Hi All ,
I was sent a link to this site from salvage uk - so whoever that was - a big thank you ! I've been having a look over the last couple of days - phew you cover some interesting stuff and I haven't seen half of it yet !
I live in SW France - we moved here three and a half years ago and haven't stopped running about since - so much for the quiet life ! We have renovated our old house and are now building a new house in the field next door. Things are moving slowly ! My husband is a carpenter and is doing all the work himself -( well I help ! ) but he also has to earn a living so work goes on here sporadically - to say the least !
We have one hectare of land but it is soul destroying stuff - just pure sand - soooo dry. I have a small dog proof area on which I have tried to grow veggies for three years but this year has been disatrous really. We have no well or spring so we pay for mains water and it has been so hot it has been impossible to keep up with .I put 3 tons of manure the veg patch this year too - but even that doesn't hold the water for long . It is probably cheaper to buy my veg at the market - but I will have one more years try before I convert the lot to cactus ! I have grown a few tomatoes in pots this year and herbs are in pots too - that way I can keep an eye on the water but the garden itself is now - well dead !
I have six chickens - who wander about , lay eggs in unlikely places or huff and stop laying anyway if I shut them in. Either that or something is pinching the eggs . A snake I suspect -but not sure !
I have two geese who are pets really - rescued when a neighbour moved last year. My French farmer neighbour doesn't understand why I don't put them in the pot - but I like them - and they do lay lots of eggs . One lays every day and the other - every other day - and they laid for 9 months at a stretch - just had a bit of a rest during this summer and have started laying again two days ago , Now I have the problem of how to use all the eggs - we eat a LOT of bread puddings !
I am a junk collector and a recycler extraordinaire - or as my husband says I have a house full of rubbish - still it will come in and I'm cheap to run ! I make my own paint - and am now trying my hand at traditional wall rendering . All good fun and I have a whole new house to experiment on !
Anyway nuff about me - am looking forward to getting to know this group better - you seem an innovative bunch - nice to meet you !
Sue x
Hello from SW France
hello and welcome
Great to see someone else new on the site. Gosh its growing and I'm new to the site too. Nice to know you've got geese. When I was a kid we used to raise two every year and kill them for Christmas and new year but they were terrific guard geese!
You must let us all know how you fare over there. Obviously the climate change will make it a bit of an experiment to start with on what will and won't grow but that's half the fun of gardening. If you'r so dry over there do you get away with not having tons of slugs everywhere? If so that has to be a plus point.
speak to you later
Libran (linda)
You must let us all know how you fare over there. Obviously the climate change will make it a bit of an experiment to start with on what will and won't grow but that's half the fun of gardening. If you'r so dry over there do you get away with not having tons of slugs everywhere? If so that has to be a plus point.
speak to you later
Libran (linda)
SW France
Hi ,
Thanks for your reply -
You are right - we don't have any slugs - yippppppeeeeee - they were the bane of my life in the UK and rabbits - we don't have many of them here either . We do have snails but they are not much of a problem as they lurk under tiles and things and they don't like going over the sandy soil . We don't seem to have many pests atall really - well apart from last year we had Colorado beetles - which ate an entire aubergine plant overnight. I had never seen them before but looked them up and that was them ! Anyway I squashed the ones I found and luckily have never seen another one. That was a bit scarey as I know they are a reportable bug in the UK - not here tho .
There are some things that just won't grow here - like runner beans - they flower then come to nothing - don't think they like the heat . I brought two Brambly apple trees over a few months back ( from North Derbyshire - where my family live also !) - because I like proper apple pies - but they are not happy either - pining for the cool hills no doubt !
Still there are some things that won't grow in Derbyshire that we are overrun with -here- grapes and walnuts and figs - so that's a good thing !!
Going to have an attempt at winemaking this year. Seems daft when we can buy wine for next to nothing but it will be fun to see if we can make something drinkable !
Got any ideas how I can use ten tons of walnuts ?! Swap for apple pie next time I'm in Derbyshire perhaps ?!
