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Fruit trees : fruit is mainly grown at two locations on the 2.5 hectare site, depending on the location, the soil and the microclimate.
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Making the right choice
 Over the last few years (2018-2020) we have planted a large number of fruit trees all round the guest house and in the orchard belonging to the little school house. It takes a great deal of effort to plant fruit trees in Provence. You have to dig a big hole, roughly 80 x 80 x 80 cm, in the mostly very hard soil with a pickaxe and spade. The tree is planted into compost, well rotted horse manure and the topsoil you first removed. However, before filling the hole with this material a ca. 15 cm layer of twigs is laid in the hole so that, as they rot, they create space for root development. The newly planted trees must of course be watered regularly especially in the first few years between April and September. The first fruit (1 - 3 kg per tree) can be picked after two or three years. At the moment we have about 25 fruit trees - mainly apricots and peaches that grow best of all. But other fruit thrives here in Provence as well: plums, cherries, greengages, sour cherries, mirabelle plums and with difficulties apples. Wine grapes, a big persimmon tree, figs and medlar trees are robust and don’t need watering. Some of these were already growing in the orchard and they add to our supply of fruit.
| | Green belt and biotope
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At various points on the site, small hedges are planted above walls to delimit the terraces. With their flowers and fruits, they should be able to provide food for bees, insects and birds. A first such hedge was created on our bee terrace (1 beehive) Bee happy at the end of 2020. In addition, individual bushes such as the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) and the snowball are preserved in the landscape, as they serve as nesting opportunities for birds and attract bees, bumblebees and insects with their nectar. Blackbirds, robins, various types of titmouse, warblers, woodpeckers, wrens, owls and others are native. In spring and summer the hoopoe and cuckoo can also be heard or seen.
| | Harvest, cultivate
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