Compost is turned and ready

I turned my compost yesterday. I now it's not something glamorous and only a compost geek like myself gets excited about it. But I've been anticipating this moment since well before Christmas, and Sunday was finally C day!

My compost bin is homemade and has two compartments. One is in use for dumping all the usual suspects (veg peels, bunny litter, weeds), while the other one "cooks" until it's ready to use on the garden soil. What happened on Sunday was that the fresh pile was full to the top and the one with ready-to-use compost was almost empty. I took out the rest of the ready compost (it's in bags waiting to be used in the spring), and then I decanted the fresh compost into the other, now empty, bin. I stopped when I got to the deeper strata of ready compost (its darker). This has several benefits:

1. It keeps me entertained and doing some exercise out of the house
2. It aireates the compost (oxygen speeds up decomposition)
3. I can add water in between the layers of compost (another accelerator)
4. It reveals the older and ready compost underneath

I didn't technically turned this darker compost. It is almost ready, and I don't have a third bin to decant it into. What I did instead was plunge the pitch fork here and there and give it a wriggle, and I hope that by making these holes and letting air in the decomposition in March will be complete. The compost is a bit compact but spongy, really nice texture, I had lots of fun with the fork!

So now I have plenty of space in the fresh compost pile, and lots of fantastic garden compost for when I start planting this spring. Beautiful.

El domingo estuve aireando el compost. Mi contenedor de compost tiene dos compartimentos: uno lo tengo en uso diario (deshechos vegetales de la cocina, el heno y el serrin de los conejos, hojas y malas hierbas), y el otro tiene el compost mas antiguo que esta o bien mas avanzado o ya listo para usar.

Ultimamente la caja de uso diario se habia llenado tanto que ya casi no podia cerrar la tapa, y la otra caja estaba casi vacia. Asi que acabe de vaciar el compost que ya estaba listo en la segunda caja (lo tengo en bolsas esperando la primavera), y pase el compost fresco a la caja que quedo vacia (pare cuando llegue a las capas mas antiguas, que ya estan listas para usar). Esto tiene varias ventajas:

1.       Me entretiene y hago ejercicio al aire libre

2.       Airea el compost (el oxigeno ayuda a la decomposicion)

3.       Permite echar agua entre capas de compost (tambien ayuda a activar el proceso)

4.       He dejado al descubierto un monton de compost que ya esta casi listo

El compost que esta casi listo lo deje donde estaba. En parte porque no tengo una tercera caja a donde pasarlo, y en parte porque es bastante y pesa. De todas formas, para asegurarme de que esta perfecto en marzo (que es cuando empezare a plantar de nuevo y me hara falta compost), hice agujeros con el pincho para que entre aire. La consistencia es esponjosa, lo pase pipa!

Seedlings after 5 days! Propagator vs yogurt pot

So, I have made an (unscientific) comparison experiment with my seedlings from last Friday. I sowed some of the 'winter salad mix' seed in the propagator, and some in yogurt pots that I covered with the clear plastic lid and left on the kitchen windowsill. The results have really surprised me, I couldn't believe my eyes when I checked this morning - so quick!:

Some tomato and salad seedlings after only 5 days

But an even more stunning discovery, the low (non) tech system has been as fast as the electric gadget:

Seeds sprouted in just 5 days on the windowsill

Si, las semillas que veis arriba son de exactamente el mismo paquete y fueron plantadas el viernes pasado. Increible: han salido en tan solo 5 dias! Y mas increible todavia: las semillas en el bote de yogur, sin calor electrico ninguno, han salido igual de rapido que las del semillero - prueba de que la tecnologia no siempre es necesaria! Lo que si hice con el bote de yogur fue poner la tapa de plastico transparente encima para mantener mas humedad y calor, y simplemente puse el bote en la ventana de la cocina. Las plantitas han crecido tan rapido que ya han llegado a la tapa y la he tenido que quitar, pero la rapidez con la que han salido me ha dejado pasmada. Las voy a dejar echar otro par de hojitas y ya estaran listas para transplantar mas espaciadas. 

