Preparing For the Grapes

 These pictures were actually taken two weeks ago when we finally went into the basement and cleaned everything in there. As you can see there was a lot of stuff there including these massive wine demijohns which we were informed have a capacity of 50 litres.
Thankfully there was no sign of the rats who had been there previously but the smell down there wasn't the greatest. The mould on the walls was also not very good for the air down there.
Some of the wood had to be replaced as it was rotten.

Finding a wine press was a pleasing sight as we have all the tools now to prepare wine. It's been a good seasons for grapes as it's been very dry. There's just one more month until harvest time but some of the grapes are already ripe. Wine making is an art and my expectations are not so high for the first batch as I really don't know anything about how to make it but I am looking forward to trying it.

Harvest Time

Strawberries have come and gone but there's lots more to pick and gorge on.
Now is the time when fruits such as cherries, raspberries, currants are all ready to be picked. We also have two courgettes and I have to say that eating a barbecued one the other night was possibly one of the tastiest experiences of my life. I am really looking forward to harvesting tomatoes, peppers and grapes. The latter is going fine but we are both stressed about all the diseases we have been warned about. We are still using an ecological spray consisting of iodine, soap, milk and water. Fingers crossed ...

There's still lots of work to do especially as temperatures are now in the mid to late 30s. It's just so hard to do any work when it is so scorching hot. The shower in the picture below is a great way to cool down and what could be more natural than washing outdoors?

Watering is the main thing as the earth is extremely dry. We need some rain but not vicious storms. It's amazing how much more I focus on the weather now that plants are dependent on me and on nature.

Satisfying

The next update of life on the land, where life is never boring.

It's so satisfying to see some green coming up from the depths of the ground. All they needed was a little water and they have responded in turn.

The problem is with some areas of the land where the grass is too high. As I love old-school things, I decided to buy a scythe to cut the grass around the vines. After cycling all around the nearest town of Pezinok during which time I got a puncture, I was unsuccessful.
The next day, Saturday, I found one but the hardest part was mounting the scythe, at least I thought so anyway. After a lot of head scratching and some pointless hammering, we succeeded in fitting the blade onto the rest of the body.

The problem then became how to sharpen the blade. With a stone I spent ages going back and forth but it didn't seem to make a difference. A neighbour suggested hammering the blade to thin it out. we tried this but no joy. Now it seems that we will have to forget about being old-school and just buy a petrol garden trimmer. It's a shame but a lot of effort has yielded very little result and the grass is still high and growing. Next mission, find a garden trimmer.