Hvordan bygge en kjøkkenhage / How to build a kitchen garden

Jeg er så veldig fornøyd med kjøkkenhagekassene mine, alt blir enklere og mindre energikrevende. Med høye kanter kan verken gress eller andre planter krype over kanten og inn i kjøkkenhagen. I tillegg så gjør det at man kommer forbi et eventuelt problem med dårlig jord i hagen. I en kasse fyller man jo opp den jorda man selv vil. Jeg har hatt tre kasser så langt, og i år så bygde samboeren min en til. Siden jeg har prøvd ut å dyrke i slike kasser i til sammen 4 år, og er så fornøyd, tenkte jeg at jeg kunne jo fortelle litt om hvordan han har gjort det, i tilfelle andre vil prøve på det samme.

I’m so pleased with my kitchen garden boxes. They make it much simpler and less energy consuming to grow herbs and vegetables. With the high edges, no weeds can invade the kitchen garden. In addition, if the soil in your garden is not suitable for growing herbs or vegetables, you get pass that problem since you fill the box yourself. I’ve had 3 boxes so far, and this year my partner built another. Since I’m so content with the boxes, I thought I would tell you something about building them.



Han har brukt trykkimpregnerte terrassebord (21 x 0,95, tilsammen 19,20 m), terrasseskruer som ikke ruster (selvborrende skruer fordi da slipper man å borre hull, og plankene sprekker ikke i enden, tilsammen 84 stk) og stolper/impregnert lekt (36 x 0,48, tilsammen 5 m) som er kuttet i 50 cm lange lengder og spisset i enden med øks. Byggevarebutikken kan kappe lengdene ferdig. Det koster litt ekstra, men så slipper man arbeidet, restene og de er lettere å få med seg hjem.
Når det gjelder størrelsen på selve kassen så er denne 2 m lang, 1,20 m bred, og 30 cm dyp. Bredden på kassen er slik at jeg kan nå inn til midten av kassen uten å måtte tråkke oppi den. (Jeg har forresten lovet å skrive at det slett ikke betyr noe om kassene er litt skjeve :-)
Jeg har hatt kasser med denne dimensjonen i 4 år, og vet derfor at med tre terrassebord i høyden, gir det en kasse som er dyp nok for plantene. Det er satt en stolpe i hvert hjørne, samt en på utsiden på kortsiden, og to på utsiden av langsiden. Det holder terrassebordene pent på plass. Stolpene er dyppet i Tjæralin, og undersiden av planken som ligger mot bakken, har også fått et strøk Tjæralin. Dersom noen har spørsmål om selve byggingen, så gi beskjed om det i kommentarfeltet, så vil nærmere beskrivelse bli gitt.

When it comes to the dimension of the box, it is 2 m long, 1,20 m wide and 30 cm deep. The width is dimensioned so that I can reach into the middle of the box without having to enter into it. I’ve had boxes with this depth for 4 years, and know that it is deep enough for the plants. There’s a stake in each corner, and one on the outside on the short sides, and two on the outside of the long sides, to keep the boards in place. The stakes are dipped in a solution containing tar, and so is the underside of the lowest board, to prevent the wood from rotting.



Disse kassene er satt rett på plenen, da det blir mindre arbeid. Det som vokser i plenen kan lett vokse gjennom jordlaget og opp, og da har man et problem. Det er veldig vanskelig å bli kvitt noe som vokser så dypt. For å komme forbi dette problemet, blir plenen dekket med et lag aviser før jorda fylles i kassen. Etter hvert komposteres avisene og blir borte, men da har plantene i plenen allerede ”tatt kvelden”.

These boxes are placed directly onto the lawn because it is easier this way. The plants that grow in the lawn might penetrate through the soil on the top, and then you’ve got a problem. It’s difficult to get rid of weeds that grow deep. To avoid this problem, the lawn is covered with a layer of newspapers before the box is filled with compost. The newspapers will decompose eventually, but not until the plants underneath are dead.



Så er det bare å plante i vei av hjertens lyst. Det som er kjekt med flere kasser, i tillegg til at man kan dyrke mer, er at man kan rotere avlingene fra kasse til kasse, fra år til år. Det er med på å hindre sykdom, samt at ulike planter utnytter ulike deler at næringen i kassene.

The advantage of having more than one box is that in addition to be able to grow more, you can rotate the crop from box to box each year. That prevents diseases form building up in the soil. Different plants use different parts of the nutrition in the soil as well.



