I transplanted most of my pepper plants into the tomato bed today. There is one pepper plant in front of each tomato, except for one...my Anaheim peppers are still a little too small so I left a spot reserved for one. From left to right they are jalapeno, cayenne, ancho/poblano, anaheim (coming soon), california wonder, sweet chocolate, golden wonder, dulcetta x3. Each transplant got about 1/2 a tablespoon of Sure Start at the bottom of it's new home and while I was there I also gave each tomato a heaping tablepoon of Tomato & Vegetable food.
Because I had 15 pepper seedlings and 10 spots, that leaves 1 ancho/poblano, 1 cayenne, 2 dulcetta, and 1 anaheim that will be going into pots in the side yard later this week. They will be joining my boysenberries and Martino's Roma tomato which, since I had it out, also got fertilizer today. 1 T for each berry plant and 3 T for the tomato. Hopefully I will get my herbs and those boysenberries into bigger pots this week as well.
The Hawaiian Currant that I put into a rockwool pot in the aquaponics bed may recover, but I'd say it's a long shot. Only a couple small leaves have perked up since yesterday and they are still looking mighty sad. The duckweed trough for my aquaponics setup is looking sad as well. I think I will do a water change on it this afternoon and get an air bubbler in there as well. The water from the change will come from my main aquaponics system. It has turned such a lovely shade of electric green over the last week that you can no longer see the fish, but this green water will be delicious food for the daphnia that I am hoping to purchase this weekend. I suspect that once the seeds in the net pots get going, they will outcompete the algae and this problem will resolve itself.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Recipe Therapy
I was out watering my garden today only to find that one of my beloved dogs snapped my Hawaiian Currant tomato plant right off its stem. In an attempt to calm myself down I came inside to look up recipes. I found this squash gnocci and spinach recipe and a fresh tomato soup recipe, both of which I must try later this year.
As for the Hawaiian Currant plant, I guess I'll be paying a visit to another one of Laurel's plant sales this weekend to see if I can locate a suitable replacement. I was REALLY excited about this plant considering I'd ordered one last year and didn't get one, but I suppose any red cherry type would be satisfactory. In the meantime, the dogs are seriously in the dog house.
On a somewhat more positive note, it appears the asian greens have started to sprout, the radishes have definitely sprouted, and I'm putting some chive and scallion seeds into my tomato bed today.
As for the Hawaiian Currant plant, I guess I'll be paying a visit to another one of Laurel's plant sales this weekend to see if I can locate a suitable replacement. I was REALLY excited about this plant considering I'd ordered one last year and didn't get one, but I suppose any red cherry type would be satisfactory. In the meantime, the dogs are seriously in the dog house.
On a somewhat more positive note, it appears the asian greens have started to sprout, the radishes have definitely sprouted, and I'm putting some chive and scallion seeds into my tomato bed today.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Herbs Sprouting
One of the fun things about the aquaponics garden is that you get to see some different aspects of plant life that you don't normally get to watch.
For example, all of the basil seeds have puffed up with a white casing around their originally black seeds.
And the cress seeds in a rockwool pot have already started to put out some roots! They've only been in there for about a day and a half now, so this is very exciting. I suspect the germination time will be much shorter for these seeds than in the ground partly because of the constant water supply and partly because the water is heated (ideally it won't fall below about 67 degrees).
Yesterday afternoon I set up a duckweed trough by sawing a plastic 55gal drum in half. Tilapia are mostly vegetarian and supposedly love duckweed. There is also the benefit that duckweed is still alive when you feed it to the fish so it doesn't rot and gunk up the tank if it doesn't get eaten. So I bought some off of eBay a couple weeks ago and have been nursing it back to health in a bowl inside. Now it is out in the trough along with some Fish/Kelp emulsion and some E.B. Stone Tomato and Vegetable Food. I'm hoping I can grow duckweed quickly enough to be a sustainable food source for my Tilapia.
For example, all of the basil seeds have puffed up with a white casing around their originally black seeds.
And the cress seeds in a rockwool pot have already started to put out some roots! They've only been in there for about a day and a half now, so this is very exciting. I suspect the germination time will be much shorter for these seeds than in the ground partly because of the constant water supply and partly because the water is heated (ideally it won't fall below about 67 degrees).
