I managed to spend a bit more time out in the back garden this past weekend to keep up the momentum on my current gardening drive. I put peas in and a frame up to support them three weeks ago, and I finally have quite a lot of visible green shoots appearing in the dirt, which is awesome and very encouraging. What I end up with is another matter of course, I’ve got no idea how good my soil is yet, but for now at least something out there is alive.
I’ve got a big terracotta pot at the foot of the stairs, between two radiators, in an effort to get some chili seeds sprouting. I’d absolutely love to have fresh chilies growing in the garden this summer, as I get through a lot of them, and the pleasure I’d take from eating ones that I’d grown would only add to it. A few spare strawberry plants are growing in a massive pot in the front garden, just to see if they’ll take. Added to that little lot, I also bought a couple of blackcurrant bushes(?) which have a home in the ground in the back garden. Next on the ‘plant and see if it lives’ list is some corn, garlic and onions. I’m really keen on getting a few more fruit trees out there too, but sadly fruit plants can cost quite a bit.
Digging beds and holes in the garden isn’t much fun at all, made all the more annoying by the fact that all of the rubble from the old house extension (which was knocked down to build the current one) was used to build the garden up a bit, which means it’s impossible to put a spade or fork in anywhere deeper than an inch. “Clang! Clang! Clang – Ouch, you b*st*rd thing!” – that’s the sound of me digging in the back garden. I’d love to have a garden with just the occasional stone, but that’s a pipe dream. On the flip-side to all of this though, I’m finding it enormously satisfying. I really didn’t think I would, but it’s so nice to get back indoors after an afternoon working hard, getting dirty and covered in soil. Looking back out at the freshly dug beds makes that first beer all the more satisfying :).