Sunny days

Although it's march, the weather of the past days reminded me more of late spring. There were a lot of sunny days, and our little garden really loved it. Now that the weather is turning more march-like again, I've decided to post a little update. Sadly, the pictures aren't very sunny, because I only just took them... Anyway:

We finished planting our blueberries! I hope to get a rich harvest this year. I don't really understand why one of them is already in flowers, but I'll hope it will turn out OK.

We also sowed lettuce, in trays as well as in rows:

 

 

 

This year, we're going to try growing peas for the first time. We chose Sugar Snap peas, because that's the variety we like most. They are sweet peas, you eat the both the shell and the pea (and apparently, you can also eat them raw). I put them under a net, to protect them from birds and from my cat Aiden. He loves standing on my vulnerable seedlings... :P When they grow bigger, I will let them grow on trellis.

  

And last but not least: the seeds and seedlings that I've started inside have grown super fast!

Peppers and Paprika's <3 sunny days :)

The tomatoes and cucumbers that I posted about last time. Seriously. Those are the same! :O

So... I'm hoping that the sun won't disappoint us this spring! Now that she's gone, my plants seem to have slowed down their growth...

A BIG garden update

A BIG garden update today! I haven't posted for a while now, because last week was full of essays and exams. And after that was done with, I had to work through an unpleasant list of unread emails...

I did however, find time to work in our little garden. Nothing is more inspiring to me, than fresh air and the expectation of fresh fruits and veg. I can't imagine how I would ever succeed in writing an essay, without the peaceful moments of recollection in my little home-made orchard. As I am doing a course on Literature and Landscape right now, my reading and my garden work have reached a level of equality in my mind, which is most welcome. It is wonderful to be able to garden, and not feel guilty with regards to my study.

We finished the hole for the raspberries this week. In fact, not only did we finish the hole, we also filled it up with dirt - and with raspberry plants! The credit for most of the heavy work goes to my boyfriend L, who's done all the digging. :) We're growing them on trellis, because it creates more space and it should make picking easier.

Inside our house, the pepper plants are doing great. They sprouted in less than a week, which is really quick (it took several weeks last year). Both the sweet peppers (paprika's) and the hot peppers are growing fast.

Today, L and I sowed tomatoes and cucumbers. I'll post a list with varieties soon. But this is what it looks like: (of course, I hope the look soon changes... it would be a shame if they stayed that way ;) )

We've also worked on a hole to plant our two blueberry bushes. They needs acidic soil, which we have to buy at the garden centre. Looks like we'll have to make a few more trips:

That's all for now! I suddenly feel a need for a bicycle trip... to the garden centre. I'll hope to write more updates soon (no exams coming up just yet).

Sowing pepper seeds

Februari is coming to an end, which means that it's time to sow pepper seeds indoors. The temperature has to be 20-30 degrees (celsius) for them to germinate, it usually takes 2-3 weeks. I sow them so early, because they have to recieve as much light as possible to grow into sturdy crops.

This year, I'm sowing the following varieties:

Sweet peppers (paprika):

• Red Marconi, long red sweet peppers
• California Wonder, classic bell peppers
• Marconi Purple, have a bell pepper shape with a deep purple shade

Hot peppers:

• Bird's Eye, little hot Thai peppers that you can buy at most toko's
• Prairie Fire, ornamental peppers with bright yellow-orange-red colours (not for eating)

Last year I went for more special pepper varieties, like Rocoto Orange and Monkey Face, but 2011 was a very bad pepper year in the Netherlands and the special varieties all withered. I also realised that, while hot varieties are fun to grow, I know no one besides my father who actually likes them. Therefore, I decided to focus on sweet peppers this year: we all love those!