Eco Friendly House And Garden

How can a plant seeds when I can’t even see my garden!

Like many people, I am hoping to start planting some seeds in my garden shortly – but the ground is frozen, and under about 3 inches of snow!

I also have some plants that I want to tend to as well, but they are still covered in the white stuff!

It has been several weeks now since I have been able to even think about getting back out into the garden to check on things already out there and getting ready for the new seasons crops and plants.

Just before the ‘big freeze’ there was a period of wet weather, and primroses, daisies and buttercups were all flowering in my garden at the end of November – I dread to think what they will look like when this snow all melts – and whether they will have the energy to flower again by March!

Problems In The Garden:
Well, I should be out there pruning back some of last years branches and shoots as well as clearing old leaves but that is going to have to wait - as is turning the compost!  I tried to do this before the new year, but it was too heavy with all the snow, and then clearing it a bit actually melted the snow turning it into a huge pile of slush – washing away some of the nutrients I had packed inside!

The thought of digging out the beds for the early potatoes is not sounding too appealing either – and I have been putting off adding the manure as I can’t face driving all the way to the stable yard in this terrible weather.  My driveway is still snowed in – so I am sure the access to a private yard won’t be faring much better!

The weight of the snow on my greenhouse has moved some of the panes downwards into the gutters leaving gaps in the roof – and I noticed a new crack in one.  I can’t attempt to slide them back into place when the temperatures are so low as I may well end up cracking another!  And my footing isn’t going to be the best!

My ceramic water butt has all but frozen over, so I am relying on my plastic one on the other side of the garden to keep things going.  I have had to completely rearrange my porch and spare room window sill to take on all of my early seeds and delicate plants.

Cold Weather Gardening Tips:
There are however, a few things you can do to take the edge off the worst of the weather for your seedlings and garden plants, and they include making things warmer (or not as cold as usual), changing varieties and changing locations.

Use a mulch to keep the ground from freezing.  If you have built up a nice layer of mulch (possibly using the leaves that you are only just starting to clear up), the actual earth your plants are going to be sown in will be just that little bit warmer than the ‘new’ surface, which should help them start out.

Use heat lamps or heat pads if the temperature is too low for your plants to get started.  I have just begun to use a low level low-energy heat pad in my porch where I can have many plants resting part on it and therefore giving them that extra warmth they are not yet getting from the sun!

Sow less seeds at a time to increase your chances of germination.  By only sowing a few seeds every few days, you are staggering your growth needs and therefore giving each seed more of a chance to do well. 

If you sow 50 seeds at the same time they will all need care and attention – and heating – at the same time almost guaranteeing a heavy loss if conditions don’t improve.  Whereas sowing only 5 every 3rd day or so will mean that each batch will get 100% of your attention as it grows.  The first 5 will be nice a warm and germinating before you move them aside to start the next batch.  This also means that your flowers or vegetables won’t all flower and fruit at the same time – perfect for a longer season!

Change varieties to make the most of the cold.  There are many varieties of flowers and vegetables that will do better in these cold and wet conditions (when the snow melts there is going to be a lot of water in the ground).  Make sure that you use these instead of particularly fussy varieties that are going to take up a lot of your time and energy growing – if they don’t fail you.

The Next Few Months:
The weather isn’t looking like it’s going to get much warmer over the next few weeks – so be prepared for a hard time through to February.

And, if your garden plants aren’t doing so well, then why not consider planting some wildflower seed this year.  By selecting native and local wild flowers for your garden – you will be giving them the best start in life.  They are hardy little things and will no doubt look great in the spring – just as they will carpet your local woods and parks in the wild.

Nature has a way of getting things moving – and plants that have evolved for years to live in your area will be no exception.  They need little help to grow, will suit your garden perfectly and will attract plenty of birds and insects for the summer!

Thanks for coming back – and I hope the first few tips have been of help to you.

Now lets look at the final 2 tips which include; Choosing the right variety of fruit or vegetable for your needs, and thinking about growing food organically.

4) Variety Is The Spice Of Life:
There are now so many varieties of each fruit or vegetable to account for your tastes and for the locations they thrive in – so pick yours wisely.

Don’t just buy the one that has the cheapest seeds in the store – pick the one you are going to enjoy the taste of and that will grow in the place and in the time you want it to.

If you are busy at work during the summer or going away for a few week in spring, then make sure your variety don’t need too much attention at that point. If you have an alkali soil – then make sure you don’t buy a variety that loves acidic ground. I know it all sounds a bit technical – but just ask the experts where you live.

Take time to visit a local fruit grower near to where you live (same soil and same weather) and find out what they grow – then buy their seeds and take their advice.

