Things to do in the garden

I didn’t do anything in the garden for two main reasons.

Number one – The temperature dropped quite dramatically.  We have been used to a quite balmy 15°C average so far through most of the winter and when the sun comes out it can even be considered warm.  However we had a fog that never really lifted, or if it did, it just revealed a cloudy day. Then in a dramatically discernible way, the temperature dropped 5°C, so we were hovering around 10°C.  While in itself 10°C isn’t actually all that cold as far as the ability to freeze things go, it was cold for us and had me reaching for my beanie, thick socks, warm jumpers, a blanket to throw across my knees and the last of the firewood.  This reminds me to remind Hubby the Un-Gardener to organise for delivery of another load of firewood.

Number two.  I was quite knackered from all my efforts from the last three days building the chicken coop.

But my head was soon swimming with all the tasks that need to be done and I woke up quite early as all these tasks were having some kind of pool party and the noise in my head was driving me crazy.  So I woke up well before my usual time and dragged each thought kicking and screaming out of my head and on to ‘paper’ – well onto a word document on my computer and made them all stand in an orderly line – most urgent to least important so I can sort them out one by one.

My thoughts have a fabulous habit of quietening down the noise in my head once I whip them into some kind of order on paper, although sometimes they go too quiet and I forget they are there and they get overlooked, and then they manage to sneak back from the list and into my head where they make even more noise than ever before!

So this is the list of very noisy and slightly soggy things to do…

1. Make turnip soup – the turnips are getting a little large and there is only one thing for it but to eat them!

   

2. Line new bed with cardboard and fill with soil and plant onion overflow – This project had stalled for lack of cardboard to line the bed.  We had loads of cardboard, but it had a shiny printed layer that I wasn’t all that keen to use in my veggie garden because I didn’t know what it was made of.  Luckily we had to buy a chest freezer urgently to house the half a pig we had just collected after a long wait – waiting for the pig to grow fat!  I was excited at the arrival of the freezer and the imminent arrival of pig pieces, but what really made me happy was all the cardboard that came with it!  YAY!  (Although I could have just gone to the supermarket and asked for some boxes – but I’ve been busy)
3. Finish weeding pea bed, enrich soil and plant peas (keep an eye out for frost!)  – The peas are nearly ready to go out and will need a nice home to go to.
4. Enrich onion and garlic bed and get ready for planting – the time will come when these guys will be ready and will also need a home to go to.  They really need to go in before the end of July.
5. Sort out raspberries – including set up support posts and irrigation system – If I want decent raspberries this year, I need to give these guys my best attention.
6. Sort out strawberries – including sensible netting system – these need tidying up and some proper thought given to a permanent netting system that can be dragged out year after year.

   

7. Re-pot the lavender into larger polybags – plan and prepare new bed beside deck for lavender.  These have been grown from seed – so I’d hate to lose them to negligence now.  But some destruction and construction is required to get their final permanent home ready for occupation and probably a bit of cash thrown at them too as I need to sort of extend the deck.
8. Build new greenhouse – I have been given a lovely new second hand greenhouse that is waiting in the shed to be assembled and needs to be done in time for the spring.  I have asked Hubby the Un-Gardener to prepare a space in the big shed so I can assemble the frame on rainy days.  Then I just need some strong blokes to move it into place before we put the glass in.  It should be fun – it doesn’t have any instructions.
9. Sow more fennel – only two germinated from the last lot I sowed and they are such a lovely spring thing to eat, but not to have a whole lot ready all at once so I’m sowing a few every once and a while so I won’t have a glut.

   

10. Buy more fruit trees and plant them – now is the time and I always seem to put it off until it is too late – well not this year.  I intend to get my trees in on time.
11. Prune and winter wash existing fruit trees – This is also the perfect time and I really need to take some kind of responsibility for the plants I have chosen to take care of.  They didn’t choose me and so it wouldn’t be right to let them suffer with pests and disease.  Fruit trees can be quite sickly if you don’t watch out!
12. Prune soft fruit and enlarge their beds.  Now is the time so we will get a bumper crop of currants and berries.  The small individual raised beds I created for them are a bit of a pain to mow around so I thought I’d join them together to improve my mowing experience.
13. Mow orchard – if I don’t stay on top of this then all the effort I made in the late summer will be in vain.  

    

14. Mow garden – it is getting long again and making my garden look messy.
15. Looff the luffas – I have harvested them and I have a cool rainy day project to do.
16. Weed everywhere – well it’s all a bit of a weedy mess in all the beds that aren’t in use.

    

17. Clear out bean bed – this is well overdue.
18. Clear out pepper bed – this would be done reluctantly as without a frost they are still hanging in there – maybe I’ll wait.
19. Enrich asparagus beds – I chopped them all down the other day, now I just need to top up the beds with compost and put some goodness back in the soil.

    

20. Check seed supplies and organise new ones if needed. – Spring isn’t that far away!

Oh my goodness – I’m exhausted just writing this all down.

Come again soon – I shall attempt to work my way through this mammoth list.

Sarah the Gardener : o )