Grow Your Own Magazine

A thread for European weather.

__________________
[

Bonjour!!!!!!!

Firstly perhaps you would like to know just where in Normandy I am. Well if you have a decent French atlas look up Montreuil l' Argille in Eure and thats it. For those who don't have an atlas the nearest large-ish town is Lissieu and I am about half an hour west. Just far enough to get some contential weather, ie Heats up quickly and cools down fast as well. I live in the Charenton valley and we have a micro climate in so far as we are always 2 or 3 degrees hotter or colder than the surrounding area.

This week (since the 15th) we have had a mixture of sunshine and showers (rainfall 14.6mm), the temperatures have ranged from a min. of 11C to a max. of 20C, And this is August? At the end of July we were having max. of 32C, too hot to do anything except lie in the hammock and watch the peas getting sunburnt. Yes they really did and I had to chuck them away
Anyway with the cooler weather the the BLIGHT has arrived on the tomatoes. The potatoes are safely stored for winter, they were planted on 19th March ( St Joseph) as all good French gardeners do in this area and lifted on 7th August. Good Crop, Ratte and Bintje Parsnips look good and if the tops are anything to go by maybe I will have as good a crop as last year, can't get those here, they are animal fodder the French just don't know what they are missing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for that Roitelet. Looks like your weather is about the same as ours just now. It will be interesting to see what happens as the year goes on. Enjoy your parsnips. I know what you mean about the french and vegetables. When we were in Brittany it was difficult to buy anything. The place was awash with vegetables but it all went in cans.!

Bonjour,

This week has been much like the last, mixed. Max. temperature 19C and minimum 11C with 12.5 mm of rain. Friday was lovely and I was still sitting outside stringing elderberries at 8pm, then on Saturday it was heavy showers all day so I spent the day making jam, chutney and pickles.

I am salvaging what I can of the Tomato crop as it has been hit by blight, very bad in this area. Does anyone know of a truly resistant strain of Tomato? We have enloyed the first of the sweeds, another thing that the French don't eat. My late sown turnips,beetroot and sweed are looking good and the peppers are producing well (outside) one is even turning red! Despite my carrots 'levitating' the first ones I dug today were superb, the best I've grown. Nearly a foot long and they were stump rooted!

The strange thing this year is that aphids seem to be almost non existent and although there are hundreds of cabbage white butterflies I have not had a problem with catapillars on the brassicas. Having said that I will probably go out tomorrow morning and find an army of them!

Another week passed! How time flies when you are having fun

A warmer and more humid week than last with max temperature of 22C and a minimum of 11C and very little rain only 8.35mm. Its now nearly 10pm here and the temperature is still 21C and we are forcast to have a day time temp of 27C on Wednesday

With the ground so dry it amazes me how things manage to grow, but they do. The courgettes having been cut back are now beginning to produce again and the first sowing of leeks will be ready to eat in 2 weeks or so The late sowing of peas are showing signs of flowering and if these temperatures keep up I may even get some pods. I cut the first Optima lettice from a sowing on 1st July and have just put some more seed in as they are supposed to over winter.

I think that I have seen the first signs of Autumn, Swallows are gathering, the leaves on my Canadian Maples are showing signs of colour and I have most certainly smelt that Autumn smell on a couple of mornings.

A really good weather week, if you are not a gardener Just the sort of weather for the beach, night time temps ranging from 10 to 18 and day time 18 to 25 (not the 27 that was forcast and brilliant sunshine for most of the week but NO RAIN only .5mm!
Things are really beginning to suffer and as we are on water restrictions only the veggies get the water. My water buts are nearly empty and the big underground tank is only half full.There are isolated thunder storms forcast in the next couple of days but knowing my luck, and the micro climate, they will probably miss us. Heavy dews which help but we need a really good soaking. Then I can complain about that. Is there no pleasing me!

Late peas are flowering and I have picked the first Mache (Lambs Lettuce). Lettuces are doing fine if they don't bolt with all this heat and the turnips, which are eaten very small here, are ready. Ce la vie!

I bet its been great for kitesurfing tho, envy you.

__________________
Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

Not a lot of wind though

Never trust the weather men!!!!! The forecast for the week just gone was for thunder storms followed by rain. I was rubbing my hands together with glee The clouds arrived and passed by the thunder storms amounted to three or four flashes and about six drops of rain The rain which was supposed to follow tried but didn't make it. only managed 7.5mm which didn't even make the ground wet and certainly not enough to refill the water buts!
On Monday the temperature rose to 27C with the lowest night time temperature 11C other than that the lows have been between 15 and 18C and the highs between 17 and 24C. According to the 10 day forecast there is litle sign of rain.

Lettuces have bolted and the peas have pods on them and there is hope of a crop if I can keep then wet enough. Mache and Oriental salad have germinated ready for cloches as soon as the temperature drops and the winter greens are hanging on. Still not much problem with cabbage white caterpillars. My suntan has been topped up but I want to get on and dig a new bed for the soft fruit but the ground is like rock. I think that even the moles are using pneumatic drills!

Another fine week but we have had some RAIN The lugging of water cans was getting just a tad too much. Not a lot though only 10mm, but every little helps! My water buts are full
I have recorded the first single figure temperature this week 9C on Wedesday night and a high of 25C on Thursday. Thursday and Friday are the first days on which we had any wind worth speaking of.

