Tuscan Living

Early April and Easter was early this year too. And the last couple of days it has become warm again.  The growth in the fields is phenomenal after being very wet and now warm – up to 5 to 9 degrees above the normal average. Not only the grass, weeds and wild flowers, but the grapes are sprouting. Image below is about one week’s growth.

There is much to be done outside but that’s now become an issue.  Once again Nick’s managed to dislocate the hip on Easter Sunday while mulching the lavender, so very limited in what he can do for the foreseeable future, so we will need to adjust our plans for the season.  Hopefully with WorkAway help we can make some progress but most of the early spring activity is impacted. 

But before Easter we did manage a few jobs.  

• For the olive trees we intend to harvest from have had the grass round them cleared and fed with a specific olive preparation.  Plans were to tidy up these trees but that’s on hold for now.

• The compost heap started with Agnieszka and Janus is more or completed.   This is built from willow branches from a set of trees that have been heavily pollarded.  Looking for more suitable material to complete the last side.  Some of the posts used are sprouting.  Hopefully they will root and grow so we can have a living structure. 

Since Easter we’ve managed to get a few jobs done.  

• Cheryl is now ‘getting acquainted’ with the line trimmer.  The section of the track leading to the house has now been done.   Have been in contact with a gardener contracting team that hopefully will be able to help with this type of maintenance.  Only problem is that at present they are are  very busy and the level of rain through March has not helped them with their  schedule.

• We’ve also started with our grape vines maintenance.  Clearing the ground of any debris to hopefully minimise infections, relaying the drip feed irrigation and mulching with straw.   An experiment to see how effective straw is for mulching    More grape sections to be done plus the remaining friut trees, but the will be week after next. The big roll of straw slowly being pulled apart.

Inside there is also some progress. The pool room wall that was repaired with Janus has now been plastered using traditional lime plaster.  Amazing stuff and great to work with.  Not quite a ‘professional’ finish but very much in keeping with the remainder of the other internal walls.  Started in the kitchen but that is now stalled for a few weeks.