All change

As predicted, the weather has closed in over the past week and a massive quantity of snow has fallen up in the mountains which has resulted in a cat 5 avalanche risk. Our local ski station has been closed for the past 3 days and most of the bigger resorts have also been closed. Today, we have heard several 'booms' emanating from up at the Col de Menté where helicopters have been dropping charges to set off controlled avalanches in order to secure not only the slopes but also the access to the ski station. More poor weather is due over the weekend, so goodness knows when we will next be able to head up high.

Here, at our altitude, we have just had rain and lots of it, accompanied by high gusting winds -not the kind of weather in which you want to spend any time outdoors! Instead, we have been busying ourselves getting the big current kitchen/future dining room fireplace for the installation for a lovely little 7kw woodburner that is being delivered by the weekend. The room is 38m2 in size and will be so much cosier with the addition of a woodburner. Here is the obligatory 'before' photo in which you can see the copper cowl that was added some years ago and which was a real blighter to remove!

But it was eventually removed and the cracked back plate also taken out.

Some friends very kindly donated a gorgeous, decorative cast iron backplate which I rubbed down and painted with a light coat of Hammerite - shame it's going to be pretty much hidden behind the woodburner!

The back wall of the fireplace has now been boarded out with fireproof plasterboard and is awaiting a skim and we still need to get the flexible pipe that goes up the chimney, but we're nearly there. It is going to make such a difference to the room - exciting!

In other news, in a weather window today and despite super-saturated soil, we were able to plant up 64 hedging whips along some 50m of the boundary of the orchard. I got whips that will eventually form a stock proof hedge which will hopefully dissuade the deer and other animals from coming onto our land. A mixture of hawthorn, blackthorn, common sea buckthorn, silver berry/oleaster and, strangely enough, some European pear! I am just hoping they will 'take' despite the waterlogged ground. Time will tell.

This afternoon we managed to grab a quick hour on the mountain bikes before the next band of weather moves in. The clouds were building as we rode. It was a chilly, muddy 17km ride but good fun all the same, particularly since I haven't had any exercise in nearly a week!

It may be winter but ....

... the potager is still producing some tasty veg. The parsnips are in full throttle, tasting sweet and delicious thanks to their recent exposure to sub-zero temperatures. I took the first cut of broccoli today with more on its way
The spinach and lambs lettuce is doing well under a cloche, the leeks are now reaching edible size and the spring cabbage is filling out nicely. It will soon be time to start thinking about a sowing/planting plan for the spring - how time flies!

Potager update

At this time of year, the potager is no longer the focus of my attention. Naturally. This is, after all, the time of year when plants die back and we should be thinking ahead to the springtime sowing season, shouldn't we. Well, no, that's not strictly true actually. I am still harvesting produce from the potager such as parsnips (some of which are simply enormous and all of which are now beautifully sweet), carrots, Bleu de Nantes leeks, autumn spinach and lambs lettuce (such an underrated veg). The broccoli buds are forming and the cauliflower are not doing too badly. The shallot, red onion and white onion sets have sprouted well and the garlic likewise. Let's hope they get through the winter unscathed!

Potager update

It would appear that, with all of the ongoing house renovation work, I have been sadly neglecting the potager. Fortunately, it is now the end of the main season so no produce has been spoiled by my lack of attention. It feels like an appropriate time for me to reflect on the successes and failures and what I have learnt from my first attempts at growing my own produce.

Overall, the potager has been a massive success -the variety and the quantity of vegetables that I have grown has way exceeded my expectations. My only real 'failure' has been with the turnips, but that is due entirely to the vole community who were 100% successful in their destruction of the crop. The cabbage white caterpillar has also made a pretty good job of munching their way through my cauliflower, savoy cabbage and white cabbage leaves, but fortunately they are robust plants and seem to be recovering well.

What would I do differently next year? The main thing would be to put in tall supports for the tomato plants before they start falling over! I would also give them more space than I did this year. I would also weigh the produce that I have had from the potager as, although I know we have had masses of tomatoes and French beans, it would be nice to have a record of how many kgs has been produced.
What would I grow next year that I haven't grown this year? Some beefsteak and plum tomatoes.
What has been the biggest surprise this year? The mystery gourd that appeared from nowhere and produced 5 good sized fruit that taste like a cross between pumpkin and butternut squash.

I am already prepared for the autumn and winter, with the autumn carrots developing well, the parsnips ready for harvesting as soon as we get a good frost, the leeks are swelling nicely, the autumn spinach is making good progress, the spring greens likewise and the lambs lettuce is now coming through. I will be planting the onion sets, shallots and garlic before the end of the month. It will soon be time to dig in some horse manure and some compost in order to replenish the soil ready for next year's growth. What a satisfying passtime this potager business is proving to be!

