The other day I planted all the seeds I had planned for March. What went into the ground were two kinds of tomatoes, leaf parsley, goose parsley, basil, lavender, giant verbena, snow love flowers and carrot. I have planted everything except the carrot indoors, the carrot ended up in the greenhouse. Carrots cannot be pre-cultivated. When it gets going, it sends a long root thread down into the ground and when it doesn’t go any further, it starts to grow on the width instead. This means that if you sow carrots in a tray indoors, they will only grow as long as the tray is deep.
I am so happy that there will be a lot of flowers this year. We haven’t invested much in it before, all the focus has been on edible crops. But the more I learn about biodiversity and the needs of the insects, my interest in flowers has also increased. There happened to be a lot of purple flowers. Nothing I thought of when I ordered, but it’s probably the color I like most in flowers.
I made an attempt to film when I was sowing but inexperienced as I am filming, it turned out to be a weird angle where my arm obscured a part of the seeds… How difficult can it be, one wonders, quite difficult it seems. Haha! There will be new attempts! The video of the sowing of the carrot turned out quite well, so possibly it will be up on youtube soon. I posted my first video in the form of a “short” on YouTube the other day. It’s a movie where I peel a black, dried, half-rotten cabbage and find a beautiful little head under all the bad leaves. If you haven’t seen it, check it out here: https://youtube.com/shorts/k3hsXv7yxd4?feature=share
Perhaps you have found similar treasures among your stored vegetables?
Check if you have manure and soil. If you haven’t, contact farmers or horse people nearby to see if you can get or buy some manure in the spring. Keep in mind that you may need to change the soil in pots and grow boxes to prevent disease. It is especially important if you plant the same type of crop year after year.
Take care of your indoor plants. Change or top up the soil, replant in a bigger pot, divide your favorites so you get more for yourself or can give to a friend. Give them some nourishment and shower them so they feel fresh and nice. Extra lovely in gray/brown February (those are the dominant colors here anyway).
Have you ordered seeds? If not, do it! If you have ordered, they will probably arrive soon. Sort and read when and how different seeds should be sown. Feel free to write down which month you will sow different things or put the bags in different piles for different months. In any case, I think it helps to have a little order.
To sow
I will sow basil, lavender and giant verbena in February. If you are sowing onions from seed, it is also time to sow them. You can also sow different leafy vegetables in the greenhouse to get an early harvest of small green leaves. Maybe I’ll sow some spinach, we’ll see. It might start to feel a bit ratchet on fresh, locally grown stuff. Therefore it is absolutely perfect to sow a little sprouts too. Sprouts will be ready in a few days. Alpha-alpha sprouts are classics, but it is also possible to sprout both peas and lentils. Try it yourself and find your and your family’s favorites!
To eat
Look in the freezer and pantry for things you have left over from last year’s cultivations and gatherings of berries and mushrooms. Look in the store for food grown in your area. I find Swedish apples and cabbage, for example. Give yourself a little challenge and skip vegetables that are produced far away, even if you might usually buy them. Choose things that are grown in the immediate area, within the country or in your neighboring countries.
Summary lists
Do:
Check manure and soil
Take care of your potted plants indoors
Order and sort seeds
Sow:
Basil
Onion from seed
Lavender
Giant verbena
Leafy vegetables
Sprouts
Eat:
Look deep into the freezer and pantry
Look for locally grown food (incl. neighboring countries)
Now is the time to plan this year’s gardening. As you can read about in the post about seed ordering, I have a plan in a spreadsheet on Google Drive. In that document there is a list of what to sow, when to sow, whether to pre-cultivate inside, in a greenhouse or direct sow. I also have some lists about crop sequence, what is good to plant together and general development time to know when it is time to harden and plant out. But so far, there is not much in that list that is relevant.
