The week began with a couple more barrows of manure into the
tyres next to the damson tree. I have decided to put my beetroot in these for
the reason that last year some broad beans were growing in them. Beans and
other leguminous plants are great as they replenish the soil with lots of
nitrogen thanks to the nodules of bacteria that live symbiotically in their
roots. Adding an extra bit of manure will hopefully give all the nutrients
beets need to grow and be delicious. As I am worried that there may still be a
few frosty nights through the beginning of spring, I covered the tyres in cloches
to protect my (hopefully) germinating seeds.
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| Preparing garlic and shallot bulbs. Yummy yummy! |
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| My rows of carrots |
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| The doors are back on! Its a cosy plastic house now. |
I then started getting to work on growing carrots. Normally
you would plant these outside in deep, stone-less, finely raked soil, but there
is none of that in a place that is named ‘Place of stones’ in Irish. So it’s
easier to plant them inside in my lovely, deep, stone-less beds. First I made
sure that the soil was loose and got rid of any lurking weeds. Then I made mounds
and grooves in the soil on top of which I poked a shallow hole and sprinkled a
few carrot seeds in, then covered them up. These mounds are mainly so I know
where I put my carrot seeds in case I’ll be planting anything around them. Then
a good dousing with the watering can and that’s all I can do for now. Fingers
crossed!
Of course, the doors to the poly-tunnel are still off,
leaving room for the cats, dogs, and howling gales to come breezing through and
make mischief. So I got a couple of new hinges and up they went with a bit of help.
Now hopefully my carrots will be toasty warm and sheltered from frosts and will
feel like germinating right away.
In the other big bed in the poly-tunnel I planted last year’s
garlic and shallots all around the edge of the bed. This again was so I could
keep track of where they were so I don’t dig them up, but I’m also hoping the
strong smell and taste of the leaves of these plants will deter any pests away
from tasty things that I will plant in the middle of the bed.
I got in some potting compost. Although I have made up my own compost using left over bits of dried soil from here and there, I wanted to get my plants started off in substrate that was sterile. Unfortunately I didn’t have time (or internet, thanks countryside!) to research where I could get alternatives from a peat-based compost. This is something I wanted to avoid as Ireland has been continuously destroying peatlands, which is of our most biodiverse and functionally important habitats. But convenience overweighs time and money for me in this case.
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| Peas, Beans and Tomatoes potted. |
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| Preparing potting compost. |
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| Strawberry tyres. They look a bit floppy and sad here after being weeded. |
To prepare my own soil for potting I have to sieve it to get
rid of large bits and chunks I don’t want in the pots. As I am standing still
and quiet, I have started listening to podcasts and at the moment I am
listening to The Infinite Monkey Cage with Robin Ince and Brian Cox, plus amazing
guests where they talk about everything science. Very entertaining!
Once I put my home-made soil into the pots, I put a handful
of the bought potting compost in, plant my seed(s) and then cover them with
more bought compost.
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| Come on, Spring! |
This week I started potting peas (irish green and nordland
snow) and beans (broad, dwarf, and French) and put all my tomatoes in seed
trays with covers. Grow grow grow little guys! I’m hoping the weather will stay
mild with no cold snaps so they will be encouraged to grow soon. But all of
these growing plants will be staying in the poly-tunnel for now. If it gets too
cold I can bring them inside.
Other things I have been doing in the garden include lots of
trimming with my new secateurs. They’re so sharp! I also planted some seeds of
rocket around the rows of carrots. Rocket is delicious so I am looking
forward to them coming up. The strawberries got a bit of a tidy up. They had sent off shoots in all directions which where rooting themselves everywhere.
Thats all for now folks,
Hannah
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