I used to be rather naive about successive plantings. I always thought of successive plantings as being a second of the same crop being planted after the first harvest. This is how it's normally presented and how it's done on commercial farms. For the home garden, successive plantings can mean staggered plantings of the same crop. That way, you have multiple harvests of the same crop spread out almost continuously over months, rather than one big harvest of a crop.
For this reasoning, I started more cabbage, broccoli and spinach today. The corn is growing well over the spinach mound, so will provide shade to keep it going longer. Be really cool if I can keep the spinach growing all summer, since it can be harvested every few days. I had already started more corn plants of different types, so transplanted about 15 more plants out today. So I have several successive plantings of corn going now. I also have two types of pumpkin going at different planting dates. I'll plant more in a few weeks, so they should be getting ready to harvest around the holidays.
Not sure what to expect with companion planting the corn for shade. I have more pea plants coming up. If they get enough shade from the corn, I may be able to keep them going all summer. Not really counting on it but hoping. They're going pretty good now. My daughter helped me pick the first small harvest this weekend and lots more coming along.
The previously bare mounds are now coming to life since the ammonia and vinegar treatment. Where I treated mounds with live plants, I did burn a few things but most are recovering. Maybe I didn't inject it deep enough, so later treatments will go deeper.
Had to transplant the remaining tomato plants into larger pots this week. Currently have about 34-35 tomato plants going. Trying to get the roots going as deep as possible before planting them out this time. That seems to be a good choice with any taller plants in the desert. Many plants will develop roots along the stem if you successively plant them deeper over multiple transplants. Since the surface soil dries so quickly and loses nutrients so fast in the desert, it makes sense to develop the root systems to go as deep as you can get them to go. So, I'm doing much the same with other things as well. Corn, pumpkin and anything with a distance between the root and first leaves are getting transplanted up to the first leaves with each transplant, then once more when they go into the soil. Seems to be a tactic which is working well.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Next step in soil fixing
Did soil testing earlier in the week. Even the new mounds showed really low N and really alkaline conditions still. The Phos was acceptable and the K was okay, if not high.
Then tried spraying the bare soil areas with my ammonia and vinegar mixture, much stronger this time. Something surprising happened. The soil started fizzing. This is a sign of highly alkaline conditions.
I've been taking it kind of easy with fertilizing, apprehensive about overdoing things. All the above changed my mind. This soil requires the industrial strength approach.
Went over the chemical reactions and decomposition of the ammonia and vinegar, with a new theory in mind. As a gas, N rises. Most plants collect N at the roots, so surface treatment does little or no good and can do much damage if applied too strongly. Adjusting acidity is much the same. But ammonia breaks down into nitrous oxide and water. Vinegar goes through a longer process, releasing organic acids but eventually breaking down into CO2 and water. All beneficial to the garden in this case.
Got a garden sprayer yesterday. Removed the spray tip, slid the screw mount up the wand and rolled the O-ring up to hold it and keep it from getting lost. The wand made a great tool for injecting the solution deep into the soil. Made up a large batch of full strength solution, one quart ammonia and three quarts vinegar. Did a test on a few plants that looked weak. Injected the solution into the soil below root level. I was tired from work and it was too hot to do much else. Took a nap. Got up and could already see some results! Some plants which had looked nearly dead had come back to life! (Others were just dead.)
So, this evening, I treated the whole garden while letting the soaker hoses run. Inserted the wand into the mounds below root level, into the sides or center every few inches. The most bare mounds got the heaviest treatment. The raised mounds and beds I treated all the way to the bottom. Now just have to see how things look tomorrow.
By the way, the mounds I had sprayed heavily a few days ago are now showing signs of life. That's a relief because I was still apprehensive that maybe that area had been treated with a "kill everything" chemical at some point before I moved in, especially as popular as those chemicals are here in NM and having dug up black plastic sheeting from some places in the yard. No, seems like just weak soil now.
As a trial, I sprayed a bunch of weeds with the same mixture directly on the foliage. Hoping it burns them on purpose but then treats the soil. If not, I'll go back to the propane approach.
