Diary for April 2021
2/4/21
Happy April everyone. Here’s where we start to get really busy in the garden. I have at least 90 tomato plants waiting to go out into the potager but this morning we have had the sixth consecutive frost, despite daytime temperatures as high as 23+ degrees. The forecast is for a slump next week so I’m holding off.
The wildflowers in the surrounding hills and woods are wonderful. Cistus, iris, coronilla, wild cherry, quince, blackthorn, crab apple, wild apple, and juniper are covering the hillsides and giving wonderful life and hope after a pretty difficult winter.
6/4/21
Crikey. We were forecast very cold weather with temperatures plummeting by at least 10 degrees. Last night we had a frost and today the tramontane is blowing with gusts up to 50kph. Yesterday we brought everything in from the greenhouse to the sitting room. Luckily it has a huge window and underfloor heating so the plants are happier than they would have been in an unheated greenhouse. I repaired a couple of broken panes in the greenhouse and moved the smaller citruses inside. The mid-sized ones are in the garage and the other four are having to fend for themselves outside. They are just too heavy to move.
Meanwhile the blackcurrants broad beans and peas are looking fine, if battered, in the potager.
Rather than lose all the flowers to the winds I cut them and filled vases.
16/4/21
Well the threatened frosts came, and are still with us. Unheard of since 1963, we have had hard frosts each morning which means that the tomatoes and all the summer vegetables are still waiting impatiently in either the sitting room or the greenhouse. Last week we brought in everything from the greenhouse. (Thank God I live with a real live saint). I moved almost all the citrus trees into the garage and closed the door at night.
Frost hit the broad beans hard so many of them have crumpled in half despite having survived snow in the winter. Rhubarb also took a hit. I had to break thick ice on the hens’ water. The main problem, however, is the fruit trees which we couldn’t protect. New leaves simply melted and the flowers turned brown on most, except the pears, which seem to have survived OK. Our winemaker friends fared much, much worse with 90% of many of their parcels lost to negative temperatures. The frost simply burned all the tender young shoots. One of the saddest sights I saw when driving back from Magalas was a man with a wheelbarrow, pushing it along between his vines. He was rubbing off all the ruined shoots and leaves. ‘C’est le fin des vendanges déjà.’
13/4/21
Not to be deterred I pricked out tomatillos, Litchi, Pineapple and San Marzano tomatoes plus Piccolo di Parigi cornichons. They’ve been in the greenhouse on a couple of frosty nights - and keeled over but have sprung into life during the heat of the day. I hope they don’t have to keep that up too long. Planted out lots more salad in the potager. It seems to survive the frost OK.
14/4/21
Moved citrus back out of the garage in the hope that they survive the frost better than lack of light. Moved the tomatoes out of the sitting room and back into the greenhouse. Made a video about planting tomatoes for The Herault Gardener Facebook group.
15/4/21
Took 20 mixed tomato plants to Gabian for Anne & Keith. Planted out pots for the courtyard. Red & white theme this year. Sick of being elegant.
16/4/21
Re-sowed Bortlotti, Le Couvent, Vigneronne, Czar & purple haricot beans after the mice emptied the pots. Couldn’t work out why the beans weren’t germinating until I turned out some pots to find - no beans. Thanks mice. The trays are in the sitting room until after germination. That’ll teach them. The damp kitchen roll is to make sure they don’t get too wet.
Found the first of many, many cauliflowers whilst watering last evening. Anna Jones’ Cauliflower Cheese Orecchiette from her new cookbook One - Pot, Pan, Planet for supper. Planted out five sacrificial tomatoes as the forecast says no more frosts. I have plenty of spares of each variety so it won’t matter if I lose a couple.
24/4/21
The weather has picked up considerably and it is a bit less cold overnight. However there was a light frost in the potager yet again this morning but I really hope that is the last. Some of the leaves of the tomatoes have dark pigmentation indicating their displeasure at being so cold. I hope they will forgive me. 39 plants are in the ground and I have a couple more varieties in the greenhouse too small to plant out yet. The vegetable garden looks full to the naked eye, but I reckon I can cram some more in as it all becomes ready. The greenhouse is full once more and the sitting room still has seedlings emerging. Artichokes and squashes have also suffered at the hands of Jack Frost. Most of the apple trees seem OK but the figs have had it for this year at least. I really hope they recover. It was the first year we have had any fruit on them but no longer.
The biggest news, however, is that I’m in discussion with a chap called Andrew who is going to be making me a new greenhouse. The current one is not fond of the ferocious winds we have and numerous panes have been replaced or repaired. It does not feel safe to work in when the winds blow. So, with a big birthday coming up next year and generous contributions already pledged from family, I’m to have a new one. It will be hand made, designed by Andrew & I and should be elegant, practical and bullet-proof - oh and larger than the current one. Wahey!!
27/4/21
Finally it’s actually mild so I’ve been planting fit to bust. Overnight temps are around 9/10 and 18ish during the day. Planted out Jalapeño peppers, Dwarf Borlotti, Climbing Borlotti, more Dyna Squash blue butternuts, Purple Haricot, Czar, Le Couvent and Vigneronne climbing runner beans. Earthed up the spuds too. I’ll take you for a tour.
30/4/21
Freezing nights and fairly regular rain have marked April 2021. The garden’s about a couple of weeks behind so I’m hoping it all turns around soon.
