Hello Val and Malcolm,
This is my first time gardening in France although I have had many gardens in Canada and the UK. So this is a new experience and so looking forward to growing wonderful tomatoes and local varieties of veg. The veg patch used to be, I am told, one of the best in the commune, growing prize winning veg. The soil is amazing and obviously has had a lot of dung added. The brambles and nettles certainly liked it! When I first tackled it in September, it was a wilderness and sadly neglected for many years. Months of hard graft with a fork,spade and strimmer has removed most of it. Pruning the fruit trees and grape vines over the winter will hopefully help revive them. Time will tell! The tree-lined road has supplied the garden over the years with leaf mould, helping to enrich the soil, which is a big bonus.
Now that it is March, I have been out, when weather permits, hand digging, burning, pruning 3 large trees to get more sun, feeding the fruit trees, investigating the well for a water source and planning what I will be planting in April. Garlic, which I planted in late December, the local Ail Rose, is coming up nicely. I have made a makeshift greenhouse at home to start some of my plants (tomatoes, beans, parsley, peas, basil) ready to plant when the weather becomes more predictable. I have always gardened organically so it will be interesting to see how that approach works here! My next project is to build a bamboo trellis to support the grape vine over the garden gate...oh yes, and to install an electric pump to the well!
Joanne Schofield
+33 (0)5 63 30 74 46
+33 (0)5 63 30 74 46
