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.