By the way, I got the garden sprayer at Home Depot for around $14. Search Amazon.com for garden sprayer
Works really well. Got all the vinegar and ammonia at Dollar Tree for $1 for each half gallon, so $2 a gallon for each. Only took one quart ammonia and three quarts of vinegar to treat the whole garden. Though if the mixture works on the weeds, I will be using more very soon.
Then tried spraying the bare soil areas with my ammonia and vinegar mixture, much stronger this time. Something surprising happened. The soil started fizzing. This is a sign of highly alkaline conditions.
I've been taking it kind of easy with fertilizing, apprehensive about overdoing things. All the above changed my mind. This soil requires the industrial strength approach.
Went over the chemical reactions and decomposition of the ammonia and vinegar, with a new theory in mind. As a gas, N rises. Most plants collect N at the roots, so surface treatment does little or no good and can do much damage if applied too strongly. Adjusting acidity is much the same. But ammonia breaks down into nitrous oxide and water. Vinegar goes through a longer process, releasing organic acids but eventually breaking down into CO2 and water. All beneficial to the garden in this case.
Got a garden sprayer yesterday. Removed the spray tip, slid the screw mount up the wand and rolled the O-ring up to hold it and keep it from getting lost. The wand made a great tool for injecting the solution deep into the soil. Made up a large batch of full strength solution, one quart ammonia and three quarts vinegar. Did a test on a few plants that looked weak. Injected the solution into the soil below root level. I was tired from work and it was too hot to do much else. Took a nap. Got up and could already see some results! Some plants which had looked nearly dead had come back to life! (Others were just dead.)
So, this evening, I treated the whole garden while letting the soaker hoses run. Inserted the wand into the mounds below root level, into the sides or center every few inches. The most bare mounds got the heaviest treatment. The raised mounds and beds I treated all the way to the bottom. Now just have to see how things look tomorrow.
By the way, the mounds I had sprayed heavily a few days ago are now showing signs of life. That's a relief because I was still apprehensive that maybe that area had been treated with a "kill everything" chemical at some point before I moved in, especially as popular as those chemicals are here in NM and having dug up black plastic sheeting from some places in the yard. No, seems like just weak soil now.
As a trial, I sprayed a bunch of weeds with the same mixture directly on the foliage. Hoping it burns them on purpose but then treats the soil. If not, I'll go back to the propane approach.
By the way, I got the garden sprayer at Home Depot for around $14. Search Amazon.com for garden sprayer
Works really well. Got all the vinegar and ammonia at Dollar Tree for $1 for each half gallon, so $2 a gallon for each. Only took one quart ammonia and three quarts of vinegar to treat the whole garden. Though if the mixture works on the weeds, I will be using more very soon.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Raised mounds built!
Finally got myself outside and built the raised mounds I had been planning on for some time. It was too hot in the afternoon, after work, so took a nap and did it this evening.
Only built five mounds so far but they're large. Biggest one is over 4 ft across. Size and placement are asymmetrical. Sides are black plastic supported by wooden stakes driven in the ground. Put down a layer of dry alfalfa, then piled the soil/compost mixture on top of that. Each should be big enough for several tomato, pumpkin and pepper plants. Maybe some marigolds thrown in here and there. Give a try at companion planting some cucumbers and green beans, too. I'll build more once I can afford to buy a few yards of potting soil or the next batch of compost is ready.
Moved the tomato seedlings out into full sun this evening from under the tree. See how they do there. Moved the tray of mixed sprouts out under the tree. These are all warmer weather plants.
Got some ore seed corn. The corn I planted outside is being stubborn. I'm frustrated because I had counted on the corn providing some shade to the smaller plants. At this rate, the lettuce will be long gone before the corn is tall enough to provide any shade. Not sure of the fate of the spinach. That's okay, long as I can get at least one good crop of lettuce and spinach. I was planning on successive plantings once it's too hot for lettuce.