Sue x
Thanks for your reply -
You are right - we don't have any slugs - yippppppeeeeee - they were the bane of my life in the UK and rabbits - we don't have many of them here either . We do have snails but they are not much of a problem as they lurk under tiles and things and they don't like going over the sandy soil . We don't seem to have many pests atall really - well apart from last year we had Colorado beetles - which ate an entire aubergine plant overnight. I had never seen them before but looked them up and that was them ! Anyway I squashed the ones I found and luckily have never seen another one. That was a bit scarey as I know they are a reportable bug in the UK - not here tho .
There are some things that just won't grow here - like runner beans - they flower then come to nothing - don't think they like the heat . I brought two Brambly apple trees over a few months back ( from North Derbyshire - where my family live also !) - because I like proper apple pies - but they are not happy either - pining for the cool hills no doubt !
Still there are some things that won't grow in Derbyshire that we are overrun with -here- grapes and walnuts and figs - so that's a good thing !!
Going to have an attempt at winemaking this year. Seems daft when we can buy wine for next to nothing but it will be fun to see if we can make something drinkable !
Got any ideas how I can use ten tons of walnuts ?! Swap for apple pie next time I'm in Derbyshire perhaps ?!
Sue x
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Millymollymandy
- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 17637
- Joined: Tue May 10, 2005 6:09 am
- Location: Brittany, France
Hi Sue
Lucky you with the walnuts - I have a young tree that has about 5 nuts on it!
I have soil like yours too and I live in the part of Brittany where it isn't raining all the time - least not this summer. So I know where you are coming from weighing up the cost of watering (and the time and energy) versus buying from the supermarket. I hope for everyone's sake it will be a wetter year next year.
I'm interested in your home made paint - want to tell us more about it? Wasn't someone on here asking about that recently or am I confusing it with another forum?
Lucky you with the walnuts - I have a young tree that has about 5 nuts on it!
I have soil like yours too and I live in the part of Brittany where it isn't raining all the time - least not this summer. So I know where you are coming from weighing up the cost of watering (and the time and energy) versus buying from the supermarket. I hope for everyone's sake it will be a wetter year next year.
I'm interested in your home made paint - want to tell us more about it? Wasn't someone on here asking about that recently or am I confusing it with another forum?
G'Day Sue,
A hectare sounds great but the dryness is a bugger. Have you tried digging in some clay or using vermiculite or perlite to hold the water? The last 2 might wind up a bit expensive on any decent area though. Adding the organic matter is great though.
WE have chooks in a chook tractor so that they poo only on the veggie beds. works for us anyway
Nice to meet you and welcome to the site!
Nev
A hectare sounds great but the dryness is a bugger. Have you tried digging in some clay or using vermiculite or perlite to hold the water? The last 2 might wind up a bit expensive on any decent area though. Adding the organic matter is great though.
WE have chooks in a chook tractor so that they poo only on the veggie beds. works for us anyway
Nice to meet you and welcome to the site!
Nev
Garden shed technology rules! - Muddypause
Our website on living more sustainably in the suburbs! - http://www.underthechokotree.com/
Our website on living more sustainably in the suburbs! - http://www.underthechokotree.com/
Hi Everyone ,
Thank you for your welcomes and hello to all other newbies !
Yes our problem here is lack of water - or the expense of it ! We save as much as we can but it is not enough I think using vermiculite or similar would be too expensive but I will continue to pile manure and whatever in - Some German friends who live near have managed to transform their sand into good soil - but it took them seven years ! Luckily I have a local friendly farmer who will let me have as much manure as I want -( for a bottle of Ricard )and also luckily we have a large tipping trailer to transport it. Just the shovelling either end which is tiring !
I don't think there's a lot we can do for our field - just too big and I've been thinking how to make it productive . Gone through all sorts - from snail farming to harvesting wild flower seeds to keeping alpacas ! I just don't know - well I definitely don't want snails( too much water and cleaning involved ) ! At the moment I am thinking bees but know nothing about them. I will have to study any bee keeping posts on the forum and ask around . There a few people round here who do keep bees who might advise.
