Harvesting gems

The past week has been very hot and dry.  The sky has been clear blue, with hardly any dot of cloud.  And rain is not expected to fall any time soon.  Naturally, the grass has turned brown and dry and we have had to make sure our plants in the garden are well watered.  

The balcony gets extremely hot during the day as well, since it gets the full blast of the afternoon sun that can shine and heat up the room for up to 7 hours.  I've had to water my plants there twice or even three times a day.  It's amazing how dry they can get in the heat.  The poor plants will droop and wilt if it gets too hot so I have to open up the windows so let the cool wind in and the heat out.  

However, with all the sun were having, the vegetables are doing well.  Lots of French beans and snap peas are ready to be harvested with even more tiny ones waiting to grow bigger.  The carrots are also growing well.  Their green tops are so bushy and we can see the carrots just beneath the ground getting bigger.  The potatoes are also starting to wilt and turn brown.

All that just means that our favourite part has come: harvesting!  Yesterday, we harvested the first row of potatoes. From about 8 small plants, we got a hefty 3 kilos of spuds.  It's really fun to harvest them.  Just dig carefully around the plants and pull them out.  Some potatoes would be attached to the plant but the fun bit is to carefully search the soil and uncover the gems.  And to me, they are gems.  I just love potatoes.  The potatoes we got were very well formed.  Some are as big as my palm and some are as tiny as a grape.  

I made French fries out of some of them yesterday and mashed some to make the shepherd's pie we had just now.  They have a very nice texture - not too soft nor too firm.  I forgot which types of potatoes these were.  We planted several types but we didn't label them.  Doesn't matter though because I love all types of potatoes.  We still have some in the kitchen.  Maybe I will make potato bread tomorrow.  And after harvesting more, I will experiment with other potato recipes.  We still have four rows of potatoes to be harvested.  We will harvest them only when we need them so that they'll be nice and fresh.  

We have already started harvesting the beans and peas last week.  They are really good.  I love how they are so juicy and fresh.  For two years, they have been high yielding plants and they are quite easy to grow too.  Looks like we will continue to grow them again next year.  We only need to make sure we rabbit-proof them at the beginning since the rabbits love to eat the baby pea shoots.  Once they are bigger, the rabbits would leave them alone.

We also harvested a few carrots.  They are still thin so they can be left in the ground to fatten up.  This year, we planted a mix of white, purple and the usual orange carrots.  We can't really tell the colour until we pull them out of the ground.  This time, we got the white and orange ones.  They are really lovely.  I love fresh carrots just out of the ground.  They are sweet, crunchy and very carroty!  Again, we would only pick them when we need them.  I think I'll try making carrot soup when the weather gets colder.  Carrot soup with potato bread on a cold, windy day.  That would be lovely.

The pumpkin thief strikes again!

Last week's great weather brought us to the garden more often.  We have cleared a lot of the weeds so most of the time, we go there to do a bit more weeding (that's a never ending job) and checking up on our maturing harvests.  So, we know exactly how many potato plants are flowering, how many carrots are in a row and how many pumpkins are developing.  We've even taken some pictures to track their growth.

Then, last Saturday, a rude shock greeted us.  Our fence has clearly been damaged.  It looked like it had been kicked or pushed down.  Some sections of the fence even had parts broken and screws whacked off.  But someone had tried to cover up the damage by propping up the broken fence with some wooden planks.  The gate is also busted.  It doesn't fit well anymore.  Maybe the culprits tried to lift it out of the ground to try force an opening.

My first instinct was to check the pumpkin patch and true enough, the biggest pumpkin has been cut off.  The cut on the stem looks clean and wet, so it might have happened just earlier that day.  The clean cut suggests that it was planned - who would walk around with a knife with them?  Anyway, Pete and I got very upset.  And to make matters worse, someone let their dog take a dump just outside our gate and didn't pick up the poop.

The pumpkin on Monday.

The pumpkin on Wednesday.

Gone!

We were simply too upset and disappointed to be angry.  We were disappointed enough to be thinking of giving up this plot.  Since we've started gardening here, we've had our first fence ruined and one of the poles stolen, found dog poop outside and even inside our garden, a gardening fork I left there by mistake stolen and vegetables and even whole plants stolen.  Even his mum, who only started her garden in the plot beside us this spring, had her strawberry plants stolen and her huge rhubarb plants ripped out.  She had this ancient wooden chest from 1825 put in an inconspicuous corner of the garden where she would store her tools.  We figured the chest was heavy enough to be left alone but still thieves managed to steal it.  And now this.

Sigh.  Pete and I are now so sad about how this is turning out.  I am usually excited to go to the garden but not anymore.  Looking at it, I don't think we would be able to get any pumpkins or cucumber or butternut squash by the end of the season.  Looks like the thieves would strike first before we could harvest them.  So, we are not going to get our hopes up.  Hopefully, we would at least get to harvest our beans, peas, carrots and potatoes.  