Yesterday afternoon I set up a duckweed trough by sawing a plastic 55gal drum in half. Tilapia are mostly vegetarian and supposedly love duckweed. There is also the benefit that duckweed is still alive when you feed it to the fish so it doesn't rot and gunk up the tank if it doesn't get eaten. So I bought some off of eBay a couple weeks ago and have been nursing it back to health in a bowl inside. Now it is out in the trough along with some Fish/Kelp emulsion and some E.B. Stone Tomato and Vegetable Food. I'm hoping I can grow duckweed quickly enough to be a sustainable food source for my Tilapia.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Tomato Bed Update
My tomatoes have really taken off. Many are triple the size they were when I planted them less than two weeks ago! Below I've posted pictures of several of my babies :)
Hawaiian Currant...tried to order one of these last year but didn't get one. I'm really looking forward to seeing the fruit on this variety.
Paul Robeson...not a big producer last year, but I did utterly neglect them and given the good reviews I figured this one deserved another shot.
Green Zebra...I'm not a big fan of green tomatoes, but when you have red, purple, orange and yellow tomatoes you gotta add one of these in the mix
Blood Gulch...tried to die (twice), but appears to be making a comeback!
Opalka...produced a big crop for me last year of fleshy paste tomatoes
Yellow Submarine...this one is looking a little frail still, but last year it took awhile for this potato-leafed plant to really get going and it later became one of my top producers.
Not Shown: Sun Gold, Black Plum (my FAVORITE!), Mortgage Lifter, Goose Creek
Shallots coming up! There appear to be many green stalks coming out of each clove. There are now 3 shallots that have started putting up shoots.
Mmmm....Garlic. All but two or three cloves have 6" leaves bursting out of the soil!
15 pepper plants (2 Anaheim, 1 Jalapeno, 2 Cayenne, 5 Dulcetta, 2 Ancho/Poblano, 1 California Wonder, 1 Golden Woner, 1 Sweet Chocolate)....many of these will be heading out into the tomato bed in the next couple weeks.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Aquaponics Round 2
Elliott and I spent all of Friday afternoon fixing up the aquaponics set-up. I had tried to clean it some without draining it, but it just wasn't enough. So Elliott pulled out the three fish that were still living there (one feeder goldfish and two tilapia) and climped in to scrub it out.
Scrub, scrub, scrub
The Plant Bed
Meanwhile, I layed out where the netpots would be. They are on approximately 5" spacing.
Whiteboard marker wipes off easily
Using a hole saw to cut out the styrofoam
This evening I spent some time making little plant markers and then planting. I wanted more than one of several varieties, so I tried to split them between the hydroton media and the rockwool so that I have a somewhat controlled experiment. I think I will try perlite in the remaining baskets just to see which of the three works best.
Scrub, scrub, scrub
The Plant Bed
Meanwhile, I layed out where the netpots would be. They are on approximately 5" spacing.
Whiteboard marker wipes off easily
Using a hole saw to cut out the styrofoam
This evening I spent some time making little plant markers and then planting. I wanted more than one of several varieties, so I tried to split them between the hydroton media and the rockwool so that I have a somewhat controlled experiment. I think I will try perlite in the remaining baskets just to see which of the three works best.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Seeds and Squash
Yesterday I managed to be fairly productive in the garden, planting carrots, lettuce, squash, and doing a little garden maintenance.
In my vegetable garden I planted eight 36" rows of carrots , Carnival Blend from Botanical Interests, alternating with Renee's Garden Asian Baby Leaf mesclun. Row spacing was 3" with seed spacing of 3" as well.
Next door to that patch I planted seven 36" rows of carrots (six more rows of the Carnival Blend and three of Little Finger - also Botanical Interests) alternating with Renee's Garden Cut and Come Again baby mesclun. Again, 3" spacing all around.
Between these two patches there was maybe a 3" gap where I transplanted two Butternut Squash seedlings. One of the transplants has two vines while the other has four. I think I will thin that second one down to only two vines once it has settled and I can decide which two are the strongest. The spacing between these two transplants was 15" with five radish seeds planted evenly between them.
