The wind has been crazy the last few days, and in the midst of it all, the winter covers on my fruit trees tore. Today I went out and with some additional help, we managed to remove the torn covers from the trees. There were all sorts of spiders and bugs living under there, and among them was a golden beetle.
It is said that finding a golden beetle is a sign of good luck and prosperity.
With all that is going on with the environment, there has been a significant decline of golden beetles. Monocultures are not good for the environment or our pollinators. So when the golden beetles fancy and favour your garden and show up every year, you know you’ve done something right.
The perennials
The fruit trees all look well and they have a lot of buds. Now that the sun can reach them directly, I expect to see leaves and flowers soon. That means it is time to start fertilising. So at the beginning of next week, I’ll get on to that. The berry bushes should get more leaves and flowers next week as well.
Annuals
On Sunday I will plant the remaining seed potatoes and place the potato pots on the shelves that I keep to grow more food vertically. The onions, leeks, onions and garlic are growing like crazy, so it looks like I’ll have many hearty allium harvests this spring. The seeds I planted outside last week aren’t up yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
The Seedlings
The squash plants are ready to be hardened off and planted outside. A few of the beans are also ready, as are the sunflowers. The tomatoes and chili plants are certainly getting there. By the end of next week, the corn plants and cucumber plants should be ready as well. Several of the flower seeds have germinated, though I want them to have their true leaves before I begin hardening them off and moving them outside. I am still waiting for the tomatillo seeds and the physalis seeds to germinate, but apparently it can take as long as twenty days for that to happen. So I just have to be patient.
Hydroponics
I would like to grow more and more food indoor, and thus I am exploring hydroponics. I don’t want to spend money on special fertiliser unless it is absolutely necessary and I have yet to determine that it is. I have an idea about how to make my own, and I’ll get it started this weekend. Hopefully I will be able to start my first hydroponic plants next week. I haven’t decided which plants to try to grow, but I think I’ll try to grow at least one cucumber plant and one tomato plant. Maybe a sunflower? We’ll see. At this point I am simply testing the waters to figure out what can be done successfully for free.
Companion planting
Beans
Some of the bean varieties that won’t be planted as the four sisters can be planted with the cucumbers and even the potatoes. They enjoy being around rosemary as well, so that gives me even more places where I can plant leftover bean plants.
Squash
Surplus squash plants can be planted with the radishes I planted last week.
Sunflowers
They can grow with zinnias, which means I could plant a few of them in the flower beds. They can also be planted next to blueberries and apple trees to give them shade and provide nutrients to the soil. It can also increase fruit production if planted near strawberries. They go well with rosemary, sage, thyme and chamomile.
I can plant them near the tomatoes to attract pollinators, give the tomatoes a trellis to grow on, and to give the tomatoes some shade.
They don’t do well near brassicas, so I need to be mindful of that.
Pepper
The pepper plants can be planted with the calendula seedlings. The calendula attract pollinators, which means more flowers and more fruit for the pepper plants.
They can also be planted next to various herbs, tomatoes and cucumbers. I often companion plant tomatoes and chili or tomatillos and chili. I must be mindful not to plant them next to the beets, potatoes or courgettes though. They don’t do well together.
Allium
The red onions will be planted in the onion bed. No need to companion plant there.
Corn
The corn doesn’t want to be next to the brassica or the tomatoes, but they’re fine with the cucumbers.
Conclusion:
Everything will fit into the garden nicely. Due to the varieties I have chosen, the seedlings can be companion planted wherever there’s enough room. I am sure I have started enough seeds, so now I simply need to organise the garden to make sure I have good access to each plant and to make sure the plants get adequate room and sunshine.
Online store Opening soon
The online store will be opening very soon. I will be selling e-books, courses, guides and more. There will be a guide to companion planting sold there as well. You will find digital products about every area of personal freedom. Growing your own food, creating a pantry, healing naturally, saving and investing, starting a business, creating passive and digital income sources and more. The main course will be the Life course that will focus on everything we all should have learned in school.
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How are your garden preparations going?
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