Hello everyone.
After introducing myself personally, I thought it would be good to start talking about my micro farm project in more detail more, to familiarize you a little with the place, and the job I'm going to do. Today's program: A little visit of my gardens. These photos are not recent. There has been some work since. :)
I live in France, in Haute-Normandie, 1h30 drive north of Paris. As popular belief says, here it is rather humid. It is cooler than in the south, so we avoid in this region summers completely scorched, and water shortages. But it does not rain as much as you would like to believe! Last summer we had in my commune two full months without real rains, which for the good growth of the vegetables is not especially recommended.
My project integrates two gardens.
- The first, about 500m ², on which I experience unpretentious for four years now, is located near Rouen, in urban area.
The environment is far from optimal, but the place is not cut for nature. About 800m (road and parking ..) separate my garden from the forest. It is not uncommon at night to hear foxes, and to cross paths with hedgehogs, boars, deer. Summer nights you can also hear owls, and see bats.
The terrain is sloping, and stony. However I still managed to get salads, tomatoes, aubergines, zucchini, squash, cabbage, carrots, turnips ..... from this garden. I have in this garden two greenhouses at my disposal. One that I bought. One that I built with almost only the recovery.
- The second , located in the countryside near Saint Valery en Caux is about 2000m². Due to its rural location, it has a better environment (surrounded by hedges, gardens, fields, ponds ...) and will probably benefit from a better eco-system and a better bio diversity. Having not really lived there yet, I can not describe the place to you so precisely, but according to the disappearance of chickens, which are common among neighbors in the area, I can say that there is probably foxes. :)
I have on this garden a greenhouse of 36m ², equivalent to the surface of the two others together.
The House
With the house in the back
The trees with beautiful red flowers are two camellias. In this photo on the left and right of the image, the garden is extended by two large alleys:
The aisles of the right of the image, always with the camellia as a reference. (here I took the picture back to the house, it's actually the bottom of the garden.)
And the left aisle. Photo taken before the greenhouse is in place, today it looks more like this:
So much for gardens! :) Spring coming, I'm obviously in full work, in these two gardens, outdoors, as indoors.
Development of growing areas, planting trees, perennials, cuttings, grading seeds, first seedlings indoors and earth, distribution of crops on my two fields .. It's not yet the rush, but it looks like .. :)
I hope you enjoyed this article !
Others will arrive very quickly!
Small bonus: I sorted in my garlic and onion bulbs today. In fact I have a lot more, I do not know why I did not make a picture of the whole, little mischief on my part. But here is still a small sample. 
From left to right: Garlic violet de provence, red baron onions, classic white garlic.
A very simple little graphic just for information:
http://agriexchange.apeda.gov.in/International_Production/International_Production.aspx?hscode=07032000
China alone accounts for 80% of world garlic production. Today I do not hope to feed the world by my choice of life. Simply my family, and myself, as well as to evolve serenely in my daily work.
See you soon.
Great post! I’ll be following along . Not much of a vegetable grower Due to my back yard gets no sunshine 😢. I wasn’t aware china supplies 80% of the worlds garlic. I live in Salinas Valley and we actually produce 80% of the worlds lettuce! It’s nickname is the salad bowl of the world. We also grow great Pinot Noir, chardoney and Syrah grapes. I’m curios what wine grape is grown in your region of France?
Hey ! Thank you ! I will look at salinas valley production !
I'm not an expert in grape, but i know my region (Normandie, north of France) is famous for the "Calvados" wine.
I can't tell you what is the name of the original grape, can't find it on google.
Hope you are going to have a better sunshine place to grow your own garden soon !
I’ll have to seek that wine out soon. I love new world wine and recently discovered French wine and it really blew my mind. Wish i could afford the good stuff though. Burgundy is something really special 👍
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I recently taken a course about keyline design - its about observing how water moves on the property and how to collect and distribute it. It could be helpful information.
Www.versaland.com have a free online course (farmscale permaculture) and they have a lot of videos on keyline design.
That course have really changed how i look at my land and the plans i have for it, so i really recommend it!
I gave you a follow and look forward to seeing your progress :)