Coping with the heat in your garden

How is everyone managing in the garden now we are having day after day of searing heat.

Our whole veggie plot is looking particularly sad. No matter how much you water the plants are suffering in the intense heat. The soil is dry and lifeless.

Our French neighbour says the biggest problem is the difference in the temperatures between day and night.He also said that most French people were expecting a bad year due to the phases of the moon in 2016.
I have written about lunar planting before both on my blog and on my website... and having just been for a birthday treat to the Astrofarm  at Confolens, where I spent a day...and night...learning about Astronomy..I am more and more convinced it is correct. Of course it's not just planting...Its the whole gardening thing...planting, transplanting, cutting back and composting   It's a whole science in itself.
Following it can certainly do no harm.


JULY is a busy time in the garden ..most of your produce is going to be ready and you need to do something with it. Its not a job you can put off otherwise your produce will be OFF by the time you get round to it,  As well as enjoying it fresh from the garden...and believe me there's nothing nicer than just stepping out of the kitchen door to pick what you need....fresh and full of nutrition... how are you going to preserve what you have grown.



POTATOES...

. they can be stored in a cool dry place...perhaps in a hessian sack.  You have  to be very stringent and check each one for any signs of damage, green bits or anything else that means the potato will not store well. Not only will that potato go off but all the rest will too.

This week I have  dug up all of my potatoess as the heat has just burned off the tops and they will not grow any more.  I have individually wrapped in paper a batch and put them in  a cool place in the garage.These will get used first.
The rest I have blanched aand frozen in 2 person portion sizes....some for boiling and some for deep frying..
I am once again disappointed with the Binjte potatoes...they are certainly not the large ones expected. I will try a different variety next years. The poor crop means I only have about a 6 month supply. Any recommendations  for good big potatoes.

Also ready this week were the beetroot, garlic and onions.
The beetroot has been cooked and frozen in batches of slices and quarters and I have also made the usual beetroot chutney.

Garlic has been plaited

 and I am using the onions straight from the ground.



The taste of tomatoes fresh from the garden is unbeatable.....you will not enjoy the watery tasteless ones from the supermarket after having your own.
Lots of lovely salad dishes and recipes to use these in...also prepare them for fresh tomato sauce to use in pastas

so easy to make....chopped tomatoes, fresh basil, onions, garlic salt and pepper and a tablespoon of sugar.
Throw it all in the pan and cook till soft then whizz it up.
If you do not have a pressure canner then its best to freeze it as there is a lack of preservative in the mix to be able to to just bottle it without treatment.
Unlike chutneys and jams which have sugar to preserve them..foods like tomatoes and vegetables need particular attention. Check out a good preserving site...there is  high risk of botulism if not preserved in the correct way.

For more information on recipes and preserving check out my website which I am updating at regular intervals. ..livingwellforlessincharente.wordpress.com

LAVENDER BISCUITS

LAVENDER

Lavender is not only useful as a natural fragrance in your home or for making lavender bags for your wardrobe.....it's great to cook with.

Try....LAVENDER BISCUITS

You will need...

2 teaspoons of washed and dried fresh lavender flowers

125 g butter

100 g caster sugar

one egg

150 g self raising flour

heat oven to gas 3

Cream together sugar and butter.

Slowly add egg a little at a time beating well in between...if it begins to curdle add a little of the flour

fold in the flour and flowers

Put  teaspoon size dollops on a baking tray  that is covered with waxed baking paper.

They spread so not too close together.

Bake for about 15 mins

as a variation grate in a little lemon rind

Keeping busy in July in Charente

July is a very busy month for us gardeners.

They say that if you want something done you should ask a busy person.

The busier I am the more I seem to be able to do. I admit that I am at my happiest when I have a number of things on the go and I go to bed a tired happy bunny.

I am a great list maker ...sometimes I even make lists of lists......sad I know....anyway while having my morning lemon juice I write down everything I HAVE to do, everything I HOPE to do and everything I WOULD LIKE. To do.

Of course HAVE TO'S ...HAVE TO be done.They are always top of the list.
As for the rest....well...
The list is a like a never ending story.

As well as always adding to the list there are some jobs you just keep putting off because they are not very appealing even though you know you have to do them sometime.
Also STUFF just seems to get in the way...

Sometimes GOOD stuff ...like the day we sold our table. we got on like a house on fire with the couple who came to buy it so 2 and a 1/2 hours and a few coffees later we realised that the mornings work was out of the window. Love it!
Sometimes BAD. Stuff like the morning we could hear funny noises in the kitchen and discovered we hadn't shut the freezer door properly and everything was defrosting all over the floor. Looking on  the bright side I did get the floor washed!

I wonder if there is anyone so well organised that they actually do everything on their  daily list ?

As I write this now I have several things that appear daily on my list. We still haven't tiled the shower ...on the list since April. Moving the banana tree.....too late now and will have to wait till next year.

Priorities for me are the fruit and veg . That's what is going to keep us fed over the winter.
So top of the daily list is checking what is ready and needs picked, weeding around the plants and looking out for any bugs and diseases.
July is also a busy time to "recolte"  ....collect all your produce....then comes all the preparation, freezing preserve making.
July is the start of most of your first planting being ready for harvesting...beetroot, potatoes, onions as well as strawberries, raspberries and courgettes.

Round courgettes are very popular in France . Courgette farcie as well as tomatoe farcie is a french favourite. Farcie just means stuffed so you can use whatever you like...sausage meat, minced beef, Mediterranean vegetables, mushrooms....that's the great thing with farcies you can use whatever you have.

Harvesting has been a little later for me this year due to the rain. The rain this year has been both a help and a hindrance. The celery, onions and beetroot have thrived but the potatoes are not very happy. The tomatoes,peppers and cucumbers are craving sunshine. It will be another few weeks before we will be enjoying these.

The raspberries are happily growing wildly!!
At the start of the season   the daily collection  of rasps, blackcurrants and blueberries usually isn't enough for a dessert that day so they go straight into the freezer in my mixed berry box to use for in the winter. Just open freeze them for a few hours and then put them in a container.

In Charente, this year blight problems are hitting both potatoes and tomatoes. Not only has the sale of Bordelaise rocketed there have been reports of it being sold out in many garden centres so treating them is this way has not been possible for those who couldn't get any.

My potatoes are looking a bit sad but its not down to blight...I think the roots were just drowned in the rain.

. I'm really happy with the kiwi tree this year....lots of fruit which I have been thinning out ...so am hoping those left will continue to fatten up. I planted the tree ( its a male/female)  when we arrived in April 2014. Last year we had 5 kiwis that grew no bigger than cherry tomatoes.
Kiwis grow really well in Charente providing you place them in the sunniest spot and make sure they have a good weekly watering and feed.

On another note......forget the work and.......

MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES.....on your  to do list add enjoying the sun while its here. It's late arriving in Charente and there's no guarantee that it will stay so make sure you factor in some
"Repose" time .

We all need to recharge the batteries and indulge in soaking up some vitamin D. After which you will refreshed to tackle your LIST!

Check out my website for relevant recipes for this months produce....courgettes, raspberries, strawberries and beetroot,