Mad dogs and Englishmen

The hot weather has rolled right in to the south west of France during the past few days and we have seen temperatures in the mid 30's C (mid 90's F) every single day.

I learned the other day, that this period of hot weather is known as the "canicule".  Canicule gets it's name from the latin  - canicula, which, as all you latin scholars will know gets it's stem from canis or dog, in English.

Apparently, canicula is the Latin name for the star Sirius, which in the skies above France , raises about mid July and disappears again about mid September.... and here, of course, that corresponds to the scorchingly hot period of summer.

One of the things I truly love to see as the hot weather arrives is the wonderful fields of sunflowers, all turning their heads to catch the sun.  In French they are called tournesol, or turn to the sun.  I planted some sunflowers in the vegetable garden recently in a bid to attract more insects and have a fun flower and they are looking quite good at about 150mm (6") high.   However, on the drive to the market on Saturday, I passed field after field of sunflowers, all a good 4ft tall (1200mm)  and all with bright yellow flower heads, obediently searching out the sun.  I really hope mine will catch up, but I'm sure they will.

My time in the kitchen has taken a back seat too, during this hot weather, relying on cold salads rather than preparing food, but I did make a salad today using lots of fresh produce from the garden, including this year's first French beans..  which were so sweet, they could have been peas.

I didn't think to take my camera again on Saturday, which is a real shame, as the fields deserve a photo.   As I mentioned field after field of sunflowers, interspersed with fields of hay, the big "wheels" of hay sitting in the sunshine, waiting to be collected.  I even noticed that one or two of the farm lads had had a bit of fun, constructing a tractor out of bales of hay.  It seems this is a part of haymaking in this part of the world, and happens every year.    Even the local hay co-operative had a hay tractor outside it's store last year.   The one I saw on Saturday was a particularly fine example and had been adorned with a plough.  The first hay tractor I've seen this year and it has certainly set the bar quite high.  Maybe I'll go back, and get you some photos.

Well, I've talked a lot about Latin, but I think it was the ancient Greeks who originally called this time of year "Dog Days".  I gather it's something to do with what later became imortalised by Noel Coward "Only mad dogs and Englishmen" and this year, I'm really learning what they meant:

Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun"....maybe.

Back in the Garden

Regular readers will know that the Kitchen Garden in France is situated at my home near Issigeac in the Perigord Region of South West France.   The property also has a self contained  holiday apartment.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been very busy constructing a swimming pool for use by our holiday guests.  It is a part of a grand scheme..... which will probably take longer to complete than the 300 years the main house has already been standing for....

Anyway, I mention this simply because, for the past two or three weeks, day after day I have been building this kit and not attending to my garden.... and therefore not having very much to write about in my blog....  You may have noticed a move away from kitchen garden towards la vie Français...  the parties I have written about were wonderful events and deserved their place in the blog.  The article on Summer and sunflowers similarly. 

However, tonight I want to return to the dirt....

 

So... I have some red cabbage which have been in for a long time now and are looking superb.  Onions and Garlic are ready to pull and will be out of the ground tomorrow I would guess..  The strawberry patch has been ok... It was planted late and although we have had a few berries we are expecting the main crop next year.  The plants have really established though, and I have just about twice as many as I planted back in April/May

The one rhubarb crown has been prolific this year and I have been cutting and freezing for a month or so now.  I'm thinking of moving the crown around November time but am unsure as I hear bad storied of people moving them....  My intention was to lift and divide it and move it at the same time.

A few days ago, I sowed some broccoli which are now up and with tiny little leaves.   I'm not ever so successful with seeds so anything like this is a challenge.   They have survived so far.....  Today I sowed some batavia lettuce (a French version of Webbs, I think)and on Tuesday some Fennel.

Tomatoes have been my biggest success this year.  Tomato plants ended up dotted about and that hasn't proved too good for watering etc.  Next year I really must put aside some space and grow all my tomatoes in one place.....

But we haven't bought tomatoes for several weeks now and are enjoying the different varieties.... Marmande, cherry red, golden sunrise... and a "unknown"variety which Michael and Mary gave me.

