GreenDreams

Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share! Can I get you a cup of coffee? Or tea? How are you?

It’s been a rather cold and windy week in the middle of Sweden where I live. It even snowed a couple times, but the snow didn’t stay. Pretty typical weather for the season. My daughter started the week with a fever and a bad cold. I’ve mostly been taking care of her this week. I’m a little sniffly myself, but I don’t feel sick.

I’m saving this side of the allotment for later, it is the front side of the shed, and the only open space I have. Eventually the plan is to plant 1-2 fruit trees here. In the lower left corner you can see where I access water. It is water from the pond/lake below that is pumped through a system up to every plot.

Yesterday I managed to ride my bike to the allotment, the first time this week. I’ve been wanting to put up the fencing I purchased last weekend, to protect my garden from deer. I’ve decided to concentrate my gardening efforts to the upper ¾ of the allotment, and it made sense to start out fencing that area. I’ve fenced many miles of horse pastures through the years, the main difference is that we are not allowed to make any permanent fixtures, horse pastures are usually made to be permanent. At the allotment there is only one type of fencing allowed (very durable and effective against the massive deer population.) The manufacturer of that fence recommends using their fence posts, in combination with thick wooden fence posts. The wooden fence posts are of a more permanent nature, therefor I had to be creative while fencing without them. The fence is almost invisible to the human eye, unless you are very close, but distinctive to the deer.

Almost invisible fencing from a distance.

I’m rather pleased with how it turned out. I used more fence posts than the recommended amount, since I had to opt out of the wooden ones, and I also attached the fence with metal wire to some of the raised beds, and metal stakes I have for my raspberry bushes. The allotment garden is situated on a sunny, but windy south-facing hillside. It looked good when I was done. I don’t want any of the other gardeners to complain, so that is important when the plots are so close to each other. I will visit the garden store where I purchase the fencing and get more fence posts, for extra sturdiness. The fence is UV resistant and supposed to last for many years. I could easily bring it with me if I would garden at a different location at some point. I think that I’ll probably take it down every winter. We’ll see. Now I’m finally ready to do some gardening! I have the beds in place and the fencing! Let the fun begin!

Speaking of raised beds. Some of you have asked why I choose raised beds and not in ground gardening. I do a combination of both. However, for several reasons it is more efficient for me to grow in raised beds. Our gardening season is very short, and to be able to maximize the yield I must do everything I can to make the season longer. The soil warms up much faster in raised beds, therefor I can plant earlier in the season. There is also a huge problem with the common blue-sow-thistle (Cicerbita macrophylla.) It produces lots of runner’s underground that kills other plants. When I plant in raised beds I can if not eliminate the problem at least minimize it. I have card box at the bottom (it eventually decomposes, but it does help,) followed by small branches, grass clippings, leaves, bokashi compost etc. It is also easier to feed a smaller area with the specific nutrients the crop/crops in that raised bed need, compared to in ground gardening. It is by far easier to maintain, time is of importance when you have other responsibilities. My back also prefers raised beds. Some crops, flower and bushes are perfectly fine planted directly in the ground, they don’t care about the common blue-sow-thistle. I’m trying to be on top of the game when it comes to weeds, but some are very persistent. I find that no-till gardening, combined with lots of mulching are my best friends in that war. I hope that answered the question.

If you have a Weekend Coffee Share, I’ll try to visit. Thank you, Natalie, for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share. How are things in your neck of the woods? Please tell me about your week!

Love and gratitude,

Maria

Welcome to a busy Weekend Coffee Share! Can I get you a cup of coffee? Or tea?

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that most things in my life is about gardening right now: planting, caring for plants, planning new garden beds, preparing the new garden beds, planting with the children, talking about plants and gardening with friends and colleagues – it’s finally spring!

I saw the first coltsfoot of the year earlier this week, a true sign of spring.

Of course there’s all the other usual everyday activities as well, work, school, taking care of my beloved children and our home etc. etc. However, spring is a busy time gardening wise, and I spend a lot of time thinking, planning, and doing physical labor that has to do with various gardening projects, at home, at work, and at the allotment.

I arranged a nature quiz walk for my school this week. The theme was “Sustainability”. It was a great success, the children really enjoyed the activity, and did so well working in teams answering all the questions.

Earlier this week I saw an ad on Blocket (a classified advertisement website like Craigslist in the US,) for raised garden beds at 1/3 of the usual price. I contacted the seller and asked them how many they had, and if they would deliver if I purchased 20 beds. They had a lot more than 20 and agreed to deliver for free. Said and done, I had them delivered on Thursday night. I organized them with two beds on top of each other, and I now have ten more higher garden beds. I have yet to fill them with organic planting material (branches/compost/soil/plants.) This will change my garden plan for the year slightly, to the better, but I’ll definitely have to get back to the sketching board and re-think the layout of the individual plants (the beds are already at their final destination.)

I’ve rented a larger vehicle today and I’m going to pick up fencing for the garden, more soil, and wood chips. I’m going to be busy with gardening errands all day today. I love that kind of busy! I’ll throw in a nice conversation with gardening friends every now and then, since I am going to be spending so much time at the allotment garden, I’m sure I’ll be running into several of my gardening friends. Conversations with friends are the perfect excuse for a short (or long) break. My closest gardening neighbor texted me yesterday when she saw all my new gardening beds and told me that I could help myself to her compost if I wanted too. That was so kind of her, and I will take her up on that. She is a master gardener, and I am learning a lot from her. I am going to give her some of my plants later this spring.

I’ll share photos on Instagram from the garden this weekend and write a gardening update on the blog later on. If you have a Weekend Coffee Share, I’ll try to visit during the weekend. In my neck of the woods it’s been a great week in every way, the highlight was an amazing bike ride home from the allotment garden as the sun was setting on Thursday night. Thank you, Natalie, for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share. How are things in your neck of the woods? Please tell me about your week!

Love and gratitude,

Maria