2025-08 Early Winter Preparation

This month was a lot of activity to try and close off summer projects, to develop the garden further, and to prepare for the coming winter.

Summer Crop

We got a good crop from the strawberry patch which was a relief as I’d let all the plants send runners everywhere to let them establish more plants, rather than use weed control fabric. I also hadn’t made any attempt at adding material to keep the strawberries off the ground as straw is expensive. I’d planted thyme to see if it might fill this role but it wont be covering the patch effectively for a few more years.

The dry summer has meant the vegetable patch has not done as well as previous years. Some other local people have said similar things, with some not getting any tomatoes. However, perhaps we haven’t been as focused on the vegetables this year. Sorting out an irrigation system for next year would probably make a big difference but I don’t think I can finish it in time this year.

Improving Access Paths for Maintenance

Weeding between the beds and the fence was difficult, so I laid a weeding access path behind the blueberry patch. It should become less necessary once our own plants get more established. I used paving slabs and dug out between the paving slabs to put in wood chip.

The path will get overgrown eventually but by then it should be our own creeping ground cover plants rather than weeds.

I’d been putting the path-laying task off but I ended up promising myself I’d get just one slab done each evening and once I was doing the task I ended up only stopping when my back began to ache.

We’re really happy with how this north end of the garden has turned out, and it’s about 80% complete, but there is a lot more to do next year. Examples are to improve the soil for the blueberries and strawberries and to add ground cover plants to compete with weeds along the fenceline.

I also laid the path by the greenhouse. This bit of ground gets walked on a lot and so the ground was compacted and hard and was getting worse from foot traffic. It’s was tricky laying this section as the ground is also uneven. I might need to level the turf around it somehow but that’s a task for next year. Using a small level, each concrete slab is now flat (level across itself) and using a longer builders level I made each step level to the step before. It took a few afternoons.

Adding Trees for Shelter

Strong winds blow across the garden from over the field and causes the plants to suffer in both the summer and the colder months. To combat this we’ve been adding trees. This month we planted a lilac tree at one end of the garden and a lilac tree at the other end.

The lilac tree cuttings I took last month had a high mortality rate. By the end of August there’s three cuttings with leaves remaining. Only one looks healthy. But I’ve left the other stumps in the growing medium just to see if anything happens.

The apple trees are getting more mature which is great to see. We cut a lot of the apples off the apple trees while the apples were small because we want the trees to put more energy into developing and growing.

We see trees on the property as a long-term investment and we’re almost at the end of what trees we’d like to plant. Next year we’ll probably put in another 4-8 small trees with no further tree planting after that.

Renovating the Hugelkultur – Fixing Settling

The dry summer caused two lilac saplings to die. Despite some emergency watering we discovered that underneath the ground cover they’d lost soil around the roots that we had planted on the raised “hugelkultur” earth mound.

As the earth mound has settled, voids have opened up inside the mound, maybe helped by various tunnelling animals. The watering may have accidentally made it worse. So I spent some time this month repairing the mound by filling holes with earth. I also added material to levelling the top, using a long builders level. I spent time filling in inconsistencies in the shape, and digging the edges of the base straight to match a builders string line reference.

I’m not yet happy with it but I’m hoping with a bit more work over the next year or two it can become an interesting feature.

Adding More Mid-level plants

We had some gaps around the existing blueberry patch. We planted two more american blueberry bushes in the gaps. The bushes have a bit of wind shelter from the fence and from other bushes but are also in a place where they will get plenty of sun.

Where possible I’d like to develop the garden to combine high-level trees with mid level bushes and then smaller plants.

We have a line of serviceberry trees along the west side of the property and one day we’d like to add some bushes underneath them. We’ve decided we’d like to plant lots of native blueberries underneath, but this will need to be another month or year. I’ll need to do a deal with a neighbour that has lots of forest. The native blueberries grow in massive patches in the forest and I can arrange to collect some before the forestry vehicles go into an area to minimise impact.

Finishing the Fenceline

The biggest expense this month was paying to have the final bit of Swedish wooden fence put in. I normally try to prioritise investments that reduce bills somehow, but this was a special treat for the wife that I’d saved up each month for. There was also a time pressure. A company from the large town to the north do just about all the fences of this type in the area, but they are getting older and eventually we wouldn’t be able to get this type of work done without getting someone from much further away.

Patching the Grass

Last month we removed two difficult to control bushes which had left a big hole in the lawn area. I rotavated the patches and then sieved out the worst of the stones on the surface and removed any roots and similar. Afterwards we planted grass seed but it wont be fully lawn-like until next year.

Winter Preparation

Rather than leave everything to the last moment we have started planning for winter early. This mainly involves repairing the roof, clearing up the garden, and checking the vehicles. When the cold does come the change is quite sudden compared to the UK. So preparing early is sensible. By the end of August we’ve had cold mists overnight and minor signs of frost damage on some vegetables. The headings below describe the preparation this month.