Paint - I have made paint with mixtures of lime ,milk, and natural pigments and glazes with wallpaper paste ,wood glue ,piments and water . I cannot give exact proportions as to what I have done - cos I probably don't know myself ! I experiment and paint patches and wait till they dry to see if it's ok - then add more of this and more of that till it's right then do enough for the whole room. Sorry I am not very scientific ! There are quite a few web sites related to milk paints where you will find recipes and I also have a wonderful French book - Ocres et paintures decoratives de Provence. I will endeavour to translate a few instructions and post on this site over the next few days .
Now I must be constructive at home - got a lift over the border to Spain today and bought large quantities of cheap gin to transform into sloe gin ! There are lots of lovely sloes this year .
Sue x
Thank you for your welcomes and hello to all other newbies !
Yes our problem here is lack of water - or the expense of it ! We save as much as we can but it is not enough I think using vermiculite or similar would be too expensive but I will continue to pile manure and whatever in - Some German friends who live near have managed to transform their sand into good soil - but it took them seven years ! Luckily I have a local friendly farmer who will let me have as much manure as I want -( for a bottle of Ricard )and also luckily we have a large tipping trailer to transport it. Just the shovelling either end which is tiring !
I don't think there's a lot we can do for our field - just too big and I've been thinking how to make it productive . Gone through all sorts - from snail farming to harvesting wild flower seeds to keeping alpacas ! I just don't know - well I definitely don't want snails( too much water and cleaning involved ) ! At the moment I am thinking bees but know nothing about them. I will have to study any bee keeping posts on the forum and ask around . There a few people round here who do keep bees who might advise.
Paint - I have made paint with mixtures of lime ,milk, and natural pigments and glazes with wallpaper paste ,wood glue ,piments and water . I cannot give exact proportions as to what I have done - cos I probably don't know myself ! I experiment and paint patches and wait till they dry to see if it's ok - then add more of this and more of that till it's right then do enough for the whole room. Sorry I am not very scientific ! There are quite a few web sites related to milk paints where you will find recipes and I also have a wonderful French book - Ocres et paintures decoratives de Provence. I will endeavour to translate a few instructions and post on this site over the next few days .
Now I must be constructive at home - got a lift over the border to Spain today and bought large quantities of cheap gin to transform into sloe gin ! There are lots of lovely sloes this year .
Sue x
-
ina
- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 8241
- Joined: Sun May 22, 2005 9:16 pm
- Location: Kincardineshire, Scotland
Hi Sue
Whereabouts in France are you? I spent some time in the south west, years ago. The soil there was limey rather than sandy; we had lovely produce from the garden. Old tomato varieties - honestly, I once made tomato salad for four from ONE tomato!!!
They were huge, and tasted phantastic. And I remember they planted French marigold amongst the aubergines to keep the Colorado beetle at bay. Can't remember whether it worked, though. Attractive beetles, but very destructive.
Have you thought of covering at least some areas in your garden with plastic, to keep the evaporation down? Then just water through plant holes. Maybe your farmer friend has some old plastic (silage cover, feed bags etc) that he could let you have.
And your geese sound brilliant layers; the goose egg season here is always far too short for me. Maybe they do better in hotter climates. I love scrambled (goose) egg, with a bit of butter and chives. One egg is just the right size for an omelette... And they are great for decorating at Easter!
Ina
Whereabouts in France are you? I spent some time in the south west, years ago. The soil there was limey rather than sandy; we had lovely produce from the garden. Old tomato varieties - honestly, I once made tomato salad for four from ONE tomato!!!
They were huge, and tasted phantastic. And I remember they planted French marigold amongst the aubergines to keep the Colorado beetle at bay. Can't remember whether it worked, though. Attractive beetles, but very destructive.Have you thought of covering at least some areas in your garden with plastic, to keep the evaporation down? Then just water through plant holes. Maybe your farmer friend has some old plastic (silage cover, feed bags etc) that he could let you have.
And your geese sound brilliant layers; the goose egg season here is always far too short for me. Maybe they do better in hotter climates. I love scrambled (goose) egg, with a bit of butter and chives. One egg is just the right size for an omelette... And they are great for decorating at Easter!
Ina
Hi Ina ,
We're in the south of Lot et Garonne - just on the edge of the Landes forest and more or less at the limit of the sand. About 6 k away it is very heavy clay - don't know which is worst for drying out but the clay seems more fertile ! I will try to cover some of the veg patch with plastic - yes the farmer has tons of the stuff - but I worry it will be a place for snails to hide - do you think that would be a problem ?
