Marching On......

They have been steadily pushing their way through the soil over the past few weeks now, giving us a glimpse of what is to come.
It’s always great to see this first burst of colour in the garden, the Snowdrops.


Once I see these I know that others will soon follow the daffodils, hyacinths and tulips to name but a few and I see pansies and primroses are now out in the shops.
At last spring is here!

I have also been watching for other signs of life in the garden. The garlic and onions I planted in late October are sending up little green shoots.










It amazes me how these and the lettuce survive the severe minus temperatures, frosts and snow that our winter here can bring. They seem to shut down for a while and as soon as the sun shines again they get a new burst of energy and away they go.
A bit like us really.....

So with that in mind it’s time to dust of the wellies and weather permitting get cracking with the Veggie plot.
Start looking now in the market for the small seed potatoes and onion sets. Both of these can be sowed out, onions now and potatoes at the end of the month.
With seed potatoes you can buy them early and store them in trays or old egg cartons in a light, warm, 10C / 50F, place. They should start to form lovely bushy green sprouts and be perfect for planting out in the last week of March. Don’t be tempted to hide them away in a cupboard in the dark as they will form pale and weak shoots.
It’s hard to go wrong with potatoes. My neighbours plant them out really close together in long rows but I find if you have the space, especially at this time of year, spreading them out gives a better yield. I usually place them in rows 60cm (2ft) apart, with the tubers 30cm (12in) apart and around 15cm (6in) deep.
By the end of June these should be ready for harvesting and at the same time the later varieties can be planted out.

Peas can also be planted now, in fact the earlier the better as soon as you can get onto the soil without sinking!
Last year I sowed out a 200g packet at the beginning of March and at the end of May I had over 12lbs of peas shelled and in the freezer, so easy!


I have started off a variety of annual plant seeds just in pots on the windowsill and I am experimenting with some seeds that came from a neighbour that I must confess to having no idea what they are. If the weather stays mild these can all be hardened off late March and be instant greenery for April.
I have taken a carnation that was given to me and planted it..the result has been quite surprising!


The Bougainvillea too has come active all of a sudden.Too cold for it at the moment to stay outside all the time so just through the day to acclimatise it again.


However March can be an unsettled month so do what you can when you can.
But be prepared the next few months will be hectic!

February 1st lets make a start!

It’s February the 1st and we are now, for the gardeners amongst us, on the ‘right’ side of Winter.
Although there is very little that can be done outside in the garden at this time of year, the ground is still frozen and the weather unpredictable, very important work can be carried out indoors from the warmth of your arm chair with a nice cup of tea.

Now is a good time to put together a plan for the year ahead, what you are going to plant, when and importantly where.
It’s best to start the year even if only with a rough plan. These plans will be of real benefit later on when we enter the hectic month of April. Look seriously at what you want out of your garden. Consider also your commitment level and time restraints you may have as this will dictate how much of a garden workload you want and how much you will plant. Think carefully of the quantities you will need , there’s no point in growing rows and rows of something that you simply won’t eat and don’t think you will be able to give it away…your neighbours will be doing exactly the same thing!

Don’t stress yourself about it though. This is an exciting time that inspires me to get out my gardening books and look on the internet for ideas. Having been here for a few years now I realise that one of my greatest resources are on my doorstep, my neighbours. It’s good to talk with them about what they are planning and when. It is so easy to lose contact with your friends and neighbours during the Winter months so sharing your ideas is very important and when done over a glass of wine or rakia, even more so.


For the keen gardeners amongst you it is time, believe it or not, to be thinking about your tomatoes and hot chilly peppers. (and at the end of the month regular peppers, aubergines and spring cabbages).
Indoor planting of all of these can be done easily. I use my old window boxes but you could use any tall plant pot or container, recycling your old yogurt pots is a good idea.
Fill your container leaving around 1 ½ inches at the top, water this lightly and then place your seeds at about 1inch distance taking care not to push the seeds or force them into the compost. Then top up with about another inch of compost. Cover the container with plastic, a thin carrier bag is ideal, and tie string around to keep it in place. This method is great it keeps the moisture in and helps the seed germinate quicker just like in the greenhouse.
Place somewhere light and warm and once the seedlings have started to come through you can remove the plastic and water lightly when required. These seedlings should be ready to plant out at the end of March, weather permitting of course.
I suggest trying a variety of seed types as this will give you a better chance of success. Some varieties do better than others and who knows what this Summer will bring weather wise.
This activity obviously means doing a little work now, moving off the sofa and putting your cuppa down, but it’s a great way to gently ease yourself into the year ahead.

In less than a week the seedlings will start to come through.....

A White New Year!

Well the New year has brought us over 75cm's of lovely white ,crisp snow.
It took us over two days to dig ourselves, and the car out, completely.

Believe it or not below here somewhere are the lettuce..onions and garlic though we won't be seeing them for a few months yet.




















Its great to know that this weather means that we should be in for a really good year of crops this year....great consolation seeing as most of the time it is now below zero and this brings me hope and aspirations for this year....
Can't wait!!!!




















In fact soon it will be time to get the pots on the windowsills and get the tomatoes and peppers going!!
Fantastic!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Hoping that you all have a great Christmas and wishing you all Health, Wealth, Success and most importantly Happiness for 2008 and beyond xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Snow...snow...snow

Well yesterday brought our first proper snowfall of the year.The temeratures have been zero and below.



















The dogs are loving it...snuffling around in the snow...Vladi here making the most of what drops off the bird table...greedy boy!

Nothing to be done in the garden now but sit and watch it out of the window.....

Oh it' s getting colder

November has brought our first frost and minus temperatures though only -1 or so in our area of the country.

The pumpkins have been picked and those not ripe have been passed onto those neighbours with a donkey, horse or pig.


The leaves have almost all fallen off the trees and I can't help feeling a little sad to see everything looking so bleak, the garden is really winding down.
Although the garlic and onions planted in October are already beginning to show through and the Strawberry patches are also looking healthy.



I have brought in our Bougainvillea , which has done well this
Summer in it's pot.The info about it says it will withstand - temp but I am not too sure so have brought it in for its first year.














The wine is ready after it's 40 days ...a lovely deep clear dry red should keep us warm this Winter.
The Sloe berries are also ready for picking and adding to the Rakia or Gin along with some sugar to make a great liquor in under 3 months ready for the New Year.

October comes......

October is here and off we go again in the garden....
The grapes are all picked and the wine fermenting nicely in barrels in the basement.We should have over 200 litres this year almost double that of last.

This week we have been planting out the garlic, onion sets and the lettuce.The garden is looking a bit bleak in areas already.
Although some things are still going strong like the Aubergines, Peppers,Courgettes and Pumpkins this week ahead is supposed to bring our first frost so all of those will go and have to be frozen or cooked up.

The Strawberries have been spit and new beds planted.Our kind neighbour who gave us our first dozen or so plants lost all of hers this Summer in the drought period so it's lovely now for us to be able to replenish her patch with new plants from ours......