Tiny Huge

m31(73)

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_{Spring flowers sneak in the compost piles too}

Since I skipped gardening last year due to being abroad, I will count this as the 5th year of my Tiny Garden Project. This year tiny goes huge! Why? With all the madness happening in the world, I figured it would be a great way of spending my energy and good for my sanity as well. Gardening is not my job, I am an amateur gardener. I do it simply because I love it and this year I have decided to grow everything I possibly can and in every patch of land I can find! Oh, and I will take you on the Tiny Huge journey with me! I plan to write regular gardening updates here on Hive with all the successes, failures, and lessons learned along the way.

This past week was busy with planning, gathering supplies, buying all the seeds needed for sowing, and preparing some of the patches of soil already. It’s mid-April and we are still expecting the temperatures to drop below zero during nights which means that sowing straight into the ground is still at least a couple of weeks away. That, however, does not keep me from garden cleanup, removing the dead plants and leaves, and starting to prepare the beds of soil, which probably also helps it to warm up faster. After all the rain and snow everything is pretty much compacted and this process helps the soil to breathe.

While sowing straight in the ground will have to wait a while, I have already sowed cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli in the greenhouse and tomatoes, peppers, leeks, and basil in the containers I keep by the windows in the house. Can’t wait for the tiny seedlings to sprout! It won’t be long before they will peek through the soil, I’m sure.

Meanwhile, let’s walk through the garden and see what’s up!

_{Spring onions}

Look how ugly everything looks before I fix it, ha! Nothing’s done here since the autumn last year. Dried mint stems are waiting to be removed, same with the lavender flowers on the other side which served as the last food for butterflies, bumblebees, and bees in late September. Strawberries will find their new patches soon as the tiny garden boxes usually are reserved for herbs and other leafy greens.

_{Once these ugly, frostbitten leaves will be removed, strawberries will focus on making brand new, shiny ones}

_{My lavender plants did not mind the mild winter at all and did not require any extra covering this time}

_{Spot for the new strawberry patches and beds for some veggies}

I managed to make pretty good progress with this spot here as I dug it all up, cleaned the soil from all the roots, rocks, and weeds. That’s the hardest step in gardening since it requires some heavier lifting, yet one of the most crucial ones. How well you prepare the soil, will have a lot of effect on the plants you put there. I will be adding some compost there as well soon so the plants have more nutrients. As I was working, I saw a lot of earthworms already, which is one of the indicators that the soil is pretty good there.

_{Yay! Eight lovely, elevated beds ready! Four for strawberries and four for veggies! ^^}

_{Before and after. It is so satisfying to make the soil nice and clean! Plus the calming effect of the process is priceless!}

_{The greenhouse is ready for some seedlings, this is where all the tomato plants will be later}

_{First salad leaves and hyssop plant already chilling}

_{Bees busy at work at the blooming trees}

_{Welcome to the big field or how the tiny garden project gets huge! This is where the long rows of veggies will emerge. Carrots, onions, beets, peas, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, potato, zucchini, etc.}

_{Patch for sunflowers}

_{Baby gooseberries}

_{The new apple trees in their protective cages. Why tho? Well, deers! Deers are sometimes pests too xD}

_{Seeds, a lot of seeds!}

_{Garden Inspector Pūciņa in action}

I know, I know. It will be a lot of work. Some might even say that the effort of growing your vegetables and other food things is not worth it. To me, it is worth it though. I rather do this and connect with nature, than sit in four walls all day. I am so lucky to have a garden and nature around me. I am beyond grateful!

So that’s about it this time! Virtual hugs to all!

_{Song of the day: The Birthday Massacre - Flashback}