Next year i will be better prepared, i will put loads of manure and fertilizer in as soon as i can so as to get it ready for next year. If there is time i will get something in for the last few months.
Over the next few days i hope to be able to borrow a sieve and get all the stones out of the spoil ready to use again.
This is the last of my potatos that i have just lifted today. So when they are gone that's it back to buying them from the local shops.
I planted red skin and white skin ones and they where worth the wait.
If you look close you can see the stones in the soil. This piece of ground had never been used to grow anything apart from weeds. The potatos where next to these strawberries in ground just as bad.
Hi Peter.
ReplyDeleteSeems that you are in for a lot of hard work to clear out the stones and try to improve the soil. What you can look at is raised bed gardening- creating new planting beds on top of the kak ( nice afrikaans word in South Africa for crap ) soil , to which you add the the best soil mix , and a great advantage is that it is quick and you don't have to bend down or kneel to do gardening- you raise the garden bed so that you don't have to bend!.At any age this is welcome!.Great site to see how raised beds can be made are at popularmechanics.com- how to build and install a raised bed . The perfect soil mix would be 1/3 peat moss , 1/3 home made compost and 1/3 vermiculite- known as Mel's Mix. There is a move away from peat moss as it is a dwindling resource. There are plenty of sites on soil mix info- just google best mix for raised bed gardening. For videos showing making of raised beds, etc , go to youtube .
For the raised bed borders you can use timber , stones / rocks , and something that I will be using is 1/2 wine barrel cut long ways supported with rocks so that it wont roll away ,with drainage hole and lined with plastic - should not be a problem finding reject wine barrels in Portugal !
Been following you for a few months now , and must admire you tenacity, and you always post interesting post. Good luck with the renovations and gardening !
Gus ( portuguese born and living in South Africa)
Hi Peter,
ReplyDeleteJust to say that I love your new picture at the top. I think it really sums up what your blog (and your life in Portugal) is about.