Spring-clean your garden with care...

Kathryn Gilmour at Greenspace Garden Design says, "garden spring-clean is good thing to do... BUT ladybirds are still hibernating. Removing too much dead garden bits and old dropped leaves even in March can leave them with no cover. There is such a thing called 'garden hygiene' and yes it sounds a bit clinical, and yet in a small space, by keeping it orderly and clean you'll help to cut down on pests and diseases. A balance has to be struck between order and providing cover for beneficial hibernating bees and ladybirds". 

This is THE deluxe accommodation for ladybirds and bumble bees. There are several different designs available and the time to install them isn't actually now it is late summer or early autumn ideally.

But if you are doing an early spring clean and you happen to disturb ladybirds, as I did during February, then there are several make shift solutions that will protect them through the remaining cold weather and this is what I did:

Des-res #1 - The upturned flowerpot with dried leaf and grass interior. This is anchored with a stick so it can't blow away.

Des-res #2 - Old perennial growth secured with twine. Ladybirds venture out of the middle when warm enough.

Des -res #3 - Plastic container (courtesy of Riverside Tandoori) with exit hole cut, dried leaf interior and covered for shade (bark in this instance).

Ladybirds feed on aphids and are an asset in your garden - take care of them and enjoy their presence. They are supposed to be lucky too apparently and I reckon that I re-homed about 20, so it looks like I could be in for a luck filled year :)

Start small and have fun...

Gardening can be fun if you start small and have fun, don't try to tackle too much at a time. If you are unsure what the best approach is - you need to start with a plan which you can follow one step at a time. If you are still unsure a Garden Designer can help to create a gardening plan that will help you to achieve success in your garden.
Imagine this... you are outside gathering lunch, fresh green leaves just brimming with vitality and flavours. It takes less than 5 minutes from garden bed to plate! This is easy to achieve and with a bit of planning you can be harvesting wonderful salads from your garden from May to October. It's a success you can SHARE - fantastic homegrown lunch with friends and family in a beautiful outdoor space.

The key here is not to be too ambitious, just 3 or 4 raised beds and a basic range of produce with a few unusual experiments for interest. For example, last summer two Aubergine plants were an experiment and I did manage to grow a few actual fruits, AND although they decorated the garden beautifully they tasted so bitter! In contrast, a space saving success was the Sweetcorn, you can plant it in and around other crops or even amongst flowers and because it grows so upright it doesn't create much shade... and wow, was it SWEET! I only grew a few but I plan to grow lots more this year. Even if you don't have a veggie patch just dot about a few corn plants... and enjoy!

For your 3 or 4 raised beds see below for my crop rotation diagram.

If you have a question why not POST it here in comments and I will get back to you. Even if you are a very half hearted gardener I would love to know how you get on this year with any of the ideas and inspirations you find here, let me know.

The Second Year - 'Counting my Chickens'?

This is the type of coop and run I am considering for my chickens. I plan to see how three hens fit into the garden and maybe add another one or two. I hope to be getting the 'girls' in about one month or so.

'MyVeggieHaven' is One Year Old

I am sitting here with a glass of wine because as I plan up my beds for this coming year 'MyVeggieHaven' is now just about one year old. The definitive plan including chicken coop and composters is shown here and you can see just how effectively the space works. The garden achieves it's three-fold purpose, which is firstly to provide a supply of fresh organic produce all within twenty paces of the kitchen door. Secondly to allow for bio-diversity within an urban area by supporting a wide variety of insects and other wildlife such as our resident birds and frogs. And thirdly to be a relaxing haven which feels good to be in and is good looking too!  The granite circle is the only feature which is purely decorative but it does have a possible practical function, being aligned to south west it could be used as a sun dial to tell the time outdoors :)

Planning Your Crop Rotation

Above is a simple diagram of a Kitchen Garden shown as a four bed and four year cycle. Using this cycle will help you to make the most of your soil fertility. Legumes add nitrogen to the soil whereas all other plants take it out of the soil. So nitrogen hungry crops such as potatoes and tomatoes follow on after Beans and Peas.
Changing where you grow certain types of veggies each year will help to reduce the chances of pests and diseases getting a hold.
Companion planting will also help crops and I will be covering this later in February.  
Next week look out for tips on boosting soil fertility and condition.

From Kitchen Garden to Table in 5 Minutes...

Imagine salad and vegetables from your own kitchen garden picked just five minutes before serving - the flavours are wonderful. Potatoes for example that are in the pot within a few minutes and served within half an hour of harvesting. The reality is that potatoes are fairly easy to store for winter, obviously they won't be 'new' potatoes, but the fact is that 25% of our carbon emissions are due to food transport alone.Compare the Kitchen Garden with the way food is produced for UK Supermarkets below:
"For example, to get new potatoes into British supermarkets in winter we import them from Egypt. Not that surprising - after all they are going to need warmth and sunlight to grow. But here’s the incredible process ( from : http://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=123).

1. Seed potatoes grown in Scotland are exported to Egypt
2. The potatoes are often grown in desert sand, fed by huge sprinkler systems. Because the sand contains no nutrients, fertilizer must be mixed into the water that is sprayed onto them.
3. Water is a scarce resource in the desert so they drill down over 350m below ground level to a huge water system under the Sahara, which will never be replenished. It takes a staggering 500 litres (880 pints) of water to produce just 1kg of potatoes (2.2lb).
4. To protect the potatoes on their journey to the supermarket and to retain moisture they are packed with peat – which is bought in from Ireland!
5. The potatoes then make a huge journey over 2 weeks by specially refrigerated container truck and ship to reach the supermarkets in the UK." 

Winter - The Ideal Time For Plans

This is 'MyVeggieHaven' last month under snow. And though it isn't a great time for gardeners, it is a really good time for planning your year to come. I am reviewing the successes and lessons learnt from last year and planning what to start sowing right now.
Updates to follow soon...

Greenspace Update - Weeding through Winter

Greenspace Garden Design is hard at work with jungle clearance and re-planting. Gardens do sometimes get out of hand and when they do it takes more than just a couple of weekends weeding! If this has happened recently in your garden - get some advice now - from the experts at Greenspace Garden Design. A week in the hands of the GREENSPACE HIT TEAM will usually suffice. Give us a call on 01458 832755.