Sheet mulching and mulching

I've begun sheet mulching again at the allotment.  Truly, I should have been doing it all winter, as my beds emptied.  But you know:  rain, dark, cold, etc.  I didn't.  Technically it's still all of the above, except possibly a little less dark;  however, I've begun at last.  

Actually, I'm experimenting with some wood chips for mulch this year.  The site has always had stables with a manure pile, my go to for mulch (soiled straw);  this has a tendency to sprout new weeds and harbor bugs and slugs.  I anticipate there will be no weed seed hiding in the wood chips, though I can't speak for the pests--possibly woodlice may be a problem.  Still, I'm trying it with the new (and hopefully continuing) supply of wood chips next to the manure pile.  Many people at the allotments have been using the wood chips for their paths.  If I see my next door neighbor there, I may ask her what she thinks about them on the path between us, too.

I don't really mulch at home in the kitchen garden, though every year I dig out some extra good compost from the chicken yard to spread on one bed, in rotation.  I also divvy out the less composted first layer to my fruit trees, as a top dressing.  Though before I start, I need to tidy up the beds:  weeding, clearing spent plants, and so on.  I already let the ducks have a week of slug hunting, but have locked them out again as they trampled a few of my emerging spring bulbs.  I may let them and the chickens in briefly once those flowers are done--if there's time;  I may start planting the beds first.

Let's start

I'm back in seed sowing mode, a small beginning to a very big job.  Here's where my whole food producing engine starts.  I think I was sowing seeds until around August last year, both in trays/pots and directly in the ground.  Because of all that work, I've had fresh veg for the whole year, even now in February (just picked the last pak choi and white radishes, and no end in sight for the leeks).

This past week I've sown two trays:  chili seeds in one and onion and plum tomato in the other--both wrapped in a plastic bag to act as a little green house, sitting on my kitchen window.  I had to move my spider plants to the north facing living room window with my aloes, as vegetables get priority over houseplants;  facing south, the kitchen gets the maximum of sun of anywhere in the house.

The plum tomatoes came from seed I saved, from a lineage I've been saving for a few years now.  I hope to get about 25 plants.  To save on space they're broadcast into half a tray with the onion seeds.  I sowed some of the same onion seed back in August, which are still growing in containers at the allotment (though I think slugs may have eaten a few).  I may grow the rest of them in the ground in the kitchen garden;  I'm out of containers and when I grew them in the ground at the allotment they didn't amount to much.  I've not had a lot of success growing chili and other hot climate plants from seed but giving it another go.  

And finally I sowed my broad beans at the allotment last week in a sleet shower--I got very wet and muddy.  It didn't matter though:  I had pre-sprouted them at home and needed to get them in the ground before they went bad, whatever the weather.  Luckily I had prepared the rows already, so when I got there it was just a case of placing the seeds, covering them back with soil, and then mulching with some wood chips on top to prevent weeds germinating on top.  I also covered the whole bed with some insect mesh, as a bird/mouse deterrent;  I'll take it off when the plants are a few inches tall.

Gratuitous chicken photo:  Rock's head, Speckly's bottom, Feb 2026

Preserves!

It's the time of year when there is very little fresh, but we are behaving as though we are still in the Vegetable Challenge (only eating what we have, not buying veg).  Currently fresh:  leeks, a little chard and pak choi (both will soon be gone), herbs.  This means most of our five a day comes from preserved veg.  So what's on the menu?

Dried veg  

A lot of my dried veg came from 2024 to early 2025, though I did dry a few jars worth of zuc and toms during the Challenge.  Carrots, parsnips, swede (all bought on special);  also some squash chunks and cabbage greens from the 2025 harvest.  There are still a lot of jars but I am using the oldest ones up gradually in stews/casseroles/etc a couple times a week.  

Stored veg

It's only squash and chilis left in the dry store;  I have six or so squashes left (most of them pretty big) and a chili plant still alive on my kitchen window.  The plant is only barely alive;  its compatriot already bit the dust and those chilis are in a little basket on my counter.  However, I expect them and the squashes to last a good while longer (even if the plant dies).

Frozen veg

My freezer was jam packed at the end of summer but there's a lot more room now.  Still remaining:  half a bag of broad beans, three months worth (I hope) of minced garlic, and three or four large bags of toms.  I'm still adding squash puree once in a while, as we cook our squashes--we can eat the smaller ones quickly enough but we have to freeze some of the excess from the big ones.

Pickled veg

I made two kinds of vinegar pickles in 2025:  cucumber and beetroot.  I still have a large jar of refrigerator cucumbers and several smaller jars of sealed beetroot in the cupboard.  We've eaten about half of these preserves so far.

Fermented veg

Now this may be my biggest form of preservation, or closely behind the dehydrated veg.  I made loads and we've eaten loads--and we still have loads.  My personal favorite is kimchi of course, and I've been making it regularly throughout last year.  

I also made a rather large batch of what I labeled "mixed veg salsa" as an end of season catch-all;  the major ingredient was green tomatoes but I also had cauliflower, leeks, zuc, green beans, fennel...I can't actually remember everything I put in it!  Whatever it was, I whizzed it all up in the food processor and added a few chilis so not too spicy.

I experimented with a mustard/turmeric mixed veg, aka chow chow, but I think it's a little too overpowering.  It's sour and mustardy, and we do like it, but it's more of a condiment:  use sparingly.  I might make a small batch next time, not a big one like last year.

The last main category of fermented veg was sauerkraut, in all its glory.  I made it with cabbage, I made it with shredded kohlrabi, I made it with turnip mixed with beetroot.  It all turned out so good.  I think the turnip/beetroot combination is the best and I managed to make several liters of it.  

All this fermented veg has lived happily in my cupboard until needed; once I open a jar I put it in the fridge, but unopened it seems to seal itself quite nicely--none of it has spoiled yet. 

Fruit

Ok, not veg, and not part of the Challenge, but I do have some frozen berries and cherries, and some dried figs and apples.  Also some jars of apples, plums and one of blackcurrant jam.  And a couple jugs of homemade currant wine.  Nowhere near the amount of fruit in my stores as veg--just enough for an occasional treat.