Back to Scotland

 Our time here in Sardinia is over. Before heading home,  we made sure to leave  the vineyards, the vegetable areas and the rest in good order. There will be a lot of watering to be done when we are away as the vegetable areas are now filled and plants are growing fast. We have planted over 2200 vegetables which makes a sumptuous menu for vegetarians with potatoes, tomatoes, different types of lettuces, various types of beans, cabbages, onions, courgettes, aubergines, beet, spinach, peas, broad beans, some maize and more. It takes us around 2 hours to water all the plants, but the watering can be split into 3 days in 3 different areas.

vegetables growing well

                                                                   the fruit of our work

In the vineyard we have been tying up the long shoots. Vines are growing at a fast pace. Foliage is abundant and it is a pleasure to see it. First signs of the grapes have appeared and later on in mid June  most of them will be cut off to give the plants a better chance to get stronger. But a few grapes here and there will be left so that we can see how they grow and then have a taste of the fruit. This means that this September we will not be producing any wine from our own grapes. We need to wait another year and hopefully the plants will be strong enough to support  a good crop.

This year is another disappointing one for the almonds as the trees have produced little or nothing now for the last 3 years. Something has changed but we cannot tell exactly what. Last year olive growth was good and the production of olive oil had a surplus which was sold.

Fruit trees are also producing erratically. One year you have lots of apples and pears but no plums or peaches, the following year plums and apricots are ok but not the rest. Fig trees  seem to be the most reliable ones. 

As the climate changes in an unpredictable way, and with sudden high or low temperatures fluctuating by 15 degrees in 24 hours, taking care of the plants and vegetables becomes very difficult, if in some circumstances impossible. An entire crop can be destroyed in one night, and for people who rely on food production to survive that can be devastating. We need to adapt and change in the way we plant the crops and even change the type of crops altogether.

Our vegetable ones this year are all in good health and the satisfaction in seeing a tiny plant become productive with abundant fruit is great. When there we can eat what we collect only a few metres away and including  wild stuff. Unfortunately we are leaving at a time when vegetables are at their best....in June, at least, we will be consigned to buying packaged vegetables grown miles away from where we live....(supplemented with a bit of garden-grown, organic ground elder, of course!

Broad beans and peas

Our return to Sardinia is planned for the beginning of September. There don't see to be many olives this year, nor almonds, so we will be concentrating on working on the vineyards, the vegetables, doing some tree pruning and making firewood.