The thing is, the stolen pumpkin is nowhere near ready to be picked.  It's a winter pumpkin and its only the middle of summer.  You can see that it's hardly ripe.  Yes, it's big but it is only maybe half the size it should be.  Why take it?  It can't be eaten.  Anyway, it's better that this happens now.  If this were to happen after I have painstakingly cared for it month after month until its ready and then it got stolen, I would be even more crushed.  At least now I realise that this would probably happen again.  It's hard to accept but that's how it's going to be.

I wonder why the thieves like to target our garden.  Ours is clearly very amateurish and we don't grow much there. Other gardens are so much better than ours with more luscious and plentiful crop.  Why not pick on them?  Why us?  Sigh.

We don't want to give up this plot.  We really enjoy the gardening and enjoying our harvests after that.  And this plot is very big.  But the location, which is right next to the bike and walking lanes makes it very open to unscrupulous people.  If we were to stay, we would need a much better fence but then again, if people are determined to get inside, they would find a way to wreck it.  Well, we'll just have to see how it goes later.  If things continue to go missing, we have no choice but to look for another plot somewhere else.  

Before the harvest

Although this summer has been mild, with lots of cloudy days, it didn't affect our vegetables in the garden.  They got enough sun and more than enough water to grow well.  The rabbits and some thieves have robbed us of some butternut squash and lots of pea shoots, but most of the stuff we planted are thriving.  

We have not started harvesting anything yet.  I expect the peas and beans to be ready in a week or two.  The potatoes are doing well and have started flowering.  We only need to wait until the leaves turn yellow before we can dig up the potatoes.  I think that would be in a couple of weeks.  The first batch of carrots are doing well.  Tiny carrots have started to form.  In a few weeks, they would be big enough to be pulled up.

The cabbage and broccoli would take longer.  I think they would be ready only in autumn.  Same for the pumpkins.  As of now, we have spotted three small pumpkins and some flowers.  They would continue to grow until autumn or even early winter.  That would be great since nothing beats a bowl of hot pumpkin soup and homemade bread when it starts getting cold outside.  I have planted two types of pumpkin - winter pumpkins and giant pumpkins.  The winter pumpkins are growing faster than the giant ones.  The cucumber and butternut squash are flowering but not fruiting yet.  

So, before the harvesting starts, here's a peek at our garden:

The rows and rows of potatoes.

A close-up of potato flowers.

Three out of the four rows of carrots. You can see the first two rows are bigger since they have been planted two weeks earlier.

The rows of peas which are towering and hiding the shorter bean plants behind them.  Next year I would plant them separately. 

The pumpkin and cucumber patch.  See the ugly, empty space where the two butternut squash plants should have been.  I still get upset when I look there.

A pumpkin flower.

The bigger of the three growing pumpkins.

One of my flowering lavender bushes.I might harvest the flowers to freshen up our home.

A Losing Battle

After a week of neglect, we got a shock when our garden looked more like a jungle.  I exaggerate, of course, but really, the weeds have grown so tall and so plentiful.  The tall weeds almost blocked our view of the tall potato plants and the luscious pumpkin plants.  Some vines were climbing up the pea plants and some even invaded the tiny carrots that were trying to grow. 

Needless to say, we had to work real hard today to clear the weeds.  I was very happy with our work before this, but the days and days of bad weather didn't allow us to do our weeding.  The rain and long daylight hours helped the weeds to thrive and it was amazing how fast they grow.

It's really like fighting a battle that we can't win.  Every time we managed to clear the weeds, they would simply grow back.  Sometimes I suspect the weeds grow twice as fast after we cleared them, sort of like they were saying "na nana na na" at our pathetic attempts to get rid of them.  It's impossible to be there every single day and pluck out each weed as they pop out, because that's exactly what I feel like doing after another long battle with them.  I feel like if I don't, they'll double or even triple themselves and take over the garden within a day or two.

I would have been more conscientious about weeding if the weather hasn't been so bad.  Last year was nice and sunny so we were at the garden a lot.  This year, there has been more rainy and cloudy days making it feel like summer has never been here, so we had to stay away more often.  I guess, I would have to be less uptight over the weeds.  Since it is not possible to keep the weeds out totally, I have to learn to accept that the garden would not be perfect and that weeds would always be a part of the garden.  I just need to make sure more of the beautiful vegetable beds are viable and not crowded out by the weeds.

If I were to look past the weeds, I suppose I could be happy with the vegetable beds.  The potatoes are growing well and have even started flowering.  The carrots are growing nicely as well.  I had to thin them out, which means I had to pull out those that are growing too close together to allow for more space in between for them to grow big.  The ones that I had to pull out looks nice and smells so carroty.

The peas and beans are also growing well.  They have started flowering and I guess we will soon harvest our first beans and peas.  The second group of peas that I planted weren't doing well though.  They have been attacked by rabbits again.  It seems like the rabbits love to eat baby pea plants, but I have plenty of other pea plants that have survived.