One of my next experimental projects is going to be mixing straight rabbit compost with potting soil. Not sure how hot rabbit droppings are. I've read of people spreading them directly out into their garden. Not like chicken manure, which is unanimous in statements of it being too potent without composting before use. Some of the tomato plants are still fated for some experimentation, so I can use some of them for that, aside from the ammonia and vinegar continuation. Just been waiting for them to gain some size. Currently have over 140 tomato plants and nowhere near enough room to grow all of them to maturity.
Only built five mounds so far but they're large. Biggest one is over 4 ft across. Size and placement are asymmetrical. Sides are black plastic supported by wooden stakes driven in the ground. Put down a layer of dry alfalfa, then piled the soil/compost mixture on top of that. Each should be big enough for several tomato, pumpkin and pepper plants. Maybe some marigolds thrown in here and there. Give a try at companion planting some cucumbers and green beans, too. I'll build more once I can afford to buy a few yards of potting soil or the next batch of compost is ready.
Moved the tomato seedlings out into full sun this evening from under the tree. See how they do there. Moved the tray of mixed sprouts out under the tree. These are all warmer weather plants.
Got some ore seed corn. The corn I planted outside is being stubborn. I'm frustrated because I had counted on the corn providing some shade to the smaller plants. At this rate, the lettuce will be long gone before the corn is tall enough to provide any shade. Not sure of the fate of the spinach. That's okay, long as I can get at least one good crop of lettuce and spinach. I was planning on successive plantings once it's too hot for lettuce.
One of my next experimental projects is going to be mixing straight rabbit compost with potting soil. Not sure how hot rabbit droppings are. I've read of people spreading them directly out into their garden. Not like chicken manure, which is unanimous in statements of it being too potent without composting before use. Some of the tomato plants are still fated for some experimentation, so I can use some of them for that, aside from the ammonia and vinegar continuation. Just been waiting for them to gain some size. Currently have over 140 tomato plants and nowhere near enough room to grow all of them to maturity.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Zoo day
My daughter and I went to the zoo this afternoon, spent a few hours there. Also went to see a duck pond near the ex's new place which daughter has been telling me about frequently. So, we had a good day. After dropping her off, ex said she was wiped out.
Been having problems getting flowers started in the garden. Not sure why. They're growing in one spot but not in others. So, seeded a bunch of them inside and they're starting well now, just beginning to sprout.
All the seeds I planted a few days ago are coming up now. Wide assortment of green beans (assorted), watermelon, pumpkin, cucumber and cantaloupe.
Transplanted the strawberry sprouts out to the raised bed a few days ago and they're still going, so guess I did something right. Harvested some more seeds last night and showed my daughter how it's done. They're still drying.
Not many of the seed potatoes took, only a few. Had some russets which were getting old and forming eyes, so I cut them into large pieces with at least two eyes each, let them form callouses and planted them, just to see how it goes. Worst that can happen is they don't grow, right?
On Thur to Fri, I had a really long day. Got to work at 5 AM Thur. What was supposed to be an 8 hour shift turned into an 11 hour shift. Got off work at about 4 PM. Came home, fed the animals. Had things to do, so ran some errands. Then went to work for a 12 hour shift in ICU for the agency. Got home Fri morning around 8 AM. Total of 23 hours clocked in between jobs in a 27 hour period. My original intent was to work 8 hours, run errands, come home, take a nap and then work the 12 hour shift.
This morning, had to work for 2 hours, so had to take my daughter with me. The list of safety precautions I took is really extensive, so no risk was involved. Couldn't tell that to my nerves, though. She behaved really well and made instant friends with every one of my coworkers she met, true to her form.
Now I'm going to get to bed so I can get a few decent hours of sleep before work tomorrow.
Been having problems getting flowers started in the garden. Not sure why. They're growing in one spot but not in others. So, seeded a bunch of them inside and they're starting well now, just beginning to sprout.
All the seeds I planted a few days ago are coming up now. Wide assortment of green beans (assorted), watermelon, pumpkin, cucumber and cantaloupe.
