Enjoy May – it’s the last month before the Big Heat. It can also be the loveliest with so many colourful wild meadow and hedgerow flowers, and it’s still possible to spot the orchids. Listen out for the nightingales – they’re far more common here than in the UK; we can regularly hear three day and night. The cuckoos have been around for quite a time now. Meanwhile the elder trees are well in blossom so now’s the chance to make delicious elderflower cordial and champagne, the nicest of the (non-alcoholic!) summer drinks. Back to the veg patch…
March is the start of busiest time down in the veg patch. If you want to make the most of the Portuguese spring before the summer heat, now’s the time to be sowing seeds, and transplanting the seedlings. You want as much as possible in the ground by April, any later and many plants won’t be big enough to cope with the sun.
That said there can still be frosts. The weather forecast is still predicting very cold temperatures at night for central Portugal and we’ve woken up to a frost every morning this month so far. But it’s definitely time to don those wellies and get cracking!
Things to do in February in your Vegetable Garden in Portugal
The cold weather persists and it’s easy to stay inside wrapped up. But venture outside and you should see the first of the bulbs in flower, and there are a few things for you to be getting on with before the busy spring period:
Things to do in December and January in your Vegetable garden in central Portugal.
There might not be snow in Central Portugal but freezing temperatures there’ll certainly can be. However, clear blue skies and golden hues can make this one of the nicest times of year to be out in the veg patch.
Garden fires can be very dangerous in hot countries, like Portugal, but are also very necessary, but the time for burning is comming to an end..
Towards the end of May restrictions on having any fire in gardens or other land, come into force.
After the given date fires are only permitted when it is actually raining, until the end of Summer (we will let you know the safe dates when we know them).
It might seem strange to say you can only have a fire in the rain, but as long as you keep your garden rubbish dry you can still get a fire going in the rain.