The Peas are swelling and this week I have planted Strawberries, three varieties, and Garlic. Last years over wintered Garlic was good so I thought I would repeat it and it is out of the ground earlier which is good as I am always short of space in the early summer.

Hi there, I am also living and gardening in Normandy! Further west than you though, near to Vire in Calvados. Today the weather has been completely mad - very strong winds, blazing sunshine, heavy showers with thunder & black skies. I am trying to get my potatoes harvested (we had colorado beetle this year!!!) & sorted into usable & 'to be burnt'. My tomatoes all failed - the early ones because they fried in the heat of June/July, and the later ones because of blight - the only successful plant was a Red Robin tomato bush that I bought on a whim in Leclerc Jardi - it had lovely, if tiny, fruit.
Judi.

Hi Judie,

How nice to know that I am not the only foreigner! Welcome to the Vine.You are not that far away from me, about 100K but what a difference in the weather! Today has been windy and sunny with only one or two showers that didn't even make the ground wet, just made me run for cover for a few minutes. The week in general has been warm (Max 19 and Min 10) and once again DRY, only 3.3mm of the wet stuff but the sun is not as strong now so everything is standing up to the dryness better I have dug the first leeks and lifted my levitating carrots. They were good but the slugs were beginning to have a feast! First signs of the dreaded Cabbage white caterpillars, even so not really that many and they all responded very well to the 'thumb mark 1'. The last few days have been spent clearing the beds next to the house and covering them with black plastic. The builders are arriving next week to re-render and point the outside. The lottie plot now looks like a nursery, and very pretty too.

There is a brilliant web site which tracks rain cloud. http://www.meteox.com/h.aspx?r=holid...=loop3uur&c=fr
you can zoom in on France - very informative, (but not predictive).
cheers
Judi.

Thanks Judie,

Still looks a bit dry in my neck of the woods

Hi Riotelet,
Today is WET WET WET & windy! How is it over in Montreuil l' Argille?
Judi.

Hi Judie, first wet day we have had for AGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 17mm all at once. I just ask myself if there is any more but the forcast is for it to dry up again. I no longer use the R word in the hope that if I don't mention it it may just happen

We here in Dublin, Ireland hope if we don't mention the R word it might just go away. Have had rain and wind for the last three days. I guess nobody is completely happy all the time.

I would just love three days of R***. It may start to penetrate the soil that passes for concrete. Still I am getting loads done outside and the house is a tip!!! But then there will be R**** days when I can sort it out.

Another fine week except for one day of heavy showers. Total R***fall for the week was 21.5mm, the most we have had in a week for 9 weeks Temperatures are falling with a low last night of 5C and a high of 16 on Monday. We have lit the wood burner for the first time today. Yesterday I picked a dozen peppers from the plants which are outside and some chillies as well. The courgettes are still producing slowly but too many to to pull the plants up yet. I may just leave them until the frost gets them.

See I didn't use the 'R' word so maybe there is some more up there

IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No mention of the 'R' word and we had a whole31mm in one go giving a total for the week of 35mm. Still mild on the whole with a low of 5C on Friday and a high of 22 on Tuesday. The **** has meant that I have been able to make good progress with the digging but even so the ground is dry a spit down that is where the soil has not been disturbed for donkeys years.

I have lifted the first parsnip today 18 ins long and straight and very delicious it was too.

I am off to the UK for three weeks and I hope that Compost King will keep a record of the weather for me to post when I get back.

Good Gardening everyone.

WOW I have only just noticed that I have germinated into a Seedling Thanks

Well I'm back! The best thing was, while I was in the UK I managed to get a copy of GYO Super magazing and I have been bought a subscription for Christmas AND I got a copy of RJ Harris, Moon Gardening so I am going to try some of that next year.

Compost King has done a really good job of keeping a record of the weather for me

Up until the end of October the temperatures were very mild with a high of 26C on the 24th and a low of 9C on the 29th. However on the 1st November the temperatures really plummeted and it fell like a stone to -3C this continued for the next 7 days with a low of -7C on the 6th. The highest daytime temperature for this period was 11C. After this the temperatures have been seesawing with a low today of 9C and a high of 14C. As far as the R*** is concerned over the whole period we have had 41.75mm which is not lot for the time of year.

The Garlic I planted before I left is now about 8ins high and the overwinter onions have put on a spurt. I won't be saving the chillies as the frost has got them. Oriental salad is doing really well as is the Mache and the Optimum lettuce are coming along fine. Must get the cloches over them.

Now Im back I am really looking forward to reading all the posts Iv'e missed, when I get time from weeding. Will somebody please tell them that they are not supposed to grow at this time of year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They are not supposed to grow at this time of year roitelet. But due to the weather conditions they think otherwise and no-one has yet told them any different.

__________________
Bright Blessings
Earthbabe
If at first you don't succeed, open a bottle of wine.

Weeds and grass keep growing all year round - it's the plants you cherish that struggle. Still, I find weeding quite therapeutic - you can just let your mind go sort of blank for a bit, and then when you've done a patch you look at and feel really good.