KW-34 Eudemonia

The condition of good spirits and welfare.

Like a bodybuilder cutting after bulking, to discover what they have created beneath the accumulated subcutaneous fat, so this week at the barracks we are mostly going to be clearing away the weeds which sprang up after the first rainfall of the year, to see what edible wonders have swelled in their shade.

This is the bunch of grapes from which I stole a single fruit. And it was delicious

For the most part, this year, I have kept weed cover way higher than usual this year. The grass stopped growing months ago (grass, for the beginner gardeners out there, is supposed to be lush, green verdant. Not yellow and crunchy underfoot), meaning no access to high quantities of high quality mulch. So we just let the weeds grow instead.

That storm which started in Portugal and Spain, and which swept away villages in Austria, was, by the time it got to us, it was just rain. Lots of rain, but not too much. Statistically, you would not be too wrong to say “all the rain we have had this year”.

Dear reader, I did not lie about the cucurbitae being a total washout. Every one of them really did get eaten by slugs. But then I found some more seeds and had one more go. And I have two flourishing pumpkin plants and one courgette. It might be too late for them to make fruits, but look carefully, You can see at least two flowers!

I’m not saying that the water problems are over for us. But by god, that rain came at the right time. I think I managed to keep most things just alive enough and for long enough that they kept their root structures going strong. Then, when the rain came, they leapt back into life. I may add some nitrogen (in the form of nettle tea) again to the green leafies. To do that when they are dry would have been crazy.

I had a look at the vineyard - the beets are looking good. By the time they come out, there is going to be an easy 100 kilos, maybe 200. This goes a long way with piggies, but not forgetting, they eat 30 kg a day. Still, a week’s food just from the beets, in the first year of the vineyard is encouraging. There should be something similar in sunflowers, potatoes and corn. Next year, we will do better. If this year, we made a month’s supply of pig food, then we have a marker in the ground, and now I know that I just have to do 12 times better. In all seriousness, this should not be a problem.

The cabbages have been saved. They were mercilessly attacked by flea beetles. I attacked back. I sprayed them off, three times a day, with water. And now, they seem to have gone and the savoys are growing happily again

The forests have been full of people mushrooming. Somewhat optimistically, it must be said. I haven’t yet seen anyone coming back with anything more than empty hands. It takes about a week after the rains for them to come out, and I am doubtful that even after what we had, it will be enough to encourage the fruiting bodies to reveal themselves. By gum, I hope they do though. The hungry months are considerably better when fortified with a few bags of dried Ceps. If they do come out, you know this pirate will be first there!

Last week, I ate my first ever barracks grape. This week coming, I will be adding to my diet: carrots, savoy cabbage, sweetcorn, sunflower seeds and, if I get around to it, baked beans.

Not quite a year’s supply of tomatoes, but getting there. I was thinking of styling this photo. But meh. It’s tomatoes in glasses. Also, a LOT of blackberry jam. Just blackberries. Rich and exotic!

Next week:

• I shall be spending at least two days on tomatoes. If it turns out to be three, so be it. There will be another harvest, which means another sauce making episode, but they also all need a bit of encouragement to crop again. We have had 28 kilos of tomatoes, and if I play my cards right, there should be more or less the same again in ripe ones, and I am quite sure that this year I will once again be making the unripe tomato chutney-sauce-passata creation known around here as Green Slime, and which kept me very much on track with the tagline to year one - do not die. Also, seed saving. And paper-bag-making for seeds to be saved into

• I’m planning on laying another side of bricks in the potager

• And I have to put down two carpets. The first brave adventurers to the barracks - the Family Hoyle (after whom the Hoyle Suite is named) - are coming back after almost three years. It’s going to be exciting to see how much they think has changed. I might ask them to guest-write a blog post. Let me know in the comments if you’d like to read that and we shall peer-pressure them into it. (Mamma Hoyle is a published author. It shouldn’t be too hard!)

I was also going to tell you about the UK Channel 4 programme I have been approached to do. I’m not going to be doing it. Let me know if you want a blog post about that as well.

Until next time, me hearties,

Much Pirate Love

Ben

x

PS. Reading this week, of course, Midnight’s Children. A staggeringly good book, and, not that I do hashtag politics (especially of the “I stand with” variety), I think it’s ok to make a gesture in support of Salman Rushdie and the power of literature at this time.

A thing which ended up on my Instagram Stories this week.