Contents
Seed Propagation
In 2012, seed propagation was an experiment in failure. Major problems:
- Attempted to propagate too many things
- Attempted to propagate difficult things
- Used tiny cells to start, waited too long to transplant many, killed several during transplantation/pruning.
Things that did work:
- The seed starting mixture and fertilization regime seemed adequate.
- Water procedure (fill tray and allow starting mixture to suck it up) worked well.
- Plastic wrap was indeed adequate for germination. Use less water this time around however.
Possible solutions:
- Germinate fewer things (probably herbs, a few weird peppers)
- Have the garden ready early enough to plant things like the melons directly in the beds
- Use the medium peat/cardboard pots to start a single seed, and instead of thinning later accept that a few will not survive hardening off.
Process
- Staring mixture: 1 part vermiculite, 1 part perlite, 1 part spaghum peat moss
- 3 Tbsp lime (antifungal properties?) when 1 part = 1 gallon
- Fill peat trays 1/2-3/4 full with mixture
Put 2-3ish seeds per pot to maximize chances of success (ClintonEbadi is perhaps a too-cautious person at times)
- Cover to the recommended planting depth
- Fill drainage tray with 3 quarts water (overfilled the first with a gallon, underfilled the second with two quarts, three seems to be enough to keep everything properly moist)
- Insert and mark seedling trays with business cards (variety + planting date + # of seeds/cell + expected germination date)
- Wrap the whole thing up in plastic wrap and wait
Equipment
7 drainage trays capable of holding 5x10 cell paper/peat starter cell pots (I'm going for easy transplantation here) (GTn = Germination Tray N, STn = Seedling Tray N)
Storage rack for seedlings and germination trays
10inx5ft duct cut into 10-11" wide pieces as makeshift reflector hoods (hack! not sure if it's even worth it ...)
Lots of 5000K / 1500 lumen CFLs + extension cords + pluggable light sockets (because I'm not confindent in my ability to wire things that have to be left on for 16 hours at a time without causing a fire) = 2 CFLs per tray, attached to a cheap square plug, ziptied to the copper wire supporting the reflector.
Seeds to Acquire
Marigolds, yarrow, potatoes?
Available Seed
Not Germinated Yet
- German Chamomile (pending indoor germination)
- Dill (pending indoor germination)
- Yellow Summer Crookneck Squash
- White Lisbon Bunching Onions
- Longstanding Cilantro
- Early Scarlet Globe Radish
Germinated
Herbs
...
Peppers
...
Garden
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)
Strata:
- 3" (overflowing top of bed) mulch
- 10" compost/soil/perlite/vermiculite mixture
- 1" of mulch
- tilled earth
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).
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
cayenne pepper |
cayenne pepper |
oriental basil (4) |
parsley (4) |
marigold (5) |
2 |
onion |
bell pepper |
cilantro (4) |
onion |
onion |
3 |
lettuce |
lettuce |
onion |
plum tomato |
plum tomato |
Garden CUBE
- Move butternut squash to main plot + teepee and vine eggplant instead?
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
crookneck squash |
crookneck squash |
butternet squash |
butternut squash |
this row is actually spaced 18" |
2 |
Amish melon |
Amish melons |
hanover melon |
hanover melon |
nil |
3 |
cucumber |
cucumber |
lima bean |
lima bean |
nil |
4 |
Slicing Tomato |
Slicing Tomato |
nil |
nil |
nil |
Squash plants should be a couple feet apart and will need support for the fruit at some point
Containers
- Habaneros x 4
- Bannana Peppers x 4
- Overwintered peppers x 2
- New bell peppers x 2
- Aurora Peppers x ??
- Basil x 6
- Rosemary x 3
In the yard somewhere
- Chamomile
- Chicory
- Anise
- Cumin
- Lavender
- Rosemary (good hedge for the front!)
