Let's face it, winter in the north is long! From the first frost in late August or the beginning of September to the last frost in May or June, it leaves us with quite some time to dream and plan our garden and vegetable patch. Of course, some tasks can be done before May, such as firewood and sowing indoors, but as a southerner, it's really a patient game. Nevertheless, Morten and I are dreamers at heart and can't wait to start our new projects for 2024!
Among them, two main projects are: building/digging a small earth or root cellar (we will come back to that) and a sort-of-walipini greenhouse.
Next to that, we plan to double our vegetable garden, which will require plowing the ground (I know we could use a no-till method, but with the summer being so short, we'd rather get on with it as quickly as possible), moving and expanding the fence (and praying that boars won't fancy crossing or demolishing it), and starting to plant trees and bushes. Yes, trees in a vegetable garden. The last five years have shown that when the sun shines in summer, it often becomes too intense for most plants in full sunshine, and we can't use the variable rainwater we have to water the garden if we have a drought again. We have two containers containing 1000 liters each where we collect rainwater, but still, in case of a long drought, it would not be enough. So, after watching several other gardeners praise the benefits of trees for vegetables, we decided to plant several trees and tall bushes to create both height structure and shade in the new veggie patch. We plan this new veggie patch west of the existing garden, on the slope towards the road. So far, only flowers and grass grow there. For that, we would have to borrow or lend a small tractor and plow. We're not quite sure yet how we'll plan the paths and growing area, but all in good time. One thing's for sure, we will try "wild growing" this year, meaning we'll plant many vegetables close to one another and see what works. We hope to get enough veggies during the summer to feed ourselves. It's a dream, which means it's unavoidably linked with what kind of spring and summer we'll get (monsoon or drought, who knows).
This would allow us to store pumpkins, potatoes, and other root veggies, plus maybe fermented jars, jam and sirup made from fruits and berries.
As mentioned above, a root cellar is an old way of storing vegetables and food for the cold seasons. It was particularly used in Sweden as a separate room in the garden. This was also something you could find under farmhouses in both Sweden and Norway, usually as a small room under the kitchen. You'd have a small basement limb in the kitchen floor with a ladder down to the root cellar, where there would be shelves to store food and drinks. It's underground, so the temperature should be stable around 5°C. This would allow us to store pumpkins, potatoes, and other root veggies, plus maybe fermented jars, jam, and syrup made from fruits and berries. For now, with our two freezers and water pump, our basement is unfortunately too warm and humid to do so. As a starter, we only plan a small root cellar next to the garage, more as a trial. Should the experience prove positive, we'd have to consider expanding it and checking building rules. Here's an old norwegian manual on how to build your own root cellar.
The second big project is a walipini-inspired greenhouse. A walipini greenhouse is an underground greenhouse, based on a research project in the Andes Mountains. The greenhouse is dug into the ground, with only the roof above ground. In our case, due to the size of the project and the knowledge, skills, and resources it requires, it would have to be a half-underground greenhouse. The point is to be below the frost line, therefore extending the growing seasons by weeks or months. It would also create a microclimate that could endure (hopefully) huge variations in weather (from drought to over-raining) by stabilizing the temperature inside. We've had this wish for an underground greenhouse for years, and by compromising on the size and depth, we hope to make it a reality this summer. However, anyone who wants to be part of this experience is, of course, welcome. If you are curious about the Walpinig greenhouse, here's the original project: https://www.solaripedia.com/files/1257.pdf
Until next time, cheers!
Morten og Louise
