I have never been a gardener. But gardening is big here in Newfoundland, and it seems like a great way to get to know more about our property and our surroundings. So I am easing my way into it, with Les’s help.
When we arrived at our new home, there was one raised bed with some sort of plant growing in it. Les knew right away that it was strawberries; I had no idea. I have been assigned their care, which has mostly involved weeding and cleaning up the bed. We had snow about a week ago, and so we had to cover them with plastic since they are in flower, and therefore susceptible to the cold. They survived, and are thriving.
The next challenge will be keeping the birds away from them as the fruit ripens. You can cover them with netting, but a friend suggested a much more fun approach; paint small rocks red and place them in the strawberry bed now. The birds will soon learn that red things in the bed are not food and will leave the fruit alone. Or so the story goes. We’ll try it and see.
Les has built two new raised beds, into which we’ll plant tomatoes, kale, chard, herbs, onions, garlic, and a few other things. Our frost-free day is June 15, so Les has started some seedlings inside that we’ll transplant then. Our plant hardiness zone is 5A, as opposed to Hamilton’s 6B, so things get started later.
Many people here have greenhouses that they use to get plants off to a good start. We’ve decided to repurpose the cat enclosure we brought with us by adding a wooden armature and wrapping it in plastic. You can see it in this photo, on the driveway, in progress. When it’s ready, we’ll put it on the wooden platform between the two beds in the photo.
But what about Moku, you ask? How will he go outside without access to his enclosure? Well, we have started to let him out on the deck for “supervised” excursions. He had his first black fly encounters today, and hightailed it back into the house. I was tempted to follow him!
Well, I’m impressed. You folks are serious about this. And it’s kinda exciting.
So glad to hear that all that Bella rock painting will be put to good use. xo
This was much less interesting than Bella rock painting. But hopefully it works! Will report.
Hello Jennifer! I saw that suggestion re painting rocks to look like strawberries on a gardening FB page I am a member of – I’ll be curious to see if it works! Mom used to put netting over her strawberry patch, not only for the birds but, the rabbits ;-( (have you seen any rabbits? Perhaps the Eagles keep them in check…). Look forward to seeing all your bounty!!
We haven’t seen any rabbits yet – those damned eagles! We will probably use netting too, but I do want to first see whether this works. It was fun painting the rocks this afternoon, either way. First painting Les has done since we got here!
This is SO exciting! The strawberry beds are very impressive. And Les seems to be a ‘closet farmer’….love the raised beds and the greenhouse. You’ve been busy!!
Les loves nothing more than to putter outside and build things.
I like you choice of herbs, kale, garlic, tomatoes and onions for your garden. You have the makings of a perfect salad.
Our little piece of the Mediterranean in the North Atlantic!
Envying the raised beds!