Busy week...

   The weather has been reasonable this week. Some wind, showers and dry periods. I have been able to get out into the garden and I have worked in the poly tunnel and outside. Re-sowing has been pretty much the order of the day. In the poly tunnel Early Purple sprouting, Kohl Rabi, Rooderf and Evesham special Brussels sprouts and Greyhound cabbage sowed. In modules I have sowed Champion Red Top Swede and Di Jesi cauliflower. Also I sowed Loofah seeds in large pots (first time for these!) and transplanted some Auroa bush, Jens Orange/Noir Crimee tomatoes, mixed basil and 5 Dessert melon to pots. Out side I weeded the Touchon carrots which at last are germinating so I sowed a succession row. One never knows one year this may work! Auroa bush tomatoes were transplanted from pots to the small Hugelkultur bed more to see how they do than anything else. The area for the sweet corn seedlings has been forked, weeded and raked and seedlings transplanted while dodging rain showers! Oh did I not mention mowing the grass?

  On the chicken front I am sorry to have to report that the broody hen and her ten eggs were taken by probably a fox during the week. What surprised me was that the critter took the eggs and not a sign of a shell or their contents. Other than that life for the chickens continues as usual with an average of 5.71 eggs laid per day this week. More than we can cope with!

Great Lakes lettuce in the poly tunnel

Seedling and transplanted plants in the poly tunnel fleece clouche

Chili

Broad beans

It grows while I watch it

       The grass grows while one watches it! It is that time of year when air warms up, the soil warms up and a little bit (or even a lot!) of rain and off the grass goes!! Man! So, yes, mowed grass this last week and of course a fair amount of weeding! They grow well too in these conditions. I have been cutting asparagus. Not massive amounts but enough for a couple of breakfasts with a fresh boiled egg!

   I took the opportunity to buy a few more Marie de Bois strawberry plants and added those to the strawberry bed. It is almost full! I probably need another twelve plants which I ought to get later in the year from runners coming off established plants. Sweet peppers transplanted to pots, aubergines transplanted to an outside bed and various tomato seedlings transplanted to pots. The first early and second early potatoes are well under way and I noticed that the main crop, Desiree, are starting to show. No broad beans yet but there are signs with small pods showing. The peas and mangtout are going well. Various seeds germinating in the poly tunnel! Its all go!

   On the chicken front I am please to announce that one of the hens has gone broody this last week and is now sitting on ten eggs. Fingers crossed! Coops cleaned out and the average number of eggs this week is 6.29 a little up on last week.

Early potato bed

Garlic and onion beds

The dip

   The previous owners of my property kept weather records which I also carried on doing for a good number of years. They recognised that in our little micro climate we get a dip in the temperature at the start of May. This week end has seen that dip again although this year no frost. The approach of these couple of days I have to ensure any sprouting potatoes covered up and it can be a challange to find enough dirt! Lol.

    So what has been happening this week? The early purple sprouting has been removed and the ground they occupied weeded and forked ready for sowing probably haricot vert. One of the onion/shallot beds, a big one, was weeded. Greyhound cabbage sown in the poly tunnel have been transplanted to the brassica bed to join the french variety Poet ones. Both are a "pointy" summer cabbage. Mangtout is up and the peas are starting to climb! The initial sowing of early purple spouting, Great Lakes lettuce, Di Jesi cauliflower and Evesham special Brussels sprouts failed and I have resown outside the poly tunnel. Fingers crossed! Champ Jens Orange and Champ Noire Crimee tomato seed sown in the poly tunnel also failed. I have resown using a propagator module and am hoping that it is not the seed that are past their best! The most successful tomato this year has been the Auroa bush tomato. Looks like I will see lots of bush tomatoes in the garden this season. Blackwater Mountain water melon have been a propagator success and I have many now in pots in the poly tunnel. Being in the poly tunnel will slow them up. The sweet corn sown last week in modules in the poly tunnel are already up.

   Due to the fact that chicken love to scrabble in piles of dirt I have shut my main flock in. They still have a large area to explore etc. This is because I know they will demolish my efforts at covering up the potatoes. It will only be for a few days until we get past the last threat of frost and I am happy to let them out. Egg production slightly down, average of 5.86 eggs a day this week.

Potatoes starting to show

And now the sun...

   I love the change of seasons in La Creuse, central France. Fresh, cool, sunny in April. Warmth in the air, everything starting to grow and the odd frost just to remind one it is only April!

