Amber is staying with me at the moment and yesterday we went up to Ginjais to plant some of what I’d collected from Quinta das Abelhas the day before – mostly currants and gooseberries, some perennial leeks, evening primroses, and a self-seeded asparagus.
First we tidied up the terrace down next to the ribeira putting all the prunings into a neat pile, planted a shrub that I’ve already forgotten the name of (need to make a notebook of what’s where), watered the trees, and put some of the wood we’d tidied around the trees to mark them and provide some slow-release nutrients.
I planted perennial leeks, evening primrose, and a lone asparagus plant in the garden next to the house, whilst Amber looked things up on the companion planting chart, so we could decide where to put everything.
For lunch we grilled sausages on the kitchen fire.
After lunch Amber started shifting a huge and tangled heap of wood where a fallen chestnut had been piled up by a tractor some years ago. It’s right in the middle of a terrace where I want to plant some of the trees that are still in pots, so it needs to be moved and there should be some great compost under it.
Meanwhile I dug brambles out of a patch to plant gooseberries and currants, planted some gooseberries at one end of it, and mulched with straw.