No winter this season, an attempt to take advantage of it.
The seasons are totally out of whack. We really have had no winter to speak of where we live so I will attempt to get a jumpstart and plant some already.
This is at least 2 months early and naturally, it can totally fail, but I will not risk planting expensive seeds and mainly I will try some plants that are a bit hardy to frost.
Winter might come.
I will update this with how this experiment goes.
Januar 2020
On the 14th of January, I planted some storebought peas that I had leftover from last season. They haven’t sprouted above ground yet, but digging in the ground a bit showed that they are forming roots.
The day after I put planted some more hardy seeds, this time broccoli and cauliflower, in some DIY toilet roll grow tubes. I let them sprout indoors and transplanted them 9 days later.
To give my seedlings a bit of a better chance I used some jam jars as a DIY Cloche. So far they look great, I lift them up nearly daily to let in some fresh air. I don’t know if that is something I need or should do, but… 🙂
Temperature has been between 4-6 degrees Celcius, but a couple of nights we’ve had some frost. I’ve seen
February 2020
It almost looked like we got real winter in the first week of February.
We had a couple of days with minus 2 – 6 °C. That was enough to kill off the broccoli and cauliflower I had transplanted on the highest part of our property, my raised hugelkultur bed, about 2 meters lower seems to be just what within the tolerance limit.
The two middle weeks of February had a lot of rain and low temperature, rarely getting above +6 °C.
I spread some coffee grounds around and on top of the cloche
The last few days of February we got a lot of rain and then a bit of snow and frost. Now only one of the remaining broccoli and cauliflower is still surviving. Unfortunately, I got them all mixed up and I’m not experienced enough to identify what it is.
I plan on sowing seeds indoors in March and transplanting them in stages.
We can often get late frost and/or snow in March and the beginning of April.
March 2020
This month saw a few days of frost in the beginning and in the very end, the middle part was fairly mild.
Everything planted in February was still alive at the end of March, but no real progress apart from the peas I put in the ground in January.
I did a bit of pruning on some of our fruit trees, one idea I got off Twitter was to just stick all of those cuttings in the ground. If they work, they work, and you’ll have free trees. Do bear in mind that these, if they succeed, will have that tree’s root system and not a dwarven rootstock as one normally get from a nursery.
If possible I put these next to the tree or bush I got them from so I don’t have to label them.
The rhubarb I planted from seeds last year, emerged in the middle of March, but didn’t care too much for the frost we had at the end, but it looks like they’ll be ok. I will plant more rhubarb as we do eat them, and wife makes a really great rhubarb pie.
I transplanted a couple of sunflowers on the very last
Newspaper, eggshell, coffee ground and most likely some apple wastes (may include apple seeds)
April 2020 – Winter Came and Undid All
Sadly the winter did come, and killed off most of the plants. Lesson learned, don’t remove the protection…
Embracing New Gardening Adventures in Changing Climates
In our changing climate, unexpected weather patterns can pose challenges for gardeners. While a lack of winter might seem like a boon for some plants, it can also bring about its own set of complications. Adapting to these changes is crucial for ensuring a healthy garden. Speaking of adapting and trying new gardening ventures, have you ever considered growing an apple tree from seed? While it comes with its own set of challenges, the experience can be incredibly rewarding. Dive into our guide: Growing Apples from Seed: My Personal Experience
