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Comment: reality is nice
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Comment: update task list
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| Deletions are marked like this. | Additions are marked like this. |
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| * Plant more lettuce squares | * Plant more lettuce and chard |
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| * Plant swiss chard * Install hooks or nails and run string to mark squares on main bed (outer squares are easy to plant, inner squares will not, and having guides during the initial growth phase will probably help) |
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| * Buy nets for trellis * Buy deer fencing * Buy new lettuce seeds |
Contents
Timeline
February 10th: need to be germinating anything like peppers growing from seed - March 1st: cut off window for growing basically anything from seed (didn't happen this year...)
April 1st-10th: Last frost date, in theory (theory is fact, and the garden was ready to go April 7th)
The garden beds should have soil in them before mid-March (try early March), but not mulched until after the ground warms up. The garden beds ended up with media in them in early April.
Current Tasks
Delete as completed.
- Plant more lettuce and chard
- Plant bunching onions
- Fill pots and presoak media
- Plant new mint in container
- Plant bell peppers in container
- Prepare trellis beds
- For melon bed, have to wait until mucked up media dries to re-till and top off
- Buy nets for trellis
- Buy deer fencing
- Buy new lettuce seeds
Seed Propgation
See /SeedPropagation
Plants to Germinate
Easy:
- Basil
Transplants
Given the effort required to germinate a lot of things, we'll probably have more success just acquiring transplants for most things.
Needed
- Rosemary
- Habanero (2)
- Cayenne Pepper (1)
- Thai Pepper, if possible
Garden
Pests
- Figure out how to deal with stinkbugs
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/stinkbug/pesticides.asp (looks like applying "Spectracide" around the deck might work)
- Deer fence
- Birds
We have a stream so puncturing things like tomatoes for water isn't as likely, but maybe we should get them a water source near the garden anyway to be nice people.
Construction
Several small raised beds due to limited areas that receive enough sunlight, root infested soil (well, living in a forest does have its disadvantages), crappy soil, large drip lines, etc.
Soil
Soil: http://www.areamulchandsoils.com/mulch%20price%20page.htm ($20.50 per yard2) The minimum order is way more than we need.
Raleigh will sell us compost and mulch at reasonable prices. Then we just need an equal amount of soil-less media.
Strata:
- 3" (overflowing top of bed) mulch
- 10" 1:1:1 peat moss:vermiculite:perlite base media, mixed 1:1 with compost
- 1" of mulch
- tilled earth
Main garden bed had a small amount of blood meal added with the bottom mulch dug in (blood meal to compensate for nitrogen loss as it composts). Also added recommended amount of bone meal to mixture about halfway down (since the plants will likely need it when their roots get about that deep).
Layout
Pending raised bed plans... at first glance, Square Foot Gardening looks like a reasonable framework to sketch things out.
- 5'x3' raised bed
4 5'x16" beds, around a 6' tall garden trellis cube made of electrical conduit (Five 10' boards)
- Two are built, two are not (but ends cut). We might want to build only one or zero more, and instead put down weed barrier inside the trellis and setup the teepee thing for squash instead.
Main Plot
First step: allocate each square roughly so that we can visualize the garden. Unspecific order (easier to perform plant location optimization after we know how many squares of each will be grown).
Cell 3x5 is the one in the corner closest to the house / next door.
planned, not yet planted, normal text is planted.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
lettuce |
lettuce |
lettuce |
Bunching Onions |
parsley (2, which are each probably 3 roots) |
2 |
Bunching onions |
swiss chard |
Radishes |
swiss chard |
nil |
3 |
red beauty bell pepper |
nil |
nil |
nil |
nil |
Cilantro, Dill, Anise, Chamomile, Lavender can be scattered in a section of the bramble pit in the hope they survive...
Garden CUBE
Probably just live with only two beds, perhaps three.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
crookneck squash |
cucumber |
cucumber |
nil |
crookneck squash |
2 |
Amish melon |
Amish melons |
hanover melon |
hanover melon |
nil |
An additional bed could be used for more summer squashes (e.g. pâtisson, zucchini).
Containers
- Rubbermaid bucket of 4 Sweet Banana Peppers
- New Mint
- ?? Red Beauty Bell Peppers
Media
Not sure... 1:1:1:1 peat:vermiculite:perlite:compost mix, relying primarily upon slow release fertilizers ("plant tone" for now, possibly osmicote later) rather than relying entirely on organic media culture (because it's not possible in a container to supply all nutrients that way).
Several failed attempts were made at producing media of varying proportions and even using pine park fines as a base; the problem turned out to be a lack of surfactant in the mix. Watering each pot with ~1/4tsp Seventh Generation Dish Detergent (basically sodium lauryl sulfate) dissolved in two gallons of water seems to allow the media to fully hydrate and drain without clogging.
Ideas
Take inventory of available containers -- ClintonEbadi 2013-01-29 20:24:04
Onions? More herbs?
- Habaneros x 4
- Bannana Peppers x 4
- Overwintered peppers x 1
- New bell peppers x 2
- Aurora Peppers x ??
- Basil x 6
- Overwintered Rosemary x 2
- New rosemary x 3
- New mint x 2
- New catnip x 1
In the yard somewhere
Possibly just mix a bunch of herb seeds together with a bit of sand, toss in a spot near the edge of the yard, and cover with a thin layer of topsoil.
- Chamomile
- Chicory
- Anise
- Cumin
- Lavender
- Rosemary (good hedge for the front!)
