Woke up to fine and sunny day plus NO wind!! Rushed out and got some gasol (diesel)in the car as difficult to find, let alone cheap in France at the moment Had my Flu jab last Friday and no side effects at all which was great. Walked dog by the river and once home set about putting polytunnel roof back on! Just had bacon and sausage and White Pudding order delivered from Ireland to sell at Market tomorrow, plus need to bake some Apple Crumble Bars (recipe I found on American website)..so many windfalls, and wasps and hornets still around so need to use them quickly. Cats in disgrace..mice have started on the apples stored in the garage! Too much snoozing going on!
So what will the Lunar Weather Report for November say? More wet and windy weather I'm afraid. 1-7th Nov very wet particularly in the North
8-9th Wind and rain
11-15th Colder and windy
16-22nd Warmer again but still showers and wind
23-30th Variable but more seasonal
A peak at December shows snow possible in first half of month...Oh Joy!! Wish I hadn't looked! Re Things to do:- 2/3/4th November Flower Days with Moon in front of Virgo ♍ Harvest Brocoli and Cauliflowers, if some are not quite ready fold leaves inward over caulis to keep them fresh and white. I am still finding little grey caterpillars amongst the Brocoli florettes. QUESTION ?.any idea which 🦋 butterfly or moth they come from?? Prune hydrangeas clipping fanned flowers down to 1st bud below flower. This is advice for the perfectionist who likes a tidy garden.. Biodynamic advice is to leave fanned flowers on until after Winter as they protect the buds and house useful insects for birds. 5/6th November are Leaf Days with Moon in front of Pisces. Harvest Salad Crops/Cabbages/ Celery and Bulb Fennel. On the herb front , cut Tarragon down to soil level and cover with dead leaves to provide protection from hard frosts. 7/8th November Fruit Days with Moon in front of Leo. If you want to go foraging now is the time to pick Medlars although they are better after a frost. If you've had a go at Olives with all this Climate Change (in the South of France you should be picking them now and taking them to the Mill to be crushed for Olive Oil.).In the UK you could take out the stones and pop them in a food processor then pop pulp in sieve lined with muslin over a bowl overnight. You might not get much but the reward in taste is superb. No gardening recommended on the 8th as noeud descending and Eclipse of the Moon which is no doubt part of the reason for these high winds. 9/10/11th November are Root Days with Moon in front of ♉ Taurus. Traditional in the Biodynamic Calender now is the time to take stock of the last year, check your gardening notes and make Plans for next year showing new beds and changes hoped for. Check those old seed dates and prepare lists of new stock needed. Make up a Mock Order then prune it back according to your needs. Add varieties that you have read about and would like to try. Look at new seed growers to see if there are any new varieties that you may have missed, and also to ring the changes
There are plenty of small seedsmen out there. Let's give small business a boost.
Thanks @biofreak. The weather here is confusing plants and I have a deep purple bearded iris in full bloom!
Today's forecast was still and dry but it's almost still and intermittently very wet. I was hoping to get more spring bulbs planted this pm but have to wait for Rasta doggy to be finished at the hairdresser's and then dodge showers. Physio all morning.
I have 3 apple trees to plant but will be out all day on the 7th so they'll have to wait a week or two for a good moon. No olives here. Too worried about that disease coming up from Spain and Italy.
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)."
Thanks as always @biofreak. I'm afraid not much gardening for me at all as I have injured my left leg but at least I can do the planning bit. I agree about plant confusion, they are reporting on the news about animals too. Things like hedgehogs that should be hibernating etc.
As long as they have food to eat I'm not too worried about hedgehogs @Allotment Boy as the slugs andsnails have woken up here too no wthat we've had some rain. However I do worry about trees and shrubs that provide nectar for early insects and birds and lay eggs which grow caterpillars that feed nestlings. There may be a shortage of food for them next spring if too many plants get confused.
Hope your leg heals up well.
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)."
Interesting, my success and failures have been a bit different, broccoli French beans, etc all fine. Biggest issues with soft fruit, Raspberries and blackberry literally cooked on their canes, (the blackberry was even earlier this year shouldn't have been ripening then anyway) The other big fail was raddish, they just kept bolting, without making any globes in spite of copius watering. I got few off some grown in the shade of a tree, but not many.
I have just picked a small bowl of raspberries!! They do taste a bit watery as do Blackberries when the season is ending..but raspberries in November??!!! Far too wet to pop in balance of bulbs. Biodynamic Tip if O/H has the energy Obelixx..dig holes ready for your new fruit trees and leave for two weeks before planting to allo birds and other foragers to eat grubs and insects inside. Also (not sure about this Steiner thought) supposed to attract Moon and Planet forces and energy for new planting. O have a feeling that holes might just fill up with water but hey Ho!! Your comments please. Cowpat hunting today!!!...Avoiding antibiotics, I have got permission from Bio Farmer to raid his field for fresh cowpats to stuff into my new much treasured cow horn to bury until the Spring. Will also add bucket load to herbal brew in Water butt (nettle/comfrey/marestail)to brew all winter. New Biodynamic Tip..chop up Borage and sprinkle around 🍓 strawberries and amongst Salad crops..slugs and snails hate it apparently. Have you heard of this?? Hope knees legs and hips feel better soon everyone!
