SO - THE HARVESTING BEGINS!

24th JUNE - CENTRAL PORTUGAL

Surfeit of cucumbers, eighteen plants producing one cucumber per day – result large quantity. Currently the menu is cucumber with everything or on a more genteel  basis ‘What would you like with your cucumber’. Very healthy diet of Cucumber Soup (hot or cold, better cold); Cucumber salads (with green peppers as these have  become reckless in their daily supply), Cucumber Sandwiches (about to contact Buckingham Palace and enquire if it would be permitted to quote for next garden party), stuffed cucumbers (no suggestions as to where and with what) – note from Head Gardener ‘Plant less Cucumbers next year’. Will the balance ever be struck?  Still have Chillis from 2014 and frozen Courgettes from 2013!

Mostly cucumbers - with a few courgettes, green and the wonderfully flavoursome Violette beans (see below)

  

The singularly magnificent weather of the last weeks has encouraged growth and fruiting in every quarter of the garden. The first plums will be ready to pick next week; enjoyed the apricot (yes one only, but it is the Damascus variety and the tree has been very upset during the past months). Raspberries must be now picked daily in competition with the birds (tried nets but only caught the HG). Strawberries keep a steady supply (saving a few exceptional specimens to eat whilst watching Andy Murray win Wimbledon next week). Have consumed all the Haricots Verts - very tasty but small crop this year due to sudden heat (day time temperature last week soared to 38 degrees plus and remained in the high twenties most nights). Both the green and purple runner beans now on line, masses of flowers but heat certainly minimises the setting of  the beans.

Aubergines and Sweet Peppers are spectacular, with Courgettes and Patty Pans on course for a bumper season (just water and feed). The F1 Cristal Tomatoes are currently setting their sixth truss ( average eight tomatoes per truss with eight plants, should have 75 kilos of fruit), the Sweet Baby variety are now setting tomatoes (each truss around twenty five fruits) and the old work horse ‘Money Maker’ is enjoying the competition from these modern ingenus.

Geraniums are full of flower and colour, have even managed to persuade the Ivy Leaf varieties to grow like they do in the window boxes in the Austrian Tirol. The secret seems to be continual watering and feeding, accompanied by a the daily inspection of a comely ‘Haus Frau’.(HG redoing splendid work in this department).

Just a selection of geraniums - demand for cuttings is high!

Dahlias are uninhibited in their flowering glory; Fuchsia flowers are undulating in the gentle evening zephyrs; Petunias are amazing, Buddleia is majestic and Roses just keep going.

Roses all the way

Pink and white dahlias backed by white buddleia

Simply Buddleias - heaven for butterflies and other insects

The high temperatures, lack of rain and wall to wall sunshine are nature’s way of controlling the weeds and the growth of grass in the orchard - just a little reciprocation to the hard pressed gardeners for all their efforts throughout the year.

There goes the Bell, fluids being supplied not only to the plants in this heat. Off for the HG’s coffee and who knows what else?

Must dash, see you soon,

Stuart.

EVERYTHING'S COMING UP FRUIT!

14TH  JUNE CENTRAL PORTUGAL

Two or three days of summer rain are a relief after the weeks of sunshine and have removed the immediate portents of drought. (Not so bad in the ‘Beiras’ but becoming serious in the Alentejo and Algarve). Temperatures have dropped from the mid ‘30’s last week to a gentle low ‘20’s now, so all the plants are regrouping for a further sprint when the sun returns next Tuesday. (General opinion of all four forecasting sites consulted).

Started spraying the Tomatoes already against the dreaded ‘Blight’- might say ‘Blight Resistant’ on the packet but don’t be led astray by optimistic marketing by the Seed Merchants copy writers. (They, like the seeds, are all ‘F1 Hybrids’ and don’t always come true). Even during this uneasy period of doubt the fruit (yes ‘Fruit’ - tomatoes are not vegetables, even if the ‘Supermarkets’ think so) on the various Tomato varieties under cultivation, is amazingly profuse this year; not red yet but could certainly muster a few kilos of green chutney already. This year’s feeding regime of horse manure to start, followed by nitrogen rich rabbit droppings, and topped up weekly by a light scattering of the blue balls from the Co-Operativa, has created an unusual eco-chemical programme that will possibly offend all the various aesthetic gardening factions, but certainly suits the recipient plants. (Maybe should consider this a ‘Vote of Confidence’ by the most important parties in the debate).

