltenham green top beetroot has done well and I will be sowing them again. Haricot vert not so good this year but again this year the De Colmar carrots have been good. Must remember to plant more in the middle of the season rather than just one row. Parsnips were a disaster! Melons excellent and I shall grow them the same way next year, celery very good, sweet peppers very poor. Onions grown over winter and from sets poor, onions from seed brilliant! Shallots good. Leeks from sown seed, ok but could have been better, leeks from bought plants good and I believe I will have a good crop over the winter. Runner beans - jury still out. Outdoor tomatos were ok but that earlier frost caught me out and I feel happy that I got any at all! Sweet corn - first lot grown in pots in the poly tunnel were frosted after being planted out, however, a sowing of seed directly into the ground did just fine. NOTE - forget growing sweet corn in pots in the poly tunnel. Courgettes - not happy with the variety, they grew into large courgettes too fast! Broad beans grown over winter were a big success. Cucumbers outside successful, in the poly tunnel just amazing! Butternut squash has been ok, 13 so far, fingers crossed for two more!  My herb beds are now well established and I am very happy with them. For the first time I managed to grow peas successfully. Result. I am going to try to grow some over winter and I have bought a variety that should be ok. We will see!
   In the poly tunnel I have now planted beetroot, kohl rabi and corriander. The tomato's are still doing well but the days are getting shorter, less sunshine and less time when the air temperature is high enough to ripen them. Still, considering the setback of the frost in May I feel overall I have done ok this season.

Rain? Whats that? - bah! It rained!

  No rain to speak of. Even when the forecast said rain, it did not! The threat though was enough for me to pull my onions grown from seed and what a crop! Delightfully large onions! Spainish, Bedfordshire champion and Red Baron. This has made up for the disappointment with the red onions grown from sets.

Red Baron and Bedfordshire Champion onions grown from seed

  Autumn work has started. Leaves are being raked up to put onto the leaf compost heap. I continue to water the celery, celeriac and sweet peppers. The sweet peppers I think are a lost cause but I will continue! I should have watered the runner beans earlier than I did and the first flush of beans barely transpired. Hopefully the next lot will be better.  Blue Auvergne potatoes dug up and stored. Everything looks dry.
  In the poly tunnel the tomatoes are harvesting well. The autumn cauliflowers are going well but the winter cabbage looks a little moth eaten. I have continued to plant out lettuce and I am trying some beetroot.
  Ok, I spoke too soon. Since starting this blog it has rained. Probably something like two inches in half inch showers. Also thunder. This means one thing - everything will start to grow again! Least I do not have to water now! Clearing up continues. Outside cucumbers now gone and some weeding done.
  Bonnat agricultural fair on Saturday (01/09) which means I will be buying garlic to plant out. For me this is the first sign of the new season to come.

Phew!

  No sign of rain yet despite the forecast of thunder and rain. There is a plus side. No grass cutting! Very few weeds. RESULT! Crops in the poly tunnel and in the outside garden are really suffering. In the outside garden the sweet peppers are looking very sad and I do not expect to get much, if any, of a crop. The celery and celeriac have both been scorched by the sun and I am fighting a loosing battle trying to water them. On the plus side I have had a great harvest of melons. The cucumbers are now all but finished and they too have done well. The sweet corn has been good and the chickens are also enjoying it. Another week will see the end of that. The tomatoes this year have been very poor compared to last years excellent crop and I am again trying to save what I can. I am going to plant more yellow ones as the chickens have left those alone! Onions grown from see, Spanish, Bedfordshire champion and Red Karmen, are now drying off well and are a very good size. The Brussels sprouts and cabbages are looking very very sad, however, the carrots are looking good but the follow on rows have yet to germinate. The grape vine growing on one of the side walls of my barn has grown a lot this year and has produced a good crop of grapes. Hopefully I will get to them before the birds!
  In the poly tunnel the cucumbers have now been removed. The giant cabbage finally gave in and died. The tomato's here are looking healthy and are turning red. The toms in the hanging baskets have produced a very good crop of yellow tomatoes although one basket is very much at the end of its life I think. Salad bowl and Little Gem lettuce are being picked. There is still one or two Golden Primo cabbages waiting for harvest. The cauliflowers are growing well. Pak Choi (Chinese cabbage) is near to the end of its life and will soon be chicken feed. The goose, ducks and turkeys love a lettuce!
  It is hard to believe that it is the end of August and autumn is just round the corner. Soon be time to batten down the hatches for winter. Catch ya'all soon!