Rhubarb
I also planted three Durango marigolds, one at each end of my tomato bed and one in the very center. Armstrong was having a 2-day sale (79 cents/4inch marigold) so bought those and eight more that will find their way into the vegetable bed. Marigold roots excrete a pesticide that supposedly lasts for a couple years in the soil even after the marigold is gone. They are the go-to plant for companion planting....and they're pretty too!
Tomato Bed
Lastly, I watered down all the beds and pots with fish tank water, since our fish tank was badly in need of a water change. The nitrate rich water is a great, low dose fertilizer and with a 160+ gallon tank, there is plenty of it. Finally, I set up more bird netting over the vegetable bed so that the dogs (and other lesser pests) will hopefully stay out of it.
Fava Beans looking tall!
In my vegetable garden I planted eight 36" rows of carrots , Carnival Blend from Botanical Interests, alternating with Renee's Garden Asian Baby Leaf mesclun. Row spacing was 3" with seed spacing of 3" as well.
Next door to that patch I planted seven 36" rows of carrots (six more rows of the Carnival Blend and three of Little Finger - also Botanical Interests) alternating with Renee's Garden Cut and Come Again baby mesclun. Again, 3" spacing all around.
Between these two patches there was maybe a 3" gap where I transplanted two Butternut Squash seedlings. One of the transplants has two vines while the other has four. I think I will thin that second one down to only two vines once it has settled and I can decide which two are the strongest. The spacing between these two transplants was 15" with five radish seeds planted evenly between them.
Tranplants
Butternut Squash in the Ground
Zucchini Squash
Zucchini with buds
At the L corner, just next to the rhubarb plants, I planted my Wyatt's Wonder (giant pumpkin) plant. It has two somewhat sickly looking vines (somewhat yellowed and dry) but there are some new green leaves emerging so hopefully it can recover. I also planted an Acorn squash transplant at the southwestern corner of the strawberry/flower bed. This is a bush type squash, so I'm hoping it won't grow all over the place.
I planted borage seeds as well yesterday. One on each end of my tomato bed, one at the Western corner of my vegetable bed near the chainlink fence and one (or two...I think I lost one) at the corner of the L between my rhubarb and Wyatt's Wonder. Borage is a fantastic bee attractant and has pretty little blue flowers that look lovely floating in punch bowls or as a garnish for appetizers or salads.
I planted borage seeds as well yesterday. One on each end of my tomato bed, one at the Western corner of my vegetable bed near the chainlink fence and one (or two...I think I lost one) at the corner of the L between my rhubarb and Wyatt's Wonder. Borage is a fantastic bee attractant and has pretty little blue flowers that look lovely floating in punch bowls or as a garnish for appetizers or salads.
Rhubarb
I also planted three Durango marigolds, one at each end of my tomato bed and one in the very center. Armstrong was having a 2-day sale (79 cents/4inch marigold) so bought those and eight more that will find their way into the vegetable bed. Marigold roots excrete a pesticide that supposedly lasts for a couple years in the soil even after the marigold is gone. They are the go-to plant for companion planting....and they're pretty too!
Tomato Bed
Lastly, I watered down all the beds and pots with fish tank water, since our fish tank was badly in need of a water change. The nitrate rich water is a great, low dose fertilizer and with a 160+ gallon tank, there is plenty of it. Finally, I set up more bird netting over the vegetable bed so that the dogs (and other lesser pests) will hopefully stay out of it.
Fava Beans looking tall!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Pruning Tomatoes
As my tomatoes start to recover from their transplanting and look like they're starting to grow new leaves, I have to start thinking about pruning them. Last year I did very little pruning. I trained/tied them up a chainlink fence (which I plan on doing again this year) but I paid no attention to the suckers that everyone says you're supposed to pinch. I suspect this resulted in less than wonderful yields and also made for some big gangly plants.
I decided to do a little more research on the pros and cons of pruning and this is by far the best site I've found describing how and when and where to prune tomatoes: http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/pruning-tomatoes.aspx In particular, I like that they explain to let up to four suckers (the ones right above the first flowers) turn into vines of their own. I plan to try this method this year and report on how it goes.
