an untended bounty

I had always imagined that a vegetable garden needed constant attention for it to thrive, so my spring efforts were somewhat of an experiment, knowing full well that I would be absent for a good three months at the start of the growing season.    I had diligently planted a whole array of seeds and seedlings before my departure, tucking them in with a good layer of mulch and through the wonders of modern technology, 3 minutes of water each morning through fifty meters or so of leaky hose.

From the cool of the UK I watched the weather maps as a heat wave passed overhead, temperatures frequently reaching the mid 30’s and several weeks without a drop of rain.  Would my tiny quantity of irrigation be adequate?  Had the sun fried everything to a crisp?  would the deer have found a bounty of tender shoots and ravaged everything in site?  I could only wait and see.

Prior to my return, the weather had broken and a series of storms had passed over the region giving everything (left?) a good dousing.  The weather continued to be warm, but the excessive heat had passed for the time being.

Wow, what a wonderful surprise.  I strimmed my way towards the vegetable beds, clearing the thigh length grass and weeds as I went, to be greeted by an a bountiful array.  There was a massive carpet of squash and pumpkin leaves reaching the length of the plot, numerous orange and red mounds protruding through the greenery.  Spires of swiss chard thrusting up through the weedy undergrowth, hints of beetroot leaves poking through - the tenderest, sweetest beetroot that I have tasted in an age, large as a fist and without a blemish in sight.  They had sheltered well under the weedy layer.  The french bean seeds had germinated, done their thing and plump pods of semi dried beans awaited harvest.  They will do well for soups and stews later on.  A second sowing followed immediately and are now flowering several weeks on.  The lettuce had thrived and produced great flower heads of fluffy seed that was caught and blown by the breeze, I’ll not have to sow lettuce again for a while I imagine.  Four tiny tomato seedlings, had decided to stay too, planted the size of a match stick and abandoned, I hadn’t imagined for a moment anything would come of them.  Left to their own devices, without support or training, they had spread wildly, crossing paths and scrambling through the current bushes.  Garlands of green tomatoes nestled in the foliage, here and there with the faintest hint of red.  Again, they have continued well, providing a bountiful crop for over a month, unfortunately recently hit by blight after a few wet weeks, the remaining crop has been immediately transformed into jars of chutney.

There are varieties that are missing in action.  No carrots, new zealand spinach or parsnips.  I imagine that they either didn’t germinate or got crowded out by the weeds.  Many seeds need frequent watering till they become established in a garden situation, others may have been discovered by the birds, slugs, snails or smothered by mulch.  

Now that the bulk of the weeds have been cleared.  More accurately I should say reduced, a few late starters are emerging.  Not surprising really as the dense weed layer was at least waist high in places.  Brassicas are taking up the challenge and forging ahead, I remember last year, they did very little till the cool of the autumn arrived, then forged ahead to produce admirable.  It looks as if we’re heading the same way this year.  Curly kale, savoy cabbage, hopefully brussel sprouts here we come.  I say hopefully, as my random line free planting doesn’t allow for easy labeling, so it’s a case of wait and see.

As the season progresses I keep sowing a few more seeds, tucking in a few more transplants of things for later on.  It’s a never ending process, cultivating food, harvests need to continue for as long a time as possible and with as much variety as can be achieved.  The variables are enormous so it’s always an exciting challenge.

When I find the lead to connect my camera I’ll post some photos and you’ll see the transformation over the last few months.  It’s great to be back to see what has been occurring in my absence.  

Elsewhere the weeds have grown and it almost looked like it did when I first bought the property.  This time, however, it’s quick strim to get the place back into some sort of order.  Those back breaking hours of bramble root chasing certainly paid off.  I’d certainly recommend taking the time to dig out that knobbly bit of root where all the bramble stems spring from, as opposed to just strimming the stems back, relentlessly for years and years.

two months away

Wow, that was over to months ago, my last posting.  I did go to the UK, I spent a wonderful month visiting family and friends, catching up with folk and generally escaping the worst of the wet, cold weather here and waiting for the spring to commence so that I can get on with planting and more clearing work.

On my return I brought with me a ‘flu like no other I have ever experienced.  It really knocked me for six.  I spent the better part of two weeks in bed, mainly aseep and toe following ten days or so on a very slow recovery.  I am pretty much fit and well now, happy that it was only ‘flu rather than anything more serious, but things like that certainly bring home the fact that we are not invincible and that change can arrive without warning in any manner of guises.