Transplanted the strawberry sprouts out to the raised bed a few days ago and they're still going, so guess I did something right. Harvested some more seeds last night and showed my daughter how it's done. They're still drying.
Not many of the seed potatoes took, only a few. Had some russets which were getting old and forming eyes, so I cut them into large pieces with at least two eyes each, let them form callouses and planted them, just to see how it goes. Worst that can happen is they don't grow, right?
On Thur to Fri, I had a really long day. Got to work at 5 AM Thur. What was supposed to be an 8 hour shift turned into an 11 hour shift. Got off work at about 4 PM. Came home, fed the animals. Had things to do, so ran some errands. Then went to work for a 12 hour shift in ICU for the agency. Got home Fri morning around 8 AM. Total of 23 hours clocked in between jobs in a 27 hour period. My original intent was to work 8 hours, run errands, come home, take a nap and then work the 12 hour shift.
This morning, had to work for 2 hours, so had to take my daughter with me. The list of safety precautions I took is really extensive, so no risk was involved. Couldn't tell that to my nerves, though. She behaved really well and made instant friends with every one of my coworkers she met, true to her form.
Now I'm going to get to bed so I can get a few decent hours of sleep before work tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Bouncing back and more sandstorms
Another sandstorm today. Hate them, they throw all kinds of allergens into the air and make you so dry you feel mummified.
They also rip plants right out of the ground. Had to go out in the winds this evening and manually tie the pea plants to their stakes because the winds just tore the natural supports away, damaging or even breaking some off at ground level. Still, of the remaining plants, many are starting to sprout small white flowers now. If the heat and wind don't kill them off beforehand, I should have peas in the fairly near future.
The lettuce bounced back and looks better than it did before.
What I need to do is get a garden sprayer and adapt it to be a soil injector, so I can inject a thin fertilizer mixture directly into the soil. Phosphorous and Potassium I'm not so worried about. Those wash downward into the soil, as do Magnesium and Zinc. Nitrogen and acidity have to be added and adjusted at a deeper level. Nitrogen becomes gaseous, rises and blows away. Acidity in such a dry environment becomes neutralized at the surface level, especially with these winds. Besides, surface treatments burn foliage. If I treat the soil below the root level, the roots will absorb the nutrients as they rise through the soil. That's the process which takes place with graves and septic tanks. The decaying matter releases Nitrogen and CO2 which rises through the soil and gets absorbed by plants.
I'm happy to say I've been adapting rather well to the day shift. My greatest fear was that I would have some day/s when I wouldn't wake up to the alarm. Honestly, I have had a couple of mornings where I hit "snooze" too many times or turned the alarm off and fell back asleep. I did wake up and make it to work on time, just had to move a bit faster than I really felt like at that time. Getting up at or before 4 AM to be at work by 5 or 5:15 AM has never been quite my style before now.
Had a conflict with another employee at work yesterday. She was hired at the same time I was. Had seemed like we would get along well but things happened, tensions rose and it all hit the fan yesterday. (Wow. Can't recall that ever happening in less than two weeks before.) Won't go into specifics but I will say that there were at least two witnesses. The program director asked each of us for a written statement and apparently their statements were rather supportive of me in the situation. I dislike conflict and prefer being able to work things out with discussion. That just was not available as an option here.
Finances are still on the edge. Haven't gotten any short shifts like I had hoped. Not scheduled for Friday, so hoping I can get a full 12 hour shift for Thur night. Wouldn't be completely enough but would help. If nothing surfaces, have to see if I can get a loan to carry me for one week. I'd rather avoid that but do what I have to do.
They also rip plants right out of the ground. Had to go out in the winds this evening and manually tie the pea plants to their stakes because the winds just tore the natural supports away, damaging or even breaking some off at ground level. Still, of the remaining plants, many are starting to sprout small white flowers now. If the heat and wind don't kill them off beforehand, I should have peas in the fairly near future.
The lettuce bounced back and looks better than it did before.
