Oliver Huynh

Hello,

I will have to tackle drought this year.
Last year we had rain only until the end of january, then a few drops in may, and then all came from mid-september to now (and then came frost - above ground rain tanks had to be emptied). Total and utter disaster for annuals, but trees (especially peaches) thrived and some broke under fruit.

I am repurposing an old concrete septic tank that was forgotten in the vegetable garden (there used to be a house in there, some 30 years ago) as an underground rainwater cistern. It will receive the rain from a gardening shed and from there I will run irrigation lines throughout the vegetable garden. I do not know how much water it can hold, but it is still full to the brim.

No sowing this year - everything will be transplanted after a good soaking, with proper rotation. I am pondering mulching ... caught between drought and slugs ... I still had a lot of damage in may and what remained in september was razed.
Nurturing the few volunteers that manage to grow. I now have feral swiss chards, veined sorrel, parsnips and even some garlic that seems to have survived to the mining fly.

Where I can't water, I will transform the place into a Mediterranean 'maquis'. Aromatic perennials between shrubs and fruit trees, freeze-resistant citrus (yuzu, finger lime, bitter oranges). chickpeas. Yuccas. Perhaps carob trees, but I am quite intimidated by planting a tree that could outlive me by so long ...

And negociation in the kitchen and at the dinner table, for the faithful staples I already have : goutweed, nettles, cleavers, flowering quinces, medlars.  I expect some other 'weirdos' coming this year, as cornel cherries, june- and seaberries start bearing fruit ... The hardest part, and the one where I have made the least progress.

Have a nice evening,
Oliver

As a side note, small smart dogs can find creative ways to be nasty and should not be considered innocuous. If you look menacing, they can injure more than trousers - or heels.

Never underestimate a Yorkshire terrier when descending a staircase by night.

Have a nice afternoon,
Oliver

The yuzu tea recipe looks like a Vietnamese recipe we prepare here - we add a little fresh ginger to the lemon and honey mix.
I have also planted a yuzu tree and a finger lime in my east-looking front garden, we only seldom get hard frosts now.

These are very nasty spiny little fellows ... finger lime looks (and felt !) like a little urchin, and the yuzu has 2-inch spines you could easily confuse with little branches. Slugs seem to like young lime leaves, I do not know for the yuzu yet.

Have a nice evening,

One of my favorite salads is mixed mustard greens with dandelions, in red wine vinegar and olive oil dressing. There is a wild rocket plant outside the kitchen, too strong on its own but perfect in a sandwich.
A traditional Italian recipe for dandelions is blanching them first in boiling water (2 minutes, no more), then frying them in olive oil and garlic. Blanching cuts the bitterness.
Then goutweed. I can not have enough of it - in soups, stews, stir-fry, ...
Borage, chickweed, cleavers - sneaked in stews and soups when I cook, more tolerated than liked by the audience.
"Eel in the green" is a traditional dish along the river, the condition being mixing at least seven different green herbs in the sauce, excluding spinach.

Have a nice evening,
Oliver

Next year I will try chickpeas, bitter oranges, Yuzu, banana yucca if I can find it. I planted finger limes this spring, and they bear their first fruits. New Zealand spinach, which has a hard time, but is slowly taking hold and flowering ; no harvesting for this year, I will let it self-seed. Lots of lavender and sage, and a beehive is under discussion.
We have had no frosts, two periods of prolonged drought between storms and nearly no rain - still less than 150 mm of rain since the start of january, it used to be 760mm per year on average for comparison.
I feel I have to plant for mediterranean conditions.

Have a nice evening,
Oliver

The stones are quite small, perhaps a cherry pitter might work ?
I did not try myself yet, as I usually use a steam juicer, I leave the pits inside.
Have a nice day,

it is a very good year for myrobalan plums down here - time for some juicing.

Being in Portugal, on a sunny garrigue-like corner, bay leaf, fig and citrus trees also come to mind. Given it is a small plot though, two small trees might be enough.
Where do prevailing winds and rain come from ? If you plan a hedge, you would set it so it does not block the rain from your land.
Also, is the area leveled or sloping ? A little swale, rock alignment or compost trench cut downhill the trees or shrubs might help them, I would expect strawberries to be planted near a compost pit or water feature though - it might be too dry elsewhere for them.
You might throw some chickpeas  or your favorite legume in there also, among aromatic and edible perennials (sea orache in the sun, sea kale in tree shadow ? depending on what you like)
Some trees or shrubs fix nitrogen, make good hedges, withstand drought, pruning and are edible too (... but are also quite invasive and sometimes spiny ...), perhaps Eleagnus or sea buckthorn ? Depending on space and the patience you have to trim them.

Have a nice day,

Vickey McDonald wrote:
Depending on when it "died" I would wait a bit before you decide to do anything with it.

Quite a bit off-topic, but i tend not to remove seemingly dead trees before two years after "death".
Depending on species, they might stay dormant more than one year, then resprout form the base.
My last "zombies" were a gingko and a persimmon though, not elderberries.

Have a nice evening,
Oliver

Hello,
For me, it is reinforced work pants everytime, and depending on the season a wool jumper or cotton T-shirt.
In the last weeks I had to work in full sun, I tried a worn cotton long-sleeved shirt to get protection.
I usually have a leather cow-boy hat, but I should find something lighter for the hotter days, perhaps straw or light felt.
And of course, wooden clogs anytime.