The broccoli and cabbage are doing well too.  The leaves look very strong and healthy.  My lavender plants are getting bushier too.  But the biggest growers there would have to be the pumpkin.  The plants are huge! They have even grown out of the allocated bed.  Luckily there is an empty space beside the bed.  That was to have been a walking path but its ok that they have taken over that space.  They can grow as big as they like, as long as they produce some good sized pumpkin by the time autumn comes around.  In fact, we could spot a couple of cute, round pumpkin developing.  I just hope they are hidden from view so that they won't attract other people to go in and steal them.

Weeds, rabbits, thieves.  The problems of a gardener.  

The case of the missing pumpkin plants

Why are people so mean?  

Pete and I went to the garden yesterday and got a rude shock.  Two of my beautiful butternut pumpkin plants have gone missing!  Instead of my green, thriving plants, there were two empty holes, so glaringly obvious in my pumpkin patch.  At first I thought rabbits have eaten them up.  But Pete pointed out that the whole plants were gone, roots and all, so that must mean someone must have dug them up and took them.

Why would they do that?  I was so furious and upset.  I am so sad because I love butternut pumpkin so that was why I planted three of them.  And worse is that it's too late to start planting more to replace the missing plants.  So sad.  On top of that, the rabbits have found their way in again and have had a jolly good time wiping out most of my peas.  They have even attacked the sugar peas, which they stayed clear of before.  

That was it! I got so upset, I started hacking and ripping weeds off the ground.  The poor weeds had no chance.  I whacked everything I could find.  I used all my anger to clear most of the weeds that I have left at the back of the garden.  I didn't clear them before this since they were at the back, and hence not in the way of the vegetable beds.  But not this time.  Only my four lavender plants were left at the end.  They did put a bit of a smile on me since three of them are clearly growing bigger and bushier, and some flowers are starting to bloom.

As I was taking a break, I saw that my mother-in-law's gate was open.  That started my mind working - the pumpkin thief! He/she must have gone in through that gate.  We put a latch on ours and even without, it was a bit tricky to open since it fits tightly to the rest of the fence.  And, of course, after taking my pumpkin plants and perhaps my mother-in-law's rhubarb, said thief wouldn't have bothered to close the gate after looting our garden.  And that was how the rabbits found their way in to decimate my pea plants.

That brought about another wave of frustration and more weeds fell victim to my anger.  Thanks to my rage-driven efforts, I managed to clear a lot of the weeds that have grown too big for my liking.  I went home tired but still sad and upset.  This made me paranoid and I now worry that I might find some other things missing in future.  What are they going to take next?  I worry and dread going to the garden and finding something else gone.  Why are people so mean?

Wascally wabbits!

I thought we have done as much as we could to keep those pesky rabbits out but somehow they managed to find their way in.  Pete checked our fence and the chicken wires but they are all still sturdy.  He also checked his mum's side of the garden and plugged all the holes.  However, we did find some small holes under the fence.  Those rabbits have dug their way in!

What did they do? They have eaten most of my pea plants!  The peas should be nice and tall and should be ready to flower in a couple of weeks but because of the rabbits, they are stunted and I have even lost a couple of plants - the rabbits decimated them completely so my lovely rows of peas have empty holes where the plants should be.

what's left of the pea plants

I can understand that they enjoy nibbling the pea shoots and tendrils at the top of the plants.  I thought they only target the peas but I found out that they have started eating my broccoli and cabbage leaves as well!  The healthy, luscious, green leaves have been nibbled away and now there are only two or three leaves left on each surviving plant.

Argh! They are such pests!  So Pete and I spent time to plug the holes with whatever scraps of wood that we could find to keep them out.  I also planted some new cabbage and lettuce plants in one of the planters.  This time, I covered the planter with a planting cloth to keep animals and insects out.  Hope it works.

All weeded out

Last week was just dreadful - cold, windy and wet.  Temperatures weren't too low, if its not windy, that is, but most days, the sun was behind the clouds, peeking out only for a few hours in the afternoon. But what's dreadful for us, is actually good for the plants in our garden.  Since I couldn't go to the garden during such wet and windy weather, I could only imagine how beautifully the plants would grow.  I also had a very strong feeling that not only our cultivated plants would do well in such weather.  The weeds would thrive too.

The last time I was in the garden, I was very pleased with myself.  My vegetable beds were clear of weeds.  But I wasn't able to go back there because of the rain and every day, I worried about the state of our garden.  When the weather finally cleared up last Saturday, Pete and I set off for the garden early.  My heart sank.  Weeds were growing wild and competing with our precious plants.  A row of dandelions had taken hold of the back of the garden where I planted lavender.  Worse, the flowers have all gone to seed and I know that their amazingly mobile, durable and plentiful seeds would have been scattered all over our garden.

I checked all our vegetable beds and I could see that I had a couple of hours of hard work ahead.  Weeds were growing everywhere - tiny ones that looked like they have just started germinating, those that are a couple of cm tall and those fast-growing vines and grass.  The carrot bed was almost over-ran by the tiny ones and I knew I had to spend a lot of time there since they were growing among the slow-growing carrots.  

