I couldn't be happier to see my last year's lettuce thriving, but on the other side it is scary that it can survive winter outside only covered with bubble wrap. Last weekend, we went to the garden to clean the raised bed and to sow radishes and lettuce seeds when we noticed that our old lettuce lived there happily in its little special micro-climate. There was so much of it!
This is only a small part of our haul as we had to put it in other containers too because this one was too small. I also took some lamb's lettuce and leek.
This is how it looked like when we uncovered the raised bed. Look at those lush colours! There were also quite many weeds thriving too, so it took some time to remove all the roots, separate and clean everything, but we had enough lettuce for three days! There were about twenty slugs enjoying the climate. At least this is how many we found, but chances are that we missed some. They are so tiny.
Once everything was cleaned we added a lot of compost and fresh soil before we sow the seeds. We didn't refresh the soil last year, so it was really needed. After I spread the seeds in rows I covered everything with a bit of soil and watered it to help the seeds sprout. It was still a bit cold, and even though radishes are hardy they might need a bit warmer temperature to sprout, so we covered it with the bubble wrap again.
It's not on the photo, but we did adjust the bubble wrap and closed it with a long cord to keep it in place. It will also help to keep the moisture, so we won't need to water the seeds before they sprout.
Then I prepared a patch to plant sugar snap peas. It's a patch where I used various grains as ground cover for winter, so I had to use a spade to flip the soil over and move the ground cover upside down. The soil is wet these days, so it was heavy! This will fertilize the soil. Some grains were left on top of the soil as it doesn't need to be perfect to work. And I also didn't want to spend hours putting every single piece of grass under the soil.
I was surprised to see how much the soil changed with the ground cover. It's much softer and easier to work with than last year. This will save me so much time in the garden! I would recommend the ground cover to everyone!
Happy growing little seeds!
I could use chives every day as I love them. I was happy to see that they started growing too. I'm sure that I will be able to pick some of them in a couple of weeks. I must admit that I still have some in the freezer as last year we also get some from our neighbour, so we ended up with much more than we could eat.
We had a great rhubarb harvest last year, but the leaves were way too big and the plants were gigantic.
This year, I'm trying to force the rhubarb to get long and juicy stalks which should be also milder in taste. It should also lead to smaller plants as the leaves will stay under the bucket and won't spread all over the place.
You put large buckets over your rhubarb crowns which will block all the light, and therefore the leaves won't be able to grow. The buckets should be black, but we were not able to find those, so we are trying it like this. I left two crowns uncovered in case that it won't work, so we will be left with some stalks either way.
Last year, we started planting after the hellebore season, so the only thing that we got to see where large leaves that attracted tons of slugs. This year, I've removed the old leaves and enjoyed the colourful palette of these beautiful tender flowers.
Their season is short, and if you start going to the garden at the end of March/beginning of April the chances are that you will miss them.
Golden rain bush started so early this year! I remember that when I was a child we picked some only at the end of March. This year, its season will be over by then. We always had it as a table decoration for Easter.
Some branches came home with us...
This is how our hyacinths looked like last weekend. Those slugs can't be stopped!
I went to check them out today, and they look so much better...
Daffodils are growing strong and beautiful...
And there are still plenty of primroses...
Those colourful succulents were planted by the former owner and they seem to love their spot...
Rosemary flowers are so good! They look beautiful on a plate and they are also tasty with their milder flavour than what you are used to with rosemary.
Hydrangeas are sprouting too. Let's see which colour we will get this year.
A few weeks to wait for tulips to show their colours...
I wanted to purchase some special tulips when we were visiting my in-laws in the Netherlands, but I forgot to do it last year. It's too late for this year, so I have to be happy with what I get.
I'm not sure about the name of this plant, but its flowers look like fuchsia. I've tried to get rid of it last year because they get pods which open with wind and the seeds are spread everywhere, so it's impossible to keep it under control. Apparently, I didn't get them all.
They are pretty, just very invasive, so I prefer not to have them in the garden.
I haven't removed the mustard plants yet as I will put some plants in this place when it gets warmer. For now, we used bigger leaves for our salads 😊
And today, I've seen first sweat peas seeds sprouting! YES!
Radishes and lettuce are not that far yet, but gardening is all about the patience, so I'm sure they will out come at the right time.
See you next time..
OMG those are some healthy and beautiful plants! Using bubble wrap to cover them have never crossed my mind lol it's such a good idea. We are also planning to buy a mini greenhouse thing tho I'm still kinda worried cos the wind can get pretty strong here sometimes. Those flowers are so beautiful <3
It's the easiest way to keep your plants over winter in the raised bed. We have a greenhouse, but I don't plant there anything over winter because it's nice and warm and mice love it! I left carrots in the greenhouse over winter and they ate it all! The raised bed has a metal mesh at the bottom, so mice can't get in.. Those problems that you have to resolve as a gardener 😂
You will need to secure it well, so that it doesn't fly away. Some people dig a hole and place it inside, or pour concrete foundations. You can also secure it a tent. There are plenty of tips online, and I'm sure that you will find one that works for you 😊
Thank you! They are pretty 😊 but the garden is at its most beautiful in June when most of the flowers are still there and the veggies start to grow properly too 😊
That's wonderful!
Hard to believe that you are in Switzerland (or am I mistaken?). I would expect to see snow for quite some more time over there :)
We are in Switzerland 😊 But we don't live in mountains.. the elevation is about 400 meters where we live, so the climate is mild. This year we only had snow for a week, and it rained a lot.
I think that right now there is natural snow far above 2000 meters.
Have you been to Switzerland?
I see. A common misconception :)
Some people don't know that we even have winter in Greece since it is associated with summer vacations and swimming in the sea and myself I had a picture of Switzerland in my mind with long lasting snow all over the place :)
Not really. I had a transit flight in Zurich once and got out of the airport for 5-6 hours and I crossed the country from the boarders with Italy to France, during a road trip another time but that was also for a few hours. Maybe at the next road trip in Europe :)
You should definitely come here for at least a week. I'm sure you will love it. Switzerland has so much to offer to travellers.. actually, all except of the sea 😁
I agree, people have some assumptions about a country, but the reality might be very different 😊
Hope, you're doing well 🤗
I'll keep that in mind, thanks :)
A lot of effort for beautiful garden pleasure and beauty ;))
Thank you! 😊
Great job you're doing with the plants, they look healthy. Your garden is a beauty.!LUV
Thanks a lot! It takes a lot of time and effort, but it is worth it 😊
Yeah I can see that it's worth the effort and time.
wow! All so beautiful 😍... I get really fascinated when I see people grow their own vegetables sadly I don't have such opportunity but would be looking into sack farming soonest and would definitely share my journey 🙂
You don't really need a garden to start gardening 😊 When you have a balcony, you can put some raised beds, or as you say sacks. You will have so much fun! 😊 I wish you a good gardening year 😉
Yeah I'll use the sack... thank you 🥰
You have found some really creative solutions to protecting plants during the coldest months. I had never thought to use bubble wrap but it totally makes sense now that I see it. We sometimes use bubble wrap on windows when it is super cold out. Everything looks so beautiful and full of like, spring is such a nice time of year! best of luck in your garden!!
This bubble wrap is thicker than the one that you get your parcels wrapped in, but you can buy it in any DIY store. And if it doesn't get too cold, I'm sure that the standard one would work too, especially when you already use it for your windows 😊
Thanks a lot! I'm so excited for the gardening season already! 😉