   It has been another busy week! Tomatoes (Champ Auroa bush, Champ Gardeners Delight) transplanted to pots, more sweet pepper seed sown in a propagator box. I have had to resown brussel sprout and cauliflower seed after a poor germination of first sowing. Not surprising really. One takes a chance sowing early. The cabbages I bought from the market last week I have now uncovered from their plastic bottle clouche and covered with bird netting to stop the chickens from devouring them. First rhubarb of the season pulled (one pulls rhubarb not cut) and the first rhubarb crumble made and consumed...yum! Mixed basil seed sown in a propagor box as those in the poly tunnel are not showing any signs of germinating. Germination in the poly tunnel has been poor so far. Probably just a little on the cold side I guess.  I have started to remove the over winter early purple sprouting as it is now going to flower. Time to think of what to plant in its place. I gave in and bought two packets of Golden Bantam sweet corn seed and sowed them in modules in the poly tunnel. I was not going to plant sweet corn this year but I was in the local agricultural shop and just could not resist. I hope I get to the corn before the chickens this year!

  The chickens are being chickens and I have had one day where every hen laid (11 eggs!).

  Of course the usual chore this time of year which I must admit is made a lot easier and much more fun with my ride on mower, mow grass! 

The egg pile grows

Frost....

    This spring has seen a lot of mornings of frost. In some ways welcome in others not. Early sowings and plantings need to be protected and it is a gamble as to whether or not one manages to succeed in getting anything off to an early start. They french more often than not do not plant anything out until the middle of May. Beware of the days of the Saints de glace which are  St Mamert (May 11), St Pancrace (May 12) and St Servatius (May 13). In my neck of the woods May 15th is touted as the last day of frost. Despite what the pictures look like all of these plants will come back and are generally frost tollerant to about minus two centigrade.

18/04/21 Frost affected broad beans

      It has been a busy week in the garden. Some work done at my daughters house but much done in my vegetable plots! 

     Sugar snap (mangetout) pea netting set up and seeds planted. That will please my  youngest grandson, Toby. Yet more potatoes planted although only a small bed. A delivery of horse manure meant shifting and spreading over the plot where I will be planting out sweet peppers and other plants. Also muck spread on the long bed in the poly tunnel. I have sown some tomato seeds in two propagator containers as those in the poly tunnel fleece clouche do not seem to be doing anything! First radishes pulled from the poly tunnel much to the delight of my grand daughter Caitlin and more sown. A couple of greyhound cabbages transplanted withing the poly tunnel. Never know might get something. I prepared my brassica bed which had been manured with the chicken bedding over the winter and planted out some Cabet Poet (french pointy cabbage) cabbage plants which I had bought from the local market. Of course the usual mowing of grass and I have finally got down to the bank on the river and mostly mowed that area. Small area of weeding done and I have some lettuce bought also from the local market to plant out in that area. They, like the cabbage, will need to be protected from the frost. I have an ample supply of plastic water bottles with the bottoms cut off which are ideal for the job.

   Last week I mentioned that there was no sign of the asparagus. There is now. Two spurs are up and hopefully more will follow.

18/04/21 Frost affect peas beetroot parsnips

   Chickens are being chickens (menaces!) and over the last week produced a average of 6 eggs a day. A little down on last week but heck I have a stack of 90 eggs!!

Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes.....

   With the milder weather, clear sky and dry conditions which meant frost in the morning the priority this last week was to get the main crop (Desiree) potatoes in. I managed to finish off planting up my large triangle plot where I have spaced out the planting with it in mind that more space means bigger spuds! Fingers crossed!

Spaced out Desiree potatoes

  My main potato plot needed to be weeded in preparation for planting and it is the biggest plot in the garden! I attacked the issue with weeding one half and planting that up and then the other half later and then planting that up. 

  At the start of the week I had to get chicken food and as it happened there was a tray of Iceberg lettuce plants for sale. As I have been unable to get any at my local market and my sowing of lettuce in the poly tunnel produced only one plant I bought these and planted them up in the poly tunnel.

First half of the large Desiree plot planted up

  Elsewhere in the garden transplanted parsnips and beetroot are established, peas are up but no sign of parsnips sown from seed! I have allowed some Red Top swede to go to seed so hopefully I will be able to gather some seed later. The early purple sprouting is now coming to an end. It has been a really good crop. Onions, shallots and garlic are all well established and growing away! No sign of the asparagus yet. 

  Cherry and apple blossom is starting to show a real sign spring is well under way.

   On the chicken front usual maintenance done and I am sorry to have to report that Mrs Ixworth has died. She was about four years old and was a hen that had been hatched and raised at Watermeadows. She was the last pure Ixworth in the flock. Egg production is up with an average of 6.57 eggs per day this last week. I have more eggs than I know what to do with!

Sunshine!

   Happy Easter! So another Easter comes around and the weather here in La Creuse has been really quite delightful. Nice spring sunshine, couple of really warm days with the temperature reaching a high of 24C on two days! So, it has been a busy week forking and weeding beds and planting the first lot of main crop (Desiree) potatoes. Sweet yellow Spainish onion and mixed basil sown in my new garden toy, a propagator. Woolly guests were expected at the weekend so the old shelter revamped and some old fence wire removed. Still plenty to do and those potatoes need to go in!

   Chickens are being chickens with an average of 4.5 eggs a day this week. A little down on last week.

Flowering broad beans

Sprouting peas!