www.irishcentral.com have really interesting article today on Celtic Traditions associated with Midsummers Day..goes hand in hand with Lunar Calender...worth a look plus comments. I shall now go and hug my Oak Tree. Thanks for info Obelixx. Just been out and bought some Terreau to pot on second crop tomatoes rooted from prunings in only 9 days!Will look up erigeron karvinski for seeds here.
I've just been down the veg plot to check what's going on and 2 branches of one of our pear trees have been snapped in the storm. Laden with pears too so a bit sad.
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)."
Well, my post for the moon's movements this week seems to have disappeared into the ether.
Here are the dates for lunar cycles for the next couple of weeks. I'm off to Nantes on Sunday to get a new knee on Monday so will be in hospital for a week and then in deep physio/rehabilitation at home for a month. No gardening for me for a while then.
June 28th – ascending moon and a roots day till
20:56 when the moon moves into Gemini, an air sign so flowers.
June 29th – apogee at 7:08 so no gardening for 5
hours either side but you can admire and plan or clean, mend and maintain garden tools and structures.
Jun 30th – descending moon and still a flower day
July 1st and 2nd – moon in Cancer so
leaf days until 09:52 on the 2nd
July 3rd to 5th - moon in Leo, a fire sign so that means
fruiting plants from peas and beans to curcubits, tomatoes, soft fruits and
apples and pears.
July 5th from 12:25 moon in Virgo so anything to
do with roots until July 8th.
July 6th to 8th roots.
July 9th from 7.44 moon in Libra so flower days till 14:26 on the 10th
but there is a node at 18.27 on the Saturday so no gardening 5 hours either
side. BBQ?
July 10th from 14:26 to July 12th at 12:42 the moon moves into Scorpio so leaves
again. For the pm the moon is then in
Sagittarius so fruit days.
July 13th – ascending moon and perigee at 10:07 so no gardening 5
hours either side. It stays in
Sagittarius until 14:17 on the 14th.
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)."
@Obelixx , thanks for update , hope the new knee goes well 👍
Had to fill up water butts at home yesterday from stream at side of house , also did next doors , just a tiny bit of rain but everything is growing so well Lots of sunny days but also quiet strong winds so can’t sit out side much
Going allotment to water shortly , will pick more raspberries & broad beans
The Lunar Weather Calender offers us good weather if we're into lying on the beach all day, but gardeners need to be on guard to rescue frazzled veg and flowers if it is accurate.
1-7th July Getting warmer, windy and dry with possibility of local storms.
8-13th July Still windy, dry but stormy
18-21st July Dry and very hot (If you have summer cauliflowers fold leaves over centres to protect curds)
22-31st July Very stormy with heavy rain forecast.
My water barrels are full already, so I must go off and buy 2 or 3 more dustbins as I have two already full of my standby plant booster water where I have steeped nettles.marestail and comfrey together to give the potted veg and flowers a booster feed and mildew protector (the marestail or in french prele and nettle does this).
For further protections add the following biodynamic suggestions...All dilutions are with rainwater.
Fungicide:-Onion Juice Infusion diluted to 20% for Peach Leaf Curl/Blight/Powdery Mildew
OR try a Decoction of Horseradish for the same problems.
Nettle Purin diluted to 15% for Blossom blight/Blight/Powdery Blight
Savory Infusion diluted to 20% for Rust/Scab
Tansy Maceration or Infusion diluted to 20% for Rust
Insecticide:Garlic maceration 3/4 days diluted to 15% for Onion Fly/Aphids/Mites
Ferns Purin diluted to 10% for Wireworms
Pyrethrum Maceration 1 day diluted to 20% for Whitefly
Elder leaves or flowers Infusion diluted to 20% for Thrips
Tomato Leaves Maceration 3/4 days d Infusion or Purin diluted to 5%
for Caterpillars
Repulsants Wormwood Infusion diluted to 15% for Slugs/Caterpillars/Aphids
Nasturtium Decoction diluted to 25% for Whitefly/Aphids
Euphorbia Maceration 5 days diluted to 15% for Slugs/Moles
Lavender Infusion diluted to 15% for Ants/Aphids/Mosquitos
Rue Maceration 6 days diluted to 60% for Rats and Mice.
Stimulants to reinforce microbe flora and immuity.
Except for a bit of cloud on Sunday we have wall to wall sunshine forecast here until the 11th with temps rising from low 20s to mid 30s and no rain. Our water butts were full but then we had the roof treated for moss and algae in April and had to empty them all and then let them be rinsed thru so the only ones with any water are the one by the garage and one by the hen house.
I shall be leaving OH instructions on how long and how often to connect the various seep hoses in the veg plot plus the sprinkler for my nursery.
Touch wood but, so far, no pests (apart from snails) or diseases here @biofreak. The starlings do strip our big fig tree but have yet to find the small one and they're welcome to the Mirabelles and unidentified cherries we inherited as they're far too bland and sweet for my taste.
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)."
