A Creative Spirit in Portugal
This time last week I was preparing my Six on Saturday when we lost our telephone line. We had a wildfire start quite close to us but thank God the wind sent the smoke, fire and ash in the other direction and across into the next valley. Thanks to the swift response of the Bombeiros... Continue Reading →
Unlike the UK we've not had any rain other than the odd shower to quench the thirst of the scorched countryside. Unfortunately, this means we are on high alert for fires. Consequently, we try to conserve and reuse every drop of water when feasible. So far my plants in pots are holding up well as... Continue Reading →
Thankfully, the water butts are full to the brim as are all the plastic water bottles. It truly is April showers with brilliant sunshine one minute and heavy rain the next. I seriously would not recommend a holiday in Portugal in April if you want a tan as the weather is too unreliable and it... Continue Reading →
A busy week of seed planting and pricking out seedlings means I've already filled our two cold frames. I've discovered, there's something quite satisfying about growing seeds... I think. So far so good. I've now gone crazy and ordered 5 packets of seeds from a friend who is putting in an order with a UK... Continue Reading →
Another great week in the garden! We've had plenty of rain as well as warm sunny spells so seeds and vegetables are off to a good start. As I posted in 'My Garden in Bloom - February' I am amazed by the number of cacti and succulents in bloom and it looks as if this... Continue Reading →
We've had glorious weather again this week and the night time temperature has not fallen below 10C in our micro-climate. Unfortunately, we've had no rain so once again we rely on our temperamental irrigation system. 1. Upcycling Plastic in the Garden As I've been struggling to find plastic plant markers in the shops, I decided... Continue Reading →
My SoS (Six on Saturday) for this week is a bit of a mixed bag. I've been more active in the garden and we are more or less back on track planting vegetables, clearing weeds etc. I've yet to scratch the itch of walking around a garden centre so perhaps we can add that to... Continue Reading →
Where has this week gone already? It seems like only yesterday I was writing last week's SoS (Six on Saturday). My Six on Saturday this week focuses on vegetables. Temperatures at night still hover between 4C and 12C and daytime temperatures usually above 14C to as high as 20C. Probably higher if I measured the temp... Continue Reading →
My #sixonsaturday this week is to suggest six effective ways to upcycle plastic in your garden rather than disposing in the recycling bin, or trash. Come on fellow gardeners, get creative with plastic! 1. Recycling Water Water is a precious resource. When practical I recycle grey water from the house (washing machine, bath, showers etc)... Continue Reading →
In the Western Algarve growing strawberries in January is relatively easy. Dare I say we do not have ground frost and temperatures can reach a high of 18c during the day and from between 2C to 12C at night. I have found the best method of growing strawberries during the winter months is in containers... Continue Reading →
Imagine eating your own home-grown organic cucumbers. Hmmmm... delicious! Why not challenge yourself to grow cucumbers in pots or indeed any container which has adequate drainage. Even if you only have a small garden or sunny balcony give it a try and let me know how you get on. I usually buy about six seedling... Continue Reading →
I've been meaning to set myself this challenge for some time so after reading the theme for this week's photo challenge is 'Quest'. and according to Merriam Simple Definition of quest : a journey made in search of something : a long and difficult effort to find or do something I think a 'quest' to pick... Continue Reading →
I don't know the name or variety of these tomatoes but they sure are HUGE!!! (I've since been informed they are 'Rosa' tomatoes). This year I bought several baby tomato plants from Silves monthly market which is held on the 3rd Monday of each month. This is an excellent market for vegetable plants, fruit bushes... Continue Reading →
With a little creativity it's amazing what containers you can use to grow strawberries. Deep plastic crates prove excellent containers for growing strawberries, lettuce or rocket. Line the crates with black plastic and make holes in the base area to allow for drainage. Add stones, then good quality compost and voilá! Because the containers are... Continue Reading →
I am absolutely convinced that gardening in my patch of Portugal is beyond a challenge, or labour of love. Case in point: I'd no sooner tidied the patch and planted up all the vegetable plugs I'd bought from the market when I noticed brown spots on the leaves. Sigh ... There is NEVER a dull moment!... Continue Reading →
Growing fruit and vegetables was my labour of love and a hobby which gave me a great sense of fulfillment. Although my efforts in the vegetable garden were never destined to make us self-sufficient, the pleasure of eating something I'd grown from seed or plug was rewarding. Like a sentry I stood guard against the... Continue Reading →
A couple of years ago I bought a peach tree. I planted the baby tree in a large pot, talked to it daily and it thrived. This year it flowered and the flowers, to my delight, turned to peaches. After months of waiting for the peaches to grow and then ripen, I decided today was... Continue Reading →
One of my many 'container' gardening successes is growing cucumbers in pots. Rather than plant seeds and wait weeks for them to germinate I buy the seedling plugs from local markets. The only downside is that there are no "fancy" varieties to choose from, or perhaps I should view that as an upside because the... Continue Reading →
It's now September and here's me wittering on about my garden activities in July. I'm so far behind with this year's "Vegetable Diary" I was almost tempted to abandon the idea. However, as I have all the notes and photographic evidence I thought it would still prove useful to other Algarve gardeners and a reminder... Continue Reading →