Coming together

Today, we scrimmed the kitchen and fireplace areas ready for Andy to plaster skim on Monday. The new concrete floor is curing well thanks to the humid atmosphere and the covering of plastic sheeting that we should be able to remove by the end of the weekend. It really is starting to feel like we have turned the corner of the kitchen renovation now and I can see how beautiful it is going to be.Andy recovered a lovely old piece of what I think is chestnut timber from the barn this afternoon which I sanded down before applying a coat of linseed oil which has really brought out the colour and grain. It is now in place above where the old sink was located.I also applied a coat of linseed oil to one of the oak kitchen unit doors to see what shade we would achieve and it has come out a wonderfully rich, warm colour enhancing the natural grain. Just beautiful! So, a busy week next week and I am hoping it will all be finished by the time mum and my brother come to visit in just under 2 weeks time!

On a different note, I pulled up 2 carrots from the potager this evening which were both notable for different reasons!!

Potager update

It's been a while since the last one.... at least a couple of weeks! But the potager has been keeping me busy and the dinner table plentifully supplied with all manner of scrummy fresh veggies. So here is a brief summary of the current potager situation;

The 2 aubergine plants have suddenly started producing some fantastic fruit which are long and thin and very tasty - I bought them as young plants and didn't make a note of the variety.... which was silly!
The chilli plants (2 varieties) have produced copius quantities of excellent quality fruit which will hopefully start turning red soon. I was unsuccessful in my chilli growing efforts last year so am particularly pleased with this year's production!
The three capsicum plants are likewise producing excellent and very tasty fruit which will hopefully start reddening soon.
The cherry tomato plants (gardener's delight variety) are dripping with ripening fruit. I have sundried around a kg of fruit which is now being preserved in olive oil with more to follow.
The parsnips are big enough to eat. I am pulling the odd one here and there but want to leave the majority in the ground until they have had a frost.
The courgettes are still producing fruit.
I have had 3 kuri squashes off one plant which are now stored in nets for later use.
The mystery squash/gourd plant has produced 5 really big fruit but I still haven't got a clue what it is! We roasted some for dinner this evening and it has a lovely flavour - somewhere between a butternut squash and a pumpkin and with the texture of a kuri squash - delicious.I should be picking French beans from my third sowing very shortly.
The cabbage plants have recovered well from the cabbage white catterpillar infestation a week ago. I found that tweezering off the grubs and then spraying the plants with 'savon noir' worked a treat.

Looking forward to the autumn and winter, I planted my 'Bleu de Nantes' leeks last week and they already seem to be well-established.
The autumn spinach is coming through.
The autumn carrots that I sowed a couple of weeks ago are making slow progress.
The spring greens are doing well.
I sowed some lambs lettuce today and also some more lettuce.
However, the turnips appear to be under attack from the persistent vole community which I am none too happy about :-(

I think that covers everything!

Andy has made progress on the ground floor today. We took the decision to remove the ceiling plasterboards as we needed to get proper access to the jumble of wires and cables that seemed to be appearing from all over the place. It turned out that several cables were not actually connected to anything! Others seemed to be taking convoluted and totally unnecessary routes to their destination so it has all been stripped back down to basics and rewired with the addition of two new ceiling lights in the centre of the room. It is much neater and safer. Tomorrow, the new ceiling plasterboard will go up, the plastic sheeting put onto the walls and the frame for the plasterboard will be erected. Then we just have to wait for the delivery of plasterboard which is expected on Wednesday.

While I was away....

....the veggies have had a spurt and, amongst them, a large mystery round gourd/squash which I don't remember sowing!! I must try and identify it.So we have a large marrow, a smaller marrow and a long courgette plus two round courgettes that I will have to do something with this weekend. The Gardener's Delight cherry tomatoes are at last ripening and are the most delicious, sweet, juicy tomatoes that I have ever tasted. Also, while I have been away, the chillis have had a growth spurt as have the capsicum and the aubergine will be ready for picking this weekend. Fantastic!

Projet terminé!

Whilst Andy was down in Foix for his French lesson this afternoon, I cracked on with treating the decking boards which is the final stage of the terrasse project. It took me a few hours but the treated pine was gradually transformed into a lovely warm shade of oak. At last (well, it has only take us 10 days from start to finish!), the terrasse is finished! All that is required now is for some trellis to be put up between the ground and the decking at the steepest end and for some scented climbing plants to be planted. I will also be putting pots of scented plants and flowers on the decking itself to make it a really special place to sit out. Other news is that I dug up my first parsnip this evening as they are looking over-crowded in places. It was a monster, which shows just what good soil I have!True, they taste sweeter after experiencing a frost, but I am sure this one will still taste scrummy and there are plenty more to follow

Aubergine!

