Tag: vegetables
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Lettuce Tips & Tricks
In this Mediterranean garden I plant lettuce between September and May. The mild winters are wonderful for growing lettuce and lots of other hardy greens and vegetables like cabbages and beets. Summers are definitely too hot – even when grown under a shade canopy, lettuces won’t thrive, will suffer from pests, and will taste bitter.…
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Asparagus acutifolius
In March and April seemingly all of Occitanie goes crazy for wild asparagus. It is found in woody or uncultivated places, like the garrigue, on dry and sunny soil. I haven’t found masses of it while out walking but every spring I do find quite a few young shoots in the garden on the slopes,…
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The Potager in Winter: Cabbage & Co.
Cabbages work well here – at least if planted as late as possible in the fall to grow over the winter. That way they avoid most of the bugs, flies, caterpillars, and slugs that make them look like Swiss cheese otherwise. Of course without freezing temperatures you still have to regularly check the underside of…
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Rheum – Rhubarb
Planting Rhubarb in this Mediterranean garden turned out to be a successful experiment. In August 2022 I planted a “Frambozen Rood” in half-shade. Despite regular watering it did suffer a lot from the heat. During the garden re-ordering in December 2023 I moved it next to the wall of the garden shed where the soil…
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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…