We have grey skies, some light rain and a bit of a breeze today. Perfect for planting out my fennel this pm and maybe trying another sowing of spring onions and beetroot.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
In @biofreak's absence, here's a quick update for anyone needing it.
9th and 10 of July are leaf days - good for sowing leafy plants, cutting the grass and watering plants but not good for harvesting and storing fruit.
11th and 12th are fruit days - good for sowing, planting and harvesting and freezing fruits. Not good days for fertilising plants.
13th (from 9:30 UK time) to 15th (15:30 UK) are root days - favourable for sowing, planting, transplanting; working the soil to prepare it for new crops; not favourable for harvesting or preserving fruit.
Hi Everyone!!! Internet back on this morning 14th July National Holiday so lots to celebrate --Guillotine and all that!!!
Thank you so much Obelixx for standing in.. I have been smitten with guilt and still have no WiFi so could not even use my phone or tablet.
You will already have discovered the wet July predicted .. there follows a hot spell with storms pending at regular intervals. and August spells much of the same.
Ground so sodden, delighted to have a little warmth. Some veg have shot to seed and a fair amount of mildew is on courgettes plus squash. Still all bright otherwise and we are now starting to eat Courgettes/strawberries/raspberries and have nearly finished first crop peas and mangetouts.
The Lunar Calender from 15-18th sees us entering a Root Day period with the Moon descending in front of Virgo. Provided tops have yellowed you can now lift potatoes for storage and thin out Turnips sown 27th June. Prepare an Onion bed without fresh manure for sowing Onions 20-21st August. Start lifting Garlic/Shallots and Onions whose leaves have yellowed/shrivelled and flattened. Both potatoes and the Onion family should be left to dry out in the sun on the top of the soil before storage if possible or placed in trays in an airy shelter if rain still prevails.
18/19th July sees Flower Days arriving. Start planting Autumn Bulbs and plant or divide Iris. I am making a new Iris bed at the entrance to the drive as the ones I put in a couple of years ago like it there, so it will be nice to add more as a cheery welcome to visitors.
20/21st July are Leaf Days. No gardening recommended between 9.15am and 7.30pm as Noued descending but stil plenty of weeding etc to do I'm sure! Thin out Salads sown 1-2nd July and avoid gardening on 21st before 4.30pm as Moon perigee.
So so glad to be back. I have really missed you all!!Lets have more input from everyone re reference sites to look at. and Obelixx thank you so much again.
@biofreak , hello , glad your internet is working , it’s been even more useful since these strange times started Weather , well , we keep getting very heavy showers , however , it looks like we are going to get a spell of sun All this heat and rain has certainly made everything grow We have already picked our garlic 🧄 and is currently drying Plenty of strawberries 🍓 but quite small , no sure if it’s the weather or we need a new bed ? Various cabbages looks like being the best we have ever grown , we thinks it’s down to the expensive environmental mesh , that they are covered with ie stops the white fly & cabbage whites Once again peas are a disaster !
Gave the Jureslum Artichokes the Chelsea chop , as they where already over 6 feet tall
Yes my strawberries are much smaller than last year. Made blackcurrant and strawberry jam last weekend to cheer up crumpets next Winter!! Just a couple of small jars but plenty for us. Biopsy Boo Baa (known to his friends as Soldier) is doing a stirling job again this year setting up a cat camp in the middle of the raspberry bed..so plenty of fruit for us this year. Tommy has turned into a brilliant miler which is a joy. Nice and dry today at last.
@biofreak , o/h has never made strawberry plus blackcurrant jam as they don’t ripen hear at the same time One of my favourites is Blackcurrant & Apple jam Glad to hear the Cat tribe is doing good Been to allotment this afternoon with hedge trimmer , bushes & small trees have put on so much growth , huge pile for burning 🔥 Picked some gooseberrys today
Hi Everyone Took advantage of milder weather before storms predicted to ight to bring garlic/shallots and red onions in having dried them off on sacking in the brilliant sunshine we have had this week. Lousy crop of onions but delighted with garlic and shallots. The Lunar Calender is a bit boring at the moment so time to draw breath if you are not interested in grafting fruit trees on 22/23rd July as fruit days and 26/27th grafting roses which are Flower Days. 24/25th July are Root Days though so sow some more Radish/Carrots and Turnips. My Broad Beans that I showed on the 11th are up and my second crop Telegraph Peas are ready to go outside. My Climbers (flowers) that I sowed to clamber up bushy dead bamboo I found near Fishing Lake are super. Lots of Morning Glory and Sweet pea mix. Lidl Passion flower thriving as is mix of sweetcorn/runner bean and Squash. Superb crop of Runner Beans coming from roots I left in ground out of curiosity last Autumn. Can highly recommend trying this. Just need to see if beans come true. Broccoli has now sprouted. Used Kohl Rabi as fall guy again for cabbage white butterflies. They ignore broccoli completely and as we only eat the root of KR in salads..no loss. How are your flowers doing this year? Bought myself a nice Black Magic Agapanthus yesterday which completed my collection. Have a good weekend. Need the rain!
