Seedlings

Not bad. The little homemade seedling pots worked. After sowing the seeds, I kept an eye on them every morning. I would look into them to see if anything was happening inside. I'd also touch the soil to see if I need to moisten the soil. Most of the time, I do. The soil gets dry so I'd spray a bit of water to keep the soil wet.

I also make sure they are in the best spot in the apartment. If the kitchen was sunny, I'd put the tray of pots there. If the sun shone into the balcony, I'd move them there. I have to make sure they get the right amount of water, light and temperature. The last couple of days, the balcony is a bit warmer, so I could place them there.

After three days, I could see some tiny cabbage seedlings emerging from the soil. The next day, I could see the leaves and the thin stems. They grew quite fast. After the fifth day, the broccoli and Savoy cabbage seeds germinated. Now, they are growing well. The leaves look nice and strong. The stems look too thin though. I hope they'll be fine. There's no sign of cucumber seedlings though. Most probably they need more time since their seeds are more than ten times bigger than that of the others.

Today, it was really nice and sunny. A check on the weather forecast showed the temperature staying above 12C so I am feeling quite confident that I'll be able to start planting in the garden soon. So I have started sowing more seeds. I planted two different types of pumpkin and butternut squash. They are meant for autumn and winter, but they need to be planted in spring. I also planted some cute blue flowers called blue parasol. I loved looking at the flowers planted in other gardens so I wanted to plant some in mine this year.

I also have other flower seeds from last year. They didn't turn out well when I planted them last year. But I will try again. With the toilet paper roll pots turning out quite well, I would be using them more now. I have collected more so I'm sure there'll be more than enough for all my seeds. I hope for a more beautiful garden this year, so I better remember to sow the flower seeds.

Hello Garden!

Sunday.  Finally a sunny day.  It started out quite foggy in the morning but hours later, after noon, the sun finally came out.  It has been a nice and bright day and finally I could ditch my thick winter coat.  Again, I seemed to have jinxed it when I last wrote about the sun.  The days after that were grey and gloomy.  The sun got completely swallowed up by the full, grey clouds.  But at least it's out now. 

Pete, his mum and I went to the garden today.  It was going to be our first visit to the garden this spring.  As expected, everything was brown and bare.  It was completely different from the lush greenery that it was in summer.  Pete used a motorized tiller to till the ground on both our plots.  I used a rake to get rid of the weeds and dried plants on our side and his mum worked on hers, which is just beside ours.

It was back breaking work.  I knew I was going to get a workout so I didn't do my usual exercise in the morning.  This was more tiring than the workout.  With the raking, I was using my arms, legs and abs.  Then, I had to squat to sift out and pick out the weeds, get up and throw them into the compost heap.  I had to work on the whole 10m by 11m plot which was not easy at all.  In the end, I only worked on the parts that were going to be used first.  I would work on the rest of the land another day. 

Hard work, though gardening is, you do have a sense of achievement when you look at your work.  The garden was tilled and weeded and some parts are ready to be worked on.  We would need to come back another time to work on it some more.  There are still weeds to clear and plots to get ready before we could start planting.  We also need to make a new fence.  Our makeshift one using chicken wire is not as effective in preventing others like dogs and their owners and wild rabbits to come into our garden.  We would need a higher and sturdier fence.  But spring season has only just begun.  We would have time for all those tasks later.

A start on spring

When I saw the tulips, I got inspired and decided to start sowing seeds.  Pete's mum has already started planting hers so I thought I should get started on it as well.  I have bought quite a number of seed packets, including new plants that we didn't plant last year.  After reading about some of the seeds, I discovered it's better to start indoors first so that the plants would get a head start and would be ready for harvest earlier.

The seed packets that we bought had instructions on the back.  Pete helped me translate them and so with that information plus whatever I have read about online, I got started.  The weekend before that, I already prepared my seed pots.  Instead of buying them, I read online that I could make my own seed pots using the inners of toilet rolls.  I have collected quite a few of those.  I also kept some from the kitchen rolls too. 

