Red Weevil Update

We wrote about the Red Weevil in 2008 and we wanted to give a quick update along with details where you can contact the Junta to have your palm trees checked and looked after for the future

Red Weevil in Spanish Palm Trees



Unfortunately the Red Weevil is now very common locally with the main victim of palm tree being the Canary Date Palm (Phoenix Canariensis), the Red Weevil has now spread to other varieties of tree which includes the Fan Palm (Whashingtonia Robusta).



If you find an infestation of the Red Weevil it is generally too late to save the palm tree, infected palms must be quickly treated if you are to save your beloved tree.

Death is caused by the larvae which burrow into and feed on the soft leaf tissue of the terminal bud, the tree's growing point. In many cases the tree is often beyond help but you can act now and help protect the palm trees that you do have left.

There are rumours that in ten years there could be no palm trees left in Spain but with assistance from the Junta de Andalucia you can have your palm trees treated every month to help protect against this nasty little bug!

Top Palm Tree Tips
Do not cut or trim your palm tree
Only purchase new trees from a licensed garden centre or grower, insist on a passport for the trees which is passed by the Junta de Andalucia, Conserjería de Agricultura y Pesca.

Have you had any Red Weevils in your palm trees? Please share your photos and stories with us!

Gardening in Spain: The Fruit and Vegetables

Well it has been a while since we managed to blog, sorry about that but life has been hectic with the web business and then we started another business selling portable power products including portable solar panels, our feet haven't touched the ground yet!

I decided I needed to take some time out of my busy schedule and tell you about the gardens of the campo girls just recently, I know I can speak on behalf of Gina also as she has been really busy planting and eating!


The last couple of weeks we have had a right good going over the garden, we have been organically weeding the vegetable area that we have allocated for growing fruits and vegetables, we have also learnt from our mistakes last year and have now organised it slightly better, a few things are still growing a little haphazardly but we are getting there.

Our vegetable patch now consists of:
Lettuce
Cabbage
Carrots
Broccoli
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Peppers
Leeks
Raspberries (red and yellow)
Blackberries
Melons
Kiwis
Onions
Nectarines
Garlic
Mint
Pears
Pomegranates

Organically weeding the vegetable patch is keeping the soil really nice, fortunately the area of garden we chose to grow the vegetables and fruit housed 2 horses for many years so the soil is basically all passed through horses - great for growing!

Due to the weeding by hand all the soil is being turned over regularly and also we have different plants that pop up and continue to grow, some we have never seen before so we always leave them to see what is going to happen.


We planted small mint plants near where the septic tank lives (next to the shed), the plan was to get this to cover a whole area so when you come up the drive you don't see the tank or smell the tank you see and smell mint instead, this plan has gone really well and the mint is having a great time, the plants have already grown really big and they are very healthy! Bring on the Mojitos this summer ;)


We also have lovely hanging baskets on the terrace by the front door, I love the whole feeling in Spain at this time of year, the smells from the garden are gorgeous and all the blooms are wonderful to look at, in my opinion, very calming!

Tornado hits Malaga!!!

Yep you heard me right, there was a Tornado that hit Malaga on the 2nd February, 2009, what is happening to our weather? We had disasters across France and Northen Spain from the Hurricane, which killed numerous people and now a Tornado follows injuring 25!

Hurricane in Spain

We are a bit late blogging about this I have to be honest but I wanted to blog anyway as I was so shocked with all the strange weather we have been having, before we know it this blog will be about Spanish weather! LOL

The Tornado ripped through Malaga causing damage to property, trees and vehicles, the injured people were cut by flying glass from the 180 kilometres an hour winds!

The tornado also affected the area of Estepona where a circus tent and a number of trees were blown down by the winds, injuring 5 people.

The video below is taken from YouTube

The rain in Spain falls where?