Begin to sow
In January I have some seeds to plant. Some years I have planted lots in January. I have wanted an early harvest of everything but it doesn’t suit my growing style or location. The plants become far too large and rickety due to poor lighting. The entire kitchen table is flooded with pots of all sizes and I end up having to plant crops that aren’t really ready, that can’t really handle the cold out there. That’s different for everyone, but this year I will sow chili and leeks. I’m also going to try to plant some garlic because I didn’t last fall. However, it is a bit difficult to get hold of good chives at this time of year. The reason why chillies and leeks are sown is that they have a long development time. Other things that are also suitable for sowing in January are aubergine, celeriac and paprika. Of course, it is also possible to sow cabbage to pick small leaves, peas for pea shoots and other small sprouts that are good. It all depends on your time, your energy and your wishes and then the location of course! Next week I will publish a chili cultivation guide. There is all the information to get started with your chili cultivation + a quick guide for those of you who don’t like reading long instructions.
Check your gear
In January it is also a good time to check through pots and troughs and buy or order what you are missing. I reuse everything I can until it falls to pieces and I like to save on old plastic containers for food bought during the year. Important when it comes to the first seeds is that there is good drainage so that the soil can absorb water if you water from below and so water can flow out if you water from above. The small seeds are often sensitive to both drying out and flooding. For me, unfortunately, there will be a lot of plastic pots. I’ve tried cultivating in old milk cartons and in egg cartons but find that it easily molds or that the carton kind of dissolves. I hope to find some more durable material one day but for now it is as it is. I also usually start planning where to put things out in the garden to see if support sticks or netting is needed for the climbing beans, sugar snap peas and crops like that. Tools are also good to check. Right where it is, spring is here and then you don’t want to stand there without a grip or shovel and discover that there is a puncture on the wheelbarrow. It’s always busy as soon as spring comes, even if you forget it before each season.
Tidy up in the garden
I don’t know about you, but my garden is pretty ugly right now. Everything is weighed down by moisture and rain, it’s muddy on the ground and the colors are fairly dull. One of the few things that is nice is that our pond is full of water and that the ground around it is slightly drier than previous years when there was a flood. Another thing is that there is a lot coming out! What is hidden in grass and snow comes out in the thaw! Those rocks I moved from the duck house but just put in a pile waiting for more time are clearly visible now, calling out to me to be moved. The shovel that I didn’t find last summer when the grass was tall is there in full view now along with my daughter’s bucket, rake, ball and shovel. Also, everything that looks perfectly fine in the summer looks pretty awful now. For example, a broken bench that stands by the chicken coop and the two compost bins that look like they were thrown out at random. So it’s a good time to clean the garden!
Sometimes you find leek when tidying up!
Enjoy the winter
I love all seasons! It’s actually true! I used to say I loved summer and hated winter because I love heat but not cold. But now I enjoy all seasons. Spring is wonderful when little flowers surprise you here and there. The birds are chirping and there is a nice tension in the air. A promise and a longing for sun, warmth and life! Summer is warm, light, no heavy clothes, just going out. Many have holidays, it grows and is created everywhere. Tasty berries and vegetables are right outside your door, ready to be picked. And then comes autumn. Harvest time! To take care of everything that we worked so hard for all year. But also to be inside, take out a warm sweater, feel the smell of damp leaves when picking mushrooms in the forest. So one day when you look out the window, it’s here, winter, it’s snowing a little, the neighbor puts up lights in the window, Christmas lights, New Year’s rockets and promises of an even better year, next year. We get to put our fingers in the soil again and feel a slight scent of anticipation, hope for a good harvest, excitement about new plants. To be honest, I’m pretty tired of gardening in November and gladly take some time off to relax. But in January, my fingers start to itch a little and I can enjoy that itch for a while. Sit and dream in front of the fire with a cup of something hot to drink, it’s cold and windy outside, but I don’t have to go out, not now, now I can enjoy inside and tomorrow when it’s a beautiful winter sun, then I can go out in the greenhouse, get out some troughs and some soil and plant my very first seeds for this year. Beautiful, hot, red chilis!
Grounded gardens 