Tomatoes and two kinds of Basil (wonderful eaten together)

Soon to be ripe Tomatoes

The Cucumbers that were massively profuse with both male and female flowers, but seemed to be of a ‘non-mating persuasion’, have suddenly found the profound benefit of fertilisation and are producing vast quantities of fruit. (Perhaps the  feed of rabbit droppings has had the desired effect. The adage that ‘Nothing breeds like Rabbits’ may have passed through the system).The seeds from Lidl - ‘Chinese Slangen’ and ‘Konsa’ - are well ahead of Mr.Fothergill’s ‘Marketmore 76’.

Cucumbers well on the way now - too many as usual!

Courgettes are having a field day. ‘Grissette de Provence’ are well ahead of the pack (picking six per day and already looking for recipes),’Golden Zucchine’ and ‘Black Beauty’ have flowers and small fruit, ‘Soleil F1 Hybrid’ still playing the ‘Prima Donna’, lots of leaf and no flowers yet but still time to demonstrate its credentials. The various colours of  Patty Pans are hiding their fruit with massive leaves ready to surprise with ‘Pie’ shaped progeny in a couple of weeks.

The first of the golden courgettes

Grissette courgette 

The huge leaves of the patty pan courgettes

Raspberries giving a ‘tea cup’ of fruit per day (long may this last) and the Strawberries in their raised troughs are really starting to make a daily contribution to the ‘table’. ‘Blueberries’ slow to turn blue - maybe waiting for a few cold nights.

raspberries just keep going

Aubergines have fruit, but still small, and numerous flowers (bees visiting hourly from my talented Neighbour’s hives). Sweet Peppers are full of flower and have their initial fruits forming. (These are strange plants as they always seem to wait for a precocious flower to fertilise and grow before the rest decide to emulate) and Chillis still struggling.

First baby aubergine

and the first sweet pepper

Apple trees are still full of swelling fruit (so looks like good crop later). Peaches growing fast and Plum trees are heavy with ‘Pigeon Egg’ sizes fruit getting ready for a July harvest. Olive blossom has passed and the embryonic olives are visible. Will have a decent crop in October, if the thunderstorms restrain themselves for another couple of weeks. (Last year everything looked set for a  splendid harvest  after massive blossom, but all wiped out in mid June by a 50mm in one hour storm which totally de-nuded the trees).

Lots of apples this year

peaches coming on well

young fruit on the yellow plum tree

Dahlias, Petunias, Geraniums, Roses are all behaving well .(Keep feeding weekly to keep them going)  This seems a very good year for Fuchsias and with the  trailing begonias, all seem ready for potentially a superb display. (See previous post!)

Also showing signs of fruit - pomegranate, and a lone apricot!

pomegranate forming and lots more flowers

One and only apricot on the tree!

The Head Gardener’s Basil is looking very ready for Summer salads and evening pastas, so ‘Brownie Points’ gained will ensure continued coffee supply in the coming months. Just awaiting the Bell - bit chilly in the current grey drizzle.

Well - there it goes,

Must dash,

See you soon,

Stuart.

JUST FLOWERS

10th JUNE - PORTUGAL DAY - THE HEAD GARDENER'S INDULGENCE!
 FLOWERS IN THE GARDEN TODAY

CLEMATIS

DAHLIAS

FUSCHSAS

GERANIUMS

PETUNIAS

AND THE REST!

See you again soon
Head Gardender!

SUN AND SATISFACTION!

3RD JUNE 2015 - CENTRAL PORTUGAL 

Sunshine and more sunshine, could this be a summer to remember?

The Catalpa trees, in their full glory of pale mauve and white flowers, are affording the necessary shade to the ‘Veg’ terrace.