Last year, I failed miserably. This year I thought I would try again. My two aubergine plants have grown nice and bushy and have had plenty of flowers but little sign of fruit developing so far. Until I spotted low down and hidden by foliage a glossy, purple aubergine about 4" long! Success at last! Let's hope it won't be the only one.The capsicums are also developing well and will hopefully start turning red in the next week or two.
The trusses of cherry tomatoes are heavy on the plants but have not yet started turning red. More sun please.

Produce

Some more potager success today, when I discovered that the pesky voles had actually left half a dozen garlic bulbs untouched. I dug up the lovely big fat bulbs and they are now curing in the hot daytime sun. They smell wonderfully garlicky and I can't wait until we can use them in our cooking. Just a shame I don't have more bulbs to show for my autumnal efforts!The shallots that have been curing in the kitchen for the past 3 weeks are now ready to be stored and look fantasticI also dug up all of the leeks today as they were showing signs of going to seed. Some are now in the freezer and others are in the fridge for more immediate use. I have also put better support in for the tomatoes and trimmed back much of the excess foliage to give the fruit a chance to ripen. Hopefully soon we will have cherry tomatoes on the menu. I now have enough ripe courgettes (round and long) to make a batch of chutney .... yummy!

While I was busy in the potager, Andy was busy screwing down the decking boards with literally hundreds of screws.... quite a task. We now have an idea of the balustrade look that we want and will be pricing up the wood tomorrow. Hopefully the terrasse will be finished by the end of the coming weekend.

This morning we also had a major tidy up around Pissou, with the lawnmower and strimmer both in action. It was very hot, sweaty work but it was desperately needed as it was starting to resemble a jungle around here!

Côté potager....

... let's not forget the potager! It has basically been going bonkers! The leeks, baby carrots, F1 Nelson carrots, French beans and Charlotte potatoes are on our table most days, the cherry tomatoes just need some sun and then we will have a glut ..... the parsnips are developing well, the courgettes are now ready (round and long) the third sowing of beetroot went in today, the second sowing of spinach is developing well.... you get the picture!

Has beans

We have enjoyed the first pick of the French beans today and totally delicious they are too!The beetroot is also jolly fine. This is nearly the end of the crop from the 2nd sowing Today I have thinned out the turnips which are developing well. I have also had to tie back the tomato plants as they have gone rampant over the past week, with masses of flowers and settng fruit. I can't wait until they are ready!

That's shallot!

At the end of October, I planted some shallot sets. Today, they were ready for harvesting. And quite a harvest it has been!
The potager has been plagued by voles over recent weeks. Fortunately the shallots escaped their attentions, although they have destroyed my garlic crop and have now started on the carrots. We have set traps but they don't take the bait .... why should they when they have a fully-stocked underground larder!!

Today, I have sown more spinach and will hopefully clear the ground where the shallots and garlic were later in the week ready for more planting. Quite what I shall plant, I don't yet know!

Potager progress

I am having trouble keeping up with the watering at the moment, as the heat of the sun is drying the soil out so very quickly! But still, progress is good. The first lot of peas have had their last pick and the plants will be pulled out this week but the second sowing will be ready for picking in a week. The Charlotte potatoes plants are producing loads of gorgeous, sweet-flavoured new potatoes, the spinach has gone to seed so we are using the last of the leaves with some homemade pasta this evening and more seeds will be sown this week. The last of the second lot of beetroot is almost ready to be pulled. The new beetroot seeds that I sowed just over a week ago are coming through as is the latest sowing of coriander. I have sown more mixed salad and will get round to sowing some red onion seed this week too. The first sowing of French beans are now up to two inches long and should be ready to eat in week or so the cherry tomato plants are producing tons of flowers and the fruit is settingI have at last got some flowers on the chilli and capsicum plants and the round and long courgette plants are showing fruitWhat a fantastic time of year this is! Tonight for dinner, we have had Tagliatelle al Pesto Genovese, made with Andy's homemade pasta, homemade pesto (slightly modified to include homegrown spinach along with the homegrown basil), homegrown peas and potatoes ..... and very scrummy it was too!

A mini update

OK, so it's tedious but I have had 2 trips down to St G today. The first was in the loan car this morning to collect the part from the breakers and drop it off at the garage. The second was early evening to collect the car. I think we were both quite stunned to see the old brake pads, which had cracked due to the heat when the caliper had seized on. Thank goodness we had been so close to the garage when the problem had occurred. The final bill for the replacement pads and for fitting the new caliper was way below what we had been expecting. Exceptional service at an exceptional price!