Well they say the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains but it would seem that most of it fell into my garden today! LOL

The rain has not stopped yet today, no break in the clouds, nothing, we had some thunder earlier also, I am very worried about my vegetables that are growing in the garden, I expect they are drowning silently and slowly right now, fortunately our garden has a nice downhill slope from top to bottom so at least it is not pooling around the vegetables.

I don't think we can get out of our gate at the moment though, well not without wearing wellies anyway, I dread to think what the track looks like, we don't drive a 4x4, we have an Audi A6, which is 4 wheel drive but I still don't fancy our chances right now.

The pool is overflowing and adding to the situation, we have all the blinds down because the rain is lashing so much it is coming through!!!

I have lived in Spain for 10 years and never have I seen rain as bad as this, granted I have seen heavy rain and when it comes in Spain it certainly doesn't mess about, however, this has to be the worst, it certainly wasn't as bas as this last winter.

It was suggested to me that I get some bricks and form some kind of small wall as a defence for the vegetable plot but I have a better idea in the form of raised beds and after seeing this weather today, the next job on the list has to be raised beds, that is when the rain stops falling!

I wish Spanish houses would build their properties using damp coursing and insulation, it would make the houses a lot more economic and green when trying to heat them for the few months a year that we need to.

Anyone else living in a Finca and suffering from heavy rains today, is your house insulated or does it have damp coursing?

Spain and France in mourning after hurricane

Spain and France were hit by the worst storm to hit since 1999. Winds were 172km/h. Trees were uprooted, roofs came down, rail services were disrupted and more than 1 million people without power!

100 mile an hour winds brought down a sports hall in Sant Boi de Llobregat, near Barcelona, 4 children were killed and 9 were injured, while they were sheltering during Saturday morning baseball practice.

A police officer was killed while directing traffic in Galicia, he was was killed by a falling tree, over in Barcelona a woman was crushed to death when a wall collapsed on her!

Many other people were killed by falling trees and flying debris from buildings, it is just horrific, we usually hear about this kind of thing happening across the pond, not in Spain and France!

The Basque country was heavily affected and had to be evacuated while the Alicante region also evacuated 14,000 people due to electricity cables that had come down, the Spanish were worried about a forest fire starting.

Record waves were recorded in Northen Spain, 70 feet high, flights were suspended across the region and all rail services suspended.

Spain's armed forces will now help restore all services to households. Spanish Ministry of Defence have announced that troops will help fire fighters contain the wild fire in the region of La Nucia, Alicante.

Campo Girls would like to send their best wishes to all families affected by the hurricane and wish you the best for the road to recovery.

Great Juicing Ideas

Juices and blends have become extremely popular over the years and I for one have been juicing for a very long time, I realised that the price of oranges, lemons, grapefuits and many other fruits and vegetables were very easy to grow or fairly cheap to buy from the supermarket.

Juicing can fit very easily into a hectic lifestyle, enabling you to incorporate healthy habits into your everyday routines.

Benefits of Juicing
Nothing quite beats the taste of a blend made at home from fresh ingredients, despite the fact you can buy ready-made juices. The freshly made juices also contain more nutrients than those bought in a supermarket. If you do drink juice on a regular basis you will enjoy certain health benefits, clearer skin, better energy levels and balanced health. It is well known that antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables work most effectively when they are consumed together, juicing encourages precisely this!

The main advantages of juicing are:
Easy
Quick
Convenient
Rejuvenating
Healing
Revitalizing
Delicious

Vitamins and Minerals


Pink & Perky:
1 pink grapefruit
1 white grapefruit
2 ripe pears
ice cubes

Immune Zoom:
1 small mango
1 eating apple
2 passion fruit
juice of 1 orange
5ml/1 tsp echinachea
mineral water
ices cubes (optional)

Ginger juice:
1/2 small pineapple
25g/1oz fresh root ginger
1 carrot
ice cubes

Pomegranate plus:
2 pomegranates
4 fresh figs
15g/1/2oz fresh root ginger, peeled
10ml/2 tsp lime juice
Ice cubes and lime wedges, to serve

