Turkey for us , we get it from a friend of o\h who has a farm and we traditionally name the Turkey much to everybodies amusement , this year it is Thomas
Hope Thomas tasted good!! - Our goose was stunning and headless which made a change. The French seem keen on you seeing whom you are eating - I specifically asked for the head to be cut off, as we used to have 2 geese, and I was very fond of them until a Pine Martin popped round and bit their heads off.
Anyway - Took sneaky look at BioD Weather Calender, and looks like staying mild but wet,wet,wet - which will be dreadful for those poor people up North. More info soon.
Did anyone watch professional Masterchef before Xmas? Top Italian chef in Alba with his own biodynamic kitchen garden growing herbs and veggies for the kitchen. Impressive stuff.
Looking forward to sewing guides for this season's crops Biofreak.
GWRS - we can have very cold winters but I haven't noticed any huge effects on bugs and slugs. They just burrow deeper till it's over and then munch with a vengeance once it warms up although I find organic slug pellets applied weekly for Valentine's day work well on the slimester problem. Might have to start earlier this year as it's so ridiculously warm.
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)."
Just got Internet up after 4 days gales and regular Power Cuts. Quick Lunch then back to reveal all about 2016!!!! Have been studying new books by candlelight and made lots of very weird wonky notes in the dark!!! Back Soon.
Right I'm back!! AND with a vengeance - Just so, so excited having read lots and lots of different books and articles over the Xmas Period -Great with just two of us, we just pull the shutters down for nearly a fortnight and catch up on lots of reading interspersed with mugs of Vin Chaud and good food.
So - First and foremost Happy New Year and Happy Gardening 2016 to all Moonbeams! (Think that is an apt name for us) Here is the Lunar Gardening Calender for 6th January - 28th January 2016, which will be interspersed with sessions on understanding Biodynamics/Weather/Constellations/Planets -and NEW Tidal Effects and how the Chinese work all these factors into their gardening/medecine etc (probably another Thread on the latter!)
First I know that you have been waiting with baited breath re Weather, and I do need to do some explaining about how Biodynamic gardeners establish these predictions (It is quite long winded so just for this message I shall stick to January and general 2016 Weather Calender Predictions)
The first 3 weeks of January see more rain and gales, turning colder from the 8th with a tendancy towards snow 13/14th. In the last 10 days of the month getting colder with gales, but temperatures rising again after 27/28th - So if you haven't already fleeced Plants/Shrubs/Trees, now is the time to do it during the few calm moments in the days to come. If like me, you have been having a constant argument with flyaway fleeces, and my polytunnel roof - Call on the 'man or woman that does' in the household, and use brute force and lots of Rope (Tights work well as they give to the sway of the tree/shrub - my young eucalyptus looks very dashing!) With a cold start to Feb with warmer days 4-10th, watch out for snow and plunging temperatures after the 18th (Lucky this is a short month! - That's as far as I am going but a sneaky look at the end of the year shows me end Nov and most of Dec wintery conditions and Snow - We shall see.)
Now:- 6/7th January - Moon descending Leaf Days Prepare the asparagus bed by adding lots of manure and compost to surface - Or if a new bed dig a trench no less than 1ft (30cms) deep and fill with fine compost. If you have no frost yet, continue to prune trees but paint fungicide over cut surfaces to protect from extreme weather conditiond and bugs etc (Or spray with Bordeaux Mixture).
8/9/10th January - Moon ascending from 6.55pm on 8th so changing from Leaf to Fruit Days. - If no frost, take cuttings from fruit bushes and push down into spare ground to take root in late Spring (Preferably against a North Wall -Does anyone know why?? - French Gardeners say it is to stop cuttings budding up so exhausting potential root growth) Cut existing cuttings taken last year down to 30cms, to encourage better root formation for transplanting to Fruit Beds in late Spring.
11/12th January - New Moon and Root Days, so sow radishes and short carrots in cucumber frame if temperature no lower than 10degrees. Mix the seeds together and harvest the radishes first leaving carrots room to grow. Also confuses carrot fly, as radish roots give off a bitter aroma when pulled.
13th January - Flower Days. Sow cauliflowers on hot bed or in heated propogater 15-18degrees. keep them warm when thinning out in February and plant out under a Tunnel in April for harvest May/July.
INTERIM LESSON
14th January - No gardening after 10.40am - This is when the Moon is changing from the New to Full Moon on an ascending cycle and is situated BETWEEN the Earth and the Sun, so the New Moon cannot be seen. And is why on a clear night we sometimes say ' but I can't see the Moon'
15th January - No gardening before 7.20am (Still dark here!) as Moon is 'perigee' - at its closest point to the Earth on its ecliptic path. When you can see it - it looks larger . In most cases it is
Hello , don't we miss electricity , hopes alls well now
When we first moved hear 25 yrs ago lots of power cuts but several of the power cables poles have been replaced under ground but we have an open fire which is always nice to have
Thanks for the info , as ever , always interesting , looking forward to a bit of snow
Been up to allottment this morning to repair part of the fence , harvested some leeks , still lots to do
Thanks for the information, you did say that you were covering to the 28 January - does that mean nothing needs doing for the last fortnight of the month?