On the beans front, I have been very unsuccessful.   Patrick, over at Bifurcated Carrots gave me some Dog Bean seeds earlier in the year.   I have grown them but not at all well.   I think the spot I chose was too shaded and I did get them in the ground quite late as well.   The few beans I have had have tasted wonderful though... but not enough for a good meal.  I'm not giving up with these and am hoping to sow some again next year... a bit earlier and maybe in a better spot and hopefully have a bumper crop..... 

I mentioned that Michael and Mary had given me some tomato plants.  I didn't realise until recently that Mary is quite a kitchen gardener herself.  I stole this photo whilst she wasn't looking  during a recent visit to see them.

I've been eating salad leaves for some time now and haven't bought any recently.  I have 3 varieties of lettuce, as well as some wild chicory.   I recently entertained a professional chef for dinner.... which was quite daunting... but he commented very favourably on the fact I had included mint leaves in with the mixed salad leaves.....

Lettuce is bolting now as the hot weather hits but I'm looking a shady bed where maybe I can persuade some to grow for a little longer yet....

Finally, in the herb garden, I'm doing ok with the basics, basil, flat leaf parsley, mint and dill, all growing in containers on the terrace.

Another Saturday, another party....

This is a nice time of year in South West France with everyone organising a variety of social events.  There is always something happening every weekend and often the odd evening during the week gets taken up, as well, in a whirlwind of social activity...

Last week I wrote a piece about a nice party we went to on Saturday night... This weekend it was another Saturday and another Party.

This particular party was a celebration for the residents of the tiny community amongst which I live... Everyone was invited and everyone turned up so there were just 20 of us there.

The evening started with a cocktail being served....  It was delicious, but was a secret recipe of the host... he did list all the ingredients for me but I lost track after Gin, White Rum, Grenadine and lots of tonic water.... To soak up the alcohol, there were little pieces of a fruit bread... I had the Fig one and it was fabulous.....but there was also an olive version.

For the main meal a cous-cous had been prepared.... everything was served in separate dishes so you just helped yourself to copious quantities of lamb, sausages, meat balls, a super vegetable dish of mixed homegrown vegetables in a light jus...the jus was delicious poured over the cous cous along with a vast array of accompaniments....It was great as it catered for both the omnivores and vegetarians amongst us with everyone just choosing whatever they could eat.

There was a cheese board with a selection of locally produced cheeses and then for dessert...

Well, to start with I should probably say "desserts" as there were a choice of 7 or 8.  A fabulous mixed fruit tart, a lovely cherry cake,which was my favourite, aniseed biscuits, a Perigordian gateau amongst a few others.

One of the residents used to play in a rock band and happened to have another member of the band staying with him for the weekend, so they turned up with guitars and provided some great 1970's music.  The girls provided the backing vocals but everyone joined in and drowned them out....

Another neighbour plays the saxophone and he was subsequently persuaded to play a couple of very nice pieces as well....

 

The host for the evening had one last piece of entertainment lined up for us and at about 11.00 pm he invited us all out into the garden to see the lunar eclipse.  the eclipse was spectacular and a clear sky ensured a great view. It wasn't a total eclipse but was very substantial.  Our host apologise for this, but explained that nowadays, a total eclipse was just too expensive to afford....

 

Michael was there and of course, provided all these photos for me....The party went on well into the night and some of the younger guests just curled up and went to sleep.

It was another wonderful moment in my life in France

 

Love

It's been a funny old week here in South West France....

Summer is truly here and the sunflowers are out as I mentioned the other day.  In fact , that's one of the funny old things.... 

I had to take the car to our local village the other day and on the way I stopped and took the photos that I posted on Summer's here and subsequently in the photo album.

It was just about midday, a week ago, when I took those photos and, as I commented at the time,when I got back to the car the thermometer read 45C (113F).  A bit hot for this part of the world!

This morning I had to pop out again to another village and the the clock at the pharmacy read just before noon.... the thermometer that alternated with the clock read 19C(67F).... so much change in just a few days.

But as I said, Summer is here....

One of the things I like about summer is the way it brings out love in everyone and everything...  Spring is supposed to be the season of love.... but I believe it's summer, especially here in the South West France...