I am hugely grateful to my neighbour, Heather, who packed me off to bed in her big warm house and told me I was welcome to stay as long as necessary to get me back on my feet and well enough to resume my camping lifestyle.  She’s let me be, not fussing or bothering overly, but giving me the space and time to recover under my own steam, insisting that I do less than I wanted to during the early days so as not to cause a downturn in progress yet making sure that all was well.  It’s been a resounding success.

This last few days I have been up to strength, albeit with shorter days, and have tested my abilities by helping out around the garden here, doing a bit of pruning and planting twelve fruit trees in the orchard area of Heather’s garden.  All has faired well and now I am back on my land attacking knee high weeds in th vegetable garden and planning what to sow first, where and how.  

Do I go for direct planting in my heavy soil, probably with a bit of soil improvement, or into pots first, with the extra challenge of transplanting and watering issues later on in the season.  I’ll probably do a mixture of both, just to be sure.  The sun is shining again and the soil surface is dry enough to produce a fine tilth.  Better get on with it now before it hardens to rock or becomes a soggy mess again if it rains.

mini digging

Tomorrow has come and gone for nearly a month ( I change the blog dates so that they are just about accurate to when things happen) and I have a quick chance, once again, to catch up on blogging.

Simon and I have just spent two days playing with a mini digger, day 1, heavy rain showers and blustery rain, proper November weather, but we got on with the task in hand anyway.  You really can’t sit around, especially when there is a machine on hire that is costing a small fortune every day.

Day 2, as if summer was back, well nearly, blue skies and warm sunshine, just the ticket to lay pipes and backfill as many of the trenches as possible whilst the machine was with us.

We got just about everything finished, save all the joints and construction of an inspection chamber for the isolation valves which will go near the water meter.  The system is devised so that the garden sections can be turned off during the winter to lessen the chance of frozen pipes, whilst the (future) house and chalet can be supplied or isolated as necessary.  

At the same time we installed a pipe to transfer saved rainwater from the chalet to the garden, saving countless trips with a watering can or strimmed surface pipes hidden in the undergrowth in later years.  

Whilst digging it seemed sensible to lay a conduit for a phone line, directly to the chalet with the possibility of branching off towards the house when needed.  

The place is a bit of a mess superficially, but it’ll soon grow back and hopefully it’s the final time that this area of the property will need to be disturbed in such a manner.  The big disruption and earthworks is yet to come.......... next year with any luck.

trenching to the garden for water and phone cables

Add caption

the mini digger makes quick work of it

refilled as far as we could go

water to the door.  Thankfully the trench is now filled in

 I continue a month later with this same post........

And then I was hit by a virulent head cold.  A week after all the digging, I attempted to continue with the water works, feeling somewhat groggy in the head.  The first task was to dig out space for an inspection chamber near the water meter.  Easy I thought, ten minutes with a spade and it’ll be done.  Two minutes later with water spraying everywhere, I manage to slice through the last remaining length of active pipe much closer to the meter than I had planned.  Thankfully the water was easy to turn off.

Minutes later, whilst attempting to continue with the same task, I break the concrete surround by hitting it with said same spade.  Bad head, slight mal co-ordination, it’s obviously not the ideal time to be attempting even vaguely technical work.  I have a cup of tea and write myself a large note that has stayed on the table for nearly three weeks.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TECHNICAL TASKS UNTIL YOU’R HEAD IS BACK TO NORMAL. YOU’LL ONLY BREAK THINGS OR MUCK IT UP.

I listened to my advice and am still in the throws of finishing the last of the technical part of this task now, in mid December.  It’s been interesting even with a clear head and fully functioning brain.  Missing parts, difficult, drippy joints that needed redoing several times, cold, uncooperative pipework, all add to the challenge.  A good job done, something that will (should) last the duration, without having to be revisited during later stages of the build.

about one year since I discovered my plot and nothing much has changed to the buildings

minimizing soil erosion

Stabilizing the bank.  Theory into practice.

There is just a bank of solid, dry clay, with a scattering of loose lumps of soil over the surface.  Just walking on the surface causes mini landslides so I can only imagine what would happen if there was a torrential downpour.

Before the work started, the slope was much steeper but solidly held together with a strong network of interwoven roots from trees, bushes and undergrowth.  Additionally, the vegetation provided a covering blanket, gently breaking the fall of hurtling raindrops, cushioning their impact and minimising their destructive action on the surface of the soil.  By the time the water reached the soil it was either as a fine mist of slowly trickling down the stems and trunks of plants in a gentle manner, giving the soil time to soak it in.

This I needed to replicate quickly.

