Experimenting and Planning for Spring

So... our second growing season is fast approaching and I am just as excited as last year about growing our own vegetables. There's no better feeling than getting dirt under your nails and watching things grow in your own garden. Having one year under our belts means that we have learned a little bit about our land and our growing conditions, so hopefully we will have a slightly bit better yield and will be able to be self-sufficient for a longer period of time.

Garlic, shallots and strawberries got their own beds this year

Instead of rushing into things, I decided to follow our good friend Tina's growing schedule (check out her farm and courses at Genevad Nygård). That means, the peppers and chillies were planted in January and the tomatoes have just been seeded and hopefully won't get so darn lanky this year!

Peppers and chillies taking over the office

I am also experimenting with a hot bed for growing vegetables. I have access to fresh manure from our sheep and chickens, so why not attempt this way of growing? Hmm. So far, it is not going amazingly well. The manure is supposed to heat up and allow me to grow things earlier in the season, but so far, I haven't seen much progress on the heating front... we shall see and I will continue experimenting.

Hot bed... not so hot.

More updates to follow soon!

Double Digging

For the past month we have been double digging our produce garden. This time honoured technique of digging will provide us with an excellent topsoil, deep rooting zone and well drained vegetable beds. However, this method of cultivation should come with a health warning, it is back breaking work, especially when you have large boulders scattered just below the surface!

So, what is double digging and why are we taking on the challenge? 

This year, we have planned out 6 equally sized vegetable beds, 7 metres in length by 1.5 metres wide, this will give us just under 100sqm of planting area. The double digging process we have pursued is as follows:

- Mark out the vegetable bed; [1]
- With a spade cut the turf layer into small squares; [1]
- Remove approximately 500 cm width of turf layer and put to one side; [1]

- Dig out the soil to approximately two spade depths and also put to oneside (preferably on a tarpaulin), at the same time remove any large stones or boulders; [2]

- Loosen the soil at the bottom of the trench with a fork; [2]

- Scatter organic matter (manure) in the bottom of the trench to about one third of the depth; [3]

- Place cuttings of twigs and branches over the top of the manure; [4]

- Replace the turf dug out at the beginning, but upside down; [5]
- Place a covering of newspaper over the turf; and (finally) [6]
- Cover over with the soil you dug out. [6]

Quite a lengthy process, I think you would agree, but this will be worth the effort. Double digging loosens soil to a greater depth and therefore adds air deeper into the soil which enables roots to grow and the microbes to create good soil structure. This is key to creating the most productive vegetable bed.

Hopefully we will be able to reap the rewards later on in the year...watch this space.

Excitement at Paulsson Paleo HQ

It doesn't take much to get us excited... The sun is shining again after a few days of clouds and our seeds arrived!

Paulsson Paleo HQ aka Breared Kannesten

Long walk with sleeping baby

The seeds finally arrived!

Planning for Spring

View from the window… brr!

It may be snowing outside, but we are in full planning mode at Paulsson Paleo HQ. We have big plans for self-sufficiency, so we want to get it as right as possible in our first year of growing crops. So far we have surveyed our land (stomped around the field), discussed and ordered seeds. We already have quite a few seeds from prior years, but needed to add to our stash: winter squash, cucumber, beetroot, broad beans, sunflowers, kale, white cabbage, little gem lettuce, leek and corn. We are dreaming of / planning for chickens, and some of the produce will be for their winter feed as well as our own. Specifically the broad beans, sunflowers and corn should make the chickens happy.

Warm and cozy pepper seeds

There isn't too much actual doing at the moment, but we have started tentatively with peppers, as they take a long time to grow: three yellow peppers, three red peppers and three chillies are in a little greenhouse on the kitchen window sill. We also decided to test out growing some seeds in a colder environment, so three red peppers and three chillies moved out into the stables, where there is a balmy 8 degrees. Brr! 

Second Best Use For Nettles

Sporting my gardening gloves, I raided my local park for these beauties this afternoon. A whole bag full is now soaking in a pot to make an all-natural fertiliser.

This is clearly only the second best use for nettles. The best use would be nettle soup, but I don't think I would be able to find any nettles in London that haven't been exposed to dogs.

Preparing for Spring

It feels like spring in London, so my (slightly) green fingers are getting increasingly impatient to start gardening. It is a bit early to sow anything outdoors, but I have started planning what I want to put into the vegetable patch and even drawn out some plans for rotating the crops. I have been reading up on the importance of crop rotation in 'The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency: The classic guide for realists and dreamers'.

This year, I am attempting to grow some peppers and so far they are looking good. I didn't fancy buying any seeds, so I took some from the gorgeous pepper that came with my organic veg box. I dried them on a plate for a week and then stuck them in some compost in peat pots. Apparently, peppers are particularly difficult to transplant, so it is important to put them in peat pots that you then can stick in a bigger pot once needed without disturbing the roots.

Bring on spring!