Car Inspections and Repairs

The annual inspection of the both cars was due in February next year, when driving conditions would be icy and temperatures around -20C to -30C. We decided to have both cars inspected early and so reset the due date to the middle of summer. Driving to the test centre is possible in any conditions but there’s a lot less risk in summer.

The little red car failed on headlight alignment and some wear in the steering which was fixed by the local mechanic. Although not an inspection failure, the air conditioning motor had also failed which is a little expensive to fix and wont be done until next month due to parts sourcing.

We took it back for re-inspection and it passed fine but there is some other non-urgent work outstanding on the car. The larger car we use for transporting things passed with no warnings this year.

Roof Repairs

We asked a contractor to fix a broken gutter, which is important because the autumn rainy period is about to come. Next month we’ll pay them to fix a snow shield on part of the roof where snow falls off and hits the gutter, which should reduce damage. When the snow drops off it can weigh a couple of hundreds of kilos and if it hits something it’s going to bend things. I cant pay for it to all happen in one month however.

I also got them to remove the old access ladder from the roof. The old ladder was loose and heavy rain sometimes gets in via the mounting holes in the metal roof. Roof access is now via a modern roof access system which we are required to have by law for the chimney so the older ladder was redundant. The roof access is because the chimney sweeps and inspector need access. In the UK the sweeps work from inside the house but here they pull the cleaning device up from on the roof.

There is a bird table next to the access ladder which got removed for the gravel laying. I rebuilt it and reinforced it. It should survive the winter windstorms. I made sure it’s vertical and also the right height to be visible out the kitchen window.

Stream Safety Work

Every year, the grassy path sloping down to the stream becomes a dangerous ice-sheet as the surface melts in the sunlight and then refreezes. I’ve started trying to fix this by digging out the ground to lay drainage and a new surface. As it is a steep slope with water action, I need to take care with the drainage that I don’t accidentally create an erosion issue.

I’m thinking gravel with wooden simple steps for now. I’d also like to add some wooden hand rails to hold onto during winter as it’s always a pretty tricky slope during winter icy conditions.

Digging this path I encountered what must have been an old bonfire site. There was lots of broken glass, nails, and metal items like doorhandles in the ground. I ran a big magnet over some of the soil I dug out because I wanted to get as much out as I could rather than move the problem around the garden. In the end I pulled out about half a buckets worth of metal.

Car Winter Adaption

The small red car we got in April isn’t yet fully adapted to survive being parked outside during winter. I’ve budgeted next month to have a engine block heater installed which will be the major fix. Outwardly it consists of a small plug in the front of the car that connects to a special outlet in long term car parks. A small pad or metal insert then feeds about 400 watts of heat into the engine block to prevent the engine freezing. With this heater the car can be parked at train stations, airports, and similar in -20c weather if we have to, without problems starting. The worst case would be the engine block freezing and cracking although antifreeze should prevent that.

Some cars also add an interior AC socket and use a small cabin heater. I prefer the car cabin to be cold so that you’re not removing as many winter clothing layers. Sometimes there will also be a battery warmer.

House Heating System

I’ve asked the plumber to come and move the heating system unit in the basement. This needs doing before the heating season as which we wont be able to moving the heating system once it is in use to heat the house. Summertime is when everyone goes away on holiday however, so it has been tricky getting a date for the work. Because of the problems getting this arranged, it looks like this will be next month instead.

Once moved this allows me to lay a new concrete floor in the old heating room and then I can get other work done to finish the room.

I’ve did some work in advance preparing the area for the plumber.

Other Preparation

I removed the snow barrier on the roof of the garage because it stops the snow clearing off the solar panels. I’ll instead put a small roof above the doorway but that will be a project for another month, and I can do it during the initial winter months before the snow comes.

I also collected a lot of materials from various projects from around the garden and found homes for them. Otherwise they’ll end up being obstacles under the snow.

Clearing out the garage to fit things in over winter is important. We took some things we no longer used to a local loppis (like a second hand shop).

Under the balcony I removed the remains for a 1980s satellite dish mount. I inspected the balcony underside which I think is built in a way that would benefit from having some joist hangers added. During winter the balcony will have a weight of snow sat on it, although I do clear it with a shovel when it gets especially deep.

Mindfulness

Despite everything it feels like we’re not getting enough progress made. It sometimes feels tricky to balance work, the property development, staying in contact with the UK, local socialising, improving our Swedish, and making time to enjoy the moment. I also need to be mindful of the impact of switching from doing lots of progress outside to suddenly being stuck in the house from October to December. It’s the darkest period with little snow and for my job has the busiest work-load of the year with associated stresses. I’ve discussed with work and I’m going to take some time off in those months to do other things and get me out of the house.

Going Out

It feels like it has been a lot of work but we did get the chance to go out and about a little to the larger towns to the north and south. There aren’t a lot of pubs around but there are coffee shops and tourist locations.

There was also the annual car meeting in the village which involves lots of classic American cars on display and driving round, although it doesn’t tend to finish until 3am.

A local person made the following YouTube video about the weekend. It’s in Swedish you’ll get the general idea: