In the last week, the spring flowers have fully bloomed. Narcissus, Tulips, Hyacinths and many others took off at the first warm rays of spring.
The meadow was covered with dozens of golden dandelion flowers, which soon turned into bulbs. I picked some flowers for tea and “honey”.
"Dandelion honey" is made of flowers: remove the flowers from the green part and load them into a jar, a layer of sugar and a layer of flowers until you fill the jar. Leave the jar in a sunny place for a month, then strain if desired.
I also found young nettles. I like to prepare it as spinach or in soup.
Nettle tea is cleansing and can be drunk all year round. I will also soon prepare nettle tincture, when I gather more of it.
Yesterday, however, we were "surprised" by the snow. Thousands of blooming flowers got covered by a thick layer of snow.
The temperature dropped to -10⁰C. I feel sad for the trees that already started blooming. Apparently the earth needs a little more napping.
Luckily, only winter vegetables is planted in my outdoor garden; onions, garlic, winter lettuce, leeks, beetroot, peas and perennials, which are resistant to cold. I only covered them with a garden blanket.
I arranged indoor gardens in two rooms. Currently, my biggest problem, as every year, is the lack of space.
I’m also slowly running out of planting pots, so I’m planting the plants in just anything that looks like a pot.
In the last two weeks I replanted lots of tomatoes. This year I will be growing five different types of tomatoes:
- Oxheart tomato, which is my favorite variety of tomato, really tasty, useful in salads as well as in sauces.
- Yellow tomato, which is the richest in nutritions.
- A type of tomato that grows in bunches, which offers a great harvest.
- Cherry tomato, which is excellent is really weather and drought resistant.
- Marmande, which tastes kind of sweet and also yields a great crop.
- A special type of black tomato that I am growing for the first time this year.
Last month I planted several varieties of paprikas, pepperonis and chillies:
- Kurt's Gate, a type of red paprika having large fruits, with a pointed tip. It is very useful for barbecue, sauces, salads or as a spice. I plant many of them as I use it to make Ajvar or I can preserve it in different ways, for example traditional grilled peppers in garlic, parsley and oil.
- The Elephant's Ears, is a type of paprika with a large sweet tasting fruit with colors that usually blend from yellow to orange and red. I love to use it for making filled paprika, as this type is kind of nice for cooking. I also make lots of pickled paprika out of it.
- Bell peppers, I love them most fresh in salads.
- A type of mini paprikas, that I grow every year, but I don't know its name. A huge number of fruits appear on one plant, but they do not grow more than 15 centimeters. The fruits are yellow in color and have a sharp taste. I love to use them in stir fry dishes and in adding it to the salads as well.
- I grow two types of pepperonis, but I don't know its name. One type grows large fruits and they are less sharp, the other grows smaller fruits and they get sharper. I love to pickle them or use them in sandwiches, pizza and other dishes.
- I grow a few types of chillies, Tabasco types, Cayenne, Jalapenos and this year for the first time Chocolate Habanero as well.
Plants like tomatoes and paprika are not resistant to cold as they come from a warm climate. I will be able to replant them to the outside garden when I will be sure that the temperature won't drop under 0⁰C anymore, that would be for me in the middle of May. At that time I will be as well planting most of the vegetables, herbs and flowers in my garden.
I planted a lot of plants of the Brassica family:
- Varaždin cabbage,
- Ljubljana cabbage,
- red cabbage Paleta,
- kale,
- cauliflower,
- broccoli and this year for the first time broccoli Romanesco.
Plants from the brassica family are more resistant to cold, young seedlings are safely transplanted to the outdoor garden when temperatures rise above 5⁰C. Because I was following the weather forecast, I moved the plants to safety before the temperature dropped and the snow came to visit again.
I will plant most of the herbs in the ground when the weather warms up, but I have already planted some herbs in pots:
- parsley,
- celery,
- marjoram,
- oregano,
- basil,
- chamomile,
- wormwood.
I also planted some flowers in pots that I will replant in the garden when it warms up:
- Zinnias,
- Marvel-of-Peru,
- Cosmos flowers.
