Back in the garden after a week / 一週間ぶりの庭

Last weekend I stayed at a makerspace for three workshop days in a row, so I left the garden mostly to nature for a while.

Earlier last week, the temperatures were still quite low high around 10 degrees, but my tomato seedlings had already grown too much. I took a gamble and planted them, and I was a bit worried about them — but they survived! The tomatoes did their best 🥺

Now that we are past mid-May, which is usually considered the border for late frost here in east Germany, the weather forecast finally shows warmer days above 20°C from this week onward. Yesterday I loaded all the squash seedlings into the car and brought them to the garden, and this morning I went back on my bike to plant them.

The cardboard mulch I use for weed control and keeping moisture in the soil does not look beautiful right now, but the pumpkins and zucchinis will soon grow large enough to cover it all.

I also planted corn and beans together with the squash to try the companion planting technique known as the “Three Sisters.”

Three Sisters - Wikipedia

While weeding around the new seedlings, I also found a pleasant surprise: a Hosta that I thought had disappeared had come back 🥳 To make sure it would not get lost again, I transplanted it into the shady Hosta zone where I planted other Hostas from the plant market earlier this month. Maybe next spring I can finally harvest and eat some young Hosta shoots.

Another thing I did was move the strawberries that remind me of my mother. They had become extremely vigorous in the raised bed and were creating shade for the other plants, so I transplanted them beneath the apple tree that my mother also loved. This year seems to be a great strawberry season both on the balcony and in the garden, and I am really looking forward to the harvest.

And, this is what the whole garden currently looks like. This year I decided to document it with panorama photos.

Happy gardening!

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先週後半はメイカースペースに泊まり込みでワークショップ3連発。ということで、庭は自然にお任せしていました。

先週前半は気温がまだ低めで、でもトマトの苗がずいぶん育ってしまっていて、ギャンブルで植えてきてしまい、心配だったのですが、無事生き延びてくれていました。トマトたち、がんばった 🥺

遅霜の境と言われる5月半ばを過ぎて、天気予報でも今週からは最高気温が20度を超える暖かい日が続くようで、昨日瓜類の苗を車で庭に運んで、今日また自転車で朝から庭に行って植え付けてきました。

除草と保湿目的のダンボールマルチの見た目はあまりよくありませんが、これからかぼちゃやズッキーニが大きく育って隠してくれる予定です。

スリー・シスターズという名前で知られる、かぼちゃととうもろこしと豆を一緒に植えるコンパニオンプランティングテクニックを試すべく、とうもろこしや豆の苗も一緒に植えてきました。

苗を植えつけながら草むしりをしているとうれしい発見もあって、どこかにいってしまったかなと思っていたHostaが出てきていました。行方不明にならないように、植物市で買ってきたHostaを植えた日陰のHostaゾーンに移植しました。来年は早春にHostaを食べられるかな？

あとは、レイズドベッドに母との思い出のいちごがものすごく元気で、ちょっと他の植物に影を作りすぎていたので、母が好きだったりんごの木の下に移しました。今年はバルコニーも庭もいちごが当たり年のようで収穫が楽しみです。

庭の全景はこんな感じです。今年はパノラマ写真で記録しています。

それではみなさん、Happy Gardening!