Giant Courgette

It ain't half hot Mum!

  It has been hot hot hot here in La Creuse. Hot means no rain, means me having to lug cans of water about, means some crops are suffering!
  Inside the poly tunnel temperatures are regularly reaching a maximum of over 50C. Good for some, bad for others. The cucumbers are on their way out. They have been overwhelmed by a fungus infection. A big problem this year has been dust. The outside of the poly tunnel is very dirty with dried on soil. As I am only 5' 10" and the poly tunnel is at least 7' high in the centre and curved it has proved very hard to clean. This means reduced light and plants tending to bolt. The dust is caused mainly by the local farmers harvesting and hay cutting. Tomatoes in the tunnel are doing well along with aubergines, salad bowl lettuce, little gems, broad leaf parsley and cauliflowers. The white fly issue has abated. I do not think they like the high temperatures! Another sowing of salad bowl done. Salad bowl in the poly tunnel has been a real success. It is too hot in the tunnel for any sowing of seed in modules so I am having to put those outside.
  In the outside garden sugar snap peas are being picked, carrots pulled, potatoes dug, cucumbers cut and the odd melon picked. More carrots have been sown. Courgettes are turning into footballs and marrows! We cannot eat them quick enough. The sweet corn is being harvested but the chickens have moved in! The grass is turning brown and is now growing very slowly. Runner beans are starting to appear and I look forward to a reasonable crop. Soon be time to sow swede and turnips. As I did last year, which was very successful, I will sow the swede in modules and plant them out rather than sow a row of seed.

Golden Sunrise from the poly tunnel

Rosebelle potatoes before lifting

  

   The summer moves on and here in Champeau the summer visitor are now here and its barbecue time with lots of cold beer, wine and food.

Spoke too soon?

   Umm, the weather has turned warm and dry. The runner beans are growing away. The haricot vert are all but over and my onions grown from seed still look good. Haricot buerre are up. I have so many cucumbers grown inside the poly tunnel and also outside that I am giving bags full away and still have too many! Some sugar snap peas and peas picked.
   Inside the poly tunnel watering has been the main task. Tomato's are now being picked along with cucumbers and primo cabbage. Cauliflowers have started to grow away and another sowing of red salad bowl is now ready to pick. The giant cabbage is still there and shows no signs of splitting or going to seed.
   Most of my time this last week has been trying to get the house garden in order. Lots of plant growth removed and general tidying done. The dry spell is starting to show its effects and those plants in sheltered areas are wilting. Least the grass has slowed down!
   In the outside vegetable garden I have finally managed to grow some leeks from seed that are worth transplanting. I have transplanting them and I am hopeful to get something from them. 

Transplanted leeks

  My friends (not) the chickens have finally managed to destroy my rosemary cuttings, bar one! They just like a dust bowl and the rosemary was where they wanted to dust their bums!
  The first melon of the season has been picked and eaten. Lots of melons on the vines so hopefully many more to come. The melon patch has been a this years success story. The outside tomato patch looks a little sorry for itself and I am not too hopeful for a good crop. They need some rain. Sweet corn is being picked and it is very nice too. The courgette patch continues to produce many courgettes and I am forced to feed them to the chickens! Least they are not going to waste. One of the old apple trees has is producing what looks like a reasonable crop and the one of the new apple trees has a couple of apples on it. 
  Autumn is just around the corner and there are already signs that is it coming. Hard to believe really. 

The harvest gains momentum..

   Everything is producing well, even the thinning out of the carrot row has produced a good crop. I have frozen 950 grams of the thinned carrots.

