Staying Cool at the Domaine

The heatwave in Europe has impacted all of us. It’s super important to stay cool and hydrated, but also to enjoy summer as much as we can – the cicadas singing loudly all day are a great reminder to live in the present moment!

Sophie Anaïs and Ryan, Domaine Guardians

Over the last few years, water scarcity is becoming a lot more serious. We’re taking whatever measures we can to spare it. For example, we only do watering in the evening because the cooler temperatures prevent excessive loss due to evaporation. And we cover bare soil with hay that we’ve recycled from the Alpacas, to keep the garden and soil moist for longer.

Our farm animals are feeling the heat too. Fortunately their house is under shade, and we’re giving them a daily shower to keep them cool and happy! The pigs are delighted with their mud bath, which helps protect their skin from getting sunburnt and bitten by insects. The frogs and toads we normally hear at night are silent, as the stream that crosses the Domaine has dried up. We are quite sure they’ve found a cool, damp spot under the bamboo further down.

The entire Domaine Team are working relentlessly, even with the heatwave, to ensure a fruitful harvest. The grapes are beautiful, full and start changing colour! For healthy grape growth, we need to remove some of the plants in between the vines. We give these to the farm animals and they love IT! Delicious for them and a joy for us to see them munching away so happily!

Our vegetable garden is in full production mode, with lots of yellow, green and long Italian zucchinis. There are colourful tomatoes of all sizes, as well as aubergines and many kinds of chili peppers, bell peppers, green beans, peas, cucumbers, onions etc. The next lot of veggies are starting to grow as well, like melons, table grapes, butternuts and sweet potatoes, with more varieties to be planted later on.

The guests staying at La Bastide have enjoyed our fresh veggies, as well as the local Mirabeau team. We’ve even cooked a couple of recipes with some influencers for social media and tv shows. Our vegetable garden or “potager” as we say in French, is becoming famous!

The sunflowers are a haven for the precious bees, especially in the heat, as they drink nectar and collect pollen on their hind legs. And thanks to the bees, our vegetables are being pollinated. It’s so inspiring working in harmony with nature.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this update from our farm, and please stay cool and hydrated!