What I need to do is get a garden sprayer and adapt it to be a soil injector, so I can inject a thin fertilizer mixture directly into the soil. Phosphorous and Potassium I'm not so worried about. Those wash downward into the soil, as do Magnesium and Zinc. Nitrogen and acidity have to be added and adjusted at a deeper level. Nitrogen becomes gaseous, rises and blows away. Acidity in such a dry environment becomes neutralized at the surface level, especially with these winds. Besides, surface treatments burn foliage. If I treat the soil below the root level, the roots will absorb the nutrients as they rise through the soil. That's the process which takes place with graves and septic tanks. The decaying matter releases Nitrogen and CO2 which rises through the soil and gets absorbed by plants.
I'm happy to say I've been adapting rather well to the day shift. My greatest fear was that I would have some day/s when I wouldn't wake up to the alarm. Honestly, I have had a couple of mornings where I hit "snooze" too many times or turned the alarm off and fell back asleep. I did wake up and make it to work on time, just had to move a bit faster than I really felt like at that time. Getting up at or before 4 AM to be at work by 5 or 5:15 AM has never been quite my style before now.
Had a conflict with another employee at work yesterday. She was hired at the same time I was. Had seemed like we would get along well but things happened, tensions rose and it all hit the fan yesterday. (Wow. Can't recall that ever happening in less than two weeks before.) Won't go into specifics but I will say that there were at least two witnesses. The program director asked each of us for a written statement and apparently their statements were rather supportive of me in the situation. I dislike conflict and prefer being able to work things out with discussion. That just was not available as an option here.
Finances are still on the edge. Haven't gotten any short shifts like I had hoped. Not scheduled for Friday, so hoping I can get a full 12 hour shift for Thur night. Wouldn't be completely enough but would help. If nothing surfaces, have to see if I can get a loan to carry me for one week. I'd rather avoid that but do what I have to do.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mini garlic?
Went out and weeded the garden this evening. Only got about 5 lbs this time, half of what I got the first time, so getting better. Maybe next time will be half again?
Had to harvest the garlic along one side of the garden, since the leaves fell over, browning. It was all spring planted and not fully formed, so I have a lot of very small garlic now. Think it should be edible, though.
Guess I overdid it with the ammonia and vinegar yesterday. Kind of burned a few leafy plants. Though I think the heat is really affecting the romaine. On the other hand, the iceberg is perking up. So are a lot of the less leafy plants. Most leaf lettuce has been dying off but I recently planted Black Seeded Simpson, which is supposed to be more heat and drought tolerant. Give it a try.
I pulled the most tragic looking lettuce and gave it to the bunny, who seemed happy with it. By the way, the bunny has chosen one particular corner to do her business in, which makes it easier to just move the hutch and collect it for the compost.
No matter what mistakes I make, I'm seeing it as a process which improves my knowledge and the soil. Plants which die off make it to the compost directly, indirectly via the bunny process or just turned back into the soil. Mulch helps but I think will help more over time as old mulch gets turned and mixed into the soil and new mulch added to the top. Even if I add too much Nitrogen and acidity to the soil for current plants, it helps the garden condition in the long term. I learn lessons both from what I do right and what I do wrong.
Had to harvest the garlic along one side of the garden, since the leaves fell over, browning. It was all spring planted and not fully formed, so I have a lot of very small garlic now. Think it should be edible, though.
Guess I overdid it with the ammonia and vinegar yesterday. Kind of burned a few leafy plants. Though I think the heat is really affecting the romaine. On the other hand, the iceberg is perking up. So are a lot of the less leafy plants. Most leaf lettuce has been dying off but I recently planted Black Seeded Simpson, which is supposed to be more heat and drought tolerant. Give it a try.
I pulled the most tragic looking lettuce and gave it to the bunny, who seemed happy with it. By the way, the bunny has chosen one particular corner to do her business in, which makes it easier to just move the hutch and collect it for the compost.