Hi Everyone Welcome to August! I'm sure I am not the only gardener this year to be grateful not to have to water as often this Summer. More of the same hot and wet periods previewed for August particularly I. The South East. From 16-23rd the weather will differ greatly from region to region ..hot and sunny for some and humid with storms for others with a wet period from 24-28th and slightly cooler although heating up again on 31st. Between now and the 15th storms are likely with humid conditions so watch out for the dreaded mildew and blight. Keep greenhouses well aired and avoid watering leaves as opposed to roots to avoid fungoid infections. Today 1st August harvest beans and peas..freeze excess crops. Relieving the plants of pods allows air to flow better between the leaves and encourages further flowering. Don't be tempted to pop some more French Bean seeds in. There will not be time to get a good crop before first frosts can strike. Saying that I have gone against all the guidelines and my Aquadulce Claudia Broad Beans that I sowed 11th July are now strong and healthy plants in their own raised bed. Is anyone else trying anything 'against advice on packet' this season? No gardening is recommended 2 or 3rd August so sit back and relax. The 2nd shows the Moon apogee until 3.40pm and the 3rd shows a Noued ascending prior to 9am on the 3rd. 5/6th August sees Flower Days. Take cuttings from Roses (I am thrilled with my 4 David Austin Roses bought for 29euros with my first order from Jacques Briant brochure here in France they are superb.)prick out and thin annuals and perennials sown 29/30th June. 7/8th are Leaf Days. Prune hedges and topiary start preparing soil for a new lawn. How has your garden or veg plot done this year? With all the rain and despite a late cold start I am thrilled with mine. Looking forward to next Garden Fair at Jouy Sur Eure end of August. Happy Gardening!
Posts
We have grey skies, some light rain and a bit of a breeze today. Perfect for planting out my fennel this pm and maybe trying another sowing of spring onions and beetroot.
9th and 10 of July are leaf days - good for sowing leafy plants, cutting the grass and watering plants but not good for harvesting and storing fruit.
11th and 12th are fruit days - good for sowing, planting and harvesting and freezing fruits. Not good days for fertilising plants.
13th (from 9:30 UK time) to 15th (15:30 UK) are root days - favourable for sowing, planting, transplanting; working the soil to prepare it for new crops; not favourable for harvesting or preserving fruit.
https://fr.rhythmofnature.net/calendrier-du-jardinage
Weather , well , we keep getting very heavy showers , however , it looks like we are going to get a spell of sun
All this heat and rain has certainly made everything grow
We have already picked our garlic 🧄 and is currently drying
Plenty of strawberries 🍓 but quite small , no sure if it’s the weather or we need a new bed ?
Various cabbages looks like being the best we have ever grown , we thinks it’s down to the expensive environmental mesh , that they are covered with ie stops the white fly & cabbage whites
Once again peas are a disaster !
Overall very pleased with allotment & garden 🪴
One of my favourites is Blackcurrant & Apple jam
Glad to hear the Cat tribe is doing good
Been to allotment this afternoon with hedge trimmer , bushes & small trees have put on so much growth , huge pile for burning 🔥
Picked some gooseberrys today
Took advantage of milder weather before storms predicted to ight to bring garlic/shallots and red onions in having dried them off on sacking in the brilliant sunshine we have had this week. Lousy crop of onions but delighted with garlic and shallots.
The Lunar Calender is a bit boring at the moment so time to draw breath if you are not interested in grafting fruit trees on 22/23rd July as fruit days and 26/27th grafting roses which are Flower Days. 24/25th July are Root Days though so sow some more Radish/Carrots and Turnips. My Broad Beans that I showed on the 11th are up and my second crop Telegraph Peas are ready to go outside. My Climbers (flowers) that I sowed to clamber up bushy dead bamboo I found near Fishing Lake are super. Lots of Morning Glory and Sweet pea mix. Lidl Passion flower thriving as is mix of sweetcorn/runner bean and Squash. Superb crop of Runner Beans coming from roots I left in ground out of curiosity last Autumn. Can highly recommend trying this. Just need to see if beans come true. Broccoli has now sprouted. Used Kohl Rabi as fall guy again for cabbage white butterflies. They ignore broccoli completely and as we only eat the root of KR in salads..no loss. How are your flowers doing this year? Bought myself a nice Black Magic Agapanthus yesterday which completed my collection.
Have a good weekend. Need the rain!
Welcome to August! I'm sure I am not the only gardener this year to be grateful not to have to water as often this Summer. More of the same hot and wet periods previewed for August particularly I. The South East. From 16-23rd the weather will differ greatly from region to region ..hot and sunny for some and humid with storms for others with a wet period from 24-28th and slightly cooler although heating up again on 31st. Between now and the 15th storms are likely with humid conditions so watch out for the dreaded mildew and blight. Keep greenhouses well aired and avoid watering leaves as opposed to roots to avoid fungoid infections.
Today 1st August harvest beans and peas..freeze excess crops. Relieving the plants of pods allows air to flow better between the leaves and encourages further flowering. Don't be tempted to pop some more French Bean seeds in. There will not be time to get a good crop before first frosts can strike. Saying that I have gone against all the guidelines and my Aquadulce Claudia Broad Beans that I sowed 11th July are now strong and healthy plants in their own raised bed. Is anyone else trying anything 'against advice on packet' this season? No gardening is recommended 2 or 3rd August so sit back and relax. The 2nd shows the Moon apogee until 3.40pm and the 3rd shows a Noued ascending prior to 9am on the 3rd.
5/6th August sees Flower Days. Take cuttings from Roses (I am thrilled with my 4 David Austin Roses bought for 29euros with my first order from Jacques Briant brochure here in France they are superb.)prick out and thin annuals and perennials sown 29/30th June.
7/8th are Leaf Days. Prune hedges and topiary start preparing soil for a new lawn.
How has your garden or veg plot done this year? With all the rain and despite a late cold start I am thrilled with mine. Looking forward to next Garden Fair at Jouy Sur Eure end of August.
Happy Gardening!