Carrot thinnings 240712

The tomato season has begun! Two small but very tasty Tumbler tomato's have been picked (and eaten as soon as they were!). Quite literally kilos of haricot vert have been harvested. Cucumbers? How many can you eat!! I should have a cucumber eating competition there are so many. Chrystal lemon, Marketmore 76 and La Diva!  In the garden haricot buerre have been sown. I have given up with parsnips. I have sowed three lots and not one has germinated and this is from two seed sources so I cannot blame the seed. Likewise red cabbage grown from seed has been a disaster so I spent 4.20 euros and got some from the local market. Guess what? I foolishly left them on the ground and the chickens took a fancy to them. Fortunately they did not eat the hearts out of the cabbages so I am expecting them to recover. Boy. Sweetheart melons are developing all over the vines! Looks like my melon bed is working. 

Sweetheart melon

Sweet peppers are growing albeit slowly. Not enough sunshine. Summer peas and sugar snap peas are not doing as well as I would have wished. Chickens? Mice? Poor germination? Who knows.
  In the poly tunnel tomato's are red and ready to pick. Celery is good, cucumbers are just great and I still have four varieties of lettuce! White fly has been a problem this year and I am looking into ways of controlling the infestation without using chemicals. Winter sowing plans are being slowly developed.
  Next years brassica bed has been identified and some muck added. More required though. So on we go, weeding, grass cutting , harvesting, planting, watering.... phew! 

The vegetable garden produces...

   It has been a mixed week weather wise. Some sun, some rain, some cloud. Not the most enjoyable from my point of view but for the veggies...they have loved it!
   I am now harvesting a whole host of stuff! Potatoes, cucumbers (x2 varieties), onions (red, white,  bedfordshire champion, Spanish) shallots, french beans (haricot vert), borlotti beans, cabbage, celery, lettuce (x3 varieties), cauliflower, kohl rabi, carrots, melon, celeriac, sweet pepper, courgette, pumpkin, butternut squash..all in all too much but hey, rather that than too little I guess!
   So what has been going on? In the poly tunnel my overhead wire to which the growing string for my tomato's was attached broke! Fortunately no damage to the plants and the result is that I have had to tie the strings to the crop bars. This has meant that there is more space between the plants so that is going to help with keeping them aired and ripening the toms. A disaster turns into an advantage. I have planted out more primo cabbage which is being my most successful summer cabbage. White fly is a problem and I need to research some sort of bio control I guess. Swarming ants which have not been a problem other than a couple of  birds have decided that they are good to eat and are coming into the poly tunnel. More lettuce sown in modules and I need to decide what I am doing as regards to winter crops. Generally I am not happy with the results from growing plants from seeds so I may just buy some in, in particular red cabbage and winter cabbage. In the "tomb" a gourd is growing away and the tomato's I have planted there are doing fine. 
  Outside the garden has gone nuts. Of course, the weeds are there too and are a continual issue. The chickens are still being a menace but in the end the damage they do is not too great and it is good fun throwing lumps of dirt at them. Rosebelle potato's have done well again this year and I am looking forward to digging up the Desiree main crop. They should be great. Borlotti beans and haricot vert are producing a lot of beans. I have a melon with many more coming on. I reckon they need a little bit more sun and they will produce an awlful lot more I am sure. 
  Preparation for next year has started. The onion/shallot bed will become my brassica bed for next year and I have already forked it over and piled on some muck. More muck is needed and it is one of many jobs to do. I have more leeks to plant out and that is a priority as I need them to be established before autumn. The carrots urgently need thinning or I will not get any big ones!
  Right. I am back to the garden before the rain that is threatening starts to fall. Weeds to pull as always and seeds to sow!

I caught up but then....

