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What Do You Grow In Your Country
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pricey



Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Posts: 6444

PostPosted: Sun Apr 16, 06 8:58 pm    Post subject: What Do You Grow In Your Country Reply with quote
    

OK people I'm really interested to know what goes on in different Country's.

For example, growing seasons, how early- late do you all do things. Do you have to use the window sill in the kitchen and drive your wife mad.

Do you use cold frames, green houses etc.. What do you grow, anything exotic? How do they fare in the different heats, do you have to keep things in partial shade or cover them in the mid day sun?

So lets see what we can come up with and experiment with, you never know you might be able to grow thing you had never thought of before.

Steve

Blue Sky



Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France
PostPosted: Mon Apr 17, 06 7:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

The growing season here (Central France) is much the same as Southern England as we are half way into "Massif Central" and therefore quite high up. So, yes we have to do the windowsill method. The summer is hotter and the winter is cold and harsh.

I've still not been successful with sweet peppers as I cannot seem to get an early enough start but maybe this year

We did well with chilis last summer so I'm trying 5 different types this time. They are all ready doing well.

Other than that, just thwe same old veg as everyone else for now.

Fruit-wise we have orange trees & kiwis growing in pots.

Just Jane



Joined: 16 Mar 2006
Posts: 140
Location: France
PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 06 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Hi

Here it is a bit hotter in summer and colder in winter than the UK and the switch from reasonably hot to cold (and vice versa) takes place quite quickly - for example it was resonably "summery" until the end of October then the ground was frozen more or less continuously from the beginning of December to the begining of March with snow on and off through March and since Easter it is something like aproaching summer (with April showers - and showers here also tend to be heavier than the UK)

I try and grow the usual range of veg (runner beans don't seem to do too well), soft fruit and have also planted young fruit trees to train as a hedge (apple, pear, almond, peach, plum and cherry). In addition in the garden I have a couple of olive trees (which are not looking too happy at the moment), kiwis, grape vines and this year am trying to grow lentils and cotton. Indoors (they go outside in the summer) I have bananas (yet to fruit), lemons and limes.

My biggest problem is my laziness on the watering front (and the refusal to use tap water on plants). I also find that my seeds are slow to start as french houses tend to have windowsills on the outside rather than the inside so my plants have to sit on the floor in front of the window and I keep the house has been faily cool since I ran out of wood for the fire!!!

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 06 3:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I'd love to know how you go with lentils, I'm hoping to try them too. Is it a named variety you're growing?

Just Jane



Joined: 16 Mar 2006
Posts: 140
Location: France
PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 06 6:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

No its just the regular green cooking ones - they sprout ok for using as "beansprouts" so I thought I'd give them a go in the ground - I just soaked and planted them as I do for beans & mangetout

pricey



Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Posts: 6444

PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 06 7:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

It will be interesting to see if others in Europe have problems growing beans. what about other parts of the globe, can you grow normal runners?

We have lots of Olive tree's that are looking sad as well, I think some are past their sell by date, and will have to come down, to be replaced of coarse.

trigfa



Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 189
Location: Llangernyw, North Wales
PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 06 8:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

simon wrote:

... and within the bog of eternal stench

Holiday cottages .... in France


Perhaps not the world's greatest advertising slogan

pricey



Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Posts: 6444

PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 06 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    



I never noticed that.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 06 8:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

pricey wrote:
We have lots of Olive tree's that are looking sad as well, I think some are past their sell by date, and will have to come down, to be replaced of coarse.


Can they not be hard pruned so they recover? I remember reading an article in Country Smallholding where a smallholder in Spain had their olives badly damaged by snow one year and an expert helped prune them and they grew back well.

pricey



Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Posts: 6444

PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 06 8:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

This maybe a option, but having seen them at different times of the year, some look to far gone IE: no leaves or anything.

I will have to wait and see when we get out there, you can come and help if you want

thos



Joined: 08 Mar 2005
Posts: 1139
Location: Jauche, Duchy of Brabant (Bourgogne-ci) and Charolles, Duchy of Burgundy (Bourgogne-ça)
PostPosted: Tue May 02, 06 1:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Summer days usually reach highs in the low 40s and winter minimums are between -10 and -20. Other than that, Belgium is wet, so hosepipe bans are unknown. Flooding can be a problem in low-lying areas, but you don't need much of a hill to be out of danger.

Perennials need to stand the winter lows, but annuals can be grown as in the UK, with the same degree of frost protection.

Of course, things are a bit different further east. The Ardennes are famous for having six months of biting cold and wet, and six months of winter.

mpprh



Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 2
Location: Languedoc, France
PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 06 12:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Hi

we are closer to Africa than to UK, so the weather is different ! Today is 39C, and forecast to get hotter. Barely a sprinkle of rain since March with little chance of more until the autumn. A hot June day from 2003 :



Xmas day :



Same year, but very rare (and shortlived) snow :



Relaxation :



We actually have higher annual rainfall than London, but the bulk of it falls overnight in 3 or 4 serious downpours rather than constant drizzle. We are said to have 300+ sunny days per year. It can freeze occasionally in winter, but the sun brings the temperature back up to 15C by 10.00. We have had 1 January breakfasts outdoors with 20C some years.

In the garden, we have potatos, strawberries, tomatos, green peppers, aubergines, oranges, figs, apricots, peaches, apples, cherries, nefflier, plums, almonds, olives, vine, arbousier, onions, coriander, verveine, mint, melons, lavender, etc.

We also have various palm trees that give strange fruit. Some taste like pineapple !

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales
PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 06 1:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I'm not jealous, really I'm not....

Penny Outskirts



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....
PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 06 2:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

:sad8:

pricey



Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Posts: 6444

PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 06 3:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Hi mpprh, welcome to the site.

The pictures look great, your garden sounds good to, do you use local seeds, beans etc.. or do you mail order some from England.

Hope you have had a good look around and a good read, there is some great stuff on here, enjoy.

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