Stempster

Sunday sunrise over the broch Mum insists that January is not a month to do any gardening. I disagree. I believe there is a lot that can, and will, be done this month. The problem with preparing the ground in January is that, if the soil is too wet or frozen, you can damage it by digging. But right now, the shrubbery is on hold and I'm trying to prepare the Kitchen Garden for planting this spring. The more I see in the news, the more I see the need to become as self-sufficient as possible. The great thing about our plans for the Kitchen Garden is that we're trying the 'no-dig' method. This means that the soil will not get much disturbance. Instead, I am putting cardboard down and then compost above it. One of the beds has very poor drainage, so I'm trying putting homemade bark chips down before the compost. Yes, I know it's not recommended as a mulch because of slugs, but I think if the compost goes above it, the slugs won't be much of a problem. It's wo...

I'm dreading going back into work on Thursday. There's no real reason, except there have been multiple stresses over the last two terms. Forget that, the last two years! I love and relish every holiday because it's time spent recuperating and being able to be myself. But I made a decision. Rather than worrying about work, and other concerns that prey on my mind, I'm going to create the garden of my dreams: a haven that will help me offload all worries. I know it will work because being outside, for me, is real healing time. Even if I'm digging a new border (digging is certainly not my favourite job in the garden) I feel better. The north side of the house which overlooks the "Kitchen Garden". The inverted commas are because all the rubble and rubbish make it as far from a kitchen garden as possible. There is a lot of work to be done here! So... my plans for 2022... I have two projects I want to concentrate on, but there will be many more jobs that I'm ...