28 April 2017

Frostbite

at least the broad beans were not affected

Philippe presented a very dejected figure this morning.  The second overnight frost has decimated the young, tender shoots of his grapevines and also hit his potato crop badly.  He is very unhappy.

frost damaged grape vine

We are being well and truly punished for our early warm weather and the gardens here have taken a big hit.  Paul wrapped up his tomatoes and courgettes in fleece but it still looks like he’s lost one tomato plant and the leaves on the courgettes are not looking good. 




My beautiful hydrangea that had just put up small flower heads has been burnt by the frost.  The cherries have been hit too, such a shame as it looked like it was going to be a bumper year.  Our potato plants are not looking good either.

rogue potato plant in the compost heap escaped the frost

The local wine and fruit producers will be badly affected.  Mother nature can be very cruel sometimes. 

Diane Dawg looked dejected too



18 comments:

  1. That's so sad, you work so hard in the garden and then a frost undoes all your work. We had a very mild winter so we planted early, went on a trip in March and were hit by a late, for us, frost. It hurt a number of our plants too.

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    1. It is very disappointing but at least it's not our livelihood. Looks like it's going to be another cold one tonight.

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  2. It seems that France, particularly, has been very badly hit by these late frosts. What a tragedy - all the hard work ruined. No idea if Spain has suffered the same fate, but it's been unseasonably cold these last few days.

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    1. The Dordogne has taken a big hit this week. It's bad news for the big wine growers.

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  3. Sorry about your frost attacks, very upsetting. We popped our peach tree, which is potted up ready to move, into the garage, so all's well with it. I love reading about your life in France, I once wanted to move there myself, but it wasn't to be... but we are moving to a small town in Suffolk.. can't wait!

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    1. I'm hoping our peach trees will be okay, only time will tell. Your move to Suffolk sounds exciting.

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  4. Norfolk is now in winter again.

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  5. Yes, late frosts can be so devastating can't they?

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    1. It's so sad to see all the new young shoots killed off.

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  6. I wonder if the vines will re-grow somehow. All my best eating grapes were frosted, as well as the tips of the Fig trees. Luckily I kept all my veg' plants covered with plastic pots, and they are OK. I've noticed a lot of local Box bushes are dead too. I shall have a chat with the man from Calassou this morning, to see how his vines have fared; I imagine not well.

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    1. It's tragic for the wine growers. I see some vineyards had fires burning to try and ward off the frost. I don't think our wine man will be very happy this morning.

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  7. It is a sign from God following the first round of the French presidential elections. The Almighty is clearly displeased with the final pairing.

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    1. I think you could be right. (I dare not repeat what Philippe said about the French elections.)

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  8. Early planting and early growth sometimes comes with a risk. That's really disappointing that so many things were damaged by the frost. I have no idea how grape vines come back after a hit like that. Here, there are only certain seeds that can go in the ground at this time. Other tender plants must wait, usually until the end of May. -Jenn

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    1. Paul knew he was taking a risk with the tomatoes and courgettes. Nothing we could do about the other plants that had sprouted early due to the warm weather.

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  9. Our local vines look curly but are not crispy so I shall see our guys come Monday morning for the Diane the Dawg look and ask how they are going.

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    1. Philippe's vines didn't look too bad after the first frost but they have deteriorated day by day,the ends have gone completely black now. And we've got grele forecast for tomorrow now!

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