My tomatoes here have never been good when planted in the sand - they tend to develop brown bottoms - my husband says that's because of sporadic watering - but it's difficult to do otherwise . They are ok in pots but I've never grown those huge ones . Must try them. I can buy them on the market just now really cheaply and am hoping the little old man in his mobile disco ( !)van comes round again this year - last year he sold me 30 kilos for 5 euros - a bargain , I froze them and used them for soups and sauces for ages !
I don't know how many eggs geese are supposed to lay -People here say my two are pretty prolific - but they don't really keep geese for the eggs - just foie gras -which I'd rather not think about ! I think mine are just happy geese - know when their luck is in so reward me by laying !
Sue x
We're in the south of Lot et Garonne - just on the edge of the Landes forest and more or less at the limit of the sand. About 6 k away it is very heavy clay - don't know which is worst for drying out but the clay seems more fertile ! I will try to cover some of the veg patch with plastic - yes the farmer has tons of the stuff - but I worry it will be a place for snails to hide - do you think that would be a problem ?
My tomatoes here have never been good when planted in the sand - they tend to develop brown bottoms - my husband says that's because of sporadic watering - but it's difficult to do otherwise . They are ok in pots but I've never grown those huge ones . Must try them. I can buy them on the market just now really cheaply and am hoping the little old man in his mobile disco ( !)van comes round again this year - last year he sold me 30 kilos for 5 euros - a bargain , I froze them and used them for soups and sauces for ages !
I don't know how many eggs geese are supposed to lay -People here say my two are pretty prolific - but they don't really keep geese for the eggs - just foie gras -which I'd rather not think about ! I think mine are just happy geese - know when their luck is in so reward me by laying !
Sue x
-
ina
- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 8241
- Joined: Sun May 22, 2005 9:16 pm
- Location: Kincardineshire, Scotland
Hi Sue
If you dig in the edges of the plastic rather than just weigh it down with stones, you should be ok with the snails. Actually, I don't even know that much about snails and whether they like exactly the same hiding places as slugs - that's all I get here, and plenty of them!
I worked on one farm in Germany where we had heavy clay, pure sand and very peaty soil - none of it ideal! It was a dairy farm, so they grew just grass and maize (for silage). But on the clay soil, neighbours grew very good cabbage, so it seems to work for some veg. In the garden (peat) we had to mix in sand and lots of muck, and that was fine, too. Just have to make the best of it! And don't give up on your garden too soon. My father's garden was (and still is) very sandy, but many years of compost applications brought us good crops, although watering still is a problem in dry years, and anything cabbagy never really thrived.
Ina
If you dig in the edges of the plastic rather than just weigh it down with stones, you should be ok with the snails. Actually, I don't even know that much about snails and whether they like exactly the same hiding places as slugs - that's all I get here, and plenty of them!
I worked on one farm in Germany where we had heavy clay, pure sand and very peaty soil - none of it ideal! It was a dairy farm, so they grew just grass and maize (for silage). But on the clay soil, neighbours grew very good cabbage, so it seems to work for some veg. In the garden (peat) we had to mix in sand and lots of muck, and that was fine, too. Just have to make the best of it! And don't give up on your garden too soon. My father's garden was (and still is) very sandy, but many years of compost applications brought us good crops, although watering still is a problem in dry years, and anything cabbagy never really thrived.
Ina
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Millymollymandy
- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 17637
- Joined: Tue May 10, 2005 6:09 am
- Location: Brittany, France
Hey, I would like to announce that I have just made some coleslaw from a rather small summer cabbage, the biggest of only 5 that survived the flea beetles and my dusty soil!!!!!ina wrote: very sandy, but many years of compost applications brought us good crops, although watering still is a problem in dry years, and anything cabbagy never really thrived.
Ina
Though I've decided against cabbages next year!
Good onya M3, congratulations!
Nev
Nev
Garden shed technology rules! - Muddypause
Our website on living more sustainably in the suburbs! - http://www.underthechokotree.com/
Our website on living more sustainably in the suburbs! - http://www.underthechokotree.com/