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.
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 a small amount of topsoil.
Strata:
- 3" (overflowing top of bed) mulch
- 10" compost/perlite/vermiculite/peat mixture
- 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 blood 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.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
nil |
nil |
nil |
Bunching Onions |
parsley (2, which are each probably 3 roots) |
2 |
onion |
nil |
nil |
onion |
onion |
3 |
red beauty bell pepper |
lettuce |
onion |
chard |
nil |
Cilantro and dill might be better off in a small bed (or buckets) of their own, allowed to self-seed throughout the summer.
Garden CUBE
Probably just live with only two beds, perhaps three.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
crookneck squash |
crookneck squash |
cucumber |
cucumber |
this row is actually spaced 18" |
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
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!)