Heyo from Aron!

[Aron Hans]

Hello! I have been gardening every year for the last 5 years, still feel like there is so much to learn.
I live in Norway in the hardiness zone equivilant to USDA 6a, and our pre-season (so to speak) is about to begin. Very excited to see how far I can take my garden this year.
This Christmas we ate our own homegrown potatoes with the main dinner, and next time I want to have more from my garden on the table!

 

[DiggersJo]

Love the enthusiasm, you are right to be excited as I'm sure you now know there is nothing like growing your own produce whether it be a small or large amount. Good luck!

 

[Meadowlark]

Welcome @Aron Hans. Growing your own potatoes is very rewarding and often encourages one to want to grow more veggies for the table. Good for you!

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Welcome to the forum, what do you have in the way of land? A greenhouse? Very useful thing in that sort of zone.

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

Tell us more, what do you plan to grow? What are traditional garden crops in Norway

 

[Sheal]

Welcome Aron. I'll also look forward to hearing about your choice of plants and what will and won't grow in your climate.

Norway is a beautiful country and I had the pleasure of a three week drive from Bergen to Tromso many years ago, returning to Bergen by ferry and taking in the Lofoten Islands. A journey that will remain with me always.

 

[oneeye]

Hello and welcome, friend.

 

[Aron Hans]

Welcome to the forum, what do you have in the way of land? A greenhouse? Very useful thing in that sort of zone.

Thank you! I have one are about 230 square meters with about 10 raised beds, then a greenhouse me and my father built in 2024 that's about 23 square meters, and an experimental soil-building plot that I think is about 50 square meters. We have more land we can use, but I think what we have been using is enough at the moment. Ultimately I'd want to grow enough to sell at local markets...maybe I start that this year.
And yeah, the greenhouse is very useful, adds at least 4 weeks if not 8 to the growing season

 

[Aron Hans]

Tell us more, what do you plan to grow? What are traditional garden crops in Norway

So...my current list is: Potatoes, Onions (red and yellow), Carrots, Garlic, Beets, Tomatoes, Peas, Iceberg salat, Chinese Cabbage, Paprika, Corn, Leeks, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Melons, Cucumbers, and Grapes.
Some of these will be in the field that is some distance from the house, things like the potatoes, leeks, carrots, onions. As they can just sit there and be fine for the most part.
The cabbages, brassicas, salads, things that might need monitoring for pests will be in the raised beds perhaps with a shade tarp over them.
The Grapes, Corn, Cucumbers, Melons, and Paprika will be in the greenhouse. We set up a hydroponic system last year, we might still do that this year too.
I'd say most of these are common in Norwegian Garden, but I haven't really visited other gardens so I am not sure.
Oh, and also love to have flowers in the garden, and this year I want to lean into some herbs, like Rosemary. I love companion planting, so I'll look for any opportunity for that!

 

[Aron Hans]

Welcome Aron. I'll also look forward to hearing about your choice of plants and what will and won't grow in your climate.

Norway is a beautiful country and I had the pleasure of a three week drive from Bergen to Tromso many years ago, returning to Bergen by ferry and taking in the Lofoten Islands. A journey that will remain with me always.

It really is, I am from Iceland and I can tell ya that the nature in both Iceland and Norway can be stunning! Norway is a lot better for food growing though hehe.
I haven't been farther north than Trondheim, but a three week trip to the North sounds amazing!

 

[Meadowlark]

...I'd say most of these are common in Norwegian Garden, but I haven't really visited other gardens so I am not sure.

I grow everything on your list except "Iceberg salat" which as I understand is a "dish" made from iceberg lettuce?

Curious to note the absence of beans on your list.

 

[Meadowlark]

..and an experimental soil-building plot that I think is about 50 square meters.

I would be interested in how you use that plot...if you are inclined to elaborate.

I'm constantly experimenting with natural soil building techniques.

 

[Aron Hans]

I grow everything on your list except "Iceberg salat" which as I understand is a "dish" made from iceberg lettuce?

Curious to note the absence of beans on your list.

Yeah, that's what I meant, Iceberg lettuce hehe
I haven't really gotten around to beans, done snow peas (i think they are called that), but I try to have nitrogen fixers. We do have a lot of wild Alfalfa and clovers around the area here.
And about the plot... we scraped off the grass last year and mixed some composted cow manure. Then we took some coals from the fireplaces as well as ash and spread it over the plot. We then planted three types of potatoes in half of the area, and mixed together a few types of onions with a few types of carrots on the other half of the plot.
Then, after harvest, we were doing some renovation on the oldest part of the house (built about 100 years ago) and from the walls we got probably a few hundred liters of fine sawdust (used as cheap insolation back in the day. There has been a lumberyard/lumber industry in the near area for at least those 100 years). I researched a little and found out such an old lumber would most likely be safe in the garden, did a oil test (putting a few spoons of sawdust into a jar along with water, shook it well and let it sit for a few hours to see how the water would become) and the test gave no red flags, at least not to me. So, we used a good deal of that sawdust to sprinkle over the garden, layered with compost and more charcoals.
All done to feed the microbes for the winter.
Then, by early winter, later autumn, I managed to get some Winter Rye seeds (or autumn rye maybe), and I sowed those over the plot. I had to rake the top layer of compost and sawdust to the side to make sure the seeds could germinate, then I covered them again and by freezing we had some good growth on the rye. The point with the autumn rue was to give the microbes something to do after the harvest and then by spring I will chop it up into Green Manure and let it feed the soil even more.
At the time I was reading a Norwegian book about soil and fertilizer, and I think that's what got me inspired to look at the year in terms of phases (Autumn = Soil Building, Winter = Rest and decomposition, Spring = Activating the Soil, Summer = Growing Season). That Really made me realize that gardening is not just 4 months out of the year, but a year round process that we can support with just a little planning

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Welcome.