Gressløk, luftløk/etasjeløk, oregano og salvie stilte villig opp til fotografering for å hjelpe meg å bevise at etter 4 år stortrives de fremdeles med å leve i
kasse :-)

Chives, sage, oregano and Egyptian onion/ Tree onion (Allium cepa var. proliferum) volunteered to be photographed in order to help me prove that after 4 years, they still like living in a box :-)

Dragehode / Northern Dragonhead

I forrige uke var jeg en tur i Botanisk hage i Oslo. Der så jeg omtalt noen planter som jeg vet vokser her hvor jeg bor. På tross av at jeg har bodd her i mange år, har jeg aldri funnet dem. Hvilket tilsier at jeg antagelig ikke ser meg like godt om hele tida. Men med besøket i Botanisk hage i friskt minne, oppdaget jeg plutselig plantene i dag, og ble egentlig kjempeglad over å endelig få sett dem i levende live. Berggrunnen her er veldig spesiell i den forstand at jorda er svært kalkholdig (lyseblått felt på Oslokartet), den er tørr og næringsfattig, noe som gir store utfordringer på hagefronten. Men så blir vi desto lykkeligere når vi finner planter som trives. Da jeg fikk øye på Dragehodene i dag, kunne jeg skjønne hvorfor den har fått navnet sitt. Er den ikke flott?


Last week, I visited the Botanical garden in Oslo. I read a bit about some flowers that grow where I live. Despite living in the same place for several years, I’ve never seen some of these flowers. I’ve probably not paid enough attention. But with the visit to the Botanical garden in the back of my head, I suddenly discovered the flowers today, and I was really pleased to finally see them. The ground where I live is kind of special for this area, in the sense that it is made of limestone (light blue area on the map). The soil is very dry and with little nutrients, which in turn gives us some challenges when it comes to gardening. Every time we find a plant that thrives we’re happy. When I saw the Northern Dragonheads today, I could understand why this plant got its name. Isn’t it beautiful?


I Hemmelig venn for mai på Hobbyboden fikk jeg en flott pakke med to nøster med Quartette, 80% merino ull og 20% cashmere. Det er så deilig og mykt, og fargene er kjempefine. I tillegg fikk jeg te, drops og fine knapper. Tusen takk @lva :-)

Secret pal, May: I got a great parcel with two balls of Quartette, 80% merino wool and 20% cashmere. It is so wonderfully soft, and I think the colours are beautiful. In addition, I got tea, candy and some cute buttons. Thank you @lva :-)

Tag: 7 (not so) random facts about me

I've been tagged by Mary. Here are the rules: Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those who are tagged need to write on their own blog those 7 facts as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven other people and list their names on your blog. Then you leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

OK, my facts are not very random (but it is my blog after all :-)

1. I got myself an education. I worked hard and enjoyed it. Life was hectic, exciting, stressful, and interesting (although I didn’t knit). This is what life used to be:



2. August 31st, 2001, this happened:


I would like to encourage all readers of this blog to concentrate (don’t knit!) when driving a car. Being hit from behind by a car driving in 43.5 mph/ 70 km/t is so incredibly unpleasant.

This was the result:




3. I felt like this for 1,5 years:


That is, until I got an interest in gardening, then I started feeling like this:


Due to a lot of help and support from family and friends, I was fortunate enough to also feel like this:


The three pictures above show how it feels to live with ME/CFS (at least from my point of view). Although at that point in time, nobody knew what was wrong with me. I could only state the facts: All energy seemed to be drained out of my body, and in addition, there was a long, long list of other symptoms. I was barely able to leave the house at all, and got sicker and sicker every time I did.


4. After about 18 months, I got this message:


Great news! At that point I had tried all sorts of hobbies, all of them just making me even more exhausted. When getting the great news, I suddenly remembered that I used to knit when I was a teenager. OK, one more thing to try, maybe it wouldn’t be to energy consuming to knit? It was energy consuming, and it took me 7 months to knit a small jacket, a dress, babysocks and a hat for my little niece. But it was less energy consuming than all the other hobbies I had tried, so I continued. And continued, and continued, and still continues (Thank you, little sister!)


5. Then I got more great news in 2003. After two years of wandering in a desert of a health care system, a doctor finally took interest in my “case”. He sent me to another doctor, who finally diagnosed me. Getting a ME/CFS diagnose is not something to wish for, but it’s better than being undiagnosed. In addition, this doctor enrolled me as a “guinea pig” in a scientific project, using experimental medication. These happenings made me feel like this:


I had started the road to recovery. Recovery is slow. Very, very slow. Oh my God it is slow. But slowly getting better, is better than not getting better at all.
(The scientific project does no longer exist due to lack of funding.)

My partner helps me a lot. He bought me a green house. Every spring he goes out, digs and carries compost, and makes me a blank canvas to work on:


Thank you!!!!