Tropical calm:
1 papaya
1/2 cantaloupe
90g/3 1/2oz white grapes

Strawberry soother:
1 peach or nectarine
225g/8 oz/2 cups strawberries

Minty melon cooler:
1 Galia or cantalopue melon
Several large mint sprigs
Juice of 2 large limes
Ice cubes
Extra mint sprigs and lime slices to serve

Apple juice:
10 apples
Ginger (optional)

Orange & carrot juice:
10 oranges
2 carrots
Ginger (optional)

Acapulco:
Pineapple
Passionfruit
Mango
Orange

Instant Energy:
Orange
Apple
Pear
Grapes

Pinky:
Strawberry
Apple

Fresquita:
Strawberry
Orange

Anti Stress:
Ginger
Lime
Orange
Apple

Piñanaranja:
Pineapple
Orange

Hawaiian:
Apple
Mango
Passionfruit
Ginger

Mente Sana:
Apple
Pear
Grape
Ginger

Summer Danger:
Raspberry
Pineapple
Pear


Green juice:
Celery
Lime
Cucumber
Orange

More juicing recipes coming next time, along with juicing and blending techniques

If you have any great juicing recipes or ideas, please share them with us!

Growing Fruit in Spain

Come and join us on our gardening forum and chat with other members, share tips and ask for advice, we look forward to enjoying your garden with you.

Spains climate lends itself perfectly to cultivating and harvesting a wide range of fruit, with March and April representing the key times of the year for cultivating and managing fruit trees.

Spain’s climate is determined by its curious world location, on the south western edge of Eurasia and just thirteen kilometres from Africa at its narrowest point. Spain’s infrastructure includes an ocean on its western front and a sea to the east. It's continental land mass and high mountainous terrain means that Spain can produce a myriad of various climates and micro-climates which are one of the most varied in Europe.

Due to this climactic variety, Spain has a history of producing a wide range of fruit that may be harvested throughout the year.

It is possible to cultivate fresh Spanish fruit all year round, including Lemons, Oranges, Raspberries, Strawberries, Apricots, Figs, Apples, Almonds, Grapes, Pomegranates, Bananas and Avocados.

When embarking upon the cultivation of Spanish fruit it is worth considering that it is not essential to have a great deal of space or land at your disposal, with the majority of fruits able to be cultivated in containers on a terrace, on a house patio garden as well as in the garden or orchard.

As with any cultivation of fruit it is important to follow a few simple guidelines to maximise the chances of a succesful crop.

1. Cultivate the types of fruit that you are familiar with and that you enjoy eating an a regular basis.

2. Make sure that the fruit that you intend to cultivate is right for the type of climate of your garden or patio, remembering that each area has its own 'micro-climate'.

3. Ensure that all the frosts of the seaon have finished before planting new fruit trees.

4. Where possible buy trees that have been hardened.

5. Ensure that your soil is well cultivated with manure and compost prior to any planting.

6. It is essential to properly support new trees with stakes to prevent damage, especially to the roots.

7. Do not prune trees before their roots have had the opportunity to develop into the soil successfully.

8. Ensure that trees are planted where there is adequate run-off so that the roots do not rot from excessive water damage.

9. Maintain your trees correctly annaully by pruning back at least twenty percent.

10. Stimulate healthy growth by pruning out bad or affected growth.

The following list illustrates the harvesting season for Spanish fruit trees:

January - February | Olives, oranges and lemons

March - April | Oranges and lemons

April - May | Loquats oranges and lemons

May - June | Cherries

July - August | Peaches, plums and pears

August - September | Apples, grapes, figs

September - October | Grapes, figs, almonds, pomegranate

November - December | Persimmons, quinces, oranges, lemons

No Spanish garden is complete without its very own fruit trees. There is a huge variety available to every Spanish gardener from the complete novice to the experienced, whether owning a house, villa, town house, finca, penthouse or apartment.