So a quick catch up. The ski season is over, my ski boots are firmly hung up till next winter and everyone has buggered off, leaving the valley very quiet indeed.

Most importantly I’ve finally finished preparing the ground for the kitchen garden. It was bloody hard work. I was digging out boulders so big that it needed two of us to lift the buggers out. That pile of rocks in the distance of the picture below all came out of the tiny 20m2 patch I’ve prepared. The soil does look good, despite what the other families in the chalet think. I’ve enriched it a little with some organic guano fertiliser and a shitload of horse manure.

There’s some debate about when to plant out – especially up here at altitude where it’s much colder and the seasonal change is a few weeks behind the norm. I reckon it’s time to get some of the larger seedlings in. The potatoes and onions which have been growing in pots are definately ready and the berlotti and french beans are getting so big they need to start climbing up something.

Planting. This is the bit I’ve been looking forward to all along and I’m glad to get the chance to share that pleasure with my girlfriend before she heads off to work.