January sowings/ siembra en enero

After months, the wait is over: the new sowing season starts today! I took out my planting tools and seeds and I've started sowing for 2011 - hurrah!

I am using the electric propagator for the first time:

First use of my heated propagator

The idea is that it will keep the compost warm, so seeds germinate much quicker than outside. Hopefully in March I will have little plants in pots ready to be planted outside - that is at least the plan. January is still too early for most things, but after reading books, blogs and seed packets I have decided to start with:

- peas
- tomatoes
- spinach

I'm using plastic cups as seed pots. I tried this system last year and it worked a treat, so I'm doing it again. They are cheap, the right size (small) for seedlings, and you can write the name with permanent marker on the pot to know what's growing - saves me bothering with labels! And if you are careful and they don't split, of course you can reuse them. I'm quite chuffed I had this idea, as I'm sure there's lots of people out there doing the same but I haven't seen it anywhere else, so it's my own "baby".

It's also a good time to sow broad beans, but since we didn't really eat them last year they're not on my priority list, and as you can see in the picture the space is full at the moment. I may sow some outside, just in case, next weekend that it doesn't rain. I have seeds of an early variety ('Aquadulce'), and they recommend sowing outdoors in February, so if I find them space outside I may as well try!

Of course one of the excitements of starting sowing again is taking out all the seeds packets and planning what you want to grow, where it's going to go outside, and when to start! I can tell already that finding space for all my seeds is going to be challenging... But this article on one of the blogs I read made me feel better today, I'm not the only seedaholic out there!:  http://ukveggardeners.com/forum/topics/seed-time

Hoy por fin, tras meses de espera, he vuelto a la siembra! Saque las semillas, el compost, las macetas, y la temporada de siembra de 2011 se da por comenzada. Lo primero que tuve que hacer fue sacar las semillas y decidir que es lo primero que siembro (tengo espacio limitado y hay que priorizar!). Me lo pase genial  con las semillas, es emocionante hacer nuevos planes de siembra y plantacion. Tras mucho leer los sobres de las semillas, blogs y libros, he decidido para esta primera tanda sembrar guisantes, tomates y espinacas.


Lo que veis en la foto es mi semillero electrico, recien estrenado! Ahora es buen tiempo de sembrar habas, pero a mi ya no me cabian mas semillas. El ano pasado tuvimos una cosecha (minima) de habas verdes y a penas las comimos, asi que no estan en la lista prioritaria. A lo mejor siembro unas pocas directamente fuera un fin de semana pronto que no llueva, porque tengo una variedad temprana ('Aquadulce') que es para sembrar directamente en el suelo a partir de febrero. Por probar no pierdo nada.


El sistema de sembrar en vasitos de plastico se me ocurrio el ano pasado. No lo he visto en ningun otro sitio (pagina web o programa de la tele), aunque seguro que no soy la unica que tuvo la genial idea, asi que estoy muy orgullosa del invento. Las ventajas que tiene es que: son baratos, si no se rompen los puedes reutilizar, son el tamano ideal (pequeno) para semillas, y puedo escribir el nombre de la semilla directamente en el plastico sin tener que usar etiquetas o palitos.

Primula, and other winter flowers

Yellow primrose, cineraria and a winter heather

Of all the winter flowers I planted back in November, these yellow primroses are doing best. The cyclamens didn't make it past the first snow, they were stunning in November but now they are all rotten.  I planted some sweet williams, and as you can see at the bottom of the picture under the silver cineraria leaves, the foliage is a beautiful green but no sign of flowers! And the winter heather at the top of the picture hasn't done badly, but it's not as showy as the yellow flowers in the primula. I will be planting more of those, I really want some pale-coloured ones - the wild primrose (primula vulgaris).

En noviembre plante varias flores para el invierno, y de todas las que puse las primulas amarillas de la foto son las que mejor se han dado. Los cyclamen empezaron muy bien en noviembre, pero en cuanto nevo se pudrieron todos. Tambien plante unas clavelinas (dianthus), pero aunque las hojas estan frondosas las flores se perdieron a principios de diciembre y aun no han echado mas. En la foto podeis ver las plantitas debajo de las hojas plateadas de la cineraria. Tambien plante un brezo (en la parte de arriba de la foto), y aunque estas flores se han mantenido todo el invierno la verdad es que no son tan espectaculares como la primula... Me parece que voy a plantar mas primulas, alegran el jardin!

