Spring is in the air, albeit reluctantly. I am a human being (don’t go there) and as such an animal with residual DNA from a less civilised past. The residuals are telling me that Spring in just around the corner regardless of what the weatherperson is telling me on the telly each evening. With that oversized package of confidence in my back pocket, we headed off to the lotty. It started out ugly, so we began in the greenhouse. The windows needed washing inside and out, so that was the first thing to do. it took us a couple of hours, but in the end we were proud of our work my Bride exclaimed on the way to the tea break, “ Oh look, you can see through the windows again, doesn’t it look beautiful”? Yeah oké, it does look nice. Absolutely. So then, the glass looks nice, but there are things to do in there still. The soil needs to be removed and replaced. The dark soil that you see on the foreground has been removed from the greenhouse. This quadrant is where the spuds grew last year. In the plot across the grass path next to the greenhouse is where new soil would come from. That mixed with our own compost. We had to roll-back the mulch to do our work. Once finished, we spread it back out of course. Inside the greenhouse you can see the new soil, replaced Tonkin sticks and the little straws indicating where the little trenches I will dig to plant the toms in horizontally will be. The black Norwegian bin liners is what we had the compost in. They will dry and be used again. Well, it went well but we needed a little break. It was lovely and warm in the garden shed and we could watch the birds and play silly games on the fone. I just noticed that there are lotsa details to see on this pic. Well, it was great fun, but there was one more task to do before going home— planting the sugarsnap peas in the guttering. The guttering was cut into six segments and I slapped duct tape over the ends and we chucked the soil mix into them. I used a dibber to make the holes, then in went the seeds. Closed, watered and labelled. Then the big picture. I keep them high as not to attract rodents. We will replace the soil on the other side next reasonable day. In this way, we manage to keep ourselves busy during these inclimate weeks.
So beautiful to see your whole garden. I can smell the wonderful fragrance of soil and spring from here. Your luv for gardening is written in every square inch. I always enjoy seeing other gardeners sharing projects, plants, compost, greenhouse and even a coffee sit down. Now that’s living. Giving me hope that spring is on it’s way.
The whole veggie half… your the energy bunny commercials ... my batteries ware out way to soon . You got long lasting batteries.
Pac, you gotta give up those fags then. I do not smoke, perhaps that’s why my batteries last longer to get the job done.
Wish I could like this post a dozen times! It's so good to see you're starting up again after winter. Thank you for the guttering idea. I would never think of that myself, but now I do and it makes a lot of sense even though I haven't got a greenhouse and will have to wait for proper spring weather and better temps before preparing any sowing. I know where I can get hold of a nice length of guttering. Your shed looks very inviting. Tea breaks are important you know. Not just to catch your breath but to enjoy what you've already done and prepare for the next chore. Those bin liners are really put to the test, aren't they. I can't believe how long they last with the job they're doing. Please tell Spring to head north, won't you? I'd love some gardening weather. The horses are shedding and I also feel that spring is on its way, but the weather doesn't agree. February and March are annoying. They can never decide what they'll bring us weather-wise.
I am over the moon how you reacted to this posting. You know the gutter trick we have been using for years, because it works so perfectly— you just dig a little trench, remove the tape off one end then simply slide the plantlets and soil into the trench and Bob’s yer uncle ! One can use this method for different types of plants, but we only use it for peas for some reason. There are little tricks to doing this, so if anyone wants to try it, contact me and I’ll talk you trough it.
I love to see and hear about your spring project Sjoerd, as you are weeks ahead of me here in Southern Ontario! I love the chairs you have in your garden shed. My favorite veggie garden vlogger always says you need to have sitting areas in your garden so that you can sit and enjoy looking at all your hard work, or else it just becomes work. I have sitting areas all over my yard but have yet to sit haha
Cheers Netty. I realise that you can appreciate things that I write about. those chairs— haha, they are mostly for outside use, but they are comfy; however, we do not sit in them the most. There is a bench in front of that bird-viewing window outside, and that is where we spend our pauses. I know you are a bizzy-Lizzy, and when I was your age, I worked a bit like you…but now my Bride and have made an agreement that we will be aware and purposely sit and enjoy more. Looking, listening and smelling is also a part of gardening— that doesn’t mean that one’s roaming eyes do not see all those little imperfections that must be corrected. Knowaddah mean, Vern?
That was a wonderful post Sjoerd. I especially love tea time and stopping to enjoy the birds. So important. We have a similiar heater - ours has a little propane bottle that screws on. It helps keep the kneesels warm when we sit on the deck. Soooooo Guttering! I've never heard of such a thing. I thought at first you were leaving them in there to grow. I love this idea. The greenhouse looks so lovely and clean. When do you have to paint it?
Chuckle Mel— I lurve your enthusiasm. the greenhouse will be painted once the toms have been planted and have grown up a bit (no specific date). You see, they need as much light and heat that they can get in the beginning. After that, I will begin removing leaves. Check this out: https://www.gardenstew.com/threads/gutter-planting-a-method-of-planting-ease.32558/#post-296627
Well done Sjoerd and partner. Spring is the most wonderful time of the year when all the plants coming back to life. Wish I am up north now