I decided to do a little more research on the pros and cons of pruning and this is by far the best site I've found describing how and when and where to prune tomatoes: http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/pruning-tomatoes.aspx In particular, I like that they explain to let up to four suckers (the ones right above the first flowers) turn into vines of their own. I plan to try this method this year and report on how it goes.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Elliott didn't kill any plants!
Last Wednesday I put my tomatoes, garlic, and shallots in in a hurry so that I could leave town for a visit with my mother. I was rather nervous about leaving my garden because many of the seeds I put in over the last few weeks are just now sprouting, others have been up for awhile but are still small and tender, and the process of transplanting tomatoes is pretty brutal for the poor guys and they're very fragile for the first week or two afterwards.
Well, I couldn't be happier to see my tomatoes are for the most part looking no worse than the day I put them in. Elliott reports that they were pretty wilted while I was gone, but they seem to look fine now. I put E.B. Stone Planting Compost on them today as a mulch because the ground is a bit cracked in some places. Hopefully a little mulch will hold the moisture in (and makes the bed look much prettier).
Several garlics have already broken through the surface. I suspect the others will all be up in the next week or so. No shallots or elephant garlic yet, but it has only been 5 days.
My fava beans look FANTASTIC! Many of the plants are 6+ inches tall now and growing second and third stalks. The peas (sweet, snap, and snow) are all popping up. They vary in height from 1/2"-3" right now and a few sweet peas have started growing tendrils.
More strawberry starts have grown leaves. Maybe 8 or 10 have a leaf or two on them now, and a couple of those already have multiple leaves. The larger of my two rhubarb starts also has a beautiful green leaf that grew while I was away.
Seeds are sprouting all over the strawberry/flower/vegetable bed. My sunflower seeds are up and working on their first true leaves. I have a nice row of chard developing and a number of other seeds that I don't yet recognize. Many of these seeds are probably weeds, but I won't really know until they've developed a little further. I won't pull anything for awhile for fear of pulling out something I planted on purpose.
My potted Roma tomato is looking suprisingly stocky. It is close to a foot tall now and has an impressively thick stem with dense branches. I suspect I will have a very productive plant....hopefully in contrast with my tomatoes from last year which ended up long and somewhat spindly.
Today I went to Armstrong Garden Center to spend one of my Groupons from a couple weeks back. I spent it on three bags of compost and a variety of herbs (trailing rosemary, English thyme, chocolate mint, stevia, Italian oregano), an Artichoke plant, and a half dozen seed packets. Most of these (except the seeds) will end up in pots on my porch or driveway window sill. I'm looking forward to getting those all in over the next few days!
Well, I couldn't be happier to see my tomatoes are for the most part looking no worse than the day I put them in. Elliott reports that they were pretty wilted while I was gone, but they seem to look fine now. I put E.B. Stone Planting Compost on them today as a mulch because the ground is a bit cracked in some places. Hopefully a little mulch will hold the moisture in (and makes the bed look much prettier).
Several garlics have already broken through the surface. I suspect the others will all be up in the next week or so. No shallots or elephant garlic yet, but it has only been 5 days.
My fava beans look FANTASTIC! Many of the plants are 6+ inches tall now and growing second and third stalks. The peas (sweet, snap, and snow) are all popping up. They vary in height from 1/2"-3" right now and a few sweet peas have started growing tendrils.
More strawberry starts have grown leaves. Maybe 8 or 10 have a leaf or two on them now, and a couple of those already have multiple leaves. The larger of my two rhubarb starts also has a beautiful green leaf that grew while I was away.
Seeds are sprouting all over the strawberry/flower/vegetable bed. My sunflower seeds are up and working on their first true leaves. I have a nice row of chard developing and a number of other seeds that I don't yet recognize. Many of these seeds are probably weeds, but I won't really know until they've developed a little further. I won't pull anything for awhile for fear of pulling out something I planted on purpose.
My potted Roma tomato is looking suprisingly stocky. It is close to a foot tall now and has an impressively thick stem with dense branches. I suspect I will have a very productive plant....hopefully in contrast with my tomatoes from last year which ended up long and somewhat spindly.