Aaaah! Did type Diary up to 28th but must have run out of space on Message Board as I see it has not come out! Vin Chaud - Mulled Wine.
16th January - Leaf Day details as per 14/15th missing out hours but allclear on 16th to sow Spring and Salad Bowl lettuce in 12/15degree heat.In cucumber frame sow herbs for cut and come again Spring Salads: Purslane/Savoury and Chives. Continue to harvest Spinach/Lambs Lettuce and Winter Lettuce - remember to fleece up balance of salad/tender crops with bad weather coming.
17/18th January - Fruit Days - Sow Broad Beans outside, earthing them up well once they germinate up to 20cms against Spring Gales 'wind rock'
19/20/21st January - Root Days On a Hot Bed or Under Cover sow turnips, scattering them well to avoid thinning and damage weak Spring root system. Air regularly and keep moist. Harvest April/May. Sow also under cover short shank leeks to prick out in March - I know leeks are not Root Crops but the short shank ones have a really clumpy root system and are better treated as such according to French Market Gardening Guides.
22/23rd January - Flower Days If it is not frosty, plant out bare root Roses remembering to paste mud all over roots (I make a slurry mix in a bucket) to encourage quick root growth. Earth up well avoiding covering graft point, and cut back to 6inches from ground in March.
24th January - Leaf Day - If weather calm and no frost - Air Frames and greenhouse. Cut crossing branches out of trees and treat cuts with Bio Fungicide or Bordeaux Mixture to discourage fungus and nasty bugs.
25/26/27th January - Fruit Days. Earth up Broad Beans and if not frosty brush moss and lichen off tree trunks, then spray with Bordeaux Mixture or Bio Fungicide. Plant out new fruit bushes and prune old ones remembering to take out all old growth. 28th January - No gardening before 5am. (As if you would!)
Posts
Turkey for us , we get it from a friend of o\h who has a farm and we traditionally name the Turkey much to everybodies amusement , this year it is Thomas
Interesting the differences , Merry Christmas
Hope Thomas tasted good!! - Our goose was stunning and headless which made a change. The French seem keen on you seeing whom you are eating - I specifically asked for the head to be cut off, as we used to have 2 geese, and I was very fond of them until a Pine Martin popped round and bit their heads off.
Anyway - Took sneaky look at BioD Weather Calender, and looks like staying mild but wet,wet,wet - which will be dreadful for those poor people up North. More info soon.
Happy Gardening.
Thomas jasted great
We will be eating Tinker Bell next year
Still on holiday with family in Swindon until New Year so no Gardening until 2016 , first job fix fence at allottment
Happy new year
Hello , 2016 has started and yes it had been wet & wet so far but not as bad as Scotland , Cumbria and Yorkshire .
The Lincolnshire misses a lot of the worst weather unless it comes down from Scandinavia
Only just getting back in to things as way for 10 days over Chritsmas & New Year , going to allottment tomorrow to repair fence , wind damage
Wondering if we are going to get a proper winter ? Need some frosts to kill the bugs ect. And I do like the snow
I trust alls well with you
Did anyone watch professional Masterchef before Xmas? Top Italian chef in Alba with his own biodynamic kitchen garden growing herbs and veggies for the kitchen. Impressive stuff.
Looking forward to sewing guides for this season's crops Biofreak.
GWRS - we can have very cold winters but I haven't noticed any huge effects on bugs and slugs. They just burrow deeper till it's over and then munch with a vengeance once it warms up although I find organic slug pellets applied weekly for Valentine's day work well on the slimester problem. Might have to start earlier this year as it's so ridiculously warm.
Just got Internet up after 4 days gales and regular Power Cuts. Quick Lunch then back to reveal all about 2016!!!! Have been studying new books by candlelight and made lots of very weird wonky notes in the dark!!! Back Soon.
Right I'm back!! AND with a vengeance - Just so, so excited having read lots and lots of different books and articles over the Xmas Period -Great with just two of us, we just pull the shutters down for nearly a fortnight and catch up on lots of reading interspersed with mugs of Vin Chaud and good food.
So - First and foremost Happy New Year and Happy Gardening 2016 to all Moonbeams! (Think that is an apt name for us) Here is the Lunar Gardening Calender for 6th January - 28th January 2016, which will be interspersed with sessions on understanding Biodynamics/Weather/Constellations/Planets -and NEW Tidal Effects and how the Chinese work all these factors into their gardening/medecine etc (probably another Thread on the latter!)
