At the vegetable garden, summer means both harvest and heat management. Armand and Justine are adapting their schedules, their crops, and their soil practices to keep production going strong despite the extreme temperatures.

A Rich Diversity of Summer Vegetables

Summer is marked by the harvest of fruiting vegetables. At Domaine de Graux, these are mainly tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow courgettes, and tricolor round courgettes. Peppers, aubergines, and beans round out production, in smaller quantities.

On the production side, several things have changed compared to last year: cultivated surface area has increased, while the diversity of vegetables has been slightly narrowed.

Ginger and turmeric, meanwhile, have been dropped from production, because they require significant efforts. Humidity and heat must be carefully managed, and temperatures must not exceed 30 degrees Celsius. This is especially difficult in Belgium, where humidity is often lacking and, during heatwaves, temperatures can exceed 30 degrees. They therefore prefer to focus more on tomatoes and other fruiting vegetables.

We have also welcomed Biofresh this year, a wholesaler supplying organic stores across Belgium. This has led us to increase production volumes for crops such as mesclun, courgettes, and romanesco. In addition, with Interbio, we are expanding tomato production by introducing new varieties, as well as cucumber production, a partnership now in its second year.

Rethinking the Workday

During periods of intense heat, Armand and Justine adjust their schedules: the day starts earlier, often around 7 a.m. The cool morning hours are reserved for work in the polytunnels, where temperatures generally run 5 degrees Celsius higher than outside, giving a sense of just how hot it gets there during a heatwave. The afternoon is devoted to outdoor tasks, with the end of the workday pushed as early as possible. The afternoon remains demanding, but manageable.

Nudged by heat and sun, everything grows faster, which means much more weeding. In the polytunnels, a distinct form of biodiversity can be observed, with numerous spiders naturally regulating insect populations, alongside a strong presence of poppies and ladybirds. Unfortunately, this weather has also disrupted the pollination of tomato flowers, resulting in the loss of a large number of fruits.

Even in the midst of summer’s abundance, the garden is already looking ahead to the next season. In summer, Armand and Justine plant part of the autumn vegetables, such as leeks and cabbages, well before the current harvest winds down. It’s also the time to plant the second batch of cucumbers, which will bear fruit later in the season, ensuring the garden keeps producing long after the peak of summer has passed.

Protecting Soil Fertility in the Face of Climate Challenges

To prepare the growing beds without disturbing the soil’s microbial life, the preferred method remains unchanged: a pass with a broad fork to work the soil to a depth of 20 to 25 cm, followed by a layer of compost or manure, a green manure crop, and finally a pass with a rotary harrow over the top ten centimeters.

During periods of drought, irrigation is increased, but always with mindful watering practices in mind. Mulching the soil, whether with natural materials or reusable plastic tarps, reduces evaporation while also keeping weeds under control, a welcome relief on the most demanding summer days. The healthy soil we’ve built up over the years is more resilient in extreme weather, holding up better under drought. We’ve also installed a large water tank at the base of our biggest polytunnel to capture rainwater. The pump still needs to be installed, though, so for now, the collected rainwater isn’t yet being put to use.

Since summer is a period of intense work between harvesting and maintenance, soil preparation for autumn and winter is pushed back to later in the season.