16TH FEBRUARY 2017 – CENTRAL PORTUGAL.
The first stirrings of spring could be felt this
morning on the Belvedere. After six weeks of very cold and lately, very wet
weather, there was a gentle, almost warm zephyr playing across the tree tops in
the valley. Tulips are well up and buds are ‘plumptious’ on the fruit trees in
the orchard. The unusually cold temperatures, accompanied by sharp frost in
January, have held back the early blossoms on the Damascus apricot and almond
trees, so there may be a chance that the glorious and colourful show of
flowers, now expected in February, will be fallen upon with gusto and
fertilised by the awakening bees.
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| Hoping for blossom like this again this spring |
After two extremely poor fruit seasons, due to early
flowering and little fertilisation, among all the fruit varieties, a bumper
crop will be most welcome in the coming months. The deluge of the last couple
of weeks has done little to alleviate the water shortage. There has been little
consistent precipitation since last May, so most wells are very low and the
reservoirs are almost empty. Maybe this is a good time to start planning for a
minimum water requirement planting strategy? Last year the use of tubs and
‘lagoon’ beds reduced the water consumption by around 40%. Careful conservation
measures could possibly improve on this figure by a further 25%. (That’s 50% of
usual, not 65% reduction).
The enormous olive groves in the Alentejo are fully
irrigated, delivering around one litre per tree per day. With this in mind, it must be possible to
minimise the daily watering of tubs and pots in the garden. The use of hose
pipes always exacerbates the problem, as water delivery is so easy. Using a
watering can of known capacity allows a degree of control (the carrying effort
from the tap also persuades the delivery to be on the parsimonious side of
excess).
So, the lazy days of winter are over, planning
complete. Now is the time for action. Digging, fertilising, hoeing the seed
beds and planting. Covering the ground with ‘cloches’ or black plastic sheeting
will quickly dissipate the insipient cold in the soil. A few days of sunshine
will increase the surface temperature under the covers by a least 10degrees and,
with the day time temperatures now reaching around 15degrees, most seeds will
start to stir.
The cut back Chilli plants are ready to be fed and
mulched (most varieties of Chilli produce better crops in their second and
third year so should not be treated as an annual and grown from seed each year,
also brings the crop forward by six weeks).
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| Piri piri plant, just before the onset of winter - should be reviving again very soon |
Still far too early for tomatoes,
aubergines but sweet peppers can be dealt with in the same manner as the Chilli
plants. Leeks, if not overwintered, can be planted now, together with the early
crop of potatoes and broad beans. Portuguese used to plant their broad beans in
November for a late February early march crop, but with the recent few years of
adverse weather conditions in the Beiras, they tend to wait until the middle of
February. For those with greenhouses or other protection against the cold
nights, most of those annual seeds can now be sown. If not successful, there is
plenty of time to try again and if it works, the seedlings will have a head
start.
All the fruit trees and shrubs need attention now. Remove
all damaged growth back to a viable bud, fork around the trunk or stem, apply
your choice of feed and mulch. To prolong its benefit to the plant, remember
more mature trees should have the feed distributed in a circle approximately
one metre from the trunk for the most effective results.
There are lovely - and some unexpected - spring flowers around in the flower garden.
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| A few precious snowdrops - not usually grown in this part of the world |
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| A beautiful shy Hellibore |
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| Mini cyclamen in a shady pot |
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| Totally out of season nasturtum! |
So enjoy the stunning Spring mornings. Is there
anything better than a lung full of sparkling fresh air just after dawn? This,
followed mid morning by the Head Gardeners coffee, makes life complete as the
new growing year progresses.
Talking of coffee, there goes the bell,
must dash,
see you soon,
Stuart.
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