May

It has finally warmed up, just yesterday. It is still damp though today seems to be drying out a bit, hopefully now things will grow.
My tomatoes and peppers have not moved at all, I will buy some more in the market next week and put them straight out, the first year I have not grown my own :(  Something, a Wild Boar probably, has attacked my top finca and dug up some of my onions, it was probably looking for walnuts as there must still be some in the ground.

Despite all the fruit blossom there seem to be very few plums this year, hopefully there are more than I can see at the moment, everything else looks alright, the cherries are growing nicely I hope I manage to get to them before the birds!

May 15th

The weather is lovely now. Last week suddenly got very hot, now it has cooled and is sunny and warm, ideal walking weather but I have not had time to walk.

The tomatoes have not done anything despite the warm weather! In fact 2 have died.

I have bought a couple more and some peppers and another courgette and have put them all out. I will have to keep an eye on them. I am having to water the seeds now as it hasn't rained for a week. The leeks have germinated, the first lot of lettuce look good and some spring onions are through. I think some of the carrots are through too and there are signs of the first potato plants so everything is on the move.

I will be away next week so I hope all stays well.

I found several damp floors in the house this week, for a while I was really worried. I think the wet floor in the bathroom may have been damp coming in from next door but I have decided that most of the problem was condensation. The floors were so cold because of the weather in April then it got really hot and humid, now it is all cleared, or clearing. The bottom stair, which is stone, is still a bit damp but better than it was, there is no way anything could have leaked onto it, that's how I know I don't have a serious problem!

Wet!

I have managed to dig both plots and to sow everything I wanted to, in the couple of dry days we have had this month. It is cold, even the tomato plants that I have indoors are not doing anything. I think everything will be fruiting late this year but I am not having to water my seeds, they are more in danger of being washed away.
The owners of the plot of land next door are now in agreement to sell, they are registering the property in their names, they still haven't suggested a price and the people on the other side are now interested as well. I must have it it will add value and comfort to this house.
April 27th
Today is dry, so far, the air is quite warm though there is not much sun. I think it is the best day we have had this month. My tomatoes have not moved in the entire month so I have given in and bought 3 tomato plants and 2 peppers, other wise I doubt I would see any tomatoes until October.
My first sowing of lettuces are just peeping through so something is happening, the strawberries and raspberries look happy too so hopefully I can look forward to some fruit.
I have cleaned and painted the downstairs sitting room, it looks much lighter now, incredible the difference it made when I cleaned the windows! It means that I can't light a fire until next winter so I hope the weather stops being so cold and miserable.

end of March

I have returned, with the intention of digging over the land and digging in the compost. This started well enough in my top plot. There is a lot to do, it needs tidying and weeding but where I want to plant it is ready. I found 5 new potatoes, from a potato I planted last summer but never noticed that it had sprouted. I have had to water the garlic as they are not doing much and the ground is really dry.

The fruit trees are doing really well. The cherry has lots of flowers so maybe this year there will be enough fruit for me and the birds!

The plum trees are all flowering. The apples haven't flowered yet but one of the apple trees will have flowers, so maybe I will have an apple or two this year, this is only the 3rd year.

The pears are already flowering well as well. They are all very early so much depends on what the weather does from now on. This year has been unseasonably hot and dry.

Despite the dry weather my bottom finca has flourished, it is covered with weeds, I just couldn't believe it.

I left it clear and covered in compost and went there today just to dig in the compost but i am going to have to start from scratch again. The chives have spouted but are so mixed up with grass that I think I am going to have to dig these up and sow some more seeds.

I have pricked out my tomatoes, which have germinated whilst I was away. The peppers haven't yet but I think there is just a sign of the first one.

My neighbours are all busily sowing seeds outside and busy watering them, I will do that later in the week, or maybe next week. I have to clear that finca first!

March

I went to the market this morning, to see what plants are around now. I was surprised by the number. There were leeks, cabbages, onions, lots of things I didn't recognise and big tomato plants. It seems very early, most people are just preparing their land, adding composts and manure. It is certainly too early for tomatoes to go out and I would have thought that anyone with a greenhouse would be growing their own, maybe not. I have sown my tomatoes and peppers, I won't do anything else for the moment as I will be away for 3 weeks, starting next week. it drizzled a bit last night, the first rain for nearly a month though the forecast says maybe rain next week, it is very much needed.

work starts!

I have now spread compost, from my compost pile, on both my fincas. My neighbour has spread manure on hers, I'm glad I don't have much need to open windows! The weather is still very dry and very warm during the day, several times I have sat outside with my morning coffee, it is warm enough to sit out in a T-shirt.
This morning I have been climbing trees and clearing unnecessary branches, I can't quite get at all the branches I need to, I need a long handled gadget, I had hoped to borrow one but in the end I have done the best I can. Most of the branches I wanted to cut I have managed. I will go out on Saturday and tidy up the branches I have left around. I have dug up all my carrots, just 3 leeks left. Now I must start on my seeds, it needs to rain though the ground is quite dry, not what one expects in February.

February

The weather has continued to be cold at night and sunny during the day, there has been too little rain, if we don't have a very wet spring we are going to have a drought in summer. I even saw the helicopter going to put out a fire the other day!
Today is damp, which is useful, as I have been out and sown my garlic. I should have done it ages ago, normally I do, but as my garlic are usually a disaster I decided I must be doing it wrong. I checked with Ines my neighbour and she tells me they should be in, so now they are. Fortunately the ground is soft enough today to get them in, tomorrow another anti-cyclone arrives. I've sown them in my top plot so I will see if they are better, they are also a bigger variety.
My carrots are doing quite well, they are not enormous but I had a helping of fresh carrots for Sunday lunch, there are still a few left, my leeks are OK too. Hopefully this year they will germinate earlier. It will soon be time to start composting and sowing seeds.

New Year!

Thisyear has started with beautiful weather, lovely warm sunny days, which has meant very little need for heating during the day, though there have been heavy frosts at night and the frost in the shade does not always clear.
It has also meant a lot of pollution and smoke as people take advantage of the dry weather to burn. God knows what they have been burning on the mountains as there have been several days of smoke, from several different points. The fires must be very big as these mountains are many miles away. The photos are not very clear but there is quite a haze over the mountains.
I have started giving milk to one of the stray cats, with the result that I now have a companion whenever I leave the house, on this occasion she's leading me home, in the hope I will feed her again!

There is nothing to do on the land, it is too frozen any way. I just go out weekly to put rubbish on the compost pile. Today I checked my carrots and leeks, both are thriving.