About Me

We moved out to Portugal to live a frugal but better , simpler and peaceful life, our house is a very basic, semi ruin, up in the hills outside Figueiro Dos Vinhos, where we work our land, enjoy life with each other and our dogs, and hope to make the smallest carbon footprint we can,

Tuesday, 14 September 2010

The veggie Garden.

Well we've been working very hard down on our 'Horta' again this morning, I love this time of the year, it satisfies my 'squirreling instincts' looking around us and everyone is doing it, harvesting, picking, storing, drying , just squirreling food away all over the place, Ive got a big heap of Butternut Squash on the balcony curing in the sun, Ive dried some runner beans for next years seed and this morning we pulled tons more leftover green beans, french beans and yellow waxypods to dry for eating in soups and replanting next spring.
I've been and pulled a huge bunch of carrots , that I'll freeze later today, and also weeded another 4 rows of younger ones. I picked a colander full of cherry toms that Rik said had finished producing....
So I'll be making roasted tom puree tomorrow when Ive got the range alight.
Our new cultivator, is now forever to be known as Herman.... as he's a monster... will be out chomping away at the area we pulled all the beans from to make room for our winter garden.  Time to plant cabbage for Christmas, Im also going to try swedes again, yes I know completely the wrong time of the year, but Ive tried every other time and as soon as they get a little warm... they bolt... so I have one last packet left, and I'll give them a go now, maybe they'll love the winter...
We still have caulis to come, they are really getting huge leaves now, thats a good sign, also about 30 odd cabbage nearly ready...
The odd aubergine still keeps appearing too so thats handy, but we've pulled all the peppers to give the chillis and aubergines more light and sun.

Our main focus from now on must be wood... we have half a barn full, which isnt bad.. but we'll need lots more to see us through the winter, especially if its as wet as last year.
Winter seems such a long way off at the moment, today its 32ยบ  but a little hazy, but at this time of the year it could change at any time... just not yet I hope... still tons to do...
Grapes will be ready to pick soon... we are just waiting for our neighbours to start, apparently its still too hot at the moment, the wine will go off...
Then after that will come the olive picking, we have so few this year... I'll be scratching all round everywhere to get all I can... Im having to buy oil now!!! First time in over 3 years... cannot let that happen again...