We have been growing yellow split peas here in Brittany for several years now. We started with a single row in the vegetable garden, and have gradually increased from there; this year, we have just finished sowing half of one of our small fields (about 300 square metres) with yellow peas. The main reason why… Continue reading Yellow Split Peas
Author: Tim the Gardener
Bread Ovens
In our part of the world (Brittany, France), outdoor bread ovens were an everyday part of life until well after the second world war. As a result, their remains, in various states of disrepair, are still visible in many places, and it is relatively easy to develop an idea of how they worked. Ovens in… Continue reading Bread Ovens
Potatoes
In many respects, potatoes provide the ideal introduction to food growing, particularly for anyone who has little or no gardening experience – the plants are strong enough to compete with weeds, they will grow in ground that has not been particularly well prepared, and, perhaps most significantly, they can yield a significant crop from a… Continue reading Potatoes
Bois de Chauffage
Les êtres humains ont l’une des plus vastes aires de répartition géographique parmi tous les animaux de la planète. Bien avant l’ère des technologies modernes, des populations vivaient déjà dans presque tous les recoins du globe, à l’exception de l’Antarctique — du cercle Arctique jusqu’à l’extrémité sud de l’Amérique du Sud. Notre capacité à prospérer… Continue reading Bois de Chauffage
Fences and Wild Animals
For the first few years that we were gardening in Brittany, we had very few problems with deer, then we started to notice that something was eating the raspberry and strawberry flowers in the spring (so that we got no crop), and there started to be sporadic raids on the vegetable garden, such as a… Continue reading Fences and Wild Animals
Thatching with rye straw
Crafts
Crafts One of the most unusual aspects of our modern world is that most people do not make the everyday objects that they use in their lives. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, this would not have been the case: even in relatively-recent history, most people would have made a certain amount of their own clothes,… Continue reading Crafts
Pictures
A hoe farm in Brittany. To be informed about upcoming open days and training days please send your email address to: info@hoe-farming.com
Sowing Seed
Sowing Seed Sowing seeds has been an integral part of human life since time immemorial. The fact that the whole of the adult plant, or at least the blueprint of the adult plant, is contained within the seed is nothing short of a miracle. When you have a chance to collect seed, store it carefully… Continue reading Sowing Seed
Mulch
“A farm is a self-sustaining unit that receives sunlight, air and water from the wider world, and with these resources grows in wealth and fertility from one year to the next”