Cucumber vines

Checked the cucumber vines I planted the other day (less than a week ago). They have all sprouted and growing fast! So fast that I will have to transplant them this weekend. Slow as they grew last year, I wasn't expecting them to take off like little rockets this year. 

However, they are currently in potting soil. So that is a big illustration of the difference in soil. Definitely a sodium problem in the native soil still. It improves year upon year but not quite fixed yet by any means. 

I'm going to go check a local compost company not far from my house this weekend. They probably sell compost by the bag because I know their products are or used to be carried in major chain stores. 

One of the good things for the garden plan this year is that it will leave more room to do intensive treatments with acid this year. From experience one the last couple of years, I'm not worried about burning crops because the acid is almost instantaneously neutralized in the soil. I can apply huge amounts of acid, enough to help control weeds and not fear doing damage to food crops or flowers only inches away. (Long as I don't over-spray.) 

Tomato plants I transplanted the other day are mostly doing well. I think only one failed. Have to transplant more soon.

 

More spring prep

More spring planning.

Have the sprinkler running during lunch right now to till the north garden this evening and to see if the tomatoes from last year come back. I can always hope!

Bought some peat pellets last night. First time using them but worth a shot for some items. Going to buy more trays tonight to start seeds.

Ordered new micro sprinkler inserts, which cost about 1/4 the whole sprinklers. Can replace the tops on these, which is nice. Especially since I keep tearing them up with the weed whacker. 

Also have more seeds on order for various things. 

I think the garden is going to look nice this year, with broader rows. Less cluttered and a lot less weeds. However, lots of flowers. Have lots of seeds saved from last year. 

Going to add Cosmos to the front yard this year, in addition to the sunflowers. 

Got another rose bush. Haven't decided on placement but it isn't waiting to be planted out. Still in the bag and has leaves forming!

Okay, back to work.

Lettuce

Right now it's looking like lettuce and spinach are a low chance this year. Temps are going directly from freezing to above 70. Seeds may not germinate unless I start them inside and transplant them out. Guess I'll give that a try and see how it goes. Once they're started, they'll keep going until temps go over 90. 

Definitely going to build a lot of raised beds this year. Mostly for strawberries but maybe a few more for other things. Then build some form of partial shade structure for them because raised beds heat up faster than surrounding soil.

Still considering buying some compost. Finances may allow it in a few weeks. Wait and see.

Seed starting 2014

So, growing season is fast approaching. Thanks to schedule and heath issues, got off to a later start than intended this year for a few things. Mostly tomato seeds. However, they are started and many are growing. So are various pepper seeds and strawberry plants. 

Of strawberries, I have 8 plants actively growing and planted 10 more this weekend. Going to keep planting more of them each week until I reach at least 50, maybe 100. This year, strawberries are remaining in containers. I think I still have too much salt in the soil for them and they're too sensitive to it. 

So far, I have started tomato, strawberry, jalapeno, cayenne, garlic, cucumber and mint. Ordered seeds for tobacco, purple carrots and scorpion peppers. (Scorpion peppers are to sell and for various things like insecticide, dog repellant and pepper spray. No urge to try and eat them. May give some to the ex's new husband, who likes really hot foods. He'd probably like them.)

Going to stick with a lot of container plants this year to try and beat the weeds back. With me being absent so much last year, they really gained control and I have to take steps this year to regain control. Lots of tilling and burning until at least early summer this year.

I'm also keeping a much wider spacing between rows and in between larger plants. More working space to pull and cultivate. 

I had planned on buying several tons of wood chips this year and mulching really deep. However, they doubled the price of delivery for the wood chips this year and I have other financial concerns more pressing. 

I have done several limited burns to the garden so far and have several more planned. Getting those done before actual growing season gets here. It has to be done in seriously limited sections because it is so dry and I have so much overgrowth left over that a fire spreads out of control in seconds. (Not kidding on that!) Nearly trapped myself once this week when a fire spread behind me too quickly. If I had not been paying enough attention, it would have been really ugly. Still, not convinced the burns went deep enough to do that much good. Other steps will definitely be required.

Good thing is that I am now working from home and my schedule will be changing, so I will have time to work on things and get it in shape. 

I also bought an invisible dog fence, which has so far proven quite effective to keep the dogs in the yard and out of the garden. So, when I start planting things out, they won't be dug up or scattered like last year. 

Most of the garden won't be planted out as early as previous years. Going to give it time to till and burn several times before planting out. Maybe by the time I do plant out, I can afford the wood chips as planned. I will plant a limited run of lettuce but very limited. I think it will get too hot for lettuce very early this year. Not even trying broccoli. May not be the best option for me with current health issues, any way. 

Over the fall and winter, I did get some portion of the solarium built up. If I can continue with that, it may wind up being cool enough for some cooler weather crops well into the summer. Dogs and wind have done some damage to what I have in place but it's more stable than ever before. Still a lot more to do with it. Even with the damage, this winter was fairly cold and the solarium did definitely help keep the place more comfortable than previous winters, especially combined with previous efforts of sealing off the crawl space vents and insulating part of the bathroom ceiling.

I believe this year I may finally be able to get some solar and wind elements built into the house. First elements in that vein will be solar heating, solar cooling and ceiling vents. Maybe install a skylight or two. I will also make a shot at a solar water pre-heating system. However, a bigger priority is insulating the ceiling of the main house. 

On consideration, I have decided to also add a smaller solarium structure to the front of the house at some point. That one will take a while and will have to be much more decorative than the one in back. It should help insulate the house in winter and, if designed properly, help cool it further in summer. However, want to complete the one in back first and take a few lessons from it. I do still consider this project an experiment in progress. So, it is a bit rough for now. No finishing touches until I find out how it performs in all seasons. Besides, I am still limited by finances.