I was interested to read in Jules’s blog about the allotments available from Teguise council as I love to potter in the garden.

I get a huge sense of achievement when I cook what I have grown from the smallest of seeds, and there is just no comparison on the taste of freshly picked veg. I am by no means an expert though and feel my best successes come from plants which are able to survive my somewhat sporadic care and attention.

When we moved to our present house a few years ago the previous owner told us that she had had a huerta on the NE side of the garden but it had long been neglected. This terraced part of the garden is quite sheltered and very shady all afternoon. With our gradual refurbishment of the house we attempted a general tidy of the garden and I decided to plant a few veggies just for fun.

We started with a variety of plants but we have found those which are generally available in Lanzarote are obviously most suited to the climate and conditions.  Courgettes, pumpkin, melon and green beans all do well but do benefit from a daily visit. Our two older children both attended a school with a thriving veg patch and it was left to my older son to explain to me the finer points of a courgettes’ sex life!  read more »

The island of Lanzarote has blossomed, there are wild flowers along the roadsides, covering the pícon and volcanic landscapes and transforming them into fields of yellow, white, blue and red….Spring has arrived!

Máguez has an abundance of big beautiful daisies.

San Bartolomé has a vibrant red field full of poppies.  read more »

You may have noticed the line of men in orange uniform with white hats working the hillside when passing through Los Valles. They are planting the hillside as part of the project II Fase de Restauración Hidrológica y Forestal de La Cuenca Alta del Barranco de La Espoleta Hasta El Núcleo Urbano de los Valles TM de Teguise.

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I was intrigued to read recently that there has just been a 3 day International conference on the Phoenix Canariensis Palm tree in Santa Lucia, Gran Canaria. Who would attend one of these conferences and what would they discuss for three days?

The conference was held from the 18th to 21st November and had speakers from all over the world as well as local specialists from Spain and The Canary Islands such as Scott Zona from the Florida International University, Sarah Sallon from The Louis L Borick Natural Medicine Research Center in Jerusalem, Donald Hodel from the University of California, Gabriel Alziar from the Natural History Museum in Nice, Victoria Soroker from the Agricultural Research Organization in Jerusalem and Didier Rochat from INRA Centre de Versailles in France.

Topics included the biology, ecology and cultivation of the Phoenix Canariensis and advice on how to control the dreaded red weevil pest (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus). Apart from the 25 hours of lectures, the delegates did get out from the hotel on the last day to stretch their legs and enjoy a walk to see some local palm trees followed by a meal in a restaurant before flying home.

Red Weevil

The Red Weevil is a destructive palm tree pest, a female weevil will lay about 300 eggs in separate holes on a palm tree, these eggs hatch within 2-5 days and the grubs bore into the interior of the palm feeding on the soft tissue. The larvae stage lasts from 1-3 months and then the grub pupates into a cocoon for 14-21 days when the adult weevil emerges.  read more »

Continuing with the project to reduce the numbers of sea urchins in Lanzarote, the local dive schools are heading to Playa del Jablillo on Sunday 15th November 2009. La consejera de Pesca del Cabildo de Lanzarote Nereida Pérez will meet the 50 volunteer divers at 10am on the beach before they head into the water to cull the species Diadema Antillarum which locally is known as the Lime Urchin (Erizo de Lima).  read more »

The Ayuntamiento de Arrecife started a programme back in August 2008 to relocate the herons (garzas) that roosted in the trees at Parque Ramírez Cerdá on the front in Arrecife. They drastically pruned the trees in the park and applied a liquid that repulsed the birds, then used birds of prey in the area to drive away the herons. In May 2009 the pruning and birds of prey were repeated and any nests found moved to a zone allocated for the birds next to the Cabildo building. In order to attract the herons this allocated area they planted similar trees and shrubs to the Parque Ramírez and added a pond.  read more »

I’ve just been catching up with the on-board diary of Oceana catamaran Ranger, which is currently sailing around the Canary Islands for two months of marine research. Lanzarote was the first destination with exploration of the SE coast and Bocayna Strait, you can see some extracts from their diary in Lanzarote and their photos below, for the full version please go to the Ranger’s Canary Islands 2009 Diary.

SE Lanzarote 24th August 2009

To be able to work with the ROV, we scouted for a spot sheltered from the wind, to the SE of the island. We focused our attention on sampling the areas surrounding Punta la Tiñosa where there is a proposal for an LIC - Lugar de Importancia Comunitaria an area proposed to be protected and included within the European framework in the Natura 2000 network. In this area we found black coral (Antipathes furcata, Antipathella wollastoni, Stichophates sp.), white whip coral (Viminella flagellum) and (Alcyonium glomeratum) as well as cnidaria other and sponges that we have not yet been able to identify. The submersion with divers took place in the same area, specifically in a place known as “The blue hole” where the divers go through a small rocky tunnel at a depth of some 20-27 meters. They also filmed and photographed an area of garden eels (Heteroconger longissimus).  read more »

A new species that was found living in the Atlántida Tunnel has been officially named “César” after the Lanzarote artist César Manrique. César is a tiny worm, just a millimeter in length, from the group of species known as annelids (los anélidos) which is from the french verb and means little ringed ones, they are segmented worms found in earth, fresh or sea water. This tiny new species was found in March 2009 during an expedition of the Atlántida Tunnel by scientists from American and European universities.  read more »