The apple planting zone is currently under a sheet of plastic @biofreak - donated by our farmer neighbour - and we have more guests next week but I shall suggest advance hole digging to OH as I want to plant them on the next free fruit day which I think is the 16th.
I shall try the borage trick. We'll be moving some currants and strawberries out of their current bed to a new one to give them all more space.
Have checked with physio chappy and he prescription is open ended so I can keep on going till I get full flexion and can kneel on it. That'll be a while as the muscles are radiating heat after this morning's session.
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)."
Posts
Just had flu & Covid jab this morning , so far feeling OK
Woke up to fine and sunny day plus NO wind!! Rushed out and got some gasol (diesel)in the car as difficult to find, let alone cheap in France at the moment Had my Flu jab last Friday and no side effects at all which was great. Walked dog by the river and once home set about putting polytunnel roof back on! Just had bacon and sausage and White Pudding order delivered from Ireland to sell at Market tomorrow, plus need to bake some Apple Crumble Bars (recipe I found on American website)..so many windfalls, and wasps and hornets still around so need to use them quickly. Cats in disgrace..mice have started on the apples stored in the garage! Too much snoozing going on!
So what will the Lunar Weather Report for November say? More wet and windy weather I'm afraid.
1-7th Nov very wet particularly in the North
Re Things to do:-
2/3/4th November Flower Days with Moon in front of Virgo ♍ Harvest Brocoli and Cauliflowers, if some are not quite ready fold leaves inward over caulis to keep them fresh and white. I am still finding little grey caterpillars amongst the Brocoli florettes. QUESTION ?.any idea which 🦋 butterfly or moth they come from?? Prune hydrangeas clipping fanned flowers down to 1st bud below flower. This is advice for the perfectionist who likes a tidy garden.. Biodynamic advice is to leave fanned flowers on until after Winter as they protect the buds and house useful insects for birds.
5/6th November are Leaf Days with Moon in front of Pisces. Harvest Salad Crops/Cabbages/ Celery and Bulb Fennel. On the herb front , cut Tarragon down to soil level and cover with dead leaves to provide protection from hard frosts.
7/8th November Fruit Days with Moon in front of Leo. If you want to go foraging now is the time to pick Medlars although they are better after a frost. If you've had a go at Olives with all this Climate Change (in the South of France you should be picking them now and taking them to the Mill to be crushed for Olive Oil.).In the UK you could take out the stones and pop them in a food processor then pop pulp in sieve lined with muslin over a bowl overnight. You might not get much but the reward in taste is superb.
No gardening recommended on the 8th as noeud descending and Eclipse of the Moon which is no doubt part of the reason for these high winds.
9/10/11th November are Root Days with Moon in front of ♉ Taurus. Traditional in the Biodynamic Calender now is the time to take stock of the last year, check your gardening notes and make Plans for next year showing new beds and changes hoped for. Check those old seed dates and prepare lists of new stock needed. Make up a Mock Order then prune it back according to your needs. Add varieties that you have read about and would like to try. Look at new seed growers to see if there are any new varieties that you may have missed, and also to ring the changes
Happy Gardening everybody!
Today's forecast was still and dry but it's almost still and intermittently very wet. I was hoping to get more spring bulbs planted this pm but have to wait for Rasta doggy to be finished at the hairdresser's and then dodge showers. Physio all morning.
I have 3 apple trees to plant but will be out all day on the 7th so they'll have to wait a week or two for a good moon. No olives here. Too worried about that disease coming up from Spain and Italy.
Hope your leg heals up well.
However , carrots 🥕 , beetroot , runner beans only seem to grow when the rain came in September
Leeks will be small this year
Major success Apples , quince , onions , garlic , cabbages , summer raspberries , asparagus
Looking good , parsnips, celeriac
A Major success has been the weeds
Bio thanks for update
Happy gardening or planning everybody
Cowpat hunting today!!!...Avoiding antibiotics, I have got permission from Bio Farmer to raid his field for fresh cowpats to stuff into my new much treasured cow horn to bury until the Spring. Will also add bucket load to herbal brew in Water butt (nettle/comfrey/marestail)to brew all winter.
New Biodynamic Tip..chop up Borage and sprinkle around 🍓 strawberries and amongst Salad crops..slugs and snails hate it apparently. Have you heard of this?? Hope knees legs and hips feel better soon everyone!
I shall try the borage trick. We'll be moving some currants and strawberries out of their current bed to a new one to give them all more space.
Have checked with physio chappy and he prescription is open ended so I can keep on going till I get full flexion and can kneel on it. That'll be a while as the muscles are radiating heat after this morning's session.