The past couple of weeks have been busy. The weather hasn’t been helpful, so we’ve been fighting it most of the time. We get a couple of warmer days, and as soon as plants start growing again, we get a rush of cold air. During Easter week, we actually had another frost period. Temperatures dropped under 0°C(32°F) again. We’re unsure if there will be any damage in the orchard, but hopefully, most of the fruits will be fine.

Seedling issues

The constant changes and spikes in temperatures are causing problems with my seedling. By this time, we usually have much warmer days, with a couple of cold mornings. But, this year temperatures are quite low. Still, I’m forced to keep all the seedlings outside. There’s no more room in the house for them.

Of course, this is affecting seedlings, and most of them have stopped growing. Luckily, I’ve sown them early enough, so a week or two of non-growth shouldn’t affect them too much. Most of them have already reached the transplanting size, and hopefully, as soon as we get some warmer days, the seedling will continue to grow.

First transplanting

When it comes to transplanting, I’ve started transplanting the first seedlings to the garden. During Easter week, I transplanted the first batch of brassicas. Which I then had to protect with juice bottles against the really harsh north wind.

Since this year I’m trying to make every garden bed a mixed bed, I’ve planted brassicas together with carrots, onions, parsley, and chard. I’ve used multiple beds all over the garden to make the seedlings harvestable at different times of the year.

Right after Easter, I managed to find some nice weather and transplanted the broad beans, peas, and snap peas. These vegetables were sown in seedling trays to germinate faster, and now they are ready to be transplanted. The roots are big enough for the plants to root well, and soon they should continue growing.

This is especially important in the shaded part of the garden, where I sow peas and beans, because of the lack of sun and warmth. The beds here take a long time to make the vegetables germinate, and the peas don’t really have time to grow later. By the end of June, we get temperatures that dry the whole plants, and if I don’t manage to give them an early start there are no fruits on the plants. Now, with a start in early March, I’m hoping this will be enough time for the peas, and I’ll have a nice harvest.

Another frost phase

As I mentioned before, the weather this spring is the main issue in my garden. Although we did get a decent amount of rain during March and the beginning of April, the cold wind that has been present almost every week is drying the soil too quickly. The seedlings, which have short roots, are dry most of the time, so I have to water them regularly.

Not only do the winds bring drought issues, but they also, in combination with low morning temperatures cause the frost conditions even worse. The temperatures in the last frost phase weren’t that bad, they were around -2°C(28°F), but with the wind, they seemed much lower. This is why I’ve covered the planted seedlings with plastic bottles.

To be perfectly honest, the whole idea was quite a disaster. The strong wind blew at least 50% of the bottles all around the garden and orchard. So, I spent most of the 3 frost days, which were right around Easter, running and collecting bottles and placing them back. Still, none of the brassicas look damaged or frozen. Easter, luckily, was a bit calmer and brought much-needed rain, so we spent it indoors doing nothing and eating a lot.

Side garden work

This week I finally managed to do some side garden work. The broad beans and peas, which I have sown in January, are finally showing, so I decided to use the free space between the rows to do some transplanting. Snap peas, radishes, and tatsoi were just ready for planting so I’ve used them to fill up the empty space.

The straw, which I got with the order of plants, is doing a good job around broad beans, and the soil is pretty wet and warm. On the bed, with peas, I’ve used grass clippings from the front yard. I’ve planted radishes with broad beans, and tatsoi with peas. Peas like brassicas, but also the variety I chose is a very short one, so tatsoi will have room to grow. Broad beans, on the other hand, are bigger and will grow taller, so I went with radishes on this bed, so that they don’t get in the way of each other.

I’ve planted snap peas next to a terrace wall to provide a climbing area for them. Right now I have only one bed half empty in the small side garden. The third bed will be used for beans or pepper, I still haven’t decided. Also, I’ll plant some cucumbers and zucchini under the garden so that they can climb the little fence and maybe some zucchini. I’ve also sown some herbs in herb chimneys and planted daylily and wallflowers to give the garden some color. I’m hoping soon they will start filling up the space.

Plans for next week

Next week, if the weather finally allows it, I will start moving the already-grown trays to the front yard and leave the terrace area for the new sowing batch, which I’m planning as soon as possible. Zucchinis, cucumbers, corn, and sunflowers need to be started in the next couple of days.

Also, I should start transplanting the chili peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants to the pots in the front yard, and early test cucumbers to the side garden. Potatoes also need to be planted, but I still don’t know where I’ll plant them. Flower bulbs should go in the ground as well. But, all of this will be possible only if we get some warmer weather. The way things have been going this spring, I’m not too optimistic.