One of our allotments is currently full. Over the months we have gradually

planted or sown peas, cabbages, cauliflowers, marrows, cucumbers, onions,

lettuce, peppers, carrots, beetroot, parsnip, Swiss chard, broccoli, spinach

and potatoes. 

We are beginning to harvest cauliflowers, carrots and peas which will hope-

fully make room for the next vegetables we wish to plant: leeks, brussel

sprouts and more lettuces. All these vegetables are for home consumption.

Recipe of the month: Bacon and beef pasta bake

1 tbs olive oil

1 onion finely chopped

2 garlic cloves crushed

4 bacon rashers chopped

500g beef mince

550g pasta sauce with red wine

2 cups beef stock

1 cup mixed vegetables

250g spiral pasta

1 1/2 cups cheese grated

1/2 tsp salt and pepper *to taste

Grease a 12-cup capacity ovenproof dish with a lid.

Heat oil in large saucepan and add bacon, onion and garlic. Cook until

onion is soft.

Add mince, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until beef changes

colour.

Add pasta sauce, stock, vegetables, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil.

Simmer for 5 minutes.

Add uncooked spiral pasta. Stir to combine and pour into an oven

proof dish.

Bake, covered, at 180C for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, sprinkle

with cheese and bake, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes.

The start of May was hot and dry, temperatures going up to 33ºC one

day and in the high twenties others. This was not promising weather

as we really needed rain to get the grass growing. Fortunately we

then had a period of wet weather with slightly lower temperatures and

we collected 116 litres of precipitation in the train gauge. A few sunny

days at the end of the month enabled us to mow and silage the grass

from quite a few fields, so we will have some forrage available for the

cows in winter.  Of course, we now need more rain to get more grass.

This rainbow appeared in drizzly rain just before dusk. It is actually

a doube rainbow.

Two cows calved giving us another two heifer calves for the milking herd.

Flower of the month. Vicia tetrasperma Lentil vetch

There are lots of leguminous plants on the farm. Lentil vetch or smooth

tare is native to Europe, Asia and Northern Africa. Legumes in general

are often cultivated for their edible seeds and forage as they are a

valuable source of food for livestock.

The hot weather brought out the lizards and snakes. This smooth snake

(Coronella austriaca) was lurking in the compost heap and we saw it

when we shredded vegetation from the top of the compost heap ready

for planting marrows. 

This Seoani viper , also known as the Basque Viper (Vipera seoanei),

is more dangerous but we rarely see it in the allotment or around the

house as it tends to avoid places frequently visited by people.

There are quite a few green lizards around (Lacerta viridis), the males throat

being a more pronounced blue throat than the females. This blue colour only

appears from mid Spring onwards. 

As we have often mentioned, when available we mow and taken fresh grass

to the cows in their barn. Once, when spreading the grass in the feeding

troughs we noticed this little fellow, a young green european lizard which

we have returned to the fields.

A young couple visited the farm on the 21st and on the 25th 49

students from the Santurtzi Bihotz Gaztea School.