Garden Journal 2019 - last of the spring clean

in #diy6 years ago


This was all the work i got done last week, due to work commitments though i didn't manage to get this garden journal update posted... so itll be followed up shortly with another from this weekend.

Really starting to feel good about the year, as the temperatures are warming up and things are starting to grow.

I think its safe to say i suffer from SAD's (seasonal affective disorder) and during the winter months or long periods inside it affects my mental well being.

Maris piper and desire potatoes

Maris Piper and Desire Potatoes almost ready to be planted


One thing that was on the list to do was to sort out the strawberry bed. This had taken a bit of a beating when i was putting in the new greenhouse. As i had to stand in it quite a bit to get the frame and glass installed. Some of the plants were damaged and the soil became very compact. To combat an issue this would cause i dug out the damaged plants and potted them up to see if they would recover, as well as breaking up the soil and mixing in a lot of manure and compost to try and give them a boost. Hopefully in the next few weeks they will bounce back and give a good crop of strawberries like they did last year.

strawberry bed weeded and mulched


Looking much better, wish i took a before picture to show you how sorry they looked.


I also moved some of the potatoes i planted up a week earlier as well as moving some of last years fruit cuttings into a sunny spot

potatoe bags

potting up softwood cuttings


Black berry, gooseberry and red currant cuttings taking from established plants in the garden to bulk up the harvest


The big raised bed (by my standards) that's marked out fr square foot gardening had a little attention to. This involved weeding and mulching as well as pulling out the last of the 2018 leeks. I've got a post to finish up that talks specifically about the raised beds and my plan for maximising crops so keep your eye of that over the next few days.

digging up leeks


Last of the leeks getting pulled to make space for the next crop to go in


I also managed to get a little done in the greenhouse, the last big job is to get the wood for the raised beds installed so i can start growing crops but I've ran out of cash... Next pay day i plan to get this done so i'm ready to plant out but i did manage to get some of the smaller less important jobs done that didn't involve spending any cash.

framing out the greenhouse door


A little bit of framing around the door done, that will help with draughts and maintaining temperatures on windy days.


greenhouse step


I also got the step finished that will make it easier to get in/out once the path is all dug out.


greenhouse thermal mass

I also found a half full can of black spray paint so i gave the barrels a quick sand and sprayed the barrels black, hopefully this will help to maintain internal temps as the water will heat up better i just need some rain to fill the barrels to test this out.... i could do with another can to get all the bits missed when it ran out but that's not a real drama to worry about now.

 

Well that's it for this garden journal 2019 update!

4 day weekend ahead and the weathers looking great so hopefully this will really push progress on in the garden and other projects i have on the go. what you all up to???


And as always thanks for stopping by and reading the post. If you think it's worth it, don't forget to follow, like and upvote! But if you only do one thing leave a comment and say hello!


Go on! check out some of our other blog posts!


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All the best

D.



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Ah, SAD sucks. Good to see progress here as you sort stuff for Spring. I bet it'll be your best season ever!!

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Yeah going to be epic i hope, 😮 just snook out and bought some wood for the greenhouse 😅 so i can get the salads planted this weekend to try and sneak another early crop in

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I also have SAD and with 2 years of nearly continuous cloudiness here in New England, I was really struggling this winter. But the sun has come out (I actually turned red a little on Weds), and I've been able to be outside working.

With my helper, we are getting a LOT of flowerbeds done. Rain returned yesterday, thro Sunday, and after that maybe I can get more done.

Love watching how yours is coming together. :))

Its no fun is it @goldenoakfarm I've caught the sun pritty bad over the last two days but feel like a different person. Great to hear you getting a lot done.

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Oooh just looking at the wood used in that potato raised bed gave me the chills! Material like that is very hard to come by around here, wood is never left for scrap or given away freely and buying that new would set me back my weekly food bill for a family of 4!

Same @bobydimitrov i love collecting stuff for free and repurposing but i had to blow some cash to make this work. Given the rate at which Uk food prices are climbing at the moment on fresh fruit and veg I'm confident its a wise investment in our future 🤞 if anything its motivation to make the most of the new space and really make it pay for its self. Ill be logging how much the harvest is and what its worth with an aim to pay off the greenhouse in the first year.

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