Growing Tomatoes

In Portugal, we plant tomato seeds from January to March. We use modules, seed trays or small pots for planting. Wait until the plant is a hand's breadth high, then dig a hole in a finely raked bed and put in something with lots of nutrients in such as manure, banana skin or fish heads. We use pigeon poo.
Watering system

Cut a 2 litre plastic bottle in half. Take the lidded half (save the other half to use as a pot for planting seeds), keep the lid on and drill three rings of small holes in the bottom. Then, when you dig the hole for your tomato plants, put it in with the open end sticking out of the ground and you have a watering system with no chance of mildew! Use one half bottle per plant.  

Mulch

Mulch is thin layer of dry grass, straw (wheat or barley stalks), or compost that stops water from evaporating. It also prevents slugs from eating your vegetables. We use dry grass.

Pick off apexes

When your tomato plants get to about 2 feet tall, start looking for apexes (small outgrowths that come between the main stalk and a branch).They look like these photos when you find them at the right time.

Do not pick them off if they have flowers or small tomatoes. Picking off apexes prevents the plant from spending all its energy on making itself big and instead uses it to make large juicy tomatoes!

Structure

Your tomatoes might need a bit of support, especially if it is very windy like here in the Western Algarve.

Sargo Fishing Algarve

Sargo, also known as black bream or Diplodus Sargus, is of the bream family and is commonly found in Portugal.

Tackle

A long rod, preferably 10ft to 15ft casting 20-40 grams, with a 3000-5000 size fixed spool reel, loaded with 15lb fluorocarbon or mono, a large weighted float and a size 6 hook. 

Bait

Sargo will eat almost anything, though the following are the most effective: prawns, clams, squid strips and ragworm (ragworm is also good for wrasse, which live alongside sargo).

Ragworm baited up on hook

Wrasse caught on a ragworm

Technique

Fish near rocky outcrops, sandy beaches and inshore. You do not need to cast very far at all; you  may be able to just plop the float the length of the rod away. When the float bobs under water, lift the rod up sharply and you are in!

Cook

Sargo is one of the most sustainable fish in Portugal (click here to find out more). 
You may barbeque the sargo or pan fry (skin side down). You can also roast them on a bed of thinly sliced potato. Serve with tomato salsa. 

Haiku

Great frothing bait ball
Gannets dive and marlin swim
Through sea deep and blue
.

Now it is Autumn 
Squirrel Scutters for nuts
Hides them in a hole.



















Weather turns colder
The snow falls on badger's set
Sleep, out of the chill.