Gardening at Home

Spring has sprung and the sun is shining quite consistently, not always a regular occurrence across the island of Ireland. This comes at a time when we are urged to stay at home to slow the spread of coronavirus and when we are out, we must stay two metres (six feet) away from other people and wash our hands as soon as we get home.

If you are one of the avid-gardeners who tended to your garden in October, by now the view from your window is filled with colourful daffodils, tulips and cherry blossoms in full bloom. If not, it can be soon.

Now might seem to be an unorthodox time to begin gardening with many non-essential stores closed. However, with excess time to fill, it is the perfect occasion to discover that undiscovered corner of your garden or brighten up the window sill of your apartment.

Here are some tips for things you can do during the current climate to brighten your indoor environment and maintain an outdoor space.

Prep and prune

You’re in your own garden, gloves are on and you are ready to get dirty - but where to start?

If you are peering into a sea of weeds and overgrown hedges, begin by assessing the current condition of your garden and break it down into small tasks.  

For example, if you have daffodils, now is the time to remove the dead flower off the top of your daffodil steam. Don’t cut your daffodils until the green leaf’s are fully died back. Diarmuid Gavin says that now is the time to divide daffodils which are congested and not flowering. To do this, dig up the daffodil stakes, take apart the bulbs and replant them. One job done!

You can also make planter pots out of any pieces of woods you have to spare and make raised beds.

Pick easy to grow vegetable scraps

Traditionally known as a staple of the Irish diet, potatoes are extremely simple to grow almost anywhere and with very little space. Turn couch potatoes into real potatoes and check out this easy step by step guide to growing your own potatoes.

For the sustainable gardener

The rush for toilet paper as Covid-19 approached may result in an excess number of empty rolls in the coming weeks, but panic not, these are a great source of material for making your own seed starting pots. You can also substitute toilet rolls for egg cartons, while the egg shells can be crushed to make a great soil.

Flash back to primary school and imagine the first inch of a new plant popping through the top of your yogurt pot by the classroom window. Yogurt pots are another every day household item we can use to sow those seeds you bought previously but never got around to sowing due to time restraints and prior commitments.

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