Growing me a garden day 21

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My garden is growing. Almost thriving. Almost. I planted 10 Early Cascade tomato seeds, and so far 3 has sprouted. Out of 10 Arctic tomato seeds, only 2 has sprouted. Most of the strawberry seeds has sprouted, although not all, probably about 2/3 of the seeds. And I have 2 sprouts of my bell peppers. But, it is all good. I am pretty sure that I had too many plants crammed into too little space last year. I had 6-8 tomato plants in each big pot (it is big, but not that big), and about 20 strawberry plants in my strawberry pot. And it only resulted in me having to water the plants several times a day, as it wasn’t enough dirt to hold any moisture, and the plants growing slow and producing fruits really really late.

Although I planted the seeds in january and planted them out in may, most of the tomatoes were still green in september.

So, this year I am planning of having fewer plants in each pot, giving each plant more space and room to grow. And hopefully we will be able to enjoy both the tomatoes and strawberry before the first frost. I am aiming for 10 strawberry plants, 2 bell peppers, and 4 of each type of tomatoes.

I have also planted some basil seeds. They were quite old, as I bought them over a year ago. I have had them laying about in my cupboards in the kitchen, although for the past month they were moved into the fridge. So, I wasn’t sure whether they would sprout or not. But they did. The basil will stay indoors though, but it’s such a lovely herb to have on hand for the summer so I had to grow it.

I am also planning of growing carrots and spring onions. But those I will grow outside from the beginning.

Grow me a garden

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I had almost decided not to try for the homegrown stuff this year, and go for the lazier and more pricey option of buying everything from the garden Center when summer came along. But then I started looking for some seeds for strawberries, as I am somewhat convinced, and not sure why, that strawberries grown from seeds are tastier than the ones that you buy as seedlings from a garden Center. Actually, come to think of it I feel that applies to all everything.

But, while shopping around for seeds for strawberries I couldn't resist adding some tomato seeds, mini bell peppers seeds, and carrot seeds into the mix. And they all arrived from the big US this weekend. So, this year's crop will consist of 500 tendercrisp (that's the name) carrots, 25 red mini bell peppers, and 25 early cascade tomatoes. I also got some bonus seeds which was some other tomatoes, an arctic version (don't remember the name and can't be bothered to go look). I am still waiting for the strawberries, as I bought them from another vendor. 

It grows, it grows

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The kitchen garden is coming up strong now.

And suddenly all the strawberry plants have sprouted. I am so so excited about the strawberries. Just thinking about being able to eat our own homegrown strawberries puts a smile on my face.

But, surprisingly enough, I though I only had 10 seeds, but somehow I ended up with 15 tiny seedlings. Not that I am complaining, more is (almost) always better.

I have tried to talk to munchkin about it, but he isn’t too impressed nor interested. The first couple of days after I had sown the seeds, he would come over and have a look at the pots, but then it dabbed off. especially when he realized that he wasn’t allowed to play with the spray can (a small accident involving a happy 2-year old, a spray can, and a rather wet mobile phone belonging to mummy put an abruptly end to that).

There is life…

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Can you see? Some of the chrysanthemums in the first row were the first to make an appearance. Then, the oregano sprouted, which I truly doubted they would, and then suddenly there were tomato plants coming up as well. One day there were nothing there, and the next I had 2cm high shoots.

Kitchen garden dream

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We bought and moved into our new house last october. We used to rent a tiny flat in the city, and when I say tiny, I mean TINY. Myself, hubby, and munchkin shared a one-bedroom flat measuring 38m2. So, yes, NOT much space. It was definitely time to be looking for something bigger. But, real estate is pricey – big time! In the city, we wouldn’t be able to afford much more than 50m2, which although was bigger than what we got, wouldn’t really cut it. But then we started looking in the town where I grew up, and DANG, what a price difference!

We ended up buying a row house 10 minutes walk from the city center, and we loved it! It is spacious, with 130m2, two living rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and wait or it… oh yeah, a 32m2 terrace!!! Unfortunately, we moved in so late in the year so we didn’t really get to use the terrace at all before winter came along, but we are so so so excited about this spring and summer. After having lived in an apartment in the city with no balcony, thus having to lug blanket, food, baby, trolley, drinks, sunhats to the park every time we wanted to enjoy some sun outdoors, having such a large outdoor area, which is all ours, on our doorstep, will be such a joy!

I have already spent way to much money on buying fancy garden furniture, which we are waiting for in anticipation. Our terrace is still covered in snow, but hopefully all the snow will be gone by april, which is when the furniture is supposed to be delivered.

 

So, also in anticipation of a summer on the terrace, I decided to buy seeds of various kinds to grow. Yup! After having read up on what can and cannot be cultivated on a terrace in pots, I decided on the following plants (which I purchased from eBay – got to love that site):

• Roma tomatoes
• Harbinger tomatoes
• Alpine strawberries
• Two types of spring onions
• Garlic
• Coriander
• Basil
• Capsicum
• Giant sunflowers (for munchkin, I swear)
• And various flowers

So here they are. The green in the front is a couple of garlics that had already started their life in the fridge unintentionally (by me, not by them I suspect). The first row is garlic, the second is capsicum, then roma tomatoes, fourth one is Harbinger tomatoes, and the last one is some basil and coriander. The blue box in the back is strawberries, and the tree clay pots at the back has oregano, more basil, and more coriander.

Now, it’s time to wait…