No matter what mistakes I make, I'm seeing it as a process which improves my knowledge and the soil. Plants which die off make it to the compost directly, indirectly via the bunny process or just turned back into the soil. Mulch helps but I think will help more over time as old mulch gets turned and mixed into the soil and new mulch added to the top. Even if I add too much Nitrogen and acidity to the soil for current plants, it helps the garden condition in the long term. I learn lessons both from what I do right and what I do wrong.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
More ammonia
First, I'll say we found feathers and dried blood in the yard today. Most right where the dog hangs out. I'll just say the dog will never be let off her tie-out line without direct supervision again. Too much damage over too many chances. So, no more chances.
The lettuce started curling up and some of the leaves turned yellow. Haven't had any more frost or cold enough weather to cause it. One suggestion I read was they need Nitrogen. Haven't treated the garden for a few weeks and even then it was a light treatment. So, sprayed the garden with vinegar and ammonia with the hose attachment sprayer tonight, after sundown. Then sprayed with plain water after, to wash the mixture off the foliage and into the soil.
Hope I don't kill the whole garden! But at this point, I doubt it. I recently had to treat the grass again and it's doing fine. But wanted to do the grass first to make sure I wasn't overdoing things. Grass started to turn colors but the first time I used only ammonia. Followed the next day with vinegar and things turned around. But it did come to me that rinsing the mixture off the foliage was a good idea, to avoid burning.
I also added some compost to the weaker mounds earlier in the day, so I hope the combination does some good.
No matter what, way things had begun looking, lots of things were going to die off if not treated. If the treatment does some damage, haven't lost anything which wasn't going to be lost. The weather has been dry and going into the 80's here, so it could be dryness and heat doing harm. Or maybe I'm watering too much. Lay back on that for a couple of days and see what happens.
The lettuce started curling up and some of the leaves turned yellow. Haven't had any more frost or cold enough weather to cause it. One suggestion I read was they need Nitrogen. Haven't treated the garden for a few weeks and even then it was a light treatment. So, sprayed the garden with vinegar and ammonia with the hose attachment sprayer tonight, after sundown. Then sprayed with plain water after, to wash the mixture off the foliage and into the soil.
Hope I don't kill the whole garden! But at this point, I doubt it. I recently had to treat the grass again and it's doing fine. But wanted to do the grass first to make sure I wasn't overdoing things. Grass started to turn colors but the first time I used only ammonia. Followed the next day with vinegar and things turned around. But it did come to me that rinsing the mixture off the foliage was a good idea, to avoid burning.
I also added some compost to the weaker mounds earlier in the day, so I hope the combination does some good.
No matter what, way things had begun looking, lots of things were going to die off if not treated. If the treatment does some damage, haven't lost anything which wasn't going to be lost. The weather has been dry and going into the 80's here, so it could be dryness and heat doing harm. Or maybe I'm watering too much. Lay back on that for a couple of days and see what happens.
Friday, May 7, 2010
If that doesn't suck..
Figured if I wasn't working a second job, this job would give me more time to work in the garden. However, I've racked up over 60 hours from Mon through Fri this week and still have Sun to go on this week's pay period. The money will be welcome once the check comes but it's been quite a challenge working that much with a sinus infection and no cooling in the building.
The chickens got out of a space between the front and side of the coop which I figured was way too tiny for them to fit through. Now I can only find one of them. Not sure where the rest went. I have noted the dog hasn't eaten her food today and doesn't seem hungry. There are plenty of predators around here, including dogs, cats, coyotes and hawks. Maybe they'll show up later. If not, I'll get more chicks in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, not sure what to expect from a lonely chicken.
Wound up with over 140 tomato plants, which are now moved out under a tree last several days and doing well. Same with some strawberry sprouts I transplanted. The indoor seed starting area is now housing various warm weather seeds which take time to grow and/or will have multiple plantings. More green beans, pumpkins, melons, cucumbers.
The garden is looking better than a couple weeks ago, with all the cold weather and wind we had. Some wind tonight but not like it was before.
The chickens got out of a space between the front and side of the coop which I figured was way too tiny for them to fit through. Now I can only find one of them. Not sure where the rest went. I have noted the dog hasn't eaten her food today and doesn't seem hungry. There are plenty of predators around here, including dogs, cats, coyotes and hawks. Maybe they'll show up later. If not, I'll get more chicks in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, not sure what to expect from a lonely chicken.
