January - What We’re Working On
Around the space
We’ve been whipped around with wild weather for the last few days at Kith. Blasts of stormy winds and rain putting the breaks on any big maintenance jobs. B and I had planned on taking apart all the old healing garden planters but didn’t quite fancy it when we saw the storm clouds rolling over. I find at this time of the year there’s a huge to-do list (as usual) but over the years I’ve become quite zen about what’s achievable.
With a young child in tow, with the wild weather, with our own energies, we do what we can in the moment. If at the end of the day we know we’ve done our best, that’s an achievement, and if not, then, there’s always tomorrow to try again.
Heading back to the books
I love this time of the year, a chance to re-set and start over. What I think I know vs what I actually know are sometimes quit different so taking my favourite companions off the shelf to check in again is a great learning experience. I’m always inspired by these books, they’ve become my go to guides over the years and you can guarantee my to-do list triples after reading them, but so worth it.
I’ve been figuring out new ideas for the healing garden. In front of the willow dome is looking pretty shabby now. After 100’s of little excited fingers went through it searching for strawberries last summer, the whole area is in need of an overhaul.
To be continued…
This month we’re…
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The seed box becomes a little unruly as the season goes on, a quick succession plant here, an extra row of peas there and all the seed packets become all jumbled.
I’m trying to bundle them by the month they’re needing to be sown, then tucked into a tin box. Unless anyone has any other methods of storing seeds? I’d love to know, please do get in touch.
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The polytunnel, or Holly as she’s affectionately known, has been such a fantastic space for us over the years. In the autumn and winter it becomes a haven from the biting cold, rain and winds. But, as the season turns we’ll need the space for growing seeds, potting on, sheltering new little plants and growing tomatoes.
B and I took some time to tidy the space and in the process found a neat little system of mouse tunnels. It must be a lovely place to make a home but sadly for the mice we’ve had to rake it all away. We can’t be having mice nibbling at our seedlings, that just won’t do.
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I’ve made a real conscious effort to tuck in all the bare soil this year. Either with green manure, cardboard and leaves or with a tarp. Each year we seem to have a different method so I’ll be interested to see which has worked the best for us.
I’ve not managed to put down any more well mulched manure (other than the chicken pellets) this year so that might backfire in the summer when the soil is depleted.
