Our forest-garden looks more forest than garden this time - overgrown with grasses, no previous cultivation was seen, hm.. good-good we should make a use from masses of green matter. Then first to do is to lay down a new beds utilizing the grass - Sheet mulching. The trade-off is to build rich, organic soil that will hold moisture effectively without extra labor of cutting the grass and digging. The easiest method would be to cover the grass with cardboard (weed barrier, blocking sunlight) and to layer it with the straw (bulk organic mulch - we got enough of it last time), then wait for 3-6 month (or a season) when all will turn into the fertile soil by itself. Kind of composting in place instead of using compost bins, but low work and maintenance. Would be nice to water it after, but we have a lack of collected rain water, therefore it will wait for the water fall from the sky. The skies are promising.
From the grasses I've dug out some strawberries, do not remember where they come from - very sweet:
Wild strawberries - the smell is indescribable:
Sweet cherries are on the way. Who will be the first harvester - we or birds?:
Apples are swelling:
Lots of blackberries - green-berries while-that(;
The grapes are outlined:
I've planted a few more grape-plants - finally the perfect use for the DDR swing-construction has been found. Hope the grapes will enjoy scrambling on it. Companion plants are also around (corn, parsley, radish and some flowers).
This year is a year of lettuce and parsley. In 2013 it was a lack of those.
Dill looked very sick compare to the last year, i had to remove it, no luck.
80% of Tomatoes survived. The remaining plants got better and stronger. The rusty leaves disappeared!
What has been done:
❀ New sheet-mulching beds for the next season.
❀ Some beds got fixed and planted with more tomatoes, papers, zucchini, beans, cucumbers and some greens, edible and medicinal flowers and herbs.
❀ 2 more sorts of grapes are planted.
❀ Tea-fermentation experiments.
❀ Herb spiral is finished.
❀ Some more things got fixed, done and planted:
And surely a collection of ticks:
Dill looked very sick compare to the last year, i had to remove it, no luck.
80% of Tomatoes survived. The remaining plants got better and stronger. The rusty leaves disappeared!
What has been done:
❀ New sheet-mulching beds for the next season.
❀ Some beds got fixed and planted with more tomatoes, papers, zucchini, beans, cucumbers and some greens, edible and medicinal flowers and herbs.
❀ 2 more sorts of grapes are planted.
❀ Tea-fermentation experiments.
❀ Herb spiral is finished.
❀ Some more things got fixed, done and planted:
And surely a collection of ticks:
A bit of surroundings:
