hello!

[cat]

Hello! I registered at the beginning of May but somehow didn't get round to presenting myself. Married to an Italian we live between Bologna and Ferrara with our 3 children (17, 11 and 6).
Looking for a new house as we only have a tiny garden and could do with more space inside too. Added strawberry plants to the herbs outside this year, and trying to be more self sufficient (and healthy!) in general!

[Wombat]

G'DAy Cat!

Welcome to the site! Another person from Italy - we are beoming quite cosmopolitan here.

What do you want to grow if you get more land?

Nev

[cat]

we're in the major fruit-growing area of Italy, and the local asparagus was even mentioned in the Times a couple of months back, so I'd start off with local fruit and veg and I'd love to have a few chickens!
I got my children to help with the strawberries and they've been really enthusiastic, remembering to water and checking on them every day, so it looks like I've got some assistants! This afternoon we're off to pick cherries in a neighbour's garden!

[hedgewitch]

Hello cat and a big welcome to the forum

[Andy Hamilton]

Hello cat and welcome. We are well into asparagus season at the moment, does your season start earlier than ours? (begining of may)

[cat]

Yes, the asparagus season starts mid-april here, I went out with some friends and got about 2 kgs of wild asparagus at easter, (and OH's cousin got a snakebite!), but that was in Basilicata in the south, it was ready here about a week later.

[ina]

This afternoon we're off to pick cherries in a neighbour's garden!

THAT'S NOT FAIR!!!

It's freezing here, my little cherry tree has just blossomed, and probably lost it all to night frost...

We do have local strawberries, though. From under a polytunnel, of course.

[cat]

The forecast says 28-32°c this weekend. I'm off with the two littler children on a school trip to the Parco dei Laghi, a national park up in the hills, with lakes and woods, on Sunday, so I'm hoping they're right!
This is really the nicest time of year, it gets very muggy in july and august in this area with over 90% humidity at times!

[ina]

Here - we don't even really have any weather at the moment. Or rather, I can't see it - visibility about 50 m. Foggy, damp, dark, cold. Brrr.

Yesterday wasn't too bad. Sunday night is forecast frost again. I think nobody told those responsible for weather that this is end of May! I'm not planting or sowing anything out at the moment - it wouldn't grow anyway. My broad beans are tiny - even the ones I sowed in November. Theoretically, I should be picking them now, I think....

This must be to do with global warming. The problem with that is, that it affects the Gulf Stream, i.e. it gets weaker, and therefore it might actually get colder here. Blast!

[gunners71uk]

helloo

[Millymollymandy]

Hi cat and welcome! Nice to see someone in Italy on Self Suffish.

Ina - you just can't win with the weather. During my hols I stared at damp soil with few weeds with much envy and have come home to find plants flopping through lack of water - soil is like a dust bowl again.

[Millie]