Catalpas shading the vegetable garden

 The general progress here over the past weeks has be truly phenomenal; beans, both ‘runner’ and ‘dwarf’ are full of flower and are already starting to crop (dwarf ‘Haricot Vert’ cooked ‘al dente’ and smothered in butter can challenge asparagus for culinary honours when served with new potatoes and gently poached salmon). 

Dwarf beans

  

Runner beans

Tomatoes are in full production (be about three weeks before the first are picked),Cristal F1 the fully Blight Free contender has well formed fruit to the third truss and lots of flower growing above this forming fruit (doing what it said on the packet and are free of all Pest and Viral disease so far, fingers crossed) Sweet Baby are in flower, Money Maker growing away with Bankers' abandon and the assorted colours (Black, Yellow and Red) of the Cherry varieties are looking good for a July cropping.

Various tomato plants

Tomatoes with basil - a perfect combination

Sweet Peppers (green, yellow and long reds) are in flower with first fruits forming. Aubergines are full of their lovely mauve flowers and the leaves have developed thorns so fruit is about to commence growing (always feel the magnificence of their glossy deep purple fruit globes is never pertinent to their  often disappointing flavour). Cucumbers are rampant, covered in both male female flowers but lacking in fertility as still no fruit. Have put up signs to persuade my Amazingly Talented Neighbour’s Bees to arrive ‘en-masse’ to alleviate the currently non-fertile situation.

First flowers on the aubergines

The cucumber bed

Courgettes are coming into flower and the first fruit has formed on Grisette de Provence (Vive La France), Soleil F1 and Black Beauty in close pursuit with Striaito di Napoli having a Ferrari moment (i.e. not doing well so far this season). All the Patty Pans, yellow, white and pale green are thriving and should start producing during June.

Courgette - Grisette de Provence - just starting

The rotationally planted (ten new plants every fortnight) Lettuce bed now has six different varieties growing. Currently eating Green Oak Leaf and Flame, this system keeps the Head Gardener very happily supplied with lettuce twelve months of each year (rewarded by constant supply of coffee when summoned by the Bell). 

The lettuce bed

Planting of Chillis much reduced this year due to over-supply last season(freezer still full), growing Piri Piri, Cherry Bomb, Cayenne and Paper Lantern - they seem to have overcome the shame of their relegation to a small raised bed and one tub. Look to the results in September.

The new Raspberry bed has proved a great success, providing a constant, if limited, supply of fruit each day. Strawberries on the new Belvedere raised trough garden are flourishing, also producing a daily supply of fruit from the four different varieties being cultivated (will discard the least profuse plants at the end of the season a concentrate next year on the two ‘Champions’).

Ripe Rspberries

BIG Strawberry

Roses are amazing. The Rambling Rector (White multi flora rambling), is sensational. The Tea roses did well at the very successful and extremely well organised Beira Grass Roots Garden Festival last week and are continuing to bloom as only roses can. Dahlias (back in fashion after this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, never realised they had become 'non U’) are starting to perform in purple, yellow, pink, white, claret and orange etc. With daily watering and weekly feeding should perform well until late October. Fuchsias are super yet again.

A lot of roses

A lot of Dahlias

A few fuchsias

Lemons are rather good just now - the trees produce the basis of a good Gin and Tonic for most of the year.  The perpetual (fruit and flowers together all year) is, as usual, full of fruit, and the main crop variety Lisbon will have fruit for at least six months. The other variety grown (in a tub as it is delicate) Meyer, is almost perpetual, having flower and green fruit throughout the year; but in  June and July the fruit turn yellow. The flavour is very intense and the zest is often used in perfume.

The Meyer Lemon Tree

Then there are the Petunias and Begonias -

Waterfall begonia with Impatiens (Busy Lizzie)

Masses of Surfinia Petunias

pictures tell their own story!.

head Gardener very proud of this Yucca flower

That sounds like the HG’s bell, thank goodness. It’s getting a bit hot, even under the shade of the Catalpas. 

Yes it is the Bell - must dash before dehydration sets in.

See you soon,

Stuart.