Christmas box (Sarcococca Confusa) in flower

I'm really proud of this plant, especially at this time of the year. I like the glossy green of the leaves (which stay all year round and helps disguise an otherwise ugly corner), but the really spectacular thing is the smell of the flowers in the middle of winter, when there's not much else happening outside. Yes, if you squint a little you can see the tiny white flowers hanging from the branch. And this years I got berries too!

Sarcococca Confusa

Esta es una de mis plantas favoritas, sobre todo en esta epoca del año cuando el resto del jardin esta hibernando. Las hojas son perennes, y en mitad del invierno produce unas flores blancas minusculas (si os fijais bien las veis colgando de una de las ramas) que tienen un olor increible. Y este año me ha dado bayas tambien! No necesita sol directo, asi que se me da bien (mi jardin esta rodeado de edificios). La tengo cubriendo una esquina de la casa. Esta planta tiene 3 años, es una de las primeras que compre para el jardin! A mi las plantas que producen flores en invierno no dejan de asombrarme, que tipo de insectos polinizantes las van a visitar en mitad del invierno?? Pero alguno habra, si no la planta no gastaria energia en dar flores...

My Christmas box is 3 years old, and it's one of the first plants I bought for the garden. It likes shady corners, which is perfect for my garden (we're surrounded by other houses). I find winter flowers particularly amazing. It's so cold and dark, and yet some plant is producing this incongrous display of colour and smell, I wonder which insect is going to go pollinate in the middle of January?? But some must do, otherwise there's no point in flowering.

Winter veg/ verduras de este invierno

Back in November I had all the vegetables on the ground that were to (hopefully) grow and mature during the winter. The kale has done brilliantly and, although it hasn't grown new leaves, the ones from November have withstood the snow and hungry birds remarkably well. The chard, on the other hand, does not like the cold weather, as I have now sadly learnt. Mental note, I should put them under a cover next winter (I only have one plant this year, as you can just about see in the bottom of the picture below. It has done much better under plastic than the ones outside).

The leeks.... Well. They have been a disappointment. They haven't really grown at all since I planted them back in August (!!), which makes me wonder if they need a very fertile soil and I put them in the wrong place? In the picture below they're on either side of the square of onions; the onion patch (from sets) is covered with straw, and look how much bigger they are than the leeks.

Onion sets are doing well under cover

Lo que veis arriba plantado en el cuadro cubierto de paja son unas cebollas que plante en octubre (de bulbo). A ambos lados hay unos puerros que plante en agosto, pero mirad que birria de plantas han salido... A estas alturas tendrian que estar listos para comer, pero es que casi ni se los ve! Los puerros este ano han sido un desastre. La hoja verde tan frondosa es de una acelga que lleva ahi desde el verano. Esta jardinera esta cubierta con plastico, y la acelga se ha mantenido bien - mucho mejor que las que estan al aire libre, que con las heladas han muerto casi todas. La berza verde, en cambio, sigue igual de bien a pesar de la nieve.

There is some baby garlic here!

I also planted my garlic in November, and it's grown surprisingly since then. It's not a very good photo, but poking through the insulating straw you can see the green bits... My elephant garlic, however, hasn't put an appearance yet. I'm hoping it's just slower than normal garlic, not rotted or eaten by mice...

La foto no es muy buena, pero en medio de la paja podeis ver unas cosas verdes. Son los ajos que plante en noviembre! El ajo elefante sin embargo no ha sacado nada aun, espero que sea solo que es mas lento que el ajo normal (en primavera se vera si se ha muerto o no).

Garden-related Christmas presents

Today is 6th of January, traditionally (in Spain) the day children open their presents, aka the 12th night of Christmas. I opened all of mine back on Christmas and Boxing Day (when in Rome...), but these are, in chronological order, my gorgeous gardening-related Christmas presents that I got this year from a loving family that knows me well!