I had to work methodically and be focused or else I'd just be overcome by a sense of hopelessness.  I started with the smaller vegetable beds and where the weeds are bigger so I could take out my frustrations at them and rip them up in anger.  That's quite a handy technique and soon I filled my pail with weeds.  I yanked out about 3 pails' worth of weeds from the potato bed.  And I still wasn't done there.  I had to leave some for another day since they were a bit difficult to get to.  

Then I moved on to the pumpkin patch.  There weren't too many weeds there.  The winter pumpkin are doing very well.  The leaves are big and green and they look healthy.  The butternut squash didn't look too good.  The bottom leaves looked a bit white and frost-bitten and are still small.  Hopefully they would get healthier when the weather gets warmer.  I had been cultivating two more pumpkin and cucumber seedlings.  After clearing the weeds, I planted them.

The next job was weeding the carrot bed.  These weeds were a pain.  They were tiny and very, very numerous.  I suspected they were tiny dandelions in the making.  I sat there and painstakingly plucked each and every baby weed.  I didn't know how long I was there but I kept at it until I was aware that my body was aching.  I took a break and looked at the rest of the garden.

I got another heartbreak when I went to the pea and bean bed.  The pea plants that were growing so well the last time I saw them were barely peeking from above the planter.  The rabbits had nibbled at them and so instead of tall, strong plants were all short and stunted.  Damn rabbits!  They didn't touch the beans or other plants.  The choosy monsters aimed for our pea plants instead.  Sigh. 

Pete went to look for holes where they would have broken into and found a big one over at his mum's side.  We had some chicken wire left and used that to block off the hole.  Hopefully that would work or else I would have to give up on planting peas.

It wasn't all bad news that day.  We found that the strawberries are growing well.  The rhubarb too.  Also, the flower seeds that I planted are growing well too and weeds have largely stayed away from that bed.  Also, surprisingly, lettuces have started growing where we planted them last year!  We haven't planted anything at that spot but I could clearly see the familiar leaves popping out from the ground.  There was also some zucchini plants growing at last year's bed too!  Amazing.

That day, we spent three hours in all, weeding and watering and repairing the fences and wind-shelter.  Even then, I could finish getting rid of all the weeds.  When we reached home, we discovered Pete's neck was sunburnt and my entire left side of my body was aching because I was leaning on my left arm as I picked the weeds with my right hand.  I really hoped the weather would get better and better so I wouldn't have to wait too long to weed again.  It's better to go every other day, at least, so that I could get the weeds under control.

And my wish was granted.  The start of the week has been great.  Going back to the garden on Tuesday, I finished picking whatever weeds I missed that other day. And the chicken wire helped.  The peas are growing well again.  Hopefully the pesky rabbits won't find another way in.  I already have weeds to worry about, I don't want to worry about the wild rabbits too.  

Building fences

One of the major problems for us at the garden is the wild rabbits.  They are either getting hungrier or there are more of them this year.  So one of the garden projects that we had to work on immediately is building a proper fence to prevent the rabbits from coming in.  What we currently have is a make shift fence using metal poles and chicken wire.  It was flimsy and even if it wasn't, the rabbits would have no problems sneaking in since we have no gate.  I guess that's why the rabbits thought that we welcome them with open arms.

To build this fence, Pete came up with a simple design which wouldn't take too many parts and too much assembly.  He calculated the amount of wood, number of screws and other details like that.  We also went to the store to check on the prices of stuff.  We made sure we planned everything well since it wouldn't do to find that we don't have enough wood or screws to complete the project. 

Planning also involved working out how much wood to buy and how to cut the wooden planks so that they would fit into the car and that we wouldn't have to saw too many times.  That's because the store sells long pieces of wood and there are sawing tables for customers to cut into size.

Working out the details feels like I'm solving a PSLE Math question.  In this case, we needed 11 pieces of 1m planks, 11 of 0.8m planks and 22 of 0.9m planks.  The planks are sold in lengths of 3.8m. So what is the minimum number of planks did we have to buy so that we wouldn't have too much extra wood.  Also the planks cost 4.98 kronor per metre so how much did we pay for the wood?  Real world problem.  My Math teacher-friends, you are welcome to use this in your tests.

Anyway, we bought the stuff on Saturday afternoon and immediately worked on it once we got home.  We already cut each long plank into two so that we didn't have too much sawing and less cleaning up at home.  It was hard work to cut the planks into size and screw the pieces together.  Although ours is a very simple fence (it's a temporary garden, so it didn't have to be perfect), it took a lot of hours of measuring, sawing, screwing and hammering.  It was evening when we finished - 11 panels altogether. 

The balcony was our temporary workshop

We wanted to put up the fence the next day but it rained the whole day.  Today, the weather wasn't looking great but it wasn't raining when I got home from school.  It was cloudy and grey but it wasn't windy nor cold, so we decided to put up the fence.  Pete's mum came along and she was a great help.

There was still a lot of work to do before we could put up the panels.  We had to attach the chicken wires from the previous fence to the panels and that took a lot of hammering.  Pete couldn't bend his knees so it was up to his mum and me to hammer the wire onto the fence panels.  His mum, though old (67), is very strong.  She knelt down with me to work on the fence, hammering away.  We had to fit the wires onto every panel including the gate, so it felt like hours passed before we were done.