First I know that you have been waiting with baited breath re Weather, and I do need to do some explaining about how Biodynamic gardeners establish these predictions (It is quite long winded so just for this message I shall stick to January and general 2016 Weather Calender Predictions)
The first 3 weeks of January see more rain and gales, turning colder from the 8th with a tendancy towards snow 13/14th. In the last 10 days of the month getting colder with gales, but temperatures rising again after 27/28th - So if you haven't already fleeced Plants/Shrubs/Trees, now is the time to do it during the few calm moments in the days to come. If like me, you have been having a constant argument with flyaway fleeces, and my polytunnel roof - Call on the 'man or woman that does' in the household, and use brute force and lots of Rope (Tights work well as they give to the sway of the tree/shrub - my young eucalyptus looks very dashing!) With a cold start to Feb with warmer days 4-10th, watch out for snow and plunging temperatures after the 18th (Lucky this is a short month! - That's as far as I am going but a sneaky look at the end of the year shows me end Nov and most of Dec wintery conditions and Snow - We shall see.)
Now:- 6/7th January - Moon descending Leaf Days Prepare the asparagus bed by adding lots of manure and compost to surface - Or if a new bed dig a trench no less than 1ft (30cms) deep and fill with fine compost. If you have no frost yet, continue to prune trees but paint fungicide over cut surfaces to protect from extreme weather conditiond and bugs etc (Or spray with Bordeaux Mixture).
8/9/10th January - Moon ascending from 6.55pm on 8th so changing from Leaf to Fruit Days. - If no frost, take cuttings from fruit bushes and push down into spare ground to take root in late Spring (Preferably against a North Wall -Does anyone know why?? - French Gardeners say it is to stop cuttings budding up so exhausting potential root growth) Cut existing cuttings taken last year down to 30cms, to encourage better root formation for transplanting to Fruit Beds in late Spring.
11/12th January - New Moon and Root Days, so sow radishes and short carrots in cucumber frame if temperature no lower than 10degrees. Mix the seeds together and harvest the radishes first leaving carrots room to grow. Also confuses carrot fly, as radish roots give off a bitter aroma when pulled.
13th January - Flower Days. Sow cauliflowers on hot bed or in heated propogater 15-18degrees. keep them warm when thinning out in February and plant out under a Tunnel in April for harvest May/July.
INTERIM LESSON
14th January - No gardening after 10.40am - This is when the Moon is changing from the New to Full Moon on an ascending cycle and is situated BETWEEN the Earth and the Sun, so the New Moon cannot be seen. And is why on a clear night we sometimes say ' but I can't see the Moon'
15th January - No gardening before 7.20am (Still dark here!) as Moon is 'perigee' - at its closest point to the Earth on its ecliptic path. When you can see it - it looks larger . In most cases it is
Hello , don't we miss electricity , hopes alls well now
When we first moved hear 25 yrs ago lots of power cuts but several of the power cables poles have been replaced under ground but we have an open fire which is always nice to have
Thanks for the info , as ever , always interesting , looking forward to a bit of snow
Been up to allottment this morning to repair part of the fence , harvested some leeks , still lots to do
Vin Chaud a local wine ?
Aaaah! Did type Diary up to 28th but must have run out of space on Message Board as I see it has not come out! Vin Chaud - Mulled Wine.
16th January - Leaf Day details as per 14/15th missing out hours but allclear on 16th to sow Spring and Salad Bowl lettuce in 12/15degree heat.In cucumber frame sow herbs for cut and come again Spring Salads: Purslane/Savoury and Chives. Continue to harvest Spinach/Lambs Lettuce and Winter Lettuce - remember to fleece up balance of salad/tender crops with bad weather coming.
17/18th January - Fruit Days - Sow Broad Beans outside, earthing them up well once they germinate up to 20cms against Spring Gales 'wind rock'
19/20/21st January - Root Days On a Hot Bed or Under Cover sow turnips, scattering them well to avoid thinning and damage weak Spring root system. Air regularly and keep moist. Harvest April/May. Sow also under cover short shank leeks to prick out in March - I know leeks are not Root Crops but the short shank ones have a really clumpy root system and are better treated as such according to French Market Gardening Guides.
22/23rd January - Flower Days If it is not frosty, plant out bare root Roses remembering to paste mud all over roots (I make a slurry mix in a bucket) to encourage quick root growth. Earth up well avoiding covering graft point, and cut back to 6inches from ground in March.
24th January - Leaf Day - If weather calm and no frost - Air Frames and greenhouse. Cut crossing branches out of trees and treat cuts with Bio Fungicide or Bordeaux Mixture to discourage fungus and nasty bugs.
25/26/27th January - Fruit Days. Earth up Broad Beans and if not frosty brush moss and lichen off tree trunks, then spray with Bordeaux Mixture or Bio Fungicide. Plant out new fruit bushes and prune old ones remembering to take out all old growth. 28th January - No gardening before 5am. (As if you would!)