13TH
FEBRUARY 2015 – CENTRAL PORTUGAL
Seems the early morning
frost has finished for this year as the dawn mists of early spring seem to have
made an unheralded appearance in the last two days. (As this is followed by mid
morning with a little light rain and a glimpse of sunshine by noon it can be
assumed that winter has really started to slip away). With the rise in
overnight temperatures and the pleasant warmth of the day the sudden urge to
burst forth has stirred the growth, or at least the budding, of many a recently
dormant specimen in the garden. This does not only include plants, the
hibernating Homo Sapiens, absent during the last two months, have been stirred
to their vine pruning and potato planting activities presumably by the ‘rising
of the sap’ caused by the warmth and sunshine.
 |
| Pansies - a breath of Spring |
Daylight at the end of
the day always astonishes at this time of year in Portugal (particularly if
your land of ‘infant nurture’ is of the Northern European orientation), sunset
at ‘seven’ in the evening is already well established and the shock of
‘loosing’ an hour of early evening sunshine at the end of March (when the
clocks change) is, by then, well tempered by the early dawn. These long and
often sunny days persuade the first of the fruit tree blossoms to decorate the
orchard with, it seems, long awaited colour followed by the glorious fragrance
of ‘Spring-time’.
 |
| Meyer Lemon |
 |
| Lisbon Lemon |
Getting the hard frosts
over with- in the first six weeks of the year does have the advantage of a
massive reduction in garden pests later in the year (mild winters only seem to
encourage anything that can eat or infect). With the diurnal and nocturnal increase
in temperature comes the anticipation of a new season which will allow ‘full
vent’ to the burgeoning blossom, and its fertilisation by the newly awakened
insect population, for a massive and healthy fruit crop later in the
year.(Ah!!! ‘the ever optimistic’ Gardener).
 |
| Slowly getting tidy |
Time to tidy the
vegetable beds before the weeds make their bid for total dominance on those
much worked and well fed plots,(always amazed by the reduction in soil height
in the raised beds after their refurbishment, where does all the soil go? Has
it been converted into that ‘Championship’ crop residing in the ‘Freezer’ yet
again?). Almost persuaded each spring to increase the depth of the raised beds
(N.B. all cultivation here is in ‘Raised beds’ or ‘Containers’ as there is no
natural soil only ‘Chiste’- broken sedimentary rock), but experimentation has
shown that once the magic depth of 400mm has been achieved there is no further
advantage to be gained as the beds require daily watering which reduces the
root depth of each plant dramatically and frequent top feeding keeps the roots
near the surface (but ensures that the strict watering regime has to be
maintained through the long hot summer – a ‘Gardener’s’ tasks are never
lightened!!!).
 |
 |
| Beds waiting for spring planting |
Having a multi terrace
garden (six in total from the ‘Belvedere’ at the top to the ‘Orchard’ at the bottom,
with seventy five steps in- between – no ‘Gym’ work-outs required here)
encourages a strict policy of ‘What grows on the terrace stays on the terrace’
with the exception of the ‘Harvested’ crops (which tend to go up and get eaten
or committed to the ‘Deep Freeze’ archeological preservation in the case of
excess Chillis) and the removal of hard
wood cuttings for ritual cremation in the ‘Burning Corner’(being Portugal,
never before the end of October or after the end of March to keep the
‘Bomberios’ - local Fire Brigade, happy- forest fires forever a summer hazard).
The ‘soft’ weeds are composted in situ on each terrace for re-application of
fibre to the ‘beds’, with the annual addition of ‘estrum’(horse manure) and new
‘imported’ compost from the ‘Agricultural Co-Operativa’ in the village.(Generally
25% cheaper than the ‘Garden Centres’).
Still cutting back the
overgrown trees and bushes, as our local variety of Sharon Fruit (Diosperos) planted
in the garden is, at least, four generations behind the very ‘easy eating’ Israeli cultivars, and
is most unpleasant on the teeth, unless caught during its ‘halcyon’ ripe time
(around thirty minutes once per annum). This tree is subject to ‘Pollarding’
each year and the trunk becomes a most satisfactory support for Clematis and
Rambling Roses.
 |
| Pollarded Diosperos |
As it’s ‘St.Valentine’s
Day’ tomorrow must decide the order of preference for seeds in the propagator.
Doesn’t time fly? Seems only yesterday that this was being done last year, or
is it just that ‘Age’ makes each year feel shorter?
 |
| HAPPY VALENTINE! |
There’s the bell - coffee will be most welcome as the mist is
returning and with it a considerable reduction in temperature. Would find it difficult to keep going if it
was not for the ‘Pampering’ of the Head Gardener.
Must dash, see you
soon,
Stuart.
No comments:
Post a Comment