This year I’m keeping a photographic diary of my humble vegetable garden; what’s growing when, where and how well. Yes, I know it's August and I'm writing about July June, but with recent trips to the UK and France I am way, WAY behind on my blogging activities. I took all the photographs, so at... Continue Reading →
This year I’m keeping a photographic diary of my humble vegetable garden; what’s growing when, where and how well. Despite being away for nearly two weeks I'm pleased to say my friends did a sterling job looking after all my fruit and vegetables. Everything was just as I'd left it(alive), but almost twice the size!... Continue Reading →
This year I'm keeping a photographic diary of my humble vegetable garden. In theory, if I take photographs on the 19th of each month they will offer a direct comparison as to what’s growing when, where and how well. The purpose of the exercise is to provide a record for next year so I can... Continue Reading →
This year I plan to photograph and record what's growing in my humble vegetable garden on the 19th of each month. This will give me a better idea of what’s growing when, and how well. Hopefully, it will act as a record for next year and I can learn from my successes and failures. The... Continue Reading →
This year I plan to photograph the plants in my humble vegetable garden on the 19th of each month. This will give me a better idea of what's growing when, and how well. Hopefully, it will act as a record for next year and I can learn from my successes and failures. The broad beans... Continue Reading →
Better late than never! I don't know whether the excitement of our imminent trip to the UK for several weeks was sapping my enthusiasm, or just the December blues due to the long dark evenings, but I really had to dig deep (pardon the pun) to motivate myself to work in the garden. I'm not... Continue Reading →
Firstly, a belated happy New Year to my followers and a big thank you for all your comments and support during 2012. I've just returned from a family Christmas and New Year in England to discover Santa and his little Elves have left me a wonderful surprise in my absence! For those who have followed... Continue Reading →
My passion for gardening has taken a back seat during November due to my trip to France, illness and of course the National Novel Writing 30 day challenge. However, much to my surprise everything, bar the cucumbers growing in pots, survived despite being unloved and neglected. Temperatures in the day hovered around 18C and 12C... Continue Reading →
Here we are hurtling towards the end of October enjoying the sun when autumn arrived quite suddenly. One minute we are swimming in the sea and enjoying temperatures of 25C while the cloudless blue sky suggested not a hint of rain and then it turned cold and wet... I should have known better, our wedding... Continue Reading →
There is never a dull moment on Piglet's Plot. I've discovered yet another bug has taken up residence in my gourmet garden so I need some help from my gardening buddies please! While emptying the soil from a pot I'd recently grown potatoes in I discovered tiny white insects running around in the soil. I've... Continue Reading →
August passed with a blink of an eye and before I realised, it was September. Unfortunately, I failed in my personal challenge to record my "August" gardening "ups and downs" along with photographic evidence. Fortunately I made some notes, which I've recorded below, but photographs are like hen's teeth (non-existent) A bug called citrus leaf... Continue Reading →
When my son and fiancée moved to their new home in the UK they inherited a neglected, but nevertheless healthy rhubarb plant which had masses of thick juicy stalks. I was green with envy as the plant was growing in a small container and I'd desperately tried for years to grow rhubarb in containers, with... Continue Reading →
My container gardening diary continues... The temperatures in July, after scorching winds, soared into the 30Cs and certainly tested my tenacity and ability to grow fruit and vegetables in containers. Unlike cacti, succulents, hibiscus and the other variety of plants I grow, container grown fruit and vegetables are certainly more challenging for the novice gardener.... Continue Reading →
My monthly garden diary continues with my ongoing attempts to grow fruit and vegetables in pots and various containers. After various gardening disasters in May I learned some valuable lessons such as a basic understanding of soil nutrients, watering (under and over) and the size of the pots I should be using to name a... Continue Reading →
On Monday, I met up with Joan a fellow "container" garden enthusiast and a regular visitor to my blog. It was great to not only see all her wonderful pots of fruit, vegetables and flowers, ask numerous questions ranging from types of compost, worm farms to problems with insects, but also discuss our successes and... Continue Reading →
There's certainly never a dull moment when you attempt to grow your own fruit and vegetables, especially on Piglet's plot! One minute they are all fine and the next... Before we returned to France I went to our local plant and hardware shop to buy liquid fertilizer for my fruit and vegetables. After performing various... Continue Reading →
Piglet is going green! No, that's not green with envy of EC's wonderful zucchini and squash. But I do feel I can at least make a small contribution to help reduce global warming by cutting down on my personal carbon emissions. How? By not growing zucchini (courgettes) What...has Piglet gone mad? (probably...) How will not growing... Continue Reading →
Over the next year I will be keeping a monthly diary of all the fruit and vegetables I grow in my garden. This idea was prompted by fellow blogger Hurtled to 60 and now beyond I've made various garden posts over the last year, but as there is very little information regarding what to grow... Continue Reading →
