Garden Updates
PotatoesThis year, I'm planting potatoes. After a failed experiment with growing new roses from cuttings last year,
using this method, I ended up with dead cuttings and a flower bed full of potatoes. I was a tad bummed about the roses, but I can take a hint and this year I reserved part of one plant bed for potatoes. I usually buy them at a local farmer, so I just used those instead of buying special ones to plant, and let them sprout before planting to give them a quick start.
According to YouTube it's also very doable to grow them in pots.
This clip, for example, teases with a huge harvest. Of course, they only show you the success stories but if this is as doable as it looks, it might be a lovely alternative for a small garden. It's on my 'must try this'-list!
If anyone has tried this, I'd love to hear all about it!
FruitGooseberryI have a gooseberry bush (Ribes Uva Crispa 'Whitesmith') which has been moved around the garden at least five times already. It seems to be happy wherever we plant it and yields a very nice harvest every year. It currently has a spot near the fence which allows me to lead its branches and keep it from taking up space. Since it's doing so well I may try to take a cutting and grow a second plant. My previous attempt at growing something new through cutting wasn't much of a success (unless the unintended potato harvest counts!) but I am greedy where sweet, ripe gooseberries are involved ;-). It's too early to try this now, but I have marked it on the calendar for October.
GrapesSome time ago, we removed the grape growing against the wall. Although it did prosper and gave fruit each year, the grapes were ultra sour and only suitable to made into sauce and jelly (using heaps of sugar). I am not sure which variety it was, as we inherited it from the previous house owners. Having very limited space in our garden, we removed the plant and replaced it with a with a
Himrod seedless grape. This is the sunniest spot in the garden, so I have decent hopes that the new plant will do well. Unfortunately, the switch means I may have to wait a couple of years before I can harvest again. Still, I'd be happy to give it time if it means having fruit that's tasty instead of sour!
StrawberriesLast year, I was too lazy to clean the aquaponics containers and I left the old strawberry plants to fend for themselves. A couple of weeks ago, I found that they survived the winter (!!!) and in an (accidental) attempt to murder them, I hooked up the aquaponics system and let the icy water from the pond into the plant beds. Add a weekend of frost and icicles forming where the water hit the clay pebbles, and I was sure my once lovely strawberry plants had perished.
This weekend, I bought replacements. When I planted them and wanted to toss the dead ones, I discovered new, fresh leaves in the old plants (see picture). YAY, these strawberries deserve a 'survivor' award!
Happy MomentsJust a couple of small things that make me happy:

The first butterfly of 2018. In Dutch we call it a Citroenvlinder (citroen is Dutch for lemon). I think it's called a Brimstone Butterfly in English?

Thrift shop treasures: these pink and lilac pots are waiting for my tomato plants.

The pots shown in this picture were the result of raiding the dark corners of my parents' shed. They were happy to declutter, and I'm happy with my new pots & plants! The grey planter at the top holds oregano, rosemary and basil; keeping the herbs that I use most often in easy reach.