Wound up with over 140 tomato plants, which are now moved out under a tree last several days and doing well. Same with some strawberry sprouts I transplanted. The indoor seed starting area is now housing various warm weather seeds which take time to grow and/or will have multiple plantings. More green beans, pumpkins, melons, cucumbers.
The garden is looking better than a couple weeks ago, with all the cold weather and wind we had. Some wind tonight but not like it was before.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Rainy day
I actually did not see much of the garden today. Started the new job, so left home while it was still dark. Got home and it was rainy and cold. Took what was intended as a short nap and woke up 6 hours later, after dark. Least I don't have to water today!
The chickens are getting bigger and run through (or spill and contaminate) the water dispenser I have for them, which they're getting too big for. Need to devise a larger water dispenser and also a larger feeder for them. Though I'm going to start letting them out of the coop this week, probably starting tomorrow. They seem interested in the elm seeds and ate all of the ones where I placed the coop, so no complaints there. Long as it does them no harm.
My daughter and I have seen a few ladybugs in the garden, which was something we never saw last year. That's a good sign. When I can afford it, I'll buy a bunch of them, as well. Keep the aphids at bay. Between that and sunflowers planted a distance from the main garden, it should help.
I like the new schedule. Nice getting off work at a time when I can either get and extra job for a few hours or can work around the house and get things accomplished, while not being exhausted from 12-13 hours at work. Plus, numerous hours of daylight left to get things done. At this rate, getting the garden laid out and planted the way I want and then solarium built becomes a real likelihood, instead of a dream. I need to get some areas of shade built for the house and garden by late June or early July. I may now be able to do this, which I had questioned with my old schedule.
I now have over 114 tomato sprouts started inside. The trays with the ammonia and vinegar solution are doing the most poorly. Though they are also planted in egg trays, while the rest are planted in styrofoam cups, so I'm not sure what difference that makes, if any.
Strawberry seeds are doing best in the loosest soil I have in their container. Going to get more berries later and just try planting in regular potting soil. I had used a mixture of garden soil, some of which is rather sandy. This also tells me I need to still add more mulched straw to the garden soil. The sand in my soil is extremely fine and it compacts too easily. But the strawberries which are growing are doing rather well so far. Have to transplant them once they have enough roots.
The chickens are getting bigger and run through (or spill and contaminate) the water dispenser I have for them, which they're getting too big for. Need to devise a larger water dispenser and also a larger feeder for them. Though I'm going to start letting them out of the coop this week, probably starting tomorrow. They seem interested in the elm seeds and ate all of the ones where I placed the coop, so no complaints there. Long as it does them no harm.
My daughter and I have seen a few ladybugs in the garden, which was something we never saw last year. That's a good sign. When I can afford it, I'll buy a bunch of them, as well. Keep the aphids at bay. Between that and sunflowers planted a distance from the main garden, it should help.
I like the new schedule. Nice getting off work at a time when I can either get and extra job for a few hours or can work around the house and get things accomplished, while not being exhausted from 12-13 hours at work. Plus, numerous hours of daylight left to get things done. At this rate, getting the garden laid out and planted the way I want and then solarium built becomes a real likelihood, instead of a dream. I need to get some areas of shade built for the house and garden by late June or early July. I may now be able to do this, which I had questioned with my old schedule.
I now have over 114 tomato sprouts started inside. The trays with the ammonia and vinegar solution are doing the most poorly. Though they are also planted in egg trays, while the rest are planted in styrofoam cups, so I'm not sure what difference that makes, if any.
Strawberry seeds are doing best in the loosest soil I have in their container. Going to get more berries later and just try planting in regular potting soil. I had used a mixture of garden soil, some of which is rather sandy. This also tells me I need to still add more mulched straw to the garden soil. The sand in my soil is extremely fine and it compacts too easily. But the strawberries which are growing are doing rather well so far. Have to transplant them once they have enough roots.
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