Too cool here to have success with Mirabelles..such a shame as we love them. Harvested onions yesterday to make space for Sowings of Peas for harvest n September and popped the Second Crop Broad Bean plants in. Dry and sunny in Normandy but pleasant breeze. Summer Markets start this week so hitting the ovens ..made Red Fruit Crumble Cookies with own redcurrants/🍓 strawberries and raspberries this morning plus picked first red gooseberries and enjoyed first cucumber 🥒 last night. Biodynamic Diary. Prick out Leeks sown 20-21 mai. Choose to do this on a Moon descending Day in front of Virgo. Spray with a decoction of marestail (prêle)to protect against rust. When watering normally..water roots not leaves to avoid development of rust spores. Happy Gardening 🦋
We have an excess of cucumbers from just 2 plants. I used some to make a cucumber soup the other day and still had 6 left for OH to eat with his salads and so on and they'll carry on producing too so time to treat the neighbours.
Picked my first pan of tomatoes for making passata and got 3 litres potted up on Saturday. We're also eating them in salads and OH brought me some of both today. Hospital dinners seem to be a bit sort on veg for me.
Blackcurrants picked and frozen. Strawberries and raspberries all eaten but more on the way and the loganberry and tayberry have recovered form being fried and have fresh fruit and even flowers appearing on lower stems where they did not get fried by the heatwave.
Oh has a strict rotation of watering to follow while I'm away. We'll see. The pear trees are full of fruit, even after dropping some so we'll see if he gives them enough to keep the rest.
Enjoy your markets @biofreak. I do love a good market with lots of local producers.
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)."
Loads of salads and fresh fruit in hospital n Cherbourg. Potatoes and white bread with everything in Lille!! They're all different. Sowed 2nd crop Courgettes this morning (never done this before , has anyone else?) and mixed up old packets of Mesclun/Coriander and Chard then sowed them in spare patch in raised bed for late Summer Salads. Garden looks fabulous 6am just before sun strikes in earnest. Orders for the day for cats. Tommy 'catch that mole that has built a mountain in the night in the French Bean bed' Boots . 'Do not eat and then sick up mice on clean kitchen floor again today' Pushkin 'Do not stick head in mini watering can designed for spraying leaves only and need rescuing when you caught ear in handle'. Orders to all three. ' Keep blackbirds away from raspberries!' First Crop Broad Beans starting to get chocolate spot so may have to pull them up as nearly finished cropping anyway. Planning to make Meadowsweet Jelly today. Saw interestng programme on Ireland last week on More4..lady making Dahlia Jelly..did not know you could eat the flowers, has anyone tried this?
Posts
Here are the dates for lunar cycles for the next couple of weeks. I'm off to Nantes on Sunday to get a new knee on Monday so will be in hospital for a week and then in deep physio/rehabilitation at home for a month. No gardening for me for a while then.
June 28th – ascending moon and a roots day till 20:56 when the moon moves into Gemini, an air sign so flowers.
June 29th – apogee at 7:08 so no gardening for 5 hours either side but you can admire and plan or clean, mend and maintain garden tools and structures.
Jun 30th – descending moon and still a flower day
July 1st and 2nd – moon in Cancer so leaf days until 09:52 on the 2nd
July 3rd to 5th - moon in Leo, a fire sign so that means fruiting plants from peas and beans to curcubits, tomatoes, soft fruits and apples and pears.
July 5th from 12:25 moon in Virgo so anything to do with roots until July 8th.
July 6th to 8th roots.
July 13th – ascending moon and perigee at 10:07 so no gardening 5 hours either side. It stays in Sagittarius until 14:17 on the 14th.July 9th from 7.44 moon in Libra so flower days till 14:26 on the 10th but there is a node at 18.27 on the Saturday so no gardening 5 hours either side. BBQ?
July 10th from 14:26 to July 12th at 12:42 the moon moves into Scorpio so leaves again. For the pm the moon is then in Sagittarius so fruit days.
Had to fill up water butts at home yesterday from stream at side of house , also did next doors , just a tiny bit of rain but everything is growing so well
Lots of sunny days but also quiet strong winds so can’t sit out side much
Going allotment to water shortly , will pick more raspberries & broad beans
I shall be leaving OH instructions on how long and how often to connect the various seep hoses in the veg plot plus the sprinkler for my nursery.
Touch wood but, so far, no pests (apart from snails) or diseases here @biofreak. The starlings do strip our big fig tree but have yet to find the small one and they're welcome to the Mirabelles and unidentified cherries we inherited as they're far too bland and sweet for my taste.
Biodynamic Diary. Prick out Leeks sown 20-21 mai. Choose to do this on a Moon descending Day in front of Virgo. Spray with a decoction of marestail (prêle)to protect against rust. When watering normally..water roots not leaves to avoid development of rust spores.
Happy Gardening 🦋
Picked my first pan of tomatoes for making passata and got 3 litres potted up on Saturday. We're also eating them in salads and OH brought me some of both today. Hospital dinners seem to be a bit sort on veg for me.
Blackcurrants picked and frozen. Strawberries and raspberries all eaten but more on the way and the loganberry and tayberry have recovered form being fried and have fresh fruit and even flowers appearing on lower stems where they did not get fried by the heatwave.
Oh has a strict rotation of watering to follow while I'm away. We'll see. The pear trees are full of fruit, even after dropping some so we'll see if he gives them enough to keep the rest.
Enjoy your markets @biofreak. I do love a good market with lots of local producers.
First Crop Broad Beans starting to get chocolate spot so may have to pull them up as nearly finished cropping anyway.
Planning to make Meadowsweet Jelly today. Saw interestng programme on Ireland last week on More4..lady making Dahlia Jelly..did not know you could eat the flowers, has anyone tried this?