It is winter here - and a really boring one- windy- grey,wet and mild.
Normally winter comes with snow in January - but we have only had 1 week with real frost and it was very grey and cold with wind from east - but not much snow….
Well the good thing about this autumn like winter is that I dont freeze and that the garden seem so alive. The spring-bulbs are already flowering and the garlic I planted in October looks great….
When I feed the animals I keep on daydreaming about what I want to do next year:
First of all I wont have an exam in the middle of the busy months( April-June) so I hope Ill be able to handle my vegetable garden better= read have less weed :-)
I also hope that summer will be more normal- last years it was very dry and hot all spring to midsummer - where it continued to be lukewarm - but sooooooo wet that a lot of things really didnt grow well and we were going crazy due to lack of sunshine.
Normally I grow a lot of luxury veggies- like asparagus, herbs, artichokes - lettuce - etc. as well as berries and fruit- and not many more heavy veggies.
First of all my garden isnt big
secondly: cabbage needs lots of manure and work to keep the bugs of
3) and until a few years ago organic heavier veggies like potatoes, carrots, cabbage - onions etc. were ok in price…. BUT BUT
In just 1 year vegetable and fruit prices have risen 15-18 % here… !!!!
(Milk and eggs 10-12 %, and grains 13 % )
So now I´m really considering growing more food myself- especially because I dont want to compromise on the quality.
I think it is absurd that all the healthy food is so expensive - while sweets, pork-meat and alcohol is cheaper than ever!
Food-prices in Denmark is and has been very high compared to the rest of EU… but this is crazy !
So while I daydream about summer I have started to plan where to buy new seeds and what I want to grow… do I want to grow more beets, carrots - do I want the extra work with cabbage or ?
If you are an inexperienced gardener I advice to start with easy stuff:
Herbs, lettuce, peas, courgette/squash - hardy flowers, onions and carrots you eat during summer are safe bets- maybe read some of my early blogs ( May 2007) about growing herbs etc.
Go to the library and take books home
one of my old-time favourite books are by John Seymour :
The Self-Sufficient Gardener
Prepare your soil - you need to work with it - add manure, compost etc. - it will get better and better.
And check out your climate zone- be realistic - some thing grow better in some areas.
Happy daydreaming
About the Author...
I am a 35 year old woman who lives with my teendaughter in an old wooden house on a hilltop in Denmark. I have got a BA in prehistoric archeology and got a teacherdegree as well. I love books, plants, animals, kids and nourishing food.
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