Planning the garden

There are many of you still in isolation or in lockdown all over the world.

The news is constantly on and in your front room, you may be feeling, sadness, loneliness or even fear due to this huge world wide pandemic.

There is another route through this terrible time.

Self isolation can seem daunting, a time when you are faced with yourself and your deepest emotions. I like to think this time is so vital for human growth, not just on a mass scale, but a time to look within and find a way around this.

As humans we are great at working solutions out, to problems, that at first seem impossible.

If you have a patch of land a garden or even some old pots and pans, there is a way to keep you in tune with yourself, the land, the seasons and your health.

If your starting out with nothing, no money, lack of tools, equipment, like we did when we first arrived here, you can improvise.

Start by establishing soil.

If you have a garden already, you have had a head start.

But, if you are using pots and pans and old tupperware, then you can begin by collecting the coffee grounds and tea bags and any kitchen scraps you can find that isn't citrus.

Start a compost bin in your old pot and leave it outside in the elements to do its work, slowly adding to it as you have more organic waste. Sweeping the floor in you home and adding the dust to it, old ash from your burner from winter, etc.

If you are lucky enough to have some cash, then you can buy bags of compost from gardening centres, i think even now some supermarkets have bags of potting mix you can pick up for a few quid, dollars, etc.

Sometimes if you lucky you can collect soil from parks, pathways in your neighbourhood, and pull the weeds out and add them to your compost mix. In time you'll have a lovely soil with which to grow food.

NPK are nutrients that are found in the soil to help plants grow, each mineral acts in a differ way.

N is nitrogen, P is Phosphorus, K is potassium.

Nitrogen helps the leaves parts of your plants, and helps any plant establish many leaves, although some fruiting plants don't require much of this to start.

Phosphorus - Stimulates root development

Increase stalk and stem strength

Improve flower formation and seed production

Early crop formation

Increase nitrogen fixing of legumes

Increase disease resistance

Supports development throughout life

Potassium also helps regulate the opening and closing of the stomata, which regulates the exchange of water vapor, oxygen and carbon dioxide. If K is deficient or not supplied in adequate amounts, it stunts plant growth and reduces yield.

Certain foods from your kitchen which will turn into compost contain these things.

Even weeds you can collect from parks and paths ways, like nettle. You can make a nettle tea fertiliser at home and water your plants with them. There is so many options around you.

In turn by learning about growth, plants, nutrients, weeds and soil, you can grow almost anything, even without a garden.

Your neighbour might be old, or disabled and has a garden but never uses it.

Im sure if you have a kind relationship with them, they may like you to use the garden, then you can exchange the use of the garden with some of your produce.

Im sure this is how people functioned in the times of the world wars back in the day. Community support at this time is vital.

My old 80 year old neighbour brings me olive oil she makes from her olives, and i turn i bring her some juicey cucumbers, or tomatoes when we have abundant amounts.

This time of year is perfect for germinating seeds. you can grab some seeds from your local shop for cheap, and start growing.

Learn about your weather, look ahead online for forecasts, prepare for bad weather and use black plastic bags to lay on the earth to keep the soil warm before planting out.

Some plants need warm conditions, others like garlic, brussels sprouts, cabbage, spinach, lettuce require cold and wet spells.

One of the most satisfying, simple jobs to do in the garden is weeding.

I know what your thinking... weeding?

But really once you get started, you'll not want to stop until the edges and beds and pathways are established, believe me, it is a great way to pass time even in the warm spring rain but even better in the hot sun to get yourself a nice tan.

So turn off the media, switch the volume down to low and start planning!!

What do you want to grow?

Where you want to grow it?

The rest of the information you can find online. start small, next year your soil should settle in for more adventurous foods, and don't give up!!

You'll learn to like worms, and spot the naughty pests and how to overcome them, like bird nets and clotches to cover your lettuces, wire frames to hold up your tomatoes, even eggshells crushed and put around leafy plants to keep those naughty snails away, heck... why not even learn which snails to eat and cook them in a buttery garlic sauce, like the French do, and have a wholesome protein meal on a bed of fresh salad.

Soon ill be posting up some information about how garden weeds can be eaten, the nutritional value of them, their likens, and how the bad ones can be beneficial to your soil.

Its taken me 6-7 years to gain this info, and grow and establish a garden, we started from nothing, but it doesn't have to take that long, we had many family issues that we encountered along our journey, we aimed big, but you can start small...

Feed yourself, and your neighbours, learn to look after yourself if the government just aren't doing their job for everyone, it will bring you new life and new meaning.

Here are some quick sketches of some ways to hold up your plants, using sticks and string..

How to use kitchen scraps to re-plant and grow food within days.