New year, lots of ideas !

Even though it had its challenges, 2022 proved to be a positive year at Valabærjet! The veggie patch really got forward and we started having our first real harvest. All the effort we poured there was rewarded. Fortunately, we had learned a lot from previous trial-errors in the garden. The oyas* worked perfectly throughout the hot days in summer and we found out how to create shade for who needed it. On that note, let’s mention the Jerusalem's artichokes which grew taller than they’ve ever done before, towering well above 2 meters. They made a welcomed shadow for the pumpkins. We’ll try to divide them this season to spread them in the patch. The herb spiral came out beautifully and attracted loads of flying friends, and gave us plenty of herbs to harvest. We now have several roses around the house and by the patch. Several fruit trees completed the picture, with a first-time sweet cherry tree ! We’re looking forward to spring to find out how this weird winter has challenged the garden, and what’s the end result.

*For those who wonder what oyas are, a whole article about it is coming.

The greenhouse was a mixed-feeling experience. The tomato plants grew a lot, but the cold nights in August left them mostly green by September when the first frost arrived. Who could blame them when it’s +0,8°C at night in the summer. Lesson learned, we’ll try digging our greenhouse down in the ground in the future.

All this gives us energy and a fierce will to continue in 2023, expanding the patch for potatoes and berry bushes. We are already starting to plan the veggie patch for next season, rotating the crops we had in 2022.

Other plans, hopes or wishes for the coming years are:

• Having chickens again (and perhaps other poultry birds)

• New hedges with varieties of raspberry and black chokeberry bushes

• Prepare the soil and build fence for two more vegetable and fruit patches

• Restore the pantry room in the house

• Plan out the basement cold pantry solution

• Reorganise the garage so we can store wood in it, and have an attic storage as well

• Build a small tool shed by the veggie patch

• (Maybe) having a couple of pigs during the good season

• Finish the pond

• Plant new climbing flowers on the fence of the veggie patch

• Build an underground greenhouse

• Learn to preserve and can jams and vegetables (so we don’t overfill our freezers)

• Find people with whom we can exchange produced/harvested goods

• Find out if/how to restore the old basement of the (long gone) barn

• Build a roof over the old well

• Learn how to make cuttings from our grapevine to make new shoots

• and more…
  

As you can see, it’s not a mere summer job. Some tasks we hope will hopefully be finished by Autumn 2023, others may take a few years. Of course, some are going to be prioritised, so you’ll see pretty quickly where we’re at! To join work with fun, we would also love to plan some days with friends to tackle big tasks and enjoy a good festive meal afterwards. As for the 2023 vegetables, we have planned tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes, kale, brussels sprouts, beets, onions and garlic, peas (loads of peas!), bean, green bean, squash and pumpkins, salads, and carrots. We have already more or less planned where everythings is going in the patch, and the expansion of the plot will determine how much we are sowing and planting. We would love more herbs, but that depends on how last year plants survived the winter. If it’s a clear success, we’re investing in more plants, if not, we’ll have to rethink how and where to plant them again. That’s life for you in the north when you learn by trying, and we’re ready for it.

So here we are, at the door of February. In a couple of weeks, we’ll sow 2023’s first tomato seeds. This weekend, it’s mostly checking out which trees we’re going to cut down for firewood and sorting out the seed reserve we currently have. But there’s one big 2023 resolution Morten and I have taken which has not been mentioned yet. We have vouched to write something for you, our readers, once a week. Every Friday or Saturday, we’ll be busy on the computer, either writing brand new articles or working on the website itself (a surprise is coming!).

So stay tuned!

Morten and Louise