This is one of the best ways to shoo my winter blues away.You have a fantastic way to make them go away.Beautiful pictures .What a garden to have to look at.
Gosh Sjoerd - those pictures are like a breath of fresh air. So beautiful. My garden is supposed to look something like yours (the color at least) but alas tha water restrictions make for grey gardening. here. In the mean time I will feast my eyes on your lovely goodies. Besides I almost sank my teeth into the monitor trying to taste the artichoke.
Actually Palm Tree...we are thinking of planting a group of artichokes this year over on the eastern side of the old lottie just for eating. I really love eating them boiled and dipped in melted butter. Gosh...how decadent izzat?
Decadent - No - in my vocabulary one word comes to mind 'lekker'. I also like them boiled and dipped in a salad dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sjoerd, I love the pictures that you post of your lottie. I wish I had half your energy to garden like that.
Er-rrug lekker eigenlijk. :-D You are right. Ach, you have lots of energy...I have seen your website and you have spoken of things you have done. You are a VERY hard worker and a thoughtful planner. You mentioned a few months ago that you were contemplating taking on yet one more project. What did you decide to do...take it on or let it be?
I decided on the latter - If I were to take on the project it would take me out of circulation for about 18 months and I did not see my way clear on that one. For now I am just acting as an advisor on the project. "See - not half the energy you have" I actually will have to visit the site from time to time to check, but that is as far as my invovlement will go.
WEll, at least you are involved. They will benefit from your expertise and be better for it. Being invoilved in an advisor status is also interesting, I'll bet, withpout the stress and responsibility. Anyway, thanks for your nice words and update, and I'm glad that you liked the pics.
You are a master gardener in my eyes Sjoerd...I wish I could get things that big and healthy. What do you use for fertilizer? If you don't mind me asking. I had huge plants one year when we were able to get some aged cow manure, right from the farmer...Now unless you know a farmer it just isn't the same... Thank you for sharing... :-D :-D
Now Sherry... don't say that--my face'll get all warm. But thanks, that was such a sweet thing to say. Aged cow manure is a premium article alright, worth it's weight in gold if not platinum. heh heh heh. There are viable alternatives though. Sure you can ask what I use for fertilizer. I use different things for different crops...and what I do use, I use at different times. I try and tailor the feeding to each crop type. So if you are interested in any specific crop I will tell you, but generally I spread some aged cow manure either in pellet form or the "natural" form in the spring. I make and use horse manure "tea", Comfry "tea". I grow and use "green fertilizer". I sometimes use bone and blood meal. I use my own compost for soil structure and to add a tiny bit of nutrition. --but the two things that I do and no one else on the Lottie Complex does is make and use the application of EM to the soil surface and leaves of the plants. Seconfly,I do not dig the ground, turning it over as everyone else does... I "min-till". Min-till, stands for "Minimum Tilling", the idea is that you stick a border fork straight into the ground and jack the handle down once to loosen the soil, then when the handle is vertical again, you rotate the fork left and right...then go on to the next place beside where you just worked and so on, until the plot has been "worked". The reasoning for this is so that the various microbial layers that exist in soil do not become displaced or disturbed too much. If you dig the soil in the conventionl way it will take the colonies a month and a half or more...to re-establish...if at all. These colonies that exist in layers have specific tasks that they perform, and it is better if you plant your seeds or plantlets directly into the layers as they are. If you have any interest in this you can read on the link below, or any one of several articles available on the internet or in gardening books. http://www.volkstuindersvereniginghoorn ... age18.html
Wow, Glendann--what a nice thing to say. I appreciate hearing that very much. I was so delighted to see yours too when you posted them a few of days ago. You are so far ahead of us here. Thanks again, ma'am.
Sjoerd: I was repotting some new plants monday. When I relized they were Anemones. Mine will be St. Brigid double mixed kind. I probably have jumped the gun ( in a matter of speaking) but I planted some seeds that are coming up now: Black pearl papper, some cosmos, 2 pink mimosa's, Also some herbs: garlic, basil, dill. I know it'll be a while before I'm able to get in the garden-especially once all our snow melts, there will be lots of water every where. If they all survive I will keep them happy until I can get them outdoors. Its fun to plant seeds and watch them come up. In the meantime I have trouble being patient. Maybe thats why I think I have to get a jump start-I'm impatient, I just want to get out in the garden and play, play, play.
Petunia, you are planting some interesting stuff there. You must keep everyone updated with pics as they progress. That St. Brigid mixture of doubles are stunning things, aren't they? I know very well about that impatience thing. I am beginning to feel it myself. Don't sit and start too long, CritterPainter. heh heh heh. Thanks.
