Tails From Provence

…and right now, she’s having a good laugh about that Irish Wan who went to Provence and installed a whole pile of ‘alternative’ irrigation systems and was going to compare how they all worked.

That’s rain, not fog

This is the wettest Spring in local memory.  We’re stuck in a weather pattern of dry mornings, which become progressively gloomier, leading to thunderstorms throughout the afternoon and evening.  This has been going on since mid-April!  Following on the heels of last years horrific drought conditions, it’s actually pretty welcome.  But I’m feeling a bit over-prepared, what with my 3000 litres of rainwater stored for the potager, my three different experimental irrigation systems, my hosepipe and watering-can sitting ready for use beside one of the water tanks.  I’ve had to water the garden maybe five times so far!

All filled up and nowhere to go

Anyway, on a positive and totally-not-complaining-about-this-weather note, my spuds look AMAZING!!!  They are rising to the challenge of showing the Provençals that we Irish know a thing or two about growing potatoes.

Spuds!

This first photo has my “potted” potatoes in the foreground with the potato bed in the back ground.  This is for Carolee of Herbal Blessing Blog who is attempting to grow potatoes in pots too, and was very disheartened by the HorseMad Scientist’s experience which I recounted in Where’s Your Irish Pride.  They look ok, but the spuds in the bed behind them look a heck of a lot stronger, as you can see below.

More spuds!

These ones are even beginning to think about flowering! And it’s only a little over three weeks since they poked their little heads out of the ground!

Spud flowers!

Let’s just hope that there’s as much activity going on below ground as there is above it.  Gulp.  I could be seriously embarrassed when we dig these babies up!

Herb section with rhubarb behind

The rhubarb is also growing really well, I’ve harvested a fair few stalks already.  The strawberries are fruiting, but they seem to be more intent on producing leaves and runners than they are about producing flowers and berries.  I guess I will blame the weather.  The herbs in the garden are thriving, I’m leaving one parsely plant from last year go to seed – that’s the yellowy thing on the right.  The basil and coriander that I’ve grown from seed partially indoors are less impressive.  I don’t seem to do well with them here at all – I grew better basil in Ireland!

My pathetic home-grown basil

I’ve got two types of squash down, both from scavenged seed.  This one is butternut squash.

Squash plants getting ready to take over the world

It’s also beginning to think about flowering.

Squash flowers on the way

The other squash plants, spaghetti squash, aren’t as strong but they’re coming on.

I’ve got nine bought-in tomato plants so far, with more to come.  However, the ones in the picture below are volunteers from last year’s cherry tomatoes.  They have no watering system.  They don’t seem to need it.  (Mother Nature sniggers as she reads that bit)

Opportunistic tomato plants. Never knock a trier

Just spotted the cursed acacia seedlings behind them, gotta get rid of those damn things.

For general comparison, here’s a photo of the garden a week ago. There’s some difference!

All that rain has really made for some amazing growth, except for these poor misfortunate bought-in aubergine plants.

They are desperately hoping for some sunshine.  I think they’re afraid they’ve been planted in Ireland and are silently screaming “WE’RE A MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLE! GET US OUT OF HERE!”