After the chicken wires had been attached, Pete hammered the pieces into the ground and then attached them together using brackets.  More hard work as it wasn't easy to pound the fences into the ground.  It started raining halfway through but it helped to make the ground softer.  If not for the rain, it would have been even harder to puncture holes into the ground.

After two hours, we were all done.  The chicken wires weren't long enough so we had two panels that were bare.  The rabbits could still come in so we would need to get those done as soon as possible.  But I must say that the fence is looking good.  Simple but it should do it job.  The final thing to do after attaching the last bit of chicken wire would be to attach a latch to the gate and then our project would be completed.  A simple fence, built from scratch, lots of satisfaction.

The first casualty

After three cloudy days, the sun came out and shone brightly. The sky was clear blue and there was not a dark cloud in sight. In other words, it was a great day to be at the garden. It has been a week since we planted the main crop. Pete and I have been dropping by the garden when we took our walks during fine weather. The seeds that we sowed haven't shown any signs of growth yet, the seedlings that we planted have been surviving and the weeds have kept out.

But today, when I caught the first glimpse of the garden, I could see weeds invading the vegetable beds. Also, dandelions have sprouted all over the garden. Not a good sign. That usually meant I would have my work cut out and that I would be spending a fair bit of time on my knees as I pull out these pesky invaders.

Then, as I inspected my pumpkin patch, I discovered one plant missing! My mother-in-law, who usually comes with us on Sundays, told us that one day when she was at her garden, she saw one of the plants dug out and tossed aside. She believed that a rabbit had dug it out and gnawed at it. She tried to plant it back again but the roots must been too damaged so it didn't survive.

Rabbits! Another unwelcome invader of our garden. I know that they would come into the garden. They've left behind lots of poo all over and I noticed that they have been nibbling on the wild chive plants that I have at the corner of the garden. I think they've been eating my lavender too. The lavender plants should be nice and tall by now. Instead they are stunted and still so small.

We have had some problems with the rabbits last year. They ate some of the pea shoots and the peas themselves. But they hadn't given us too much problems then. This year, I feel like they could be more brazen. There are more rabbit pellets this time and they have been attacking more of our plants - and they haven't even really started growing yet.

Also, our neighbor last week went over to our side to patch up some holes in his fence. He also wanted to prevent the rabbits from getting into his garden. Pete and I have planned to build a better fence with a snug gate and covered with chicken wire but we haven't managed to start yet. Looks like we would need to hurry and get this done as soon as we could before more of our plants get ruined.

my pumpkin patch

a close up of a healthy pumpkin seedling when not attacked by rabbits

Let the planting begin!

By the time we both felt healthier, the days have gotten warmer and sunnier. Temperatures have been hovering between 8 - 15C daily and there have been more sunny than windy and cloudy days. After many many months, we finally started planting in our garden.

Last Sunday was warm and sunny and so we went to the garden with my mother-in-law. She has been putting more work into her garden. She has already started planting a week before. She planted potatoes, onions and strawberries. This time, she planted carrots and beets. We only planted potatoes, onions and carrots. I was supposed to plant the first batch of seedlings but they died so I have to wait maybe one or two more weeks before the next batch is ready for transplanting.

We have already plotted out our potato, carrot and onion beds. Pete helped to dig out deep trenches for the potatoes while I worked on a row of carrots next to him. After planting the carrot seeds, I carefully placed the potatoes into the trenches and filled them up with soil. At the same time, Pete planted the onions. The beds are side by side and they are quite close together, so we kept on stepping on the newly planted beds by accident. It was then that I knew I had to put some markers on the ground so we know where the beds are and what were planted.

After all the planting, I looked around the garden and found that the strawberries I planted last year have survived. I thought I lost them since they looked so dead at the end of last summer. Luckily I didn't pull them out to throw them out. When I checked them out, the leaves looked healthy and green. My mother-in-law had lots of wild strawberries in her plot. The previous owner grew lots of them and the garden was overtaken by the hardy plants. She dug up some and gave them to me so I could plant them in my garden. I planted them next to the existing plants.

Again, the strawberry bed looks inconspicuous so I made a mental note to remember to either buy or make markers for the plants. We both, again, accidentally kept on stepping on the strawberry bed. I better remember the markers or there'll be no plants left after we stomp all over them!

Yesterday was a holiday and it was another great day to be at the garden. In the morning, I made sure I have the markers ready. Instead of buying them, I made my own using bamboo sticks and washi tape that I use in scrap booking. I also used a label machine since I don't have water-proof markers.

When Pete and I got to the garden, we used garden string and bamboo sticks to mark out the individual vegetable beds. Then I stuck the markers into the ground. The garden looks better now and it made it easier to find our way around the beds.

When I was about to mark out the strawberry bed, I found two healthy looking rhubarb leaves peeking out from the ground. Again, I thought I lost them! I planted them last year but they didn't look like they were growing well and shriveled up. But they proved me wrong. Wonderful! I planted another rhubarb plant at another location but it has been buried under the compost heap. Hopefully we would find another pleasant surprise after we've cleared the compost off it.