The doves play noisily in the trees, just like young lovers, flitting from tree to tree, sometimes apparently trying to hide their true mission, the squirrels on the ground chase each other across and around the park, up one tree and down another, making death defying leaps between the two. little lizards, geckos, run up and down vertical walls and even run across  the ceiling in gravity defying antics whilst chirping their love for each other.

In the town, vast numbers of tourists have arrived to take a moment out of their lives and enjoy their own love. Young couples with babies, taking their first holiday together and unashamedly enjoying the love they share.  Older couples, some meeting for the first time after a whirlwind romance are wandering the streets and alleyways, arm in arm, and hundreds of other couples of all ages just enjoying being together, one with the other.

Then, this time of year is the time for parties.  We went to a party last Saturday night where we enjoyed great company, great food and a great game of cricket with a group of people, all in love with someone and ranging in age from 15 to 75.  Next week I'm going to another party with another set of friends and I shall again enjoy being in love and being with people in love....

As the song says... how do you measure a year? Measure it in love.  Remember a year in the life of friends, Remember the love! (Lyrics from Seasons of Love (the Movie "Rent")

I seem to be completely enveloped in love at this time of year and it seems to carry me right through the summer and into autumn.  Just very nice.... I can't think of a better word... lovely maybe!!!!!!

Share love, give love spread love
Measure measure your life in love.

Reflections on times past

I used to sit in a pub with a few friends and the conversation would eventually get around to gardening. At the time I was probably the only one, out of the five or six of us who regularly met, who didn’t grow food. You know the reasons, I was too busy, I worked long hours, I had a large garden which already took a lot of maintenance.

So there we were, usually in a real ale pub, five fairly conscientious veggie growers and me.

Every so often someone would claim they had grown the biggest potato, or leek, or onion and invariably the ensemble would dissolve into mild hysteria when the proponent of this accolade produced the item in question – which was usually a very sad example of whatever vegetable the parent plant thought it was.

And then one day, somebody claimed they had grown the longest carrot, and immediately the ribald comments started amidst demands of evidence – "produce the carrot" was sung from the benches.
But today, our man simply dug into an old back pack he had brought and produced a gleaming shiny silver cup, with his name engraved on it and the year - and in much bigger letters, the cup was engraved "Machen Agricultural Show, Longest Carrot". This was a first for this group, silence fell amongst us as we all took in the enormity of this situation and then we celebrated in time honoured tradition and ordered another round of drinks.

I don’t go to that pub any more. I moved on. Indeed I moved countries, but I often think back fondly to those times.

No one cared that I was there, commenting about vegetable gardening with no experience whatsoever. No one cared about the gross exaggerations and sometimes, bare faced lies that were being expressed as "truth". We were confident in our young selves and didn’t need to ascertain that everything we said was factual and PC.

Then , a few months ago I was given a book about working a "potager", a French Kitchen Garden, and somehow, that book managed what my friends had singularly failed to do – it managed to make me want to grow my own food. Just a few vegetables – not a lot, just a few.

So I started to follow whatever advice I could find starting out by building a couple of raised beds on what the French call "parc". That’s a bit of lawn that isn’t lawn, but neither is it meadow.

My research led me to join KGI, an internet based community of kitchen gardeners.

My inexperience was huge but people very kindly explained and demonstrated what I should do, how I should do it and I learned a lot in a few short months. Things like sprouting, which I had never heard of and Three Sisters, which I knew was a play by Chekov, were kindly explained to me, amongst so many other things.

The forums were there with all sorts of comments – sometimes on topic and sometimes way off topic. They reminded me very much of those conversations I had taken part in back in that pub in Wales, or in England depending on the weather. I smiled to myself as people made clever and funny comments and I soaked in the knowledge as people made frank and honest comments and explanations about things.

It really is very much like my time in the pub. Very serious topics are discussed but with a lightness that makes them fun

And now, after a certain amount of cajoling from others, now I’m writing on here in an effort to assess my own progress. I hope you, dear reader, will indulge me?

Maybe one day I shall repay your kindness.

Ian