I cut the toilet rolls in half and quarters for the kitchen rolls.  Then I made four snips on the bottom of one end and folded them in to make a cute cup with a small hole in the middle.  The cups would hold the soil and the hole would help to drain excess water.  So simple and so cheap.  No extra cost, actually.  The best part is that when I want to transplant the seedlings, I can just plant the whole thing into the soil.  I won't have to take out the seedlings out of the pot and risk disturbing the delicate roots.  Also, the cardboard rolls would disintegrate into the soil.  Very environmental friendly.  And free.  Similar ones made of peat cost quite a lot in the stores.  These are free.

So, when I was ready to sow the seeds, I poured some soil into a bucket and added water.  The moist soil made it so much easier for me to spoon into the small pots.  Then I carefully placed a seed into each pot and labelled them.  This first time, I sowed some cabbage, savoy cabbage, broccoli and cucumber seeds.  The seeds, except for the cucumber seeds, are so tiny.  I had to use tweezers to put them into the pots.  Then I added a bit more water and left them on a tray in the balcony.

The next day was dull and sun-less.  The balcony wasn't getting any sun and it was cold there.  I moved the pots into the warm kitchen and switched on the kitchen light.  I placed them directly under the light and there they stayed for the next few grey days.  I only had to check the soil and water them whenever the soil seem day.  If they turn out well, I will be sowing more seeds using the free pots.  I have read that some people have a problem with them.  White mouldy stuff could form on the soil or the side of the pots.  I would have to be vigilant and look out for those.  Let's hope for the best.

Fun in the sun

Yesterday was a nice, warm and sunny day. On my return from school, I walked slower to enjoy the sun and the beautiful clear blue sky. I love looking at the sky when it's bright and blue like that day. The sky just looks brilliant blue and together with the shining sun, my mood gets lifted immediately. Hopefully soon, the leaves and bushes will start turning green. They are still brown now so there's not much to look at.

However, as I was almost home, as I passed by the small garden and playground in front of our apartment, my eyes were drawn to a flash of purple on the ground. Out of nowhere, a few purple tulips have popped out! I didn't notice any growth there before this, so I was very surprised to see the flowers growing nicely where previously there was just dirt. They look so pretty, almost like jewels among the brownish soil. I am definitely going to open my eyes to spot more flowers that have be awakened by the sun.

I had another surprise near the flowers. I spotted a cat that looked almost exactly as one of my cats back home. The cat was darting around the bushes near the flowers but when I called out to it, it came to me. So friendly! It let me pat and stroke it then it started rolling on the ground. From having nice white fur, it's coat got dirty. But it looked so happy to be playing in the sun and rolling around on the nice, warm soil. I guess I am not the only one who is happy that the sun finally came out.

Swedish for me

After about four months of SFI lessons, I don't think I have learnt as much as I think I could.  I am working on my vocabulary but I don't think it's at a level that I am happy with.  I can remember more words but I am better at reading.  I really need a lot more practice at listening and speaking.

I am not learning as much as I was hoping through SFI lessons.  I learn a lot of new words on some days, and on some days, I would go home not learning anything new.  I find that the lessons miss their mark sometimes.  I wish the teachers would help us acquire new words every day and teach us how to use the words in sentences.  Also, it would really help a lot if they make us read dialogues instead of just narrative or informative texts. 

Dialogues are important, I think, because it is more helpful in our daily life.  That is one of the main reasons why I am having problems with speaking Swedish.  I find that I do know a lot of words but I can't speak well since I still have problems stringing the words together into proper sentences.  It's really bothering me that I can't express myself well in class, even though I have lots of things I want to say.  I feel so frustrated.  I find myself using the same words over and over again so I am not able to explain clearly.

Pete and I have been speaking more and more Swedish at home.  It's not easy.  I find myself speaking haltingly as I stop to remember the words.  Luckily Pete is patient and let's me find the words myself.  He will only help me if I really can't remember the words or if I made mistakes.  Then, when he speaks to me, he has to speak slowly and most times I make him repeat as I try to translate the words in my head.  Because of that, we still mostly speak English, especially when we have things to discuss, but generally, we have been speaking more Swedish.

