Spring ‘22
It was a very long winter, after a very cold wet summer.
Last spring started with very high hopes. We built a permagarden, a dedicated tomato patch in an area with direct southern exposure against the house (tomatoes require a lot of warmth), and a huge potato and squash patch close to our brook.
Last year Germany experienced some of the worst fooding in its history. Although we were not directly impacted, the torrential and constant rain meant the water table was extremely high, drowning the roots of just about everything we tried to plant, and turning the perma garden into slug heaven. I was determined not to use any pesticides while gardening, and in the evenings I was out there pulling sometimes 50-60 slugs off of all the half eaten plants in the driving rain.
It broke my gardening spirit. All that work, and the tomatoes all died, the potatoes all died, and the slugs ate the rest. The only thing we managed to to squeeze out was a decent crop of zucchini and pumpkins, but even the pumpkins, when cut, were full of water.
I am a semi experienced gardener, having had a large production garden plus numerous flower beds in Italy over many years, and before that, having tended endless flowering and vegetable balcony gardens. I know how nature can change things in a flash. Even so I wasn’t emotionally prepared for what happened last year.
It broke my gardening spirit completely. I didn’t think I would have it in me to do anything this year. However, now that spring has (finally) arrived, I’m feeling a few sprouts of optimism creeping into my heart again.
One very positive thing that happened: creating the permagarden bed last year meant layering wood, leaves, wood mulch, humus and organic soil, stone meal, hoof shavings, and covering the mound with hay. While there was no production last year to speak of, that patch now has incredibly rich and dark soil, with lots of worms which I will continue to work on this this year before planting.
I got the herb and berry garden under control, as well as a bit of the upper beds. I do tend to prefer a “controlled chaos” garden, as this allows for nature to take its course without a lot of interference. I’ll continue to feed this partially new-planted area with organic matter and wood mulch.
The berry plants survived the cold winter, which I am happy about. I’ve already started using the herbs in my spring cooking. I love having a working herb garden. For a person who loves to cook, it’s really indispensable.
It looks like it could be a good berry and fruit year, if we don’t have any more deep frosts at night! I am hopeful. Last year our berries were quite bountiful and I really want to plant more this year. I am gearing up to make this garden as perennial as possible, along with vegetables. I am honestly quite tired of spending money and time on annuals. They don’t feel very environmentally sound to me. I am much happier if my flowering plants, like peonies, roses and the like, come up year after year.
Of course one of the things completely hampering gardening this year is the construction. Our front yard has yet to be torn up for the sewer pipe placement. In the front, I am concentrating on a few potted plants and repainting / re-staining the old wood. Like that, when the yard is finally back in place and we can re-do the landscaping, there won’t be much maintenance to do.
So, it’s little by little, taking care of our energy and taking care that we don’t overdo.