   Once more a couple of weeks have passed by before I realise that I have not posted a blog. Sorry about that folks!
   As is the way of the world I just about caught up in the garden and then it was time to depart for the UK for a week. Boy! I wonder what the garden will be like when I return? More weeds no doubt. I have found the UK wet although I have been fortunate enough to be able to do the things I wanted to do without getting myself wet. 
   In the last couple of weeks in the poly tunnel I have transplanted Pak Choi cabbage, All the Year Round cauliflower, Webbs Wonderful lettuce and Little Gem Lettuce. I hope my lettuce gap is filled! Marketmore 76 and Chrystal Lemon cucumbers are starting to become prolific producers. Any ideas what to do with spare cucumbers? The tomato's are doing well and I am looking forward to a good crop. I have manage to grow some celery for the first time and it is going well. My giant cabbage is now so large I am going to have trouble moving it when I decide to cut it. It would feed the five thousand!
  Outside the poly tunnel weeding has been a major item and my weed pile continues to grown. Those weeds do not slow down! Outside Rosebelle potatoes are being dug, haricot vert are now being picked and some black currants gathered. Most crops are looking good. The Early Onward peas have now been cleared and a row of Borlotti beans sown in their place. The next lot of peas are now showing along with the sugar snap peas. I have cobs on my sweet corn and it will not be long before I am  picking some I am sure. The onions grown from seed are doing well, far better than the ones grown from sets. I have again sown another row of parsnips. This is the third and final attempt. The carrots look good and the fourth sowing has now germinated. Probably the first job to do when I get home will be to sort out the carrots and freeze the baby ones. I have Borlotti beans! Another first for me. Brassicas are not the most successful crop outside. I need to work on getting the soil conditions right I think. Butternut squash, courgettes (round and long), pumpkins and gourds all look good and the courgettes are now being cut.
  All in the all the warm damp conditions have in the main suited the garden. A little more sunshine is now required I feel. Fingers crossed!

Weed pile

Borlotti Bean

  

Veggies and yet more veggies....

  The amount of produce becoming available is becoming more that we can eat! Cauliflowers, cucumbers, peas, potatoes, courgettes, radish, lettuce, cabbage, kohl rabi, onions and beetroot  are all ready to harvest. I have frozen over two pounds of peas and there are more coming. The second sowing of peas and sugar snap peas are now showing. I am a little concerned that I might have a lettuce gap!! Time will tell.
   The chickens are still being a pain making dust bowls wherever they can find some dry soil. They have caused damage in my herb bed destroying a couple of sweet majoram plants. I have tried to get wise to them and not plant anything too close to the edge of a plot. They do seem to like the beds that have high edges. Guess they can rub their bums against the ridge!

Pair of Cauliflowers

Marketmore 76 Cucumbers

Sweetheart melo

   Tomatos inside and outside the poly tunnel are in profusion. How long before the chickens get wise? Umm, probably as soon as they start to turn red. Chickens like red apparently. Forage cabbage and beetroot for the animals has been transplanted but not as much as I would have liked but some is better than none. The sweetcorn has cobs on some of the plants and it will not be long before we are eatting that too. Today (30th June) I have dug up the first shallots sown from sets. Not a bad little crop but I think a little early. The shallot leaves had died down so they were not going to grow anymore. Maybe I will keep some of the larger ones and plant them in the autumn.
   Strawberries have been a disaster this year. I am afraid I ignored them when I should have been tending to them and now I suffer the consequences - no strawberries! Red and black currants are fat and sqeshey but they too have suffered from neglect. Note to self do better next season!
    So on we go. Lots to eat, lots to do!

First crops being harvested, second lot under way!

   Twelve days since the last blog entry. Umm.  I have frozen 4lbs of broad beans and so far 16oz of peas. These are ones that are surplus to our current eating! Rosebelle second early potatoes are now being regularly harvested and eagerly devoured. There are plenty! Carrots are being pulled. I have been a little disappointed with the early carrots in that the quantity has not been what I would have liked. The main summer crop is looking good though and should provide some baby carrots for the freezer. Over winter onions and garlic have been harvested and are hung up to dry. Very pleased with the garlic, disappointed with the onions. I doubt if I will plant over winter onions again. The sets planted earlier this year are also looking poor but those grown from seeds are looking fine. Shallots from sets look ok but not great.  Lots of weeding and forking being done. Marketmore 76 cucumbers in the poly tunnel are just wonderful. I have already cut two and there is another ready. They taste just great. My compost heap grows.

Weed compost heap -  over 2 cubic metres

   Runner bean sticks are up and beans sown. More Golden Primo cabbage sown in modules, mid season peas and sugar snap peas sown. More carrots and borlotti beans sown. Most crops are looking good with the weather being damp and warm everything is growing fast. I looked at last years garden log and read that I was picking haricot vert in June. So far this year my current haricot vert is just coming into flower. I still want to sow some haricot buerre (yellow) and need to find space somewhere! The sweet peppers are showing signs of flowering and the sweetheart melons are setting. Forage crops, cabbage and beetroot, have been sown although not in great quantity.