So, between the two St G trips, I was out in the potager, weeding and sowing more beetroot, coriander and lettuce. The shallots will be harvested this weekend before the voles attack them as they attacked and destroyed the garlic. In their place I will be sowing some autumn/winter crops or possibly more carrots or lettuce. The second crop of F1 carrots are reaching edible size as are the leeks, the cherry tomatoes are flowering well as are the French beans, the courgettes, the kuri squash and the second sowing of peas, the chilli peppers and capsicum are on the point of flowering .... so generally it is looking good :-D

Potager progress

A quick update on veggie progress in the potager.... the top plot....From left to right, peas are in flower, the early Nantes carrots are doing well, the mixed Italian leaf salad that I have sown between them is doing well, spinach and rocket have been gracing our plates with the coriander also making good progress, first sowing of beetroot is thriving and the second sowing is not far behind, 4 capsicum plants are now established and the 2 aubergines at the top are developing fruit. The baby carrots that I sowed last week are not yet up and the shallots and garlic which are out of the picture to the right are being attacked by voles. Hopefully some will have survived.


Then in the bottom half ........ from top to bottom, F1 carrots (not visible) are making progress, leeks are developing well, Charlotte potatoes are thriving, dwarf French beans 1st sowing are now 4-6 inches high and the second sowing is now coming through, tomato plants are looking promising but the chillis are still struggling. Then the yellow and also white turnips that I only sowed 3 days ago are showing at the bottom of the picture. Out of shot are the cauliflower and savoy cabbage plants which are becoming established.

Elsewhere, the kuri squash plants that I grew from our own seed are thriving and the courgette plants too. The second sowing of peas are now an inch high and the strawberries are swelling nicely. Regular and thorough watering is the order of the day, as it has been dry and very warm over recent days.

Bumper strawberry crop this year

... or at least that is that is what I am expecting if the slugs don't get there first!There is a tremendous amount of blossom on the plants which appear to be thriving in the current conditions. I can't wait for the first fruit!

Yes!

Great news! The parsnips have germinated! Little green shoots are poking their heads out in two nice ordered lines! I have read so much about how difficult they are to grow, I was not optimistic about the chances of success. I sowed the seeds on the 13 April, so it's taken 3 weeks for germination to occur. Let's just hope the voles/mice don't take a fancy to them and snaffle my hard earned 'snips before they reach maturity.

The coriander is also now coming through along with the Charlotte potatoes that I planted out in the potager - the ones in tubs on the terrasse have been up for a few days already. The beans are also now well and truely up and the tomato plants that I planted out on Wednesday are really taking off. The combination of wet weather (VERY wet on Thursday with literally a river coming down the hill and past our front door which ended up flooding Claudine's, next door!) and warmth (24 degrees in the shade today), seems to be to the potager's liking.

Pottering today has been interesting. The nystagmus flickering eye movement and dizziness seem to be stabilising and the nausea consequently subsiding. If I am standing up or sitting down, provided I don't move my head, everything is stable and normal which is a BIG welcome relief. But if I walk or move my head, my balance is not yet there and I am decidedly wobbly, particularly if I attempt to turn round in a narrow space such as between the rows in the potager. But things are improving and the drugs are slowly working on my inner ear's vestibular responses so I am optimistic that full service will be resumed in the course of next week :-)

Potager update

We had a fine, warm day yesterday, which is just what the potager needs. More is forecast for later in the week, although today is cold, grey and damp. But the veggies are coming along well and we had our first handful of rocket and baby spinach leaves in a salad yesterday which was lovely. The pea sticks are now in, as the plants are shooting up. The second sowing of both beetroot and rocket are now coming through, the second batch of garlic is sprouting nicely, the French beans are just starting to show and the mixed salad leaves and lambs lettuce are also showing signs of life. The various sowings of carrot need a decent spell of good weather to take off and despite being under a cloche, the capsicum and chilli seedlings seem a bit hesitant. Sun is what we need now and lots of it!

Tidying up

With the alternating very hot/very wet spells of weather that we have been having recently, the grass, weeds and thankfully also the veg in the potager have all been going rampant. So today, it was time to awaken the lawnmower and the strimmer from their winter slumbers and put them back to work. Pissou always looks so much neater and tidier after the grass has had a haircut and it is particularly good to be able to tackle the grass/weeds that surround the potager before they get out of control this year. Just by way of comparison, this jungle photo was taken in May last yearand then after I had scythed the plot of land on which the potager now sits for the first time and before the first pass with the lawnmower...and before we dug part of it over for the first time in October...and this is how it looks now..
I am sure the site will look even more impressive in the summer once the veggies are ready for harvesting. It is particularly pleasing to be able to put redundant but very fertile land back to good use. I have taken advantage of the forecast for a couple of days of warm weather to sow some Italian mixed salad leaves, the second round of both beetroot and rocket and also some coriander. I have also dug over the remaining section of land in the potager into which I will be planting on the chillis, capsicum and tomato modules in due course. Progress is good and I am just hoping that the rather lively mole community does not decide to wreck all of our good efforts! Traps are in place, one has been caught, but we need to double our efforts.