We have been working steadily for the past few days to get the lottie in order and to begin planting outside. In this posting, I will show and tell about some of the things that we have been doing. The plum trees are beginning to bloom: On this tree; nestled down in the moss, we find the first ladybird of the season: There are also some Fritillaria's up and blooming: Well....it wasn't all insects and blooms out there, I can tell you that! There has been some hard graft going on in the garden. With that bad spell of weather a while back, we had to stop the clean-up and wait...and wait...and wait. So then, now there is some half-decent weather and we have been making the best of it. I guess the best place to begin is in the beginning--the entrance gate: The handle of the gate (a hand brush) had rain damage--it got into the handle and rotted the wood so that it just snapped off one day. What to do?! My Bride came up with her long-handled dibber that she had fashioned out of an old spade handle. It looks a bit odd, but works perfectly. I just made the thing fast to the gate in several places with thick wire and ripties... and Bob's yer uncle. The plot in which the spuds must come, according to our rotation was here. I dug it with my hand plough and we planted our spuds in the bottom, filling the trench up partially. We will add more soil as the plants grow upwards. I dug the furrows several days in advance and just left them open so that the sun would warm-up the soil down deep. Then, the planting: That done, it was time to plant some kapucijners (purple-podded peas as the Brits call them) and construct a rack, Next we turned our attention to the beetroot patch: Then the spinach goes here. First we wheeled the soil to a fine tilth then the Bride scratched two drills in the surface. Next, we poured water into the drills to make it darker and let the sun warm the drills whilst we had some tea and did other things. Once warm to the touch, the seeds went into the drills and they were covered. and tamped-down. Aside from the ongoing removal of the winters' mulch, the grass paths were in need of tidying-up. My Bride did these herself--a very tough and heavy job. Chapeau to her! Don't they look spiffy. Where was Sjoerd while the graft was going on, you could well ask...well he was pruning the bushes, weeding as well as pruning the Clematis plants. I wasn't idle, I wasn't idle-- I was working...... Well, someone had to make the tea and break out the bikkies, right? Addendum: As most of you know, we rotate our veggies every year. Rotating is a very important thing to do, but sometimes difficult to understand. One must understand it before actually doing it. We were investigating a gardening website here for something unrelated and came across this great (and simple) explanation of rotation by Monty Don. Take a look if rotating is a thing you want to do: https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-practise-crop-rotation/
Thank goodness the weather is co-operating at last Sjoerd. We had heavy snow here today with more forecast so thing are on hold in the garden at the moment. Spring will, eventually, arrive so we're keeping our fingers crossed that it's soon. Your lottie is taking shape nicely and you've achieved a lot already. Let's hope the weather keeps fine for you both and you can catch up even more.
wow. you are a month ahead of us for sure. it looks good. our last 3" of snow just melted. there were still patches of it in the shadows yesterday. glad that it is gone.
5.30 am here. I just looked outside and it is snowing. I have done very little planting outdoors yet. Now we have had some rain and snow the ground will be ready.
Thanks so much EILEEN-- It was cold out there today. Burrrrrrrrrr.... but no snow here. Thanks a mil CAROLYN--sorry to hear that you have had snow up till recently. ODIF-- It sounds like you will be ready to garden in the near future. I hope so for you. Oh NETTY-- I feel for you....C;mon Springtime!!
DEANA--Ta. I'm glad that you liked the looks of it so far. MART--Sorry to hear about the rain; but then again, it will be good for the subterranean water levels. Hang in there mate, better days are coming.
better days are coming. Not soon it looks like ! Another 2 inches today and more scheduled for Wednesday ! Ahhh,, spring in Texas !
Excellent video on crop rotation SJ. I had been doing it differently, just trying to avoid planting similar veggies in the same plot. That video makes more sense: potatoes (with ++manure)---legumes ( nitrogen fixing)----brassicas (they like nitrogen)-----carrots/parsnips (like a leaner soil). It makes so much sense!! I also like your idea of preparing the drills for the seeds, watering the row , letting it warm up in the sun then planting the seeds.
Hey...I am glad that you liked the vid. It is very close to how we do it. We watch Monty's show, "Gardeners' World" each friday evening. You know, the simplicity and clarity of that vid is the exact reason that I posted it on here for the folks who might want to rotate their veggie beds. Figuring out as rotation can be confusing, but knowing your plants--what they need, what they leave and understanding sickness in the soil. Having said all that, getting the logical order down on paper is a challenge. I always tell folks here that if you understand your plants, then the logic will follow. Thanks for reading the thread, mate. As for that little trick of watering the drill and letting the sun warm up the darkened drill before planting is an old one here. It too is a trick based upon logic.
I enjoyed the video and learned what I had done wrong. I understood that garlic should be planted where potatoes had been, or was potatoes where garlic had been? I do rotate, but didn't actually know why until the guy told me. So thanks for the video. I appreciate your photos as the crops advance from preparing soil to dropping seeds to tiny, green shoots, etc. I sincerely hope you and your Bride have a clear path to veggies on the table now that the growing has begun. Your dear, little Ladybird is what we in the US call Ladybug and they're very beneficial. We too are late in beginning the garden, but things are starting to grow.
Thanks so much for your reaction to this thread, GP-- The ladybug ( we call them "lieveheersbeestjes") was probably hanging out in the plum tree because every year the new "water shoots" are covered in in aphids. That little guy came to the restaurant before it had opened for the season. chuckle.
This little Lady sometimes brings hundreds of her family into people's homes, uninvited. Often they are sucked into a vacuum. I love this bug and would most likely sweep them into a bag and remove them to a wooded area or an open field. My sympathy does not extend to Box Elder bugs. They have ended up in the vacuum. Even the trees are vacuumed to rid our area of those pests.