The mini terraces provide plentiful flat areas which will stop the flow of water from becoming too large.  If a trickle starts to flow it will have be slowed or stopped at each terrace, allowing it to be absorbed by the earth.  LIttle landslides will be halted before they gather speed and weight.  They also provide places for autumn leaves to gather and wild seeds to germinate

To encourage the network of roots immediately I have planted broad beans, which are normally planted in autumn.  They will germinate quickly and begin to hold the soil together, the shoots will rise, providing the start of a cushioning layer of vegetation.  In addition, they are legumes, the one family of plants that take nitrogen from the air and transforms it into nodules on their roots, available for soil microbes and eventually other plants to use.  Nitrogen is needed by all plants to produce chlorophyll (the green) and is an essential nutrient for plant life.  I have also planted mustard, cheap and easily cast over the ground, it’ll die off in the winter, but not before sprouting a decent root network and some greenery.  All good news for reestablishing a humus layer for future plants to root into.

There was also that bag of seeds that has been hanging in the van for the last year, getting heavier and heavier.  All the seeds I have collected from hedgerows and gardens around Britain and France.  In a moment of abandon they too all got sown on this bank, so who knows what it’ll look like in a few years time.

Immediately after sowing the seeds, I covered the whole area with a decent layer of partially composted weedy clippings.  The easiest thing to hand and another contribution to soil regeneration.  It will also provide a cushioning effect for any rain that falls before the plants have time to get going.  

Then. as a protection for it all a three to four inch layer of straw. This is the final layer for this side of winter, though there is an additional bale of straw (a big round one) at the ready, should gaps appear, or the wind become strong enough to blow away what is already there.  Amazingly, it all seems to hold together really well and now that there has been some gentle rain, it shouldn’t be going anywhere.

verdant green self protecting slope

bare, erosion ready earthworks in need of protection

mini terracing immediately stop the tiny landslides from getting bigger

plant roots will help stabilize the soil and the compost mulch will
cushion the falling rain

a decent layer of straw to keep it all together, regulate the  humidity of
the soil and keep of the drying rays of the sun

A week later as I write this post, there has been a torrential downpour with no obvious consequences, the mustard has sprouted and is showing green through the thinner areas of straw and along the bare lower slopes and all the wild plants that I put aside have been tucked back in and are looking fine.

new drive II

Bertrand and Lionel returned as promised and laid a white carpet of felted geotextile membrane.  THis will stop the mud lifting through the stones and keep the stones from drifting downwards into the soil.  It looked almost too clean and neat to cover with stones but it disappeared soon enough with the first four cubic metres of stone.  They spread it with the digger whilst the lorry headed off for the second load.  Three hours later it was all done, or so they thought.  I was encouraged to get the van and give my new drive a go.

I rounded the corner, with slight apprehensiveness and started to climb.  The corner was tight but achievable, but I didn’t start with enough speed.  I stalled, then dropped back to give it another go, foot down, the wheels spun in the stones digging an impressive hole.  OOps. I dropped back again and realigned Percy managing to overcome the slope and get to the top without further problem.   After much gesticulating and tutting it was decided that the campervan was rather heavy and had a long wheelbase - yes, I could have told them that in the first place.  On top of that it’s turning circle (I forget the french for that) was rather pathetic.  Yes, I know that too.  So all was not good, they had a little discussion and came up with a proposition.  To acquire some tarmac and add a thin layer to the bottom of the drive, just enough to take in the worst of the corner and give traction till the wheels had time to straighten out again.  They’d head off and have a look on Monday, but it would cost another hundred or so euros.  I agreed and they went off home for the weekend.  

About twenty minutes later as I was busy with the terraces again, leveling the soil and positioning some plants to go in, Bertrand and Lionel come hurtling up the road in a pick up, overshoot and reverse straight back onto the drive.  They had come across a highway team, some of Lionel’s colleagues (from his real job) with just enough fresh warm tarmac to do the job and they were finishing for the day,  what an opportunity, not to be missed.  They got on with spreading it out and rolling in into the gravel sub-base just as promised.  The roller hadn’t yet been collected thankfully.   It looked rather smart and a bit over the top for a rural driveway, but if it does the trick I’ll be a happy man.