One of many sweetheart melons that have set

   All in all though I am quite pleased with the progress of the season so far. It is now time to start to plan for winter crops and first in will be the Limousin turnips and another attempt at parsnips. I sowed parsnips at this time of year in 2011 and they grew well only to be mostly eaten by moles or mice. So I will try again and see what happens. Two sowings so far have been an abject failure. I have winter carrots to try called Eskimo but still far too early for those. I think I may try more of the later variety of peas just for a laugh! In the poly tunnel I have transplanted some F1 Lion King white cabbage which is normally a white winter cabbage but I want to try and get some in the autumn. Further sowings of beetroot, primo cabbage and curly parsley have been sown.
 

Rain, rain go to Spain...

   New arrivals at Watermeadows! Firstly my third grand child, Toby, safely arrived on the 31st May. He is just a cutey. Also three Barberry/Mallard cross ducks and a goose have been added to our animal collection.

Goose with its bum to you and three ducks

   In between the heavy rain showers I have been moving along on the sowing, transplanting and harvesting front. Broad beans have now been picked, eaten, frozen (x4 1 pound bags worth!), cleared away and the in their place the next crop sown! (Sugar snap peas and peas). Carrots and peas are coming on stream along with cabbage in the poly tunnel. New potato's have been dug and boy are they delicious! My over winter onions have been a disappointment and I have started to pull them up. The onions are small. I have to harvest my over winter garlic very soon. The leaves are starting to die back and that apparently the sign they are ready to dig up. Well, I need the space for runner beans so any day now I will dig them up. I have weeded the tomato bed  and removed shoots. The bed is now looking very healthy and flowers are to be seen on some plants.
   In the poly tunnel tomato's have formed and are very visible. The chicory has been removed and some of the Little Gem lettuce. No one liked the chicory and the Little Gems were starting to go to seed. Coriander and radish sown. Greyhound and Chou Rouge cabbage transplanted.
   I have managed to transplant some flowers! Makes a change. Hopefully the chickens will leave them alone long enough for them to get established.
   White sage and sweet marjoram have a most delightful scent. I am really looking forward to these plants maturing.

The eating is good and getting better every day!

   Man, has it been two weeks since I wrote my last post? Time just flies by!
   Well, it has been another very busy two weeks. Those darn weeds grow so fast! I just cannot keep up despite spending hours clearing weeds. Plants just grow so fast here. My compost heap must now be a good 2 to 3 cubic metres and still growing.
   So what has been going on? Well the good news. At least 95% of my frosted tomato's have recovered. Even the Vilma bush tomato's that I thought were goners have grown back. I have just lost time it would seem but hey ho with the long season here I do not think that will matter too much, however, I did loose most of my sweet corn but the second sowing has germinated and is growing well.  In the outside garden I have harvested the first potatoes (Rosebelle) (9th June), cast eyes over the peas, pulled a few carrots, picked broad beans and cut lettuce. We have eaten lots of salad! Other jobs done are transplanting Cape Gooseberries, celery, La Diva cucumbers and celeriac. The melons have a number of male flowers on them but no sign of a female yet. The bad news. Well, onions grown from sets have done poorly this year. Too wet? Wrong bed? The onions grown from seed are looking good and I think next year I will not bother with sets. Several of the new apple trees are suffering from aphids.

