Gardening Matters

Well, that was a very busy and full Christmas! We had such a lovely time with family and friends. There is always so much build up and then it is over in a flash.

Writing to you from the conservatory :o)

Here at Moor View Cottage, our house is free of decorations, save for the poinsettias on the mantle. They are doing really well and are showing no signs yet of loosing their red leaves. The Christmas tree was cut up into small pieces this morning and in the garden refuse bin. I do have plans to begin a compost heap this year but have not as yet applied my brain to that project :o)

Speaking of 'this year' - happy new year! I know we are already 5 days in - but better late than never :o). I'm not one for new years resolutions - I always fail and then feel awful! I choose instead to set goals and work my way towards them. This year, now that we are settled in our new home and plan to be here for the long haul, I can finally get my dream kitchen garden going.

This has been a desire of mine for many years. We had a beautiful kitchen garden about 8 years ago, then we bought a house in a nature reserve and discovered that the resident baboons made growing a kitchen garden just about impossible, so for 4 years I had to admit defeat and accept that it was not to be. For the past 2 years we have been working hard to build a life in England, and have now finally reached that point of being settled enough to get back to a way of life that fulfils us. That is one that keeps us close to the land, one that cares for the environment and is in touch with nature and the seasons.

January is always a month when my green fingers begin to itch! Spring seems to stir inside me earlier than it does the earth outside! Of course the gardening year here in England only really starts in March. By then - hopefully- the worst of the frosts are done and the risk of killing off young seedlings is past. January and February are months to be tidying up and planning. So - although I shall be doing that, I really COULD  NOT resist heading for the garden centre this morning to choose a few packets of  herb seeds that I can grow now (on my windowsill) and a packet of seed potatoes.

Basil, Tarragon, Thyme, Rosemary, and Coriander were sowen today. I popped a couple of seeds in each pot and they are now resting in the windowsill propagator.

January and February are good times to chit your seed potatoes. Chitting is the process of getting your seed potatoes to sprout by the way. So I placed my potatoes in a flat basket and they are are now resting the shed - light and frost free- for chitting. In March we will plant them out and hopefully get our first harvest in June.

Some other garden tasks accomplished today:

* TLC for some struggling Fuchsia cuttings I took in September. They are not very happy in my little greenhouse - it seems that it has been a bit moist and not enough airing as their leaves are looking a bit blotchy. So I topped up their pots with a bit of compost and have brought them into the conservatory. I have no idea if this is going to help it's a bit of an experiment for me. I'm a novice gardener at best - although I have great intentions of improving my skills this year :o)
* All the strawberry plants I propagated in September are doing well. I topped up their pots with a bit of compost too, cut off yellowing leaves and have left the greenhouse open to air. I think I will only close it up at night. I can't wait to get the strawberries into their beds. I'll wait for March to do that, in the mean time they are fairing well.

We are back at lessons from Monday, so this afternoon has been set aside for a bit of planning. The clouds are rolling in over the Moor so I think that I might grab a cup of tea and snuggle under a lovely crochet blanket and get into that task :o)

Have a lovely week-end everyone...