In the last days it really started to warm up. Snow melted down, lots of spring flowers rushed out of the ground and birds announced loudly that spring is here.
Just like animals and plants, I as well, woke up from a long winter sleep, rushing to get myself nutritions and light. Not such a short term game with gardening, but it's definitely worth of waiting. Working with the soil and watching plants grow has big therapeutic effects.
I found out that the genetics gets adopted to the environment and the plants grow healthier and with a bigger yield each year.
Although for now I still buy some of the seeds from the store, I always try to save, as much as I can of my own seeds. I save it in paper bags, and containers with lids. I save it in a cold and dark place. Some people put it in a freezer. Seeds saved like that will last for at least four years.
I planted a few kinds of peppers and chillis ten days ago.
Today they needed replanting, before their roots started to grow in spirals around each other.
I replanted about 80 paprika plants and about 50 chillis. Some of these plants I will exchange with friends and neighbors, for plants that I don't have. A lot of them, I will just give away, when my garden is already filled up.
After replanting I will put them next to a window that doesn't get direct light, just for a few days. After that I will replace them next to a window, on a direct light. I will replant them in the garden when the temperature won't drop below 15 ⁰C, that would be in the middle of May here. The plants will have to get strong in the pots until then.
They should grow strong roots and develop healthy leaves in order to survive the outside world later. I've planted them in rich soil, I will be adding a little bit of homemade natural fertiliser to them in the next month. They will also need lots of spraying as they need a humid environment to grow.
Today I also planted broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplants, chocolate chilli and celery. I put the pots next to the radiator, for optimal germinating.
Once those get big enough, I will replant each in a small pot.
Broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower are more cold resistant, I can replant them outside when the temperature rises above 5 ⁰C. Before replanting them outside I will introduce them to external conditions, by putting the pots outside on sunny days. But not on direct sun, I will choose a warm place with a bit of a shade.
I also started with an outside gardening today.
I don’t dig up the garden in the spring, which doesn’t mean I don’t prepare the soil for the new season.
I've already explained about how I covered my garden with leaves, for the winter, in my previous post.
In the next days I will cover the layer of leaves with a layer of cured compost. Some of it we made by ourself, with composting trash, some of it I got from a neighbor, that raises sheeps.I will plant my plants or seeds directly into the compost.
Every now and then I will hoe my garden beds, around the plants, not more than ten centimeters in the soil (compost layer), just to get a bit of air in the ground.
Today I did that with a few garden beds, where I grow salads, peas, carrots and onions that I planted in the fall for the spring harvest.
I noticed that one of the beds is mostly empty, so I decided to plant red and white radishes between the salad, as my lunar calendar told me it's a great time to plant root vegetables.
The radish roots will also loosen the soil around the salad and the roots will get an opportunity to expand.
I spotted some snail slime around the salad and I covered the beds with some wood ash and crushed egg shells, that my friend that owns a restaurant was generously saving for me the whole winter. Eggshells and ash will prevent snails, crossing the garden beds and it will also add some benefits to the soil.
Soon I will start planting carrots and early herbs in my garden.
Good tip about the snail repellent. I worked for a farm last summer and we had an abundance of snails snacking.
Snails are the biggest threat to gardeners, I don't use pesticides, as it creates more damage. It's useful to be constantly adding different materials that the snails cannot cross the beds. Wood chips, straw, compost or even sand is useful with that.
Thanks for reading @cliffagreen!💚
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Ooo wow. Very beautiful way to welcome spring. Great to see your post.
Thaks for stopping by @laxyasaru! There will be much more planting going on when it gets a little bit warmer. 🤠
Ah cooool!🤩🌼 Thank you so much your post was so valuable, @ravenking13 and I actually started our garden today & your tips will be of great help!
May I ask how you make your homemade fertilizer or maybe you already have a post about that?
Many thanks & bless! Looking forward to see the evolution this spring 🤗🌸
Thank you @kaliphae, for asking me this interesting question! I just made a post about it:
https://hive.blog/naturalmedicine/@blackberryskunk/make-your-own-fertilizers-or-manure-is-gold
Have nice time in the mud! 🌸
Ohh great @blackberryskunk I made sure to bookmark 🥰 Bless you! 🌼
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