HOME & GARDEN
SIMPLY LIVING FRANCE
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The Market Gardener
LET THERE BE LIGHT
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very day we take our pick of carrots, spinach, lettuce, beetroot, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, cabbages and more. On many evenings, the vegetables freeze but thaw out quickly in the morning sun, and so the kitchen garden acts as our very own extended larder at this time of year. The great advantage of this month is that the light levels and daylight hours start to increase faster. In January we gained an average of 50 minutes more daylight than in December and it will be close to one hour and 30 minutes more in February. Gardeners are ever the optimists, and we can sometimes be tempted to jump the gun and sow all the seeds we can get our hands on at this time of year. I am no exception, and of course, this month I will be sowing in earnest. Yet I do suggest some caution, and instead, choose the types of vegetables you sow very carefully. No such thing as ‘too cool’ In France, especially here in the south, the weather can be very hot in the spring, but also very wet. In addition to this, there’s also the cold weather to deal with, and the last frost dates range from midApril to the end of May. Initially I found the start of the growing season so much more challenging in this climate, than I ever did in England.
There are such large temperature fluctuations from day to day and from the day to evening. However, I learned to mitigate this challenge by continuing to sow seeds of vegetables that are traditionally cool weather crops in February, yet only those that have a short time until harvest. Vegetables on my list that meet these criteria are ones such as radish, kohl rabi, rocket, spinach, carrots, beetroot, peas, lettuce, turnips, broccoli, onions and more. All these will be ready to harvest from 30 days to four months, they can tolerate the cold temperatures, and will do ok in any unpredictable short lived high temperatures throughout spring too. Heat loving plants If you can grow under cover, with a guarantee of no frost reaching your seedlings, you can also start to sow the following: tomatoes, basil, marigolds, and nasturtiums (to help deter pests and bring colour to your vegetable garden). However, I must add, that although they can be
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