Today I went to Armstrong Garden Center to spend one of my Groupons from a couple weeks back. I spent it on three bags of compost and a variety of herbs (trailing rosemary, English thyme, chocolate mint, stevia, Italian oregano), an Artichoke plant, and a half dozen seed packets. Most of these (except the seeds) will end up in pots on my porch or driveway window sill. I'm looking forward to getting those all in over the next few days!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Tomato Bed In!
I spent a few hours today digging up and planting my tomato bed (finally)! I started by double digging the area (2ft x 18ft). I only dug down about 8 inches or so because the dirt was already pretty loose and I was in a rush. I mostly just wanted to mix in the grasses and weeds that had grown and died (thanks to round-up) since last year.
Then the tomatoes went in. There are 10 tomato plants with 21 inches between each. On each plant I snipped off any branches besides the top three-ish. Before burying I dipped each root ball in kelp emulsion to give them a nutrition boost. Then each plant went into a trench with the stem placed close to horizontal and bent up at the end so the couple inches left above ground are vertical. This supposedly encourages quick root growth, but, more important to me, it allows me to have the plants come out of the ground only a couple inches from the chain link fence/trellis without cramping their roots.
Lastly, I planted patches of garlic and shallots between each pair of tomatoes. There are 6 elephant garlic cloves with 6 shallots planted in front of each, 3 patches of 7 garlic cloves, and 2 patches with 5 garlic cloves. So that's a total of 37 garlic plants (6 are elephant garlic) and 36 shallot plants. Spacing within each patch was eye-balled (again...in a rush) at about 4-5 inches. Depth was 1-2x the height of the clove/shallot. Many of the garlics and shallots were already sprouting, so I expect to see them putting up leaves (stalks?) soon.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Then the tomatoes went in. There are 10 tomato plants with 21 inches between each. On each plant I snipped off any branches besides the top three-ish. Before burying I dipped each root ball in kelp emulsion to give them a nutrition boost. Then each plant went into a trench with the stem placed close to horizontal and bent up at the end so the couple inches left above ground are vertical. This supposedly encourages quick root growth, but, more important to me, it allows me to have the plants come out of the ground only a couple inches from the chain link fence/trellis without cramping their roots.
Lastly, I planted patches of garlic and shallots between each pair of tomatoes. There are 6 elephant garlic cloves with 6 shallots planted in front of each, 3 patches of 7 garlic cloves, and 2 patches with 5 garlic cloves. So that's a total of 37 garlic plants (6 are elephant garlic) and 36 shallot plants. Spacing within each patch was eye-balled (again...in a rush) at about 4-5 inches. Depth was 1-2x the height of the clove/shallot. Many of the garlics and shallots were already sprouting, so I expect to see them putting up leaves (stalks?) soon.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, April 9, 2011
More plants!
Finished double digging the north vegetable bed today! It was late in the day but I convinced myself I needed to get the peas in...and now I'm glad I did. There's a roughly 20 foot row of peas with 3" spacing, alternating one snap pea to every two snow peas. This is partly because there were more snow pea seeds in a packet and partly because the plants only grow half as tall so I figure I'll need more of them to get roughly equal yields. the peas should be up in no time. They were all sprouting roots and stems already (from being between wet paper towels for 5 days) and I didn't bury them very deep.
I also planted a dozen or more sunflower seeds and two rhubarb starts.
If I have time tomorrow I'm hoping to get tomatoes, scallions, garlic, and shallots in...or at least dig a bed for them and plant on Monday or Tuesday.
Almost all the Favas have sprouted and sweet peas are pushing through here and there. Three strawberry starts have green in them and the seeds I planted among the strawberries may be starting to germinate as well! They could just be weed seeds, but at least some of the look like beet or chard seedlings. Only time will tell.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I also planted a dozen or more sunflower seeds and two rhubarb starts.
If I have time tomorrow I'm hoping to get tomatoes, scallions, garlic, and shallots in...or at least dig a bed for them and plant on Monday or Tuesday.
Almost all the Favas have sprouted and sweet peas are pushing through here and there. Three strawberry starts have green in them and the seeds I planted among the strawberries may be starting to germinate as well! They could just be weed seeds, but at least some of the look like beet or chard seedlings. Only time will tell.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Show Me the Green
My first strawberry leaves have started to pop up along with the first sweet pea, and many of the fava beans are breaking ground as well!
