Category: Potager
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Spilling the Beans…
It was surprisingly hard to find the kind of beans or peas that will really work for us in this mediterranean garden. Broad Beans / Vicia faba Broad Beans at first seemed a really good idea. Especially because they can be planted over the winter when the dreaded black aphids aren’t around. I planted them…
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Tulbaghia violacea
With a Filippi “code de secheresse” of 5 and its pretty as well as edible leaves and flowers, Tulbaghia violacea is an excellent plant for mediterranean gardens. This plant of the Allium family comes from South Africa and flowers in spring and fall in my garden. It tolerates up to -10°C and needs a light,…
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Aubergines / Eggplants
As for all “summer vegetables”, aubergines do very well here, provided they are planted in good earth and get enough sunshine and water. I have tried three different varieties since 2022. Two of them bought on the market or in der garden center, one from Italian seeds: They make beautiful plants and their fleshy velvety…
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Chilies and Peppers
Chilies as well as bell peppers love mediterranean climates and, if given good nutritious soil and enough water, will fruit well into November or even until the first frost. Sowing chilies has been fraught with difficulty in my experience. The plants don’t really grow strong and suffer tremendously with each transplanting. In the future I…
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Harvesting Olives
We had three olive trees, two of which had been planted in the half shade between some tall trees and the sunlit side of the house. As a result, they grew at an oblique angle and only on the side facing the light. We sold them in the spring and are hoping they are happy…
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Ipomoea Batatas – Sweet Potatoes
Pretty (though few) flowers and tasty fruit – Ipomoea batatas or Sweet Potato work well here in this Mediterranean garden. The wild form of Ipomoea batatas is native to Central America. It was imported to Asia by the Spanish and to Africa by freed African slaves. Today it’s grown in almost all tropical and subtropical…