Summer arrived with a bit of a rush, with temperatures building significantly during the last week and it also got heavier and more humid as the days went by. Friday was agonising, as it was so sticky and hot, and while the clouds gathered, there was no rain during daylight hours. This wasn't the case at Chinon where they had 40mm in an hour and one of the popular pubs got flooded! All we had was this until late in the evening, when it finally started to rain - not vicious downpours but nice steady soaking rain - 10mm in all chez nous. We could have done with more, but it did help to top up the water barrels.
Of course, when it is hot, and you get rain, a lot of it tends to evaporate again, making the air even stickier than before so Saturday was a write-off - given over to sitting flopped and moist, complaining that my phone screen wouldn't work with wet fingers. We fed the Cats in the Country, but even walking around the plot to admire what a bit of rain does was nearly too much for us. It did help the ancestral ponds a bit and the carp seemed somewhat happier, but it wasn't a long term solution for them.
Today there was a cooler breeze from the north west and it was possible to work in the plot, picking things, pulling things up (so much easier when the soil isn't doing an impression of first fired clay), planting things and thinning seedlings. We got off to a very slow start really on vegetable gardening this year, not getting any potatoes in before Easter, not setting off any seeds until May, and not really having a plan. To some extent we have caught up although courgettes will be late, and butternut squashes even later.
This bed has the overwintered broad beans in it - those sown at the end of November are nearly done and I have cleared a third of them. Those sown at the end of December are just coming right. There are also red onions, black mangetouts, shallots and white onions, as well as the courgettes I planted today, four aubergines and three chillies I bought at a car boot sale in early May and six tomatoes rescued from Aldi. The soil is pretty heavy clay so hard work.
The next bed up the hill is mainly given over to potatoes this year - second earlies. But to the right there is winter wheat we sowed in the autumn when we were worried about the price of chicken feed, while to the left and right by the potatoes is a line of carrots (mixed colour heritage) and parsnips. In a separate bed to the left of them are this year's attempt at sweetcorn. As last year was an abject failure, we aren't holding our breathe, but 40 out of the 52 stations sown are up and I will fill in the gaps, or attempt to, by transplanting the extras as I sow two seeds per station. It may work, it may not, but 40 sweetcorn should be enough for us!
The next bed is the one that is highest up the hill, with quite light, shallow soil, and is the one we have used the least. It is still a bit of a work in progress. On the left, it is given over to butternut squashes, while on the right, we have the bean pen, where we are starting to sow borlotti beans - there are 29 up so far on the far right and John sowed a load more today on the left.
I'm rather proud of the butternut squash plants which I grew from saved seed that had been sitting around in not the best conditions for a couple of years or so. The root balls had nicely filled the pots without going totally mad.
A new experiment this year is growing a christophine or cheyotte - a tropical plant with nice fruits that make a good gratin and the plant has a climbing habit, hence the posts and wires. The leaves look worryingly similar to bryony, but the fruits are distinctly different - a small green squash, somewhat pear shaped but a bit flatter and with a bobbly skin. No idea if it will work here in the Loire Valley, although the fruit this grew from came from a polytunnel up the road in the Sarthe.
Finally, for those that made it this far and don't really have an interest in growing vegetables, here is a photo of a handsome fellow who walked past the trail camera this week!
Have a good week!
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