Skip to main content

The veggie garden









With sporadic snippets of time spent weeding and caring for the veggies, watering each evening and still battling with rabbits I did get to the stage of thinking is it all really worth the effort. But I've battled on through with beads of sweat falling in my eyes (that really stings) having to scrub away the mud stains from my feet each night and ease an aching back, fighting with the hose pipe to let me have the water contained in it (you know how when you move it it gets twisted up) and being attacked by ants as I unearth a nest, the tiny brown ants seem to be the most vicious freely giving a bites should you not see one crawling up your leg or arm.

And now the benefits of growing your own veg can be seen.The first broad bean plants have finished with a mass of beans in the freezer making way for three melon plants, each protected by a car tyre at the moment (I'm getting wise to these rabbits). The small crop of garlic has been dug up, the first crop in eight years - its usually eaten by mice before i get to it, still they have been a bit busy this year eating the peas i planted. I have even outwitted them by now planting peas in drain pipes and then transplanting the seedlings which seems to be working. We will probably never have enough peas to freeze any but to be able to eat them fresh will be good.

French beans are starting to appear and the runner beans are beginning to run up the bailing twine with a few flowers so hopefully they will produce a few runner beans. There is even a tiny cucumber coming along, hopefully high enough out of gnawing teeth. I did notice a new burrow under the borlotti beans which I quickly filled in.

Ive nearly finished getting out as much compost as I can which has been given to the pumpkins, courgettes and rhubarb with a wheel barrow going to the gites veg boxes which have been planted up with tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, cucumbers possibly? or courgettes? or pumpkins, not sure yet must work out a better labelling system for next year.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rabbit proof fence

In the hope of not loosing anymore greenery in the veggie patch today was spent today taking down an old fence which was put up around eight years ago. As it had a few holes in it this could be where  the rabbits are getting through. On the other side of the fence a chicken run was constructed were table chickens grew to a really good weight until we got a batch that had been, what we think were contagious with Mareks disease. Subsequently we stopped using it for chickens putting a litter of pigs in the area to get them use to electric fencing (which they did). It has been left empty for around 18months now with Gorgon and the girls have made break trough's through it last year gaining access into the veggie patch but now there's a lot of weeds. On the other side of the veggie patch is another old holey fence which has now got the recycled one that was taken down put in front of it, new posts and a trench dug to lower the wire in, earthed up and stones put on top

Happy cattle

For five months the cattle have been eating hay twice a day but today was their time to go back to pasture, they were more than ready. With two loads in the trailer going to La Contie the rest, the naughty but nice ones stayed at La Singlarie. Calves are on green grass for the first time following the herds around. Now for Spring time jobs to get started - so much free time for farmer J. Fencing, tidying around the farm, getting machines ready for hay cutting, getting the gites gardens ready for Summer and a new bathroom to fit, his feet won't be touching the ground.

Parisot lake

As it is a holiday today here in France (Bastille Day) we took the afternoon off an popped over to Parisot lake for a walk with Sorrel. It has all changed, since the lake was emptied and cleaned up this year you can now swim in it, as well as inflatable toys to play on, a life guard, bikes to hire, a new fenced in play area for small people and a total spruce up. But there is a price we were charged! 3 euros an adult, which I guess is OK if you are using the facilities but Sorrel didn't fancy a dip. The cafe is still open but that would of been too much for Sorrel to cope with being so close to people and music so we opted for a bench to sit on in the shade before walking around the lake. Sorrel opted for being Billy no mates and laying by herself, if be it for a short period of time before bikes and people went by. We are now waiting for the free firework celebrations over the chateau tonight - if we can stay up that late.😃