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The North South divide


Now this has absolutely nothing to do with anything other than growing plants but have you ever thought about how best to plant your rows of vegetables?





There's loads of thought about whether North - South or East - West is best. Much of it depends on what you're planning to grow and the conditions that the plants need to flourish - loads of sun or lots of shade!


Here in the Ardeche we've been struck by how the commercial growers plant their vines and fruit trees. Here everything seems to be planted North - South.







That means that both sides of the row gets sun - one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. If the rows or plants are planted in accordance with the planting requirements then the amount of sun that each gets can be managed even more.


The height of the plants will also affect the amount of sun and shade that their neighbours get - if your plants need shade then planting them in the shadow of a taller brother will help. And of course vice versa - if your plant needs loads of sun then planting them in the shadow cast by a taller plant won't help.




And as we said earlier, even the vines here follow a North - South orientation. And if that meant that Eclosion won a Medaille D'Or at Paris in 2019 then it's good enough for us to have a go with when we plant up our vegetables next year at the allotment!


Might not get us any gold medals but that eye to detail might mean better yields and slightly tastier and healthier veg!











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