At last all our seed potatoes are installed in the ground, supplied with their ration of fertiliser and buried under as much soil as we could pick out from between the rocks. Richard Décharte confirmed our suspicions that we were actually digging up a cobbled yard in front of the hangar (metal barn). Back when this was a real farm, a big load of rocks was actually imported and laid down so that the cows would have something solid to walk on. The soil, when we find some, is extremely fertile, and all the seeds I have sowed so far have germinated, the latest being coriander and parsnips. I am watering them every evening - we had a sprinkling of rain last Saturday, but only one decent rainy day in the whole of April.
The potatoes are a bit of an experiment - seeing what varieties like our growing conditions. The order of play is:
Rows 1 & 2 - Red Duke of York
Row 3 - Sunrise (new variety)
Row 4 - Salad Blue
Row 5 - Jaerla (new variety)
Row 6 - Taster row of Sunrise, Salad Blue and Jaerla
Row 7 - Charlotte (we know this grows well)
Row 8 - King Edward
Row 9 - International Kidney
Rows 10 & 11 - Remarka
Row 12 - Pink Fir Apple
Rows 13 & 14 - Stemster
Row 15 - Sarpo Mira
Row 16 - Forty Fold & Yetholm Gypsy (Heritage varieties)
Row 17 - Linzer Delikatess
We still have to find room for leeks, beans, tomatoes, beet, chard, red cabbage, broccoli, kale ... The only thing that keeps me going is the possibility of finding a prehistoric stone tool among the rocks.
It's raining! It's RAINING!
5 comments:
Congratulations and well done on the digging and potato planting!
Your rain dance must have paid off.......
PS Hope you enjoyed the birthday celebrations on Monday.
Gaynor: we missed you! And you missed a good evening. We made far too much food as usual (after the 2CV world meeting experience in Holland when we were cutting burgers into eighths) and we're still eating it!
That sure is a lot of potatoes !!
Thanks for a lovely evening - I hope you managed to eat up all the leftovers eventually. Personally I love leftovers - it saves cooking again for the next few days.
It was raining over Descartes on Monday morning when we set off home - I don't know if the showers made it as far as La Forge. Everywhere is so dry - you need lots of rain in May then for it to dry up again for our next week chez nous at the end of May, please !!
Jean... I said as much about the quantity to Pauline... who replied "Don't count the potatoes until they are dug!"...
The most we've ever planted is 23 varieties. [About six of each]
The above mentioned rows are of nine or ten spuds each.... so not as many as it looks.
Hope the itching stops soon... perhaps your body is telling you that a change in the pace of life is in order!!
Get well soon.
Gaynor, the party went well, aperos and then assorted salads... which, despite everybodies best efforts, are still in use! But due to an unfortunate incedent at a 2CV rally in Holland we now make too much of everything. But as Jean says... good leftovers have eyes.... they'll see you through the week [or in this case, probably two!!]
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