With our greenhouse built and named it was time for the hard work to begin. Covering the tree trunks and branches in the raised beds. But first to organise a delivery of soil (or , as it’s colloquially known in Belize, black dirt ).
I did what I always do when we are purchasing something that will run into hundreds of dollars. I contacted the suppliers to get prices . And then see how much I can get them to lower their price by. It’s rewarding. Not just because of how much you save but also because you achieved something.
Now those of you that are regular readers will know that I do have a penchant for a little bit of Googling. Well, I let my Google addiction run riot and found a soil calculator . I knew that the outputs would not be exactly right – obviously the varying sizes of gaps between tree trunks and branches – but it would give me a reasonable indication. So, based on this I ordered a first delivery of 8 cubic yards from Caribbean Depot who barged it over from the mainland.
Shovelful after shovelful. Bucket after bucket the first bed started to fill. And with every shovelful of soil into a bucket ,carrying it and then emptying it into the beds was making me stronger. Very tired. But stronger.
And then I moved onto the second of the smaller beds. I must add though that the bed filling took place over days. It’s quite tiring work you know.
With this bed Rose, the Head Gardener, and I , the general labourer (laborer for you non -UK people out there ) decided that we would conduct some tests. Do you remember the Bokashi bin I told you about some editions ago ? No ?
We decided that we would bury the contents of the Bokashi bin at either end of the bed between layers of soil and the middle section would just be soil with some potting mix. So I emptied the contents of the bin.
Knowing that we were going to have a greenhouse built we had bought four tomato seedlings that I saw advertised on Facebook by GreenGo Organic Management which the Head Gardener looked after .
And Charles (he’s a keen gardener), the famous Grill Master at Estel’s Dine By the Sea , very kindly gave us a zucchini.
A component of our planning for the greenhouse had included an order of numerous packets of seeds which the Head Gardener opened with glee.
And planted them in potting mix and took them to their new ‘home’ , Q Gardens.
Oh, remember the four tomato seedlings ? Yes? Good.
The headline for this edition is based upon the single released in 2007 by Kanye West which reached number 1 on both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100.
By the way , potting soil isnt for seeds , im just going thro planting cuttings, seedlings and seeds . You need special stuff and often need to soak the seeds over night, hope im not telling you stuff you already know, good luck , your going to be opening a market stall soon, just make sure all ya stuff doesnt come up together , i had 300 lettuces in Bournemouth my first yr !!!
Hi Robert. All of the seeds have been started off with potting mix. And when we move them to the beds they are again planted with potting mix. This first six months will be a period of experimentation. Rose us recording everything though . And, yes, we are staggering planting of seeds. Again, there’s an element of experimentation here. So far we have ; 3 types of tomato, cauliflower,cabbage, beetroot,lettuce,cabbage,onions,zucchini,cilantro,parsley,basil,beans,peas,broccoli,eggplant,leek,Brussel sprouts ,carrots and leek. Plus a few flowers.
Sounds great, wishing you the best of luck and trust in Roses green fingers