Garden Update – Spring 2023

<- Winter 2021

Blame it on the weather…

…and something else too. The garden hasn’t received the attention it deserves in the last couple of years. That is, we have actually had some major work done around the house, such as a lot of new tiling. Perhaps it is just that while those projects were underway, we couldn’t really focus on other things, garden-wise. Add to that some busy periods at work, and we barely got the basic gardening done. I hope to improve in 2023.

Also, the weather. It really has been a cold spring, and I don’t get as much done when it it is sub-5°C and either windy or raining. Hopefully I can share a better tale soon.

At least I am on track preparing chilies for the greenhouse. We missed that last year, probably because our usual source of seeds stopped shipping to Denmark post-Brexit. Such a shame, and then we didn’t find a good alternative before it was too late to sow. This year we simply went to a local nursery, and got enough seeds to get started.

YearChiliesTomatoesNotes
2023Feb 26
2022Didn't sow
2021Feb 21
2020Mar 6Apr 7
2019Mar 10Apr 13
2018Feb 24Apr 7
2017Mar 20Apr 9
2016Feb 22Mar 27
2015Feb 19
2014Mar 2Mar 2
2013Didn't sow (kid)
2012Mar 17Apr 1
2011Didn't sow (vacation)
2010Feb 28Mar 21

Key Events in the garden

  • Feb 26: Chilies sown:
    • Padron
    • Chiluacle Negro
    • Cayenne Long Slim
    • Hot Lemon
  • Apr 4: Chilies Replanted

Featured Image

A snowy day in late March – for the record, in case anyone thinks it “weather” is just a bad excuse for me not going outside working my garden. It is the picture of the cold spring in 2023.

Related Posts

Garden Update Winter 2021

Garden Update Fall 2020

Garden Update Summer 2020

(The) Berry Week (After)

The ‘berry week’ returns. Last year (2021) we didn’t pick anything – we started a major house renovation during that week, so we were busy adapting to a life without kitchen and bathroom, and picking/cleaning berries, let alone pickling cooking anything out of them just wasn’t a priority.

But that was then. Now is a new year, with new opportunities and new berries to be picked.

We almost missed it though – we were travelling the week the berries were ready and we returned to hot weather and a long to do list of other work to do – the sort of house work we currently don’t get done in normal weekends. Excuses, excuses. At the end  I think it took less than an hour to pick a bowl of still OK (just ripe) gooseberries, clean them and cook five jars of marmalade this way.

Numbers:

  • Gooseberry (green): 1252 g
  • Black currant: 1005 g

Featured image

Red gooseberries waiting to be picked – on a drier day

Related posts

Berry Month 2020

Berry Week, 2019 Edition

Bæruge 2018

Bæruge! (2017)

Berry Week! (2015)

Garden Update – Winter 2021

<- Fall 2020Spring 2023 ->

There hasn’t been a lot of garden activity this winter – not only has it been cold, wet and dark outside – this pandemic thing is just draining will and initiative away. Still, the basics got done: The apples were pruned and the chilis sown on one, active day in February. Later than usual for the apples, quite early for the chilis. Both will probable be fine (previous sowing dates  here).

This year I missed buying new chili seeds. My usual supplier is UK based and I haven’t been up to considering the implications of brexit on seed trade. Fortunately I still had the essentials stocked from last year: Cayenne Long Slim, Lemon Drop and Habanero. However, those seeds only filled half my sowing tray, so I went through my seeds box and picked up a bunch of seed bags that friends and colleagues have given to me over the years and sowed those in the spare slots. 

Key events in the garden

  • Feb 21: Pruned the apples and sowed the chilis:
        • Cayenne Long Slim
        • Habanero
        • Lemon Drop
        • Hungarian Black (2018 seeds)
        • Numex Twillight (2015)
        • Satan’s Kiss (2011?)
        • Orozco (2014)
        • Red Cherry Large (2012)
        • Cayenne Purple (2014?)

Featured Image

An early morning shot of the garden the snowfall. We kept our Christmas lights up long to lighten the mood : )

Related Posts

Garden Update Fall 2020

Garden Update – Summer 2020

Garden Update – Spring 2020

Garden Update – Fall 2020

<- Summer 2020Winter 2021 ->

It took a while to get started with garden work this fall. Being very busy at work was surely part of it, but we also made it hard for ourselves but keeping ‘build a playhouse’ on the todo list – a big project that would have to be done early if at all. Last change to do it was the fall break in mid-October, but as we ended up working all days, it just never happened. Coming out on the other side probably allowed us to us realign expectations to something we can get done.

We also gave up growing magnolia trees in our front garden – they just wither away – now we are trying plumes instead (time will tell if they truly replace the splendor of the old tree).

Key events in the garden

  • Oct 17: We admin defeat and remove the dead(ish) magnolias in the front garden. Not sure why, but this plant just doesn’t work for us
  • Oct 18: Went shopping at plant nursery. Trees, lilac, perennials, lavender
  • Oct 25: Planted the two plumes (Kirkes and Victoria) and a Lilac (‘Charles Joly’). In the afternoon, as it begang to rain, I drove away the rest of the tiles from the old garden path.

    Planting a plume tree
  • Oct 27-28: I try drying chilis in the oven. It kinda works, but it is an iffy business when the oven has a broken temperature regulator. 200°C for even a few minutes is too much.

    Drying chilies in the oven

Featured Image

I went for a walk today and brought the camera to photograph trees in fall colors. Here are some of them.

Related Posts

Garden Update – Summer 2020

Garden Update – Spring 2020

Garden Update – Winter 2020

Berry Month 2020

Once more I write the yearly post about on the harvest in my garden. Usually the harvest takes place during a couple of days in mid-July, inconveniently sandwiched between summer vacation trips, and thus these posts are generally called ‘berry week‘. This year, although one vacation trip was canceled to avoid infection risk in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we had to pick the gooseberries just before leaving for a week in Jutland, but nothing else was ripe at the time. When we returned home I had just one day before going back to work and that took my focus away (bad weather didn’t help either). But this weekend the sunny summer returned and I went out to pick what remained after the birds have had their chance.

(Actually, we started harvesting the garden even earlier than that: The flowers on our elderberry bush were ready on Jun 13 and a basket-full was made to syrup).

The gooseberry yield was low, especially compared to the 9+ kilos green (Invicta) berries last year, but I expected that after the pruning I gave the bush in spring. All was frozen and will be made to syrup later (worked great last year). The red Hinnonmaki have also been pruned and had so few berries that I didn’t bother picking them.

The currants were finally picked on Aug 1 and had good yield, except the redcurrant, where the birds had already taken their share. The red- and whitecurrant were immediately cooked to syrup (like this – but I’ll go easier on the vanilla next time) and the blackcurrant was cooked to marmalade.

In numbers:

  • Gooseberry (green): 3848 g
  • Redcurrant: 606 g
  • Whitecurrant: 1274 g
  • Blackcurrant 1524 g

Featured image

Whitecurrant waiting to be picked.

Related posts

Berry Week, 2019 Edition

Bæruge 2018

Bæruge! (2017)

Berry Week! (2015)