Week 12 - Time to Turn!

Time in: 12noon
Time out: 3pm

Today was the perfect day to turn over the rest of the green manure plots. I'll keep the water going for the week or so to help quicken their decomposition process and get soil samples then. The results may differ if taken a week or so after turning the plots over as opposed to testing a month or so after, but for the sake of my class project, I'll need to take some tests soon. It'll be very interesting to see the results!

Other tasks I was able to complete were:

• Set up a half circle adjustable sprinkler for the east plot
• Plant Nasturtiums, Peas, and Crimson Clover in the east plot
• Transfer some tomato plants (that have been sprouting from last season's harvest) to the plot behind the shed.
• Clean and rake
• Paint the step to the lath house

Week 11 - More Progress in the Garden

Time in: 10:15
Time out: 12:30

It was a beautiful day to get some work done in the garden. So beautiful, in fact, that my step father, Steve, and even my mom came outside to tend to her plots around the back of the house.

Here are some of the tasks we were able to get done:

Turn the Braco Mustard into Green Manure

• It was time for the Braco Mustard to become green manure. Here's a video of me cutting the greens into pieces. After this, I dug it into the soil (see top photo) and will let it compost itself for natural fertilization.

Building a step

• Meanwhile, Steve and Jared devised a plan to build one long step in front of the lathe house. They used square-foot bricks from Steve's old walkway and had to do a lot of digging and filling of dirt to make it level out. Steve then screwed in an 8 foot 2x4 for the top surface of the step. The next step of the process is to paint the step.
  

Moving the Clematis

• I had purchased two clematis plants last season and thoughtfully (yet naively) planted them on the east end of the lath house in a narrow 2x8 foot plot. Summer then kicked into full gear and the clematis suffered from the high temperatures and the eastern side's full sun exposure. I attempted to create more shade around it and still, they were much too exposed. Finally, I decided to move them over to the other side. The same side where the passion flower is growing (very slowly) and in fact, one in the same pot. There's still some life in them yet, so hopefully this will be a better home for them!

Water installation and plastic wall

• Moving the clematis over to the other side provided another free space I can use to plant. Since I haven't yet planted the Dundale Peas, I believe this will be the perfect location and opportunity to do so. In order for them to grow successfully, I had to reconnect the water source to this end of the lath house. I found a sprinkler head from my last season's irrigation stock and decided to try it on this side. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite what I was looking for. This sprinkler head creates streams of water that only focuses itself on particular spots. I need a half-circle sprinkler that sprays, just like the one I purchased for the green-manure plot, which covers the entire area. For now, I had to build a plastic wall in front of the sprinker in order for the streams of water to stay inside the plot.
  

Here are the next tasks I would like to get done:

• Plant Dundale Peas, Nasturtiums, more Crimson Clover...
  
• Purchase a half-circle sprinkler
  
• Paint the step infront of the lath house
• Build benches/tables for lath house
• Clean, organize shed

Plant Progress (Nov. 21)

The plants are looking nice and healthy. The Braco Mustard plot is practically overflowing so believe it's time to turn it into green manure! The others, however need a couple more weeks before this can be done. So far, so good!

Aquadulce Favabeans

Braco Mustard

Cereal Rye

Crimson Clover

Plant Progress (Nov 7)

All four plots are looking really good and it's almost time to turn the Braco Mustard over, before it flowers (as directed on the backside of the packet).

Should I do the same to the Crimson Clover crop? Part of me wants to leave it alone so that I can appreciate it's beautiful red flowers and the bees it attracts. I'll have to find out more information on when exactly to turn the clover crop and the fava beans over.

Aquadulce Fava Bean

Braco Mustard

Cereal Rye

Crimson Clover

Week 9 - Plant Progress (Nov 2)

( A 'Christmas Lima' bean in my backyard that has been

growing since late last summer)

Time in: 3pm

Time out: 4pm

The plants are looking youthful and healthy yet a little bit thirsty since the tempuratures were in the high 80's last weekend. The sprinkler is set pretty early in the morning (6:45 am), for 15 minutes, so it probably wasn't enough to sustain the late afternoon warmth. I gave them a good soak, and that quickly restored them back to full vigor.

Aquadulce Fava Beans

Braco Mustard

Cereal Rye

Crimson Clover

Plant Progress - Oct. 25th

These green-manure plants are growing so fast that I'm considering a second allotment of them. Especially the cereal rye since the directions suggest that I wait no longer than 12 inches in height before I till them into the soil. It's fun to see the almost immediate changes every week.

Aquadulce Fava Bean

Braco Mustard

Cereal Rye

Crimson Clover

Plant Progress - Oct 17th

The green manure plants are looking healthy and vigorous. They survived the two day rains and the 90 degree heat that immediately followed. The Fava beans have also come up!

Aquadulce Fava Beans

Braco Mustard

Cereal Rye

Crimson Clover

There were a few holes in the Crimson Clover patch, which I suspect are squirrels, so I decided to lay down some chili pepper flakes - a trick I learned from last spring's tomato patch project.


And while I was doing that, Jared planted some winter veggies in the newly mulched narrow plots. We decided on broccoli, beets, lettuce and spinach. Sounds like a nice winter stew!

Plant Progress - Oct. 5th

I planted the seeds on Monday, October 5th and by Saturday, October 10th, they started sprouting! It's always exciting to see the first sprouts come up.

Braco Mustard


Cereal Rye



Crimson Clover

The Aquadulce Fava Beans have yet to come up. It has been about 5 days since I have visited the plot and two of them were pretty rainy. Of course now they are saying the teperature will climb back into the 90's. I will be checking in on everything today and because of the quick weather changes we've been experiencing, I'm a little anxious. they only just started sprouting so I hope they are making it through ok...

Week 5 (part 3) - Last Year's Food Scraps

Time in: 4pm
Time out: 6:30pm

A year has gone by since I we first started to fill the compost bin. I figured that now is the perfect time to use it. We had just enough to fill up the grape-vine plot (located behind the shed) and the narrow aisles that run along the north and east ends of the main 8 x 8 square foot garden. Jared had a great idea to plant winter veggies in these plots. There is not too much to discuss here, just a lot of digging, pickaxing, shoveling, mixing and filling. Would've taken twice as long without Jared around.