A Friday at Montrouch in August
Friday is always a busy day at Montrouch. With two markets, the organic market in Narbonne and Place de la Republique producer’s market in Perpignan on Saturday there is a lot to get sorted out….
Life at Montrouch
Lezignan Corbieres’s unfortunate Bitumen Factory
The unfortunate decision to build a bitumen factory at the border of Lezignan Corbieres and Ferrals des Corbieres has caused an unholy stink. For at least the last month there has been a constant protest…
Beginning to sound like a Vigneron
Well it has started, listening to the radio this morning I heard a vigneron talking about her first harvest, Muscat Petite Gris, as usual the journalist asked her how is the harvest, very disappointing she…
July is hotting up
July arrived and it was like someone pushed a switch, the temperature suddenly rose 15 decrees. The temperature rising incredibly fast every morning, with afternoon storms, sometimes with rain, rumble through the Hautes Corbieres. The…
Revolution and Environment in Southern France Peter McPhee
Revolution and Environment in Southern France, by Pëter McPhee published by Clarendon Press 1999. On the 12th November in 1830 a brigade of gendarme were dispatched to Gleon at the request of a large local…
Tourism and the future of the Corbieres- some thoughts
Tourism is often thought to be the future for the economic development of the Corbieres. Traditionally a poor rural economy based on a mixture agricultural economy, vines, cereals, animal husbandry, and until the mid 20th…
A week at Montrouch in June
Well this Sunday is free, so a lazy time has been had by all here at Montrouch. All we have to do now is a couple of hours watering but that has to wait until…
Bio Corbieres post foire thoughts
Well the long weekend is over, first the markets in Perpignan and Narbonne then the Bio Corbieres Festival at Bonnefous on Sunday. It was a bit of a chore unpacking the two vehicles on Saturday…
Early March seed planting programme
Well March has arrived, and what a difference a few days can make. After the late frost at the end of February the temperate has shot up, it is not exactly T shirt weather, particularly…
Frosts-The sting in February’s tail
Hard frosts, Winter’s little killer. After one of the mildest January’s on record the temperature plunged in February back to winter’s norm. Then the nightmare arrived, hard frosts. In the garden the mother plants were…