'morot' is Swedish for carrots...no points for guessing what 'potatis' mean

Second batch

Since my first batch of seedlings died on me, I started again last Sunday. I still have lots of toilet rolls left and so I made more pots. I planted more cabbage and broccoli seeds. I didn't plant cucumber seeds in these pots. In the first batch, the cucumbers were the only ones that didn't grow seedlings at all, so this time I planted some in proper plastic pots.

I put them on a tray and placed the tray in a clear plastic bag. I poked small holes and then tied the bag up. It is to be a sort of a mini greenhouse. I left them in the balcony but then I moved them into a dark, warm corner in the living room. My seedlings in the first batch had thin, spindly stems and my mother-in-law said it could be because I put them in the sun. That made them grow towards the sun and made them grow long but thin. So let's see if this works better.

I haven't actually lost all of my seedlings. I planted some pumpkin and butternut squash seeds in a cardboard container. The container used to hold tomato purée which I emptied and washed. They were bigger than the toilet roll pots and I figured would fit the bigger seeds better. It took a long while before I found any sign of growth there. Day by day, I would peek into the plastic bag to see if anything was happening. I even opened up the bag to check but...nothing.

Last week, though, I thought I found something green in the soil and true enough, when I opened the bag, I found two strong leaves finding their way out of the soil. I planted two varieties of pumpkin but only one had seedlings. I thought the other one wasn't going to grow but a few days later, I found seedlings there as well. The butternut squash seeds haven't grown yet. They might grow, or not. So a few days ago, I planted more seeds. Just in case. We'll see how this batch will turn out.

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.

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.   

Fruits (or should it be vegetables) of our labour

The weather has been a bit cloudy and wet these few days.  Yesterday, I woke up to another grey, cloudy morning.  Usually the grey clouds will clear and by afternoon, it will be sunny again until the sun goes down at 8 or 9pm.  But just before noon, it rained - first a light drizzle and then the skies opened and it rained so heavily that I could see anything through the window.  I thought I'd be stuck indoors the whole day.

But the skies cleared within the hour and the sun came out again.  We decided to go to the garden.  I know that I have some peas, beans and zucchini to harvest.  The zucchini were about 10cm long the last time I saw them three days ago.  I didn't want to wait too long because I know they can be super growers.  I don't want them to get too big and tasteless and tough.

When we got there, we decided to check out plot number 2.  His mum wanted to get a plot there as well and was hoping to get the unused plot next to ours, number 45.  The owner said she has sustained a knee injury and couldn't work on her plot.  She has been given another two weeks to start work on it.  In the meantime, his mum has been offered number 2 so we went to see where it was located and if it was any good.

The plot as two rows behind ours and looks bigger than ours.  Lots of weeds have been growing there so it would need a lot of tilling.  However, the fence is still good and she wouldn't have to put up a new one.  As we were walked back to our garden, I noticed that a lot of the vegetables in other plots have not been harvested.  It is such a pity to see broccoli, squash, lettuce, onions and other goodies being wasted.  I guess for some people, the fun is in the planting and seeing them grow.  Maybe they don't really enjoy eating the vegetables.

For me, I much rather plant stuff that I want to eat.  That's why I chose the plants that we have.  I didn't opt for the zucchini but they plants were from my mother-in-law so I planted them anyway.  I am also amazed at how the plants hung on and survived the cold weather at the start of summer.  That made me treasure them and I have been harvesting and cooking them.  I have stuffed, roasted and boiled them in soup.  Next, I want to try making zucchini bread and zucchini muffins.  I will try not to throw them out.

I have also been enjoying the peas, beans, carrots, potatoes, onions and lettuces.  They all taste better than store bought ones.  The carrots, especially, are so flavourful.  I can smell them as I pull them out of the soil.  I can smell them as I peel them and they are so nice and sweet after cooking.

I think next year, I am definitely going to plant more carrots.  I will also plant more potatoes, peas, butterhead lettuce and beans.  I will want to try planting cabbage, romaine lettuce, leeks and butternut squash.  I might even want to try planting broccoli, even though Pete doesn't like them.

As we were walking back to our garden, Yvonne, my sister-in-law, pulled up in her car together with her two youngest kids and my mother-in-law.  They were there to check out the available plot too.  After checking out plot 2 again, we walked back to our garden and I started harvesting the zucchini.  They have grown thrice their size!  I managed to harvest six big zucchini, about 30cm long.  I also harvested a whole lot of yellow and green beans and peas.

Yvonne's son loved the garden and was eager to try the vegetables.  Pete let him pull up a carrot and he ate it all up.  He loved it.  Then, when he saw me harvesting the peas, he came over.  I let him try one and he loved that as well.  He said it was sweet and juicy.  I let him pick as many peas as he wanted.  He ate quite a lot!  But it's really fun to see someone else enjoying the fruits of our labour.