• RHS Encyclopedia of Gardening: the Bible for gardening - it's got everything I need to know, from aquatics to training espalier fruiting trees
• Gardeners' World book on veg garden design for small spaces - lots of interesting and pretty ideas
• Pair of secateurs - perfect, I kept losing my one good pair this year (and I couldn't justify buying a second good quality pair)
• Twine and cast iron holder, and matching stand for cuttings tubes (they look like test tubes. Must experiment with rooting cuttings in water that way this year)
• Hand cream special for gardeners (yes, really)
• Preserve making kit, complete with book of recipes for my gluts of fruit and veg
• Future chilli plant: I bought some seed for my mother in law and she's going to give me a spare plant when they're ready (sharing seeds and plants is much more fun!)

I'm a very happy gardener! :-)

Tips for winter salad/ Ensaladas en invierno

Lettuce 'Winter Gem'

Things I've learnt this year:

1) Sow them in September. October, in my not very sunny garden, is already too late. The idea is to have small plants by the start of autumn so that they continue to grow during the winter, but don't really expect them to sprout and grow during the cold and dark months (they won't).

2) They will need some cover, even if they're advertised as winter hardy. The dome type of plastic cloches on top of a plastic pot appear to have worked best for me. This year I have two: the bigger one I bought from Wilkinsons, the other one is recycled from a M&S salad. And I have 2 lt drinks bottles, these cover one plant each. I want to try and recycle some of the plastic water carafs from my parents because they are huge and will cover the whole surface of a pot (like a cloche, but free and recycled).

3) There are many varieties that are suitable for winter. This year I have grown: corn salad (aka lambs lettuce), winter gem, land cress, and something from a packet called "winter mix". The results have been a bit disappointing, except for the winter gem. But I think it's only because I left it too late to start them! The latest sowing from my lambs lettuce didn't even show up, the poor thing (what a waste of good seed!). Next year I want to grow all of these, hopefully with better results, and I'll try to find some space (and cloches) for perpetual spinach - which is also recommended for winter.

And I have found Alys Fowler confirms my conclusions, so it must be right... She also lets the lambs lettuce flower and self seed in the spring, which sounds like a really good idea - I will be trying it next year!

Consejos para tener ensaladas de la huerta en invierno:

1) Siembralas antes del otoño. La idea es que las cosechas durante el invierno, pero la planta necesita estar establecida antes de empezar el mal tiempo. En mi jardin, que es poco soleado, necesito sembrarlas a principios de septiembre (las que sembre en octubre este año ni siquiera brotaron, las pobres).

2) Las plantas necesitan proteccion, aunque ponga en el paquete que sobreviven en invierno. Yo he usado campanas de plastico, con buenos resultados. La campana mayor que tengo la compre, y es la que mejor ha funcionado, la otra mas pequeña es el bol de una ensalada que compre. Tambien tengo botellas de dos litros de refresco, y funcionan para una sola planta. El año que viene voy a ver si consigo una garrafa de agua de mis padres, que ademas de la ventaja de ser reciclada (y gratis) es muy grande y cubrira la superficie entera de la maceta (como la campana que compre).

3) Hay variedades especiales para invierno. Yo este año tengo tres tipos de lechuga (lambs lettuce, land cress, winter gem), aunque dos de ellas casi no han producido nada porque las sembre demasiado tarde y no tuvieron tiempo de crecer (o, en algunos casos, de germinar) antes del frio polar. El año que viene me gustaria plantar tambien espinaca, que hay una variedad especial para el invierno.

En este articulo del periodico Guardian (en ingles), que lo lei despues de haber hecho mi lista de consejos, confirman mis observaciones. Alys tambien dice que ella deja la lamb's letuce todo el invierno en el mismo sitio y en primavera lo deja echar flor y semilla, no le toca a la tierra durante el verano y asi en otoño ya tiene las plantas espontaneas listas para las ensaladas invernales! Yo intentare que las mias echen semilla la proxima primavera, a ver si se me dan igual de bien...