Tell them your requirements too, for example there is no need to buy a product that gives off tonnes of fruit or veg at the same time if you are living alone as you will never be able to eat it all yourself (unless you want to learn about preserving it as well).

At the other end of the scale, you don’t want a rarer vegetable that only produces one or 2 edible parts if you have a family of 4 to feed! Plan your seasonal needs way ahead, and then link these up with the types and cycles of the plants that are available.

5) Growing Organic?
Don’t forget that the seeds you buy, or the plants you purchase might not have been grown organically – it’s a very complex chain. Decide how far back you want to be ‘organic’ for or how strict you are going to be.

And, unless you test it – how do you know that your yard isn’t full or chemical residues from previous land-use? You can’t, so you need to start from scratch and apply no more chemicals at all to it.

And, most importantly; how do you even know that the soil you wish to use is even full of nutrients? It is possible that the type of soil is not suitable for retaining nutrients or has been completely drained or natural resources over the years.

If you are on a purpose built housing estate (even if it is 100 years old), it is possible that just below your topsoil is a layer of industrial waste like broken bricks, wooden poles, or previous garden waste from past owners? I found and entire flat tarpaulin sheet and a concrete pillar buried in my back yard!

So, if you want to grow healthy and organic crops yourself, it may be wise to install raised beds for your plants so you can control the soil yourself.

Once the sides are up (obviously using chemical free and naturally strong materials) I would dig over the existing soil (not too deep) and remove any large stones or other objects. Then mix in a few cms of well rotted horse manure (or organic alternative) – then completely cover with alfalfa, clover or mustard.

These fast growing plants are great for pulling nutrients back into the soil ready to grow something worth eating! When they are fully grown and covering the inside of your raised bed, then dig them back in to the existing soil and add more organically sourced soil or horse manure to raise the beds to the top.

Then you can get started knowing that from now on you are growing your fruit and vegetables organically!

Everyone is thinking about home-grown food now – so here are a few less thought of tips to help you on your way!

We all know to get a water butt and to not use a powerful sprinkler during the heat of the day, so I thought of some less obvious one that can really make a difference.

1) Why Grow Potatoes?
You can grow just about anything these days after a bit of reading up, so why just grow anything?

There are certain vegetables that are very easy to buy at stores and very reasonably priced local foods – so why grow them yourself? Why not focus your time and energy on the foods that you can’t easily get hold of or that are very expensive to buy.

For example a lot of berries and currents are extraordinarily expensive to buy, but you can easily grow your own in a corner of your yard and pick them when you need them. And if you have a small greenhouse or poly-tunnel you could easily be growing things that are not normally found in your local area but are suitable for this environment.

2) Will They Grow Themselves?
There are many crops that need a lot of care and attention to grow from seed or when potting on. There are also many plants that are energy or water intensive.

Think about these restraints on your time and the environmental costs before taking on a demanding crop – don’t just think about the end result.

It is probably a lot less energy-intensive for a large farm to grow such crops and ship them to your store than for every household to try to grow their own. Increasing the scale of production always lowers costs and resources.

Also, out of season crops need more attention as do out-of-environment crops. Out-of-environment crops are those that can’t be grown without plenty or extras – like protection, fertilisers (natural or not) and other considerations.

Basically they are fruits and vegetables that are perfectly suited to a particular environment – which isn’t where you live! So, if you want to try something different that needs more resources, then make sure you put every effort in to nurturing it; hitting a bumper crop and then eating every last piece of edible material it produces!

Seriously, if you are going to be putting 3 months or more of intensive effort into growing vegetable A, then you had better make sure you follow that care through to the end. What a waste it would be if you started off ok and then went on holiday or got ‘too busy’ and let them die. What an even worse waste of resources that would be!

3) Are They Attractive To Bugs?
Make sure you find out which fruits and veg are less attractive to pests and disease before you start planting.  And when they are less atrractive to pests – pests all have their own ‘cycle’ so avoiding this can sometimes be advantageous and plant-saving!

There is nothing worse than getting a problem with your crops and then finding the only solution is to apply chemical cures or simply to start over! What a waste!

Sometimes it’s just a matter of choosing the right planting dates or using the right natural protection. For example, the first round of runner beans I planted when I first started growing veg got totally destroyed by hungry slugs (regardless of my organic slug repellent) whereas some I planted much later in the season never even got one bite to them – the whole crop survived!

Make sure you do your research in advance so that you know all the info before you lose your first crop!

Join me in a few days for Part 2 , bringing you some more unusual but extremely helpful tips…..