I have also been watching more Swedish programmes lately.  That is hard since they speak quite fast and sometimes they speak a different dialect from the people here.  I have to depend on the subtitles and even then there are many words I still don't understand. 

However, last Thursday, they started showing a programme called Swedish At All Cost (Svenska Till Varje Pris).  It's a reality series about a group of eight immigrants who are learning Swedish.  They come from all over the world and are of a wide age group.  They have finished the basic Swedish course, Course A and B (I'm currently doing C), and their aim is to finish Course C and D by the end of eight weeks.  The eight participants have to live in a castle for the whole duration and have lessons there taught by two experienced SFI teachers.   

I found the programme very interesting.  It is about something that I am going through now, after all, so I watch it to see how they learn and see if I can learn from them.  From the first episode I have already found inspiration in an Afghan lady featured there.  She and her family had a hard time in Afghanistan and then they moved to Iran where it wasn't much better for her.  Finally the family sought refuge in Sweden.  She was illiterate when she got here and now she is able to read and write after she finished Course A and B.  Even the two teachers find her bright and think that she should be able to do well.

Watching the participants makes me think of my classmates and I.  They way they talk is exactly like how we talk in class.  Our Swedish is limited to the few generic words that we know and the grammar is all over the place, but I was thinking, ah finally something on tv that I could understand!  Luckily there is the subtext so even though they said something in broken Swedish, the proper sentences are flashed out.  It's like a Swedish lesson for me.

It will be interesting to see the participants' progress in the coming weeks.  Since they live together for eight straight weeks and they get to learn Swedish practically 24-7, I am sure their learning would be accelerated.  I am also interested to see how the teachers teach them. Maybe I can get some tips about how I can learn too. 

Talking about accelerated learning, I think I am going to approach my teachers and tell them that I want to learn faster.  I want to finish Course C and D by June, if possible.  The main reason is that Pete and I want to start working as soon as possible.  We are looking at locations for our catering or cafe and if we find something suitable, we would want to start immediately.  And if I were to start working, I don't think I can continue my lessons. 

I am thinking that maybe the teachers could give me extra work every day and perhaps even get one-to-one time in class.  I am also prepared to put in more hours at home and of course, speak much more Swedish with Pete.  If the teachers don't agree, I guess I'll just have to learn on my own and ask to sit for the tests earlier.  Whatever it is, I guess I am reponsible for my own learning.     

 

Spring ahead

After spending five days at home, away from school, it felt like a drag to have to start the whole routine again today.  After five whole days of waking up any time I fancy, of relaxation and leisure, I have to make sure I wake up on time, prepare breakfast and packing lunch for Pete.  As always, I would worry that I would oversleep that I would wake up every 20 minutes.  That meant I didn't have a restful sleep.  I went to school bleary eyed.

Luckily, I only have to go to school tomorrow and Friday.  Luckily also, the weather has been quite nice.  The sun is out and for longer each day.  It's hard not to be in a good mood when the weather is nice and warm, the sun is shining and the sky is clear blue.

The weather forecast for this week has been quite promising.  It seems like we would be having warmer weather this week and more sunny days.  I have to keep an eye on the weather since I want to start sowing seeds soon.  I plan to keep the pots in the balcony but it is still quite cold, especially at night.  I have been reading about sowing seeds and it seems like it isn't so simple.

The seeds and seedlings can be such divas.  Some need lots of light at first and warm temperature.  Some need not much light at first and then after they sprout the first two leaves, they would need more than 8 hours of light.  Some even need to be germinated in the fridge!

The more I read about sowing seeds, the more I am panicking.  There's so much to learn about gardening.  It's not as simple as dropping seeds into the ground and spray some water on them once in a while.  Pete and I have chosen some seeds and of course we hope to be able to harvest the vegetables.  We did get to harvest potatoes, carrots, zucchinis, peas, french beans and lettuce last year but I want to get a bigger harvest this year.  I guess the key is to research well and most importantly start off the seeds well indoors.  Spring, please be here soon and bring good weather with you.