Late pruning and out of season funghi

Marco found mushrooms on Wednesday. Now this may not seem like news – it has certainly happened before (see here) but actually it is a rather worrying phenomenon. There should not be mushrooms in early March. Mimosa ought not to flower in mid-February but wait until 8th March for International Women’s Day. Wild asparagi have been around for far too long already, not to mention the delicate pink almond flowers already visible in Montalcino's warmest spots. Everything is blossoming and blooming like crazy but it seems as if nature is oblivious to the fact that there has been no winter… yet.Like everyone else we have witnessed the unseasonably warm temperatures with some alarm. Normally we prune in January  but this year we havered and ultimately held back until this week. We have pruned “lungo” – which is not particularly attractive but the extra wood that we have left should afford some protection from the cold. Our fear is a slap in the face from Nature – a couple of days below zero when the plants are all at full throttle. Anyone remember 1997? Hello?Yesterday’s mushroom haul is proof that the temperature of the soil in the woods has never gone below 5 or 6° Celsius. It means that every spore or parasite that would normally have been killed by winter’s cold is alive and kicking. In short, Not Good.Stay tuned for the next chapter of Harvest 2014!