Shoots and leaves...
The whims and woes, highs and lows, of trying to grow fruit and veg in Nordic latitudes.
The first meal from the vegetable garden every year is always the French sorrel omelette. It has to be one of my favourites, and brings back memories of meals with friends back in France (merci à Christiane pour la recette). Sorrel is one of the few plants that stays in the garden over winter. We also have rhubarb (which is ready about the same time as the sorrel) and other perennial herbs such as oregano, mint, chives, thyme and tarragon. Sage can also survive the winter, so can lovage (which is growing on me) but not rosemary. Amazingly my tiny lavendar plant has sprouted some new leaves. Glad I didn't throw it on the compost heap. Last year we planted three asparagus plants and were elated to see them come through again this spring. I was extremely tempted to pick one or two spears but apparently they are best left undisturbed for a year or two. I was so pleased they survived the (long) winter, I have planted three more (which I also got from the Secret Garden shop in Billnås).
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It took a while... ...but we got there eventually. ...And a huge thank you to the friends and neighbours who helped lift the plastic over the frame, late in the evening once the wind had died down. We couldn't have done it without you! Some of the saskatoons are now peeping over the tops of the plastic tubes they were planted in. Unfortunately the deer/hare have found them and seem to enjoy nibbling off the tips. I guess this will help the root system to develop... But we do need to replace the tubes with bigger ones before the winter. The 40 saskatoon bushes are planted on a SE facing slope under the farmhouse. R.'s oat field runs down the slope next to them. It seems to be a good position and it's easy to water them directly from the well. |
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