Friday 22 January 2016

GETTING 'SPRING KITCHEN GARDEN' READY...




What glorious weather we have had over the last few days!  Cold admittedly, but with beautiful blue  skies and wall to wall sunshine, it has been absolutely stunning here in Kent. 



My daily dog walk has brought me home most days with a detour in to the kitchen garden for some pickings of the few winter veg I have this year....chard, spinach, kale, carrots, leeks and celeriac, and I have found myself daydreaming of Spring and this year's plans for hopefully an abundance of produce....










Daydreaming is no good though!

It happens each year at this time...I get lulled in to a false sense of security thinking 'it's winter' and 'I've got lazy weeks stretching out ahead of me'.....time for a reality check though and to start planning and thinking about all those jobs that need doing!




There is the greenhouse to clean and disinfect...






Raised beds and this pergola to mend...







 ...and the back breaking but oh so worth while task of spreading barrow loads of manure on all the beds.  (Perhaps I can sweet talk Mr. W in to that one?!)




Eighteen months ago we planted these tiny Portuguese Laurel trees in four small raised beds.  They were just wispy leftover hedging plants, but having already taken on some vigorous growth and by removing the lower branches, we are nurturing them in to 'standards' which will hopefully be spectacular 'lollypop' shaped trees in a few years time?  Worth a try!

I am not renowned for my patience when it comes to 'creating', but while creating this large garden and also keeping an eye on the budget, I have gradually learnt that it is well worth the wait for the rewards!  Smaller trees and hedging plants end up stronger in the long run and it is also so satisfying to nurture something so small in to something special.










Rhubarb is being forced under the terracotta forcer.  Not long now until those first precious and delicious stems...



Now for that planning.....the fun of choosing seeds, both new and heritage varieties is always exciting.  As mentioned before here, each year I vow to grow less but end up growing enough to feed the whole of Kent, but it is always so lovely to share with friends and family and I may look out for a good cause too to donate both seedlings and vegetables this year.   

Thankfully the choosing and ordering can all be done from the warmth and comfort of indoors!

  Keen veg gardeners out there, what are you planning to grow this year?  Are there any unusual or particularly successful crops or varieties that you can recommend?  

I would love to hear...

Happy garden planning!

Sophia xx

1 comment:

  1. ¿Qué tal estás? Imagino que en pleno proceso depurativo cargado de buenas intenciones típico de primeros de año: que si el gimnasio, que si dejar de fumar, que si la dieta depurativa (hoy os traigo una receta sana, sanísima y algunas recomendaciones) elracodeldetall.blogspot. como

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