Rosebelle potatoes harvested 090612

Common Thyme in flower

   In the poly tunnel harvesting, sowing and transplanting continue. Lettuce, herbs, cabbage have all been gathered. Purple and lettuce leaf basil has been transplanted. Purple basil is good for making pesto apparently. The Market 76 cucumbers have already set a couple of cucumbers much to my surprise. I have transplanted some sweet marjoram into a poly tunnel bed to compare performance with that outside. The scent of this herb when you squeeze the leaves is just lovely. The white sage is going well and that too has a very strong scent. I am looking forward to seeing and smelling both of these herbs when the plants get bigger. Cauliflowers are growing well as are the tomato's. I had to remove Pak Choi that went to seed without having eaten any of them. Guess you cannot eat everything! Lemon coriander and more radish sown. Batavia lettuce transplanted, Webs Wonderful, salad bowl and Rocket sown.
   As you can read from the previous paragraphs it has been a very busy two weeks and I do not think I have included everything that I have sown, transplanted or harvested. The grass is being mowed at least once a week as the weather has been warm with rain showers which is very good for growing. I have been looking at last years log and noticed that certain crops, for example, haricot vert, surprisingly, are two to three weeks late. My daughter tells me that this year in France it has been unusually cold and wet. This years haricot vert are not in flower yet! Looks like it is going to be a poor apple and cherry harvest this year. The Limousin "Golden Triangle" (where a lot of Limousin apples are grown) have lost a lot of fruit to "black" frost. Well, I have to admit this spring has been very different to last year that's for sure!

Win some, loose some.

   This blog will be cover the last two weeks. I just do not know where time goes! My IT went belly up and I had to rebuild etc etc but hey ho nothing lost. So, week ending  19th May.
  Well nature got one on me. Around the middle of May in Champeau de Bas you get a couple of days of frost, sometimes quiet hard. Guess what? Yep, there was a hard one overnight on the 16-17th May. Poof! Sweet corn lost, some tomatoes lost, potatoes scorched. You take a gamble and sometimes you win and sometimes you loose. This time I lost. Hey ho! Least it is not too late to resow the sweet corn and go hot foot to the market and get some tomato plants! Succession sowings of cabbage made.
     I managed to kill the old petrol lawn mower so I had to get a new one. Black and yellow...bruuuuummmm!

The Beast

Week ending 26th May
   Since I wrote the above a lot of the tomato's have recovered! Amazing plants these tomatoes. The potatoes also are almost back to what they were before the frost. Guess I have just lost time. Lot of weeding done this week. After the rain comes the warmth, comes the weeds! I finally decided to dig another small bed so that I have somewhere to plant rows of seeds like cabbage outside. Beetroot (1st and 2nd sowings going well. My second sowing was done using a 12 cell plastic module, three seeds in each module. Well, it worked! All the seeds germinated and now transplanted without have to "thin" out. Result! Bolotti beans and Haricot vert are thriving. Carrots also moving along (three sowings for succession). Yolo sweet peppers transplanted (51). Soon be eating broad beans! Sweet Heart melons are still establishing themselves but I have high hopes!

Phew!

   It has been a hectic week. May is a very busy time in the garden. Lots to sow, lots to plant out. So, what I have been up to besides breaking my IT!
   Outside the poly tunnel lots of planting out. Tomatoes, gourds, butternut squash, courgettes, pumpkins, kohl rabi and a few cabbage. Succession sowing of radish and carrots. I have had a failure with my early sowing of Borlotti beans and Haricot Vert and have resown. Oh, guess what? I replanted and within two days some of the oringinal sowing popped up! Not all, but one or two! I have continued to recover an old flower border and I have planted it up with borage and cosmos with a scattering of wild flower seed. Who knows what will happen but the borage needed to be planted out. I have a wonderful display of comfrey and the bees are loving it. The grass I think has running boots on as it is growing almost as fast as I cut it!

Comfrey patch

Main crop potatoes - Desiree

   Inside the poly tunnel lots going on. I have a perfect cauliflower! Three (might be four yet) out of six is not bad for cauliflowers! Lol! The F1 Celtic cabbage have finally got to a point where they could be picked. Red cabbage and Lion King (white cabbage) germinated. Succession cabbage, kohl rabi,and lettuce sowed. The calabrese and the red cabbage have germinated. I had to buy a new packet of red cabbage seed as the seed in the old packet did not germinate at all. The Cape Gooseberries continue to thrive. A pair of cucumbers planted out but one looks a little sick so I fear the worse. This year I am trying to grow celery and have just transplanted some. I have planted up two hanging baskets of Tumbler tomatoes. All in all its busy busy busy!

My poly tunnel cauliflower

Tumbler Tomato's