But, apart from the harvesting fun, we did get an unpleasant surprise.  We found some dog turd in the middle of my old bed of peas.  We have seen some just outside our plot some weeks ago, but this is much worse!  One problem with our plot is that it is just beside the bike and walking lane and it is a popular one with dog walkers.  Also, we don't have a proper fence and gate.  We have put up chicken wires along the outside perimeter but we left a gap of about 1.5m for us to get in and out.  I guess that opening 'invited' these dogs, especially if they are unleashed.  But then again, the dog owners should have known that the garden belongs to someone and there is no reason for them to trespass, let alone allow their dogs to relieve themselves there.  That really made me mad!  We definitely have to work on putting up a proper fence and gate soon or else we will get more of such unwanted 'gifts'.

July's Harvest

The past week has been very hot with not a grey cloud in sight.  I guess this is how summer days should be.  Despite fasting, we do have to make sure that we visit the garden regularly.  The plants are growing really well there and we have to make sure we water them enough to keep them growing. 

The sun would come out very early in the day and we have to either wait for evening when it's not too hot or go earlier in the morning to avoid the midday sun.  But sometimes it's very hot and the sun is still so bright at 7 or 8pm and sometimes it gets very hot so early in the morning.  On days like that, we had no choice but to stay at home.

Today, we decided to head to the garden early in the day.  Even though it was only 8am, the sun was beginning to shine and when we reached the garden, it was really hot.  So we quickly did our chores there.  Pete dug up four of the potato plants and then started watering the plants with the watering can.  Luckily, our Chinese neighbour has finished using her hose and offered it to us.  It made the watering easier since he didn't need to walk to and fro the tap which is about 15m away.

I did some weeding so that I could reach the bean plants.  The yellow beans, which was among the earlier batch of vegetables which were planted, are already producing beautiful beans.  I picked the ones that are long enough while carefully making sure I didn't disturb the flowers which will grow into beans.  I could see more tiny beans growing so I think next week would bring a bigger harvest.

The peas that were grown earlier are also producing flowers and pods.  These were the survivors after the whole patch was ravaged by rabbits.  In fact, that patch must be the rabbits' favourite since they have been spotted running from there when we visit the garden in the evenings.  I also spotted pods that had nibble marks on them.  Today, I found two pods that are swollen and fat.  I think they are full of juicy peas and should be ready to be picked.

I also checked on the peas and beans that were in the planters.  They are doing very well.  I spotted lots of pea pods and tiny beans growing.  The beans I planted there are the green variety so they are a bit different from the other bean patch.  Funnily enough, the leaves of the green beans are yellowish and while those on the yellow beans are much greener.  I think the peas and beans at the planter should be ready in one or two weeks.

The zucchini plants have already produced a few fruit.  They have started flowering late last month and earlier this month, I have seen some big ones.  However, their ends have rotted and I only managed to harvest one good one.  I had to keep a close eye on them and hope that they would grow big enough without any blemishes.  Today I was lucky to find two that were of good enough size so I harvested them.  I think they will be good in a stir fry. 

The carrots are also growing well.  In fact, I think the carrots are among my favourite vegetable to grow.  They don't take much attention, apart from regular watering.  I also had to keep thinning them but even that is fun to do.  There's something about pulling the baby carrots up that makes me feel good.  The baby carrots are also flavourful and could be used in cooking.  We've already done enough thinning and the rest are left to grow even bigger.  I needed some for a soup I would be making tonight so I pulled up two average sized carrots.

We left the garden with a couple of kilos of potatoes, two zucchini, two carrots and a handful of beans and peas.  Not bad for our first 'proper' harvest. 

From the garden to the kitchen

We don't go to the garden as often as we used to any more.  These days, it has been raining and grey and cloudy so the plants would have more than enough water.  Besides, we don't really want to go out in such dreary weather.  All I am worried about is always the weeds.  My fear is that the weeds would take over the garden and grow all over our veggies, herbs and flowers.

Yesterday, the sky cleared enough for us to brisk walk there to plant some Asters, a type of fower, that I had sown on my balcony.  When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised.  Finally the garden has shown some life.  A large part of it is due to the weeds but we were happy that our vegetables have done just as well. 

The lettuce beds are full of healthy, juicy leaves.  The potatoes have continued to grow.  The row of carrots have such long, healthy leaves growing above the ground.  The two surviving cucumber plants have even started flowering.  The squash plants have done very well, too.  Lots of yellow flowers are blooming and we found some beautiful, long squash growing from them. 

This week, we didn't buy a lot of vegetables and since the babies are doing so well, we decided to take some home.  We picked the biggest squash, pulled up a potato plant and some lettuce.  We also picked some baby carrots.  They could leave them to grow even more but we had to thin them anyway, so that the remaining carrots would have more room to grow.  So the baby carrots went into our bountiful basket.

With the vegetables, I decided to make a light summer salad with a quick, tangy dressing made with mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice.  Soft, boiled eggs rounded off our light lunch.



squash and baby carrots



hand-picked lettuce



chopped squash



a thorough wash and a couple of whirls in the salad spinner and the lettuce is ready



the almost ready salad



the dripping yolk and creamy dressing made the salad even better



Reunited!