“Leave it a few days, and water it well” I was told.  It’s a new formulation with ‘eco’ oil products in it, whatever they are.  It was sticky and moved about under foot, so I vowed not to abuse it for a week and continue to do my turning round up the road just till it is right solid.  We had a beer to celebrate and they went away again, happier that they had completed the job in it’s entirety and confident that they’d done the best they could.  Fair play to a bit of later evening work on a Friday in the land or rules and can’t do’s.

it's going to change the landscape fast, that one 

before spoil

after spoil

overnight, with Percy in the background

it feels so bare and open

stabilizing in progress

new driveway

beautifully green, but steep and virtually inaccessible

not to be attempted in less than a 4x4

Earlier in the summer I got some quotes to improve the drive access to my property is it was rather steep and at an angle too tight to negotiate from one direction for even the nimblist of cars, I doubt even a London cab could have taken the turn.  Quote chosen, it was then suggested that I arrange for someone from the water company to come and mark where the mains pipes go so that they don’t get damaged during the excavations.  We’re talking 20 - 30 cubic metres of soil movement here.  That was easy, an engineer was on site by the time I’d returned from the offices via the market and he took several hours to be sure that he was marking the right place.  The pipes in question come straight from the reservoir on the hill and supply three or four neighbouring villages.  I would not have been popular if there had been any disruption to supply.  Thankfully the pipes are well out of the way and I asked that the company come to do the work.

They had suggested two days of work with digger, tractor and trailer, a couple of lorry loads of stone chippings and all would be done.  But when would they come to do it?  

By chance, on the Tuesday afternoon, hours after I had returned from two weeks away, they popped by to look at the pipe markings.  Happy with what they saw, we agreed that work would proceed on Thursday and Friday of that week and they went away.

All of a sudden I to decide what I could do in preparation as I knew they would just rip everything out with the bulldozer and I would be left with a couple of hundred metres of bare clayey soil.  All the plants, trees and shrubs would end up in a big pile with the disguarded earth and it would take ages for it to settle afterwards.  Much better to get rid or save as much all I could and leave them with a clear area to work with.

My other tasks went by the by as I hurriedly sawed down trees, by hand, that might serve as firewood, haul away old decaying branches and timber for compost, soil improvement and insect hotels.  I dug out crates of wild plants, wild strawberries, lungwort, ferns, geraniums, iris, violets, dead nettle and thirty or so smallish hedging plants and tucked them away in the shade for later.  I worked till dark that Tuesday and again all the next day, dismantling my newly erected letter box and getting everything as sorted as I could before the carnage began.

Sure enough at 07:15 on Thursday morning, just at first light, the digger arrived and I managed to squeeze Percy out before it was too late.  He spent two nights next door out of the way as the digger worked it’s magic and the tractor and trailer carted load after load of soil to the other side of the property.  Thankfully I had somewhere easy for it to be tipped and I made the most use of the earth moving opportunities with the big machinery on site.  Two loads of topsoil await spreading by the chalet to level off the ground and make it more usable in the long term.  A large mound, of topsoil again, to supplement raised beds in the veggie area and two large loads of the cleanest, crumbliest, clay we could get, put to one side in readiness for my wall renders.  There’s nothing like making the most of an opportunity, it can sit there, under it’s tarp for the next year or so and be ready to mix when it comes to constructing the house walls.  The rest of the spoil, tree stumps and all have gone over the bank at the back, roughly leveled with the giant machine then shoveled and raked by my own fair hand in readiness for sowing with seed.  I’m not sure how it’ll work as there’s little top soil to be seen, though I sprinkled on a good quantity of grass and clover seed to see what happens, then as an after thought, just to get it green again, a couple of packets of radish.  If they do well I’ll have plenty till the weather turns and then possibly even enough seed for resowing next year.  Too late really, I know, but it’s rather worth a chance.

In a day the heavy work was done.  It took several discussions and a bit of insistence to get almost exactly what I wanted, which wasn’t bad in my book after hearing some of the stories people tell.  I think it’ll stand me in good stead, to have used a french company, as the two guys know everyone in the neighbourhood and one of them is in charge of the team that looks after the road that goes passed the end of my drive.  

I was right, there were several hundred square metres of bare earth, much on a steep slope, with rain clouds threatening in the distance.  The guys stopped for the day and went home, gravel on order for delivery after lunch the following day.  I swung into action, with the aim of stabilizing the steepest of the slope before it was washed into the road by the threatening rain.  I hauled old beams and lintels from the other side of the garden, crafted pegs out of broken pallet pieces and set too creating a series of mini terraces.  By nightfall the most precipitous slope was secured at the most basic level.  The overnight rain was light and there were no major landslides so following morning I continued hauling timbers from about the site and pegging them to the slope until, by lunchtime, it started to resemble a grandstand at a sports field.  The first stage of stabilizing done.  

work in progress

an easier slope and a gentler corner 

the end of day one

that's going to wash away if it rains, for sure