I spent the afternoon double digging the vegetable bed. I got halfway done, so hopefully I'll finish that up tomorrow. It won't be a minute too soon either. I put peas in wet paper towels on Monday and they're already trying to sprout. The sooner I can get those off my kitchen counter and into the ground, the better!
I reseeded a few pots in my squash/melon seedling flat today. The first seeds sprouted promptly and then wilted. I was afraid I'd lose the whole flat that way, but they seem fine.
Hopefully these seeds catch up soon.
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Strawberry Start (Sequoia?)
Fava Bean and Sweet Pea Shoots
I spent the afternoon double digging the vegetable bed. I got halfway done, so hopefully I'll finish that up tomorrow. It won't be a minute too soon either. I put peas in wet paper towels on Monday and they're already trying to sprout. The sooner I can get those off my kitchen counter and into the ground, the better!
Squash/Melon Flat
Pepper Seedlings
My seedlings are coming along. Many of the herbs died, but the squash, melons, and peppers are all putting up their first true leaves.
Dead Herbs (except one Cilantro)
I reseeded a few pots in my squash/melon seedling flat today. The first seeds sprouted promptly and then wilted. I was afraid I'd lose the whole flat that way, but they seem fine.
Hopefully these seeds catch up soon.
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Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Aquaponics, Back in Action!
I spent a good chunk of my day rehabilitating my aquaponics set up. That means dumping all the gravel from last year's attempt into the garbage (this year I'll be floating styrofoam and net pots), cleaning out all the algae and grossness in the plant bed, and making sure the pump still runs (it does!). The autosiphoning feature still needs work or to be done away with completely, I haven't decided yet, but the rest of the system is looking good. I cut the polystyrene panel I bought yesterday down to size (it's perfect!) and played around with how I will lay out the net pots. I decided I need a couple more 6" pots which I can pick up in Pasadena on Thursday. So Friday or this weekend I'll plan on spending a few hours cutting out holes for all those net pots.
I'm planning on making the hydroponics system almost entirely herbs, since I will want those to grow quickly and plentifully, especially the basil for my hopefully daily caprese salad. It looks like I'll have about 60 net pots in the system, so there should be plenty of room for basil, cilantro, parsley, and whatever else I want to try! I'm really looking forward to seeing if I can get this science experiment to actually work!
I'm planning on making the hydroponics system almost entirely herbs, since I will want those to grow quickly and plentifully, especially the basil for my hopefully daily caprese salad. It looks like I'll have about 60 net pots in the system, so there should be plenty of room for basil, cilantro, parsley, and whatever else I want to try! I'm really looking forward to seeing if I can get this science experiment to actually work!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Keeping Track of Costs
I guess I should start keeping a tally of what I'm spending on this garden, just to see whether it's even close to worthwhile monetarily speaking.
So here goes:
Hydroponics Set-Up
*Polystyrene Sheet: $9.63 + $1.09 tax
72 - 3" Net Pots: $26.64 1 - 6" Net Pot: $1.12
24 pack - 2" rockwool cubes: $6.58
10L - Hydroton Rocks: $8.79
Tax (from bettergrowHYDRO): $4.21
Garden
*4 bags - Supersoil compost: $23.08
*2 bags - potting soil: 9.94 Drip Equipment: $4.96
*Hooks: $3.95
*Bird Netting: $19.97
*Seed Starting Soil: $3.97
*Tax (from Home Depot): $6.52 Tax (from OSH): $.76 Plants/Seeds
*4 bags (8 each) - shallots: $3.96
*1 bag (2 starts) - rhubarb: $1.99
*6 bags (10 each) - strawberry starts: $11.92
Sweet Pea Seeds: $2.79
Snap Pea Seeds: $1.79
Snow Pea Seeds: $1.79 12
Tomato Plants: $61.55
*purchases were courtesy of Elliott's birthday/X-mas :)
Updated 4/7/11
So here goes:
Hydroponics Set-Up
*Polystyrene Sheet: $9.63 + $1.09 tax
72 - 3" Net Pots: $26.64 1 - 6" Net Pot: $1.12
24 pack - 2" rockwool cubes: $6.58
10L - Hydroton Rocks: $8.79
Tax (from bettergrowHYDRO): $4.21
Garden
*4 bags - Supersoil compost: $23.08
*2 bags - potting soil: 9.94 Drip Equipment: $4.96
*Hooks: $3.95
*Bird Netting: $19.97
*Seed Starting Soil: $3.97
*Tax (from Home Depot): $6.52 Tax (from OSH): $.76 Plants/Seeds
*4 bags (8 each) - shallots: $3.96
*1 bag (2 starts) - rhubarb: $1.99
*6 bags (10 each) - strawberry starts: $11.92
Sweet Pea Seeds: $2.79
Snap Pea Seeds: $1.79
Snow Pea Seeds: $1.79 12
Tomato Plants: $61.55
*purchases were courtesy of Elliott's birthday/X-mas :)
Updated 4/7/11
Sunday, April 3, 2011
DOOOOGGGSSSSSS!!!!!