6. So I got a new life. I didn’t want it, but you can’t appeal to life. Life does as it pleases. My new life is not a hectic one. ME/CFS patients are unable to tolerate much stress. So out of an old hectic life, grew a new and very peaceful one:




7. It is now 5 years, 8 months, and 28 days since the car accident, and now I feel like this most of the time:



I hope to feel like this (at least once in a while):



Before I reach this stage:



If I ever get well enough, I plan on turning into some kind of anti-stress-guru. I will publish books with titles like these:

“How to relax while finding 55 ways to photograph a Dandelion”

“How to relax while your partner does all the digging in the garden”

“How to relax while knitting a scarf”

“How to relax while crocheting a hat”

“How to relax while blogging”

And if I still got any energy left after that, I’ll start a knitting factory ;-)

You would do me, and all the other thousands of ME/CFS patients, a great favor if you spend a few minutes on educating yourself on what ME/CFS is. There is a severe lack of knowledge, both among medical personnel and laypersons. Having an invisible and unknown illness makes life so much harder for all of us. Every time I meet someone who says they’ve heard about ME/CFS, it makes me so incredibly happy. It somehow makes me feel that I don’t have to fight so hard to get them to believe me.

This is the only post where I’ll write about this. I have defined this blog to be a corner of my life where illness is not allowed in. I guess this post is just the exception to the rule :-)

Links concerning ME/CFS:

YouTube: CFS 2006 awareness Campaign CDC (7,33 minutes long)

YouTube: Sleepydust - About M.E. / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (9,16 minutes long)

Informasjon på norsk (Information in Norwegian)

I’m not tagging anyone, but feel free to list 7 random facts about yourself if you wish to do so :-)

Bomullsteppe / Cotton blanket

Da jeg var ferdig med Bølgeteppet, var jeg egentlig ganske overrasket over at jeg hadde lagd noe som var så stort, i motsetning til pulsvarmere for eksempel. Gigantomanien tok meg visst et øyeblikk, og derfor har jeg begått et teppe til. Striper istedenfor bølger denne gangen. Vi har en gammel stol som er riktig stygg. Vi klarer likevel ikke å kaste den ut fordi den er så innmari god å sitte i. Planen er egentlig å trekke den om, men noen planer tar lengre tid enn andre. I mellomtiden har jeg heklet et teppe i et forsøk på å gjøre den litt penere. Jeg har heklet doble rader med stavmasker. Jeg har brukt bomullsgarnet Paris fra Garnstudio, og heklet med dobbelt garn på heklenål nr. 8. Jeg skjønte ganske raskt at jeg egentlig ikke har noen erfaring med bomull, for jeg fikk meg en overraskelse når jeg skjønte hvor tungt bomull er. Dette teppet er kjempetungt. Så hvis hensikten var å sitte under det, så ville jeg nok ende opp med å føle seg ganske nedtynget. Siden dette teppet er til å sitte oppå, er det i grunnen perfekt, fordi jeg tenker at tyngden er med på å holde teppet på plass i stolen. Så på tross av min manglende bomullskunnskap så hadde jeg egentlig kjempeflaks :-)

Jeg er jo ikke den eneste som hekler tepper for tiden. Det går jo bokstavelig talt en bølge av Bølgetepper rundt omkring, sammen med mange tepper i Bestemorruter. Babette teppet er det mange som er i gang med (også jeg, men det er et langtidsprosjekt litt på siden av andre ting). Bea har laget, og er i gang med, ikke mindre enn tre tepper, og de finner du her, og her, og her.




When I had finished my Ripple, I was very surprised by the fact that I had made something that big, as opposed to for instance wrist warmers. Some kind of gigantomania caught hold of me for a little while, so I’ve made another blanket. I’ve made stripes instead of ripples this time. We’ve got an old armchair that is really ugly. However, we’re not able to throw it out, because it is so incredibly comfortable. The plan is get it refurbished, but some plans take more time than other plans. Meanwhile, I’ve crocheted a blanket in an attempt to make the armchair look a little better. I’ve crocheted double rows of double crochet stitches. I’ve used cotton, Paris from Garnstudio, and crocheted with double thread on crochet hook 8 mm. I soon realized that I haven’t got much experience with cotton, because I got a surprise when I realized how heavy cotton is. This blanket is really, really heavy. So if my intention was to sit underneath this blanket, it would have weighted me down more than I would have liked. Since the intention is to sit on top of this blanket, it is actually perfect, because I believe that the weight of the blanket will help keep it in place in the armchair. So in spite of my lack of cotton knowledge, I had a lot of luck :-)

I’m not the only one crocheting blankets now a days. Many people make the Ripple blanket, many people make blankets using grannysquares, and the Babette blanket also seems to be popular (I’ve started one too, but that is a long term project on the side). Bea has made, and is making, no less than three blankets, and you can find them here, and here, and here.

Project Spectrum April / May

In March, I wrote that I wanted to post pictures from an exhibition of Norwegian national costumes for Project Spectrum. May 17th is Constitution day in Norway, and the day when everyone who has got a “bunad” wear it. You can read more about that in the Norway Needles blog, where Strikkelise wrote about this last year. I also wrote something about it, and you can read about it here. The colors for Project Spectrum in April and May are green, yellow and pink.