The whole entourage arrived safely this afternoon - my parents, sister, aunt and cousin.  They were in high spirits and even my dad was sprightly as he pushed the loaded trolley through the exit.  Even though they didn't get much sleep during the 17 hour journey, they didn't show their weariness.  Once we got out of the airport to get to the taxi, they shivered slightly.  It was a bit cold even though there was the sun in the sky.  I guess they have to learn to get used to the colder climate.

The journey back to our apartment was nice and scenic.  They got to see the lovely views of the farms and cute houses and even one of the Ikea stores here.  We managed to get everyone into the apartment after braving the wind which always seem to get strong around this part of Malmo.  They rested a bit with some water and delish Geisha candy. 

That perked them a bit and then they unpacked all the goodies they brought with them.  The whole apartment smells of spices since they bought a lot of spices that they thought would be hard to get here.  And they were right.  Some of the wonderful stuff that I really love include Indonesian and Malaysian raw crackers, pappadum, homemade Malay snack of sambal peanuts and ikan bilis, a type of tiny dried fish, and many types of instant mixes for some favourite Asian dishes.

I also got a lot of presents, not only from them, but also from other friends.  Two of them are scrapbook albums, one big, lovely one, full of pictures of my wedding and a tiny, gorgeous handmade one, full of pictures of me and my friends.  I haven't opened any other presents.  Peter said to save them for Saturday, so now here they are in front of me, begging to be opened.  But I'm happy just being together with my family again.  I'll save the presents for later.

We had to go to the garden to water the plants and do some more work on the wind-protection screen and my sister and cousin decided to come along.  The walk, to them, was far.  That was exactly how I felt the first time I went there, but it was a nice, sunny but cool day, so it was a comfortable walk.  On our way back, I thought it would be nice to stop and pick some flowers for the apartment, so we stopped and selected a variety of lovely blooms.  We also stopped by the store nearby to get some stuff, including cough medicine for my cousin who suddenly developed dry cough when she arrived at the airport.

Once through the door, I could smell something familar and comforting - curry.  My mum was in the kitchen cooking a pot of chicken curry.  Ahhh....it really reminds me of home.  It's such a nice feeling to go home to mum's cooking. Then, it was just a period of relaxing as we ate the curry with bread and also some local chocolates as we watched Portugal beat Denmark.  They tried to watch the next match, Germany vs Holland, but during the half time, we pulled out the sofa bed and soon, everyone's asleep.

It's been a long day for them.  I wonder what we'll be doing tomorrow.  I still have things to do for Saturday's event so maybe they can help me with that.  I probably should go to bed as well.  Till tomorrow, then.

Those wascally wabbits

My sister keeps rabbits as pets and I am very familiar with their appetite for vegetables.  Having seen wild rabbits around our allotment, I guess I should have expected it.  In fact, when I saw a huge rabbit, which Pete said is more likely to be a wild hare, across the path beside our plot, I should have known they would be causing some problems at our garden.  Our plot is the nearest to a small cluster of trees and bushes and they are likely to have made that their home.

We have put up a fence using chicken wire.  It should be enough to keep away the rabbits but we have no gate so the gaping hole will let the rabbits in.  We still have a lot of things to work on both in the garden and at home so we're trying to pace our purchases.  We have decided to not spend too much on the garden as yet since we're going to treat this as a long term project.  A beautiful wooden fence with a nice gate is something we both want but not just yet.  But after this attack, I think we would need to look for a solution to keep the darn rabbits out.

Why am I so frustrated with the rabbits?  Well, they have nibbled up all the lovely green leaves on our pea plants and now they are not growing any more.  Where I used to have luscious, healthy green plants, only stringy stalks are left.  The bean plants are also not showing more growth and I am worried they are being attacked by the rabbits too.

I have planted more pea and bean seeds in the planters.  We have covered them with the fleece so I hope these will be more protected.  I have sowed some peas on my balcony.  No matter what, I am going to have fresh peas from my own plants this year!

What's a bit surprising is that the lettuces that are growing well are left pretty much alone.  I remember how my sister used to prepare a salad of greens for her rabbits and they love it.  I am surprised they have not eaten the lettuces.  But she did tell me that the rabbits are choosy about lettuces.  Maybe the ones I planted are not to their taste, which means more lettuces for me.

The potatoes are doing very well.  They are tall and strong and healthy.  We are very encouraged so we have planted another row of that.  Last week, we bought small potatoes, left them in a dark cupboard and let them bud.  Today, we took them out, halved each of them, making sure there's at least one bud on each half and then planted them.  Hopefully there'll be more plants to look forward to. 

It is really fun going to the garden to spot new growth.  Every time I see a new leaf or sprout or flower, I get so excited.  The feeling is almost similar to how I felt when my pupils were able to understand what I taught and ace their tests.  I have sowed some flower and herb seeds along the fence.  I hope by the time my family comes to visit, they would have sprouted and there's something for them to spot too.