I went outside this morning to find that my dogs had spent their morning meticulously digging almost every strawberry start out of its new home. Maybe for fun? Maybe to munch on the seaweedy/fishy fertilizer I'd dipped the roots in? I don't know.
In any case, Elliott practically had to hold me back from beating them. In an attempt to calm me down, Elliott took me to Home Depot to buy some bird netting and hooks to keep the dogs (and birds) out of my garden. It actually looks pretty professional and I will probably keep it up until the peas start to get too tall and grow through it.
Update: It's been a few days and I'm still not sure I've forgiven the girls. Even with the netting up, I still caught them pawing at it and trying to get in...Luckily, Elliott's handiwork seems to be doing its job and the strawberry starts are still in their places.
In any case, Elliott practically had to hold me back from beating them. In an attempt to calm me down, Elliott took me to Home Depot to buy some bird netting and hooks to keep the dogs (and birds) out of my garden. It actually looks pretty professional and I will probably keep it up until the peas start to get too tall and grow through it.
Update: It's been a few days and I'm still not sure I've forgiven the girls. Even with the netting up, I still caught them pawing at it and trying to get in...Luckily, Elliott's handiwork seems to be doing its job and the strawberry starts are still in their places.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Plants in the Ground!
I spent several hours this afternoon finally putting plants in the ground instead of just digging the place up! Along the eastern wall of my garden there is now a row of ~27 fava beans (I forgot to count before some of them got buried) with 3-4 sweet pea seeds in between them.
Strawberry starts were placed in an intensive pattern with 12 inch spacing. On the south end of the bed there are 12 Ozark Beauty starts, on the north end are 12 Sequoia starts, and in between there are 12 Quinalt starts. Because these form a pretty diamond pattern due to their spacing I planted seeds between them. Inside each diamond there are now three beet seeds around two globe amaranth seeds with mesclun seeds sprinkled randomly throughout. In each front triangle along the wood partition there are lobelia seeds with poppy seeds at the top of each triangle. Towards the back, just in front of the fava/sweet pea row, there is a row of swiss chard planted between the strawberries sprinkled with dual colored caesar romaine and patches of three bachelor's button seeds just in front to fill out the triangle.
I expect to see favas and sweet peas pop up in only a few days since most of them were already sticking their little roots out and a few were working on their stems. It's so exciting to finally have something in the ground!
Strawberry starts were placed in an intensive pattern with 12 inch spacing. On the south end of the bed there are 12 Ozark Beauty starts, on the north end are 12 Sequoia starts, and in between there are 12 Quinalt starts. Because these form a pretty diamond pattern due to their spacing I planted seeds between them. Inside each diamond there are now three beet seeds around two globe amaranth seeds with mesclun seeds sprinkled randomly throughout. In each front triangle along the wood partition there are lobelia seeds with poppy seeds at the top of each triangle. Towards the back, just in front of the fava/sweet pea row, there is a row of swiss chard planted between the strawberries sprinkled with dual colored caesar romaine and patches of three bachelor's button seeds just in front to fill out the triangle.
I expect to see favas and sweet peas pop up in only a few days since most of them were already sticking their little roots out and a few were working on their stems. It's so exciting to finally have something in the ground!
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