Nettle Soup

These are stinging nettle tops and garlic mustard (in the trug) from the woods next to the garden, dandelions, (obviously) and lime tree leaves.

I made the garlic mustard pesto in the above-linked recipe, this afternoon. Tastes delicious.

The nettles made a great soup, (mixed with left-over peelings of white asparagus, celery and chicken stock. ) What I couldn't whizz up with the liquidiser, I strained, mixed with a beaten egg and made nettle burgers in an omelette pan. They really tasted good.
The dandelions are from the fields above our home and are primarily for Tessie, who has woken up after hibernation and has a ferocious appetite. She loves dandelions. I wash them and keep them in the fridge in a plastic bag ready for when she needs more.

The lime tree leaves are for a salad Nicoise tonight. I'll mix them with rocket and lettuce.

This afternoon I put up a trellis for cucumbers and squash. It went up far more easily than I thought it would and looks pretty neat. (I am so thrilled with the SFG method - it's so comprehensive, simple and effective. God bless Mel Bartholemew.) I used green plastic covered metal stakes ( 2,79 Euro each) and green plastic netting for beans (4,75 Euro) also at the local DIY. The stakes went into the ground without any trouble. They are pointed at one end and at the other there are grooves to hold the netting in place.They're also ridged so that the netting can be attached to the pole with cable ties without slipping up and down.
I've planted a cucmber plant already - I hope it's not too early - but if there's any danger of frost I can cover the wire cage with plastic. The cucumber plant is not yet taller than the top of the cage. When it becomes too tall I'll cover it with a tomato plant sheet.

Latest on the Garden

Thank God for spring! I really do. The SFG beds are beginning to sprout with the seeds I planted two weeks ago. I finished constructing wire cages for the beds in March to keep off the deer, which came into the garden a lot last year, and to provide a structure to cover the beds with plastic, should the weather be too cold. We often get heavy hail-storms in April but I think the cages plus plastic will protect the plants underneath. They also don't look too bad.

I've planted small seedlings from the garden centre, just to get a head start on the seeds. We now have spinach, chard (normal, rhubarb and Bright Lights), beetroot, (red cabbage and broccoli - thanks, Angelika!), leeks, spring onions, red and white onion sets, lettuce (four varieties) garlic, nasturtians, carrots, mangetout, and two small bush tomato plants which are hardy enough to be planted before the last spring frost in the middle of May. When the 'Eis Heiligen' (Icy Saints) come around 12-15th May I'll cover the wire cages up at night. I also have chives, sage, lavender, and have sown marigold seeds in the hope of getting a few flowers to keep off the snails. I have a few beer snail traps, to be on the safe side.

New Title Picture - the wood at the back of the garden. The old one was lovely but as it was a picture of the Lake District in NW England, I thought it wasn't exactly true to where we live.

Have finally laid down bark chippings and finished the edge all round the SFG area. It looks really tidy and I'm pleased.

New SFG Bed.

I have finally finished the latest SFG bed. (See right.) managed it very quickly, thanks to good preparation. Just need to buy some more bark chippings and we're done.

The next thing to think about is wire cages to keep the deer off the new plants, and trellises for tomatoes and other climbing things like squash or cucumber. The SFG website and books are geared towards the US market and I haven't yet worked out the equivalent for steel rods etc here in Germany. That sort of material is expensive, from what I've seen in our local DIY shops, but the trellises do need to last and be robust. Copper piping? Would it be strong enough? Keine Ahnung.

Four inches deep and counting...

All the snow has finally melted and for about a week, the temperatures have been consistently above freezing. A pair of robins visits our terrace several times a day. I love watching them. One of them was trying to reach a fat ball which I had hung up for the bluetits, but its feet just weren't designed to hold on to the metal spring-coiled container which holds the ball. It was so funny watching the robin craning its nack and vainly trying to reach the birdfood.

This afternoon I had a look at the soil in my SFG beds and turned it over a bit. The ground is still frozen at four inches below. So I covered the beds with black plastic (actually meant as sand pit covers, but they fit the SFG beds - at least the 4x4 ones quite well. They're too big for the 2x4s but it doesn't matter) to speed up the thaw. In one 4x4 I had sown a lettuce seed and some lambs' lettuce last November. The first seeds are coming up in it, so I covered it with transparent plastic over a couple of bendable cable tubes. The air can still get to the soil, but at least the seedlings are protected against the worst of the cold.

The ice is slowly melting in the pond. It'll be another week or so before the toads and frogs arrive. The snowdrops are out at last in full force and Frau B's aconites (Winterlinge) next door are smiling up at the grey sky in gleeful anticipation of warmer days ahead.
In spite of the grim political and economic situation, I am so grateful to God. We can still see His hand in Creation and know that He loves and cares for each one that He has made. All will be well.


And here is how the cheddar looks after a week. Left with a flash, right, without.

First Sign of Winter's End

The first flower of the year. Four snowdrops by the pond. Not out yet, but struggling through.