April 19, 2015

Temperatures were fairly high last week, close to 80°F one day, but has since cooled off considerably to about a high of 62°F today. We found out that our new irrigation system has been using quite a lot more water than we'd suspected when we got our bill from the water service. When I went to get familiar with the meter so that I could monitor it closely and determine how to lower our new usage, I found it to be going backwards. Now that the meter has been replaced I'm keeping tight reins on it.
It turns out by far the most water was being consumed by the irrigation for the general landscaping and not nearly as much from the vegetable raised beds. I ran each station for 5 minutes to log the amounts and created a table to reflect the data. As a result we've cut the time for the general back to about 25% of what it had been using.
We've been harvesting quite a bit of our crops and replacing with new ones for summer growth.

Box 1

I've pulled almost all of the arugula and set up a row of mesclun seeds and another row of basil seeds. The remaining Little Gem lettuce is starting to bolt so they've not long to stay. The garlic is still growing and noticeably not sending up blooms so far. I have to think it is due to the regular watering from the irrigation. I'll have to figure out how to reconfigure the lines when it comes time to stop watering them altogether.

Box 2

We got a good harvest of shelling peas last week, enough for a side dish and there's at least that much more to come. I finished the chard up a couple of days ago, as it had been there long enough, and started the zucchini with a plant (Romesco) a fellow gardener donated. When we finish the last of the remaining kale, I'll replace it with a second squash. I thinned the beet greens trying to let the larger ones establish their roots. We're starting to roast and use the ones we've picked.

Box 3

I'm using this year to get a grasp on how to set up irrigation for the tomato box. I got a few more tree watering stakes to devote two per plant, one on either side. I've pulled them up to get more moisture to the top but as the plants develop I'll probably push them back down a bit to get the water down further to the deeper roots.

Box 4

I pulled the first planting of cilantro and dill as they were starting to bolt and had grown enough to crowd everything else down on their end of the box. The second seeding from February has matured enough to yield what we use. In the clearing I seeded the next crop of each but much less as I get a better idea of just how much I need. I also trimmed the parsley considerably as it is also starting to bolt.

Box 5

Status quo here. We've harvested more of the Merlot lettuce and the radishes. The carrot seedlings have germinated and the snap peas are starting to bloom.

Containers

Considering I'm only watering these on Sunday, they're all doing quite well, even the mint. Maybe it's just that I have the resources to pay more attention to them even in lieu of reducing the watering levels from last year.

April 9, 2015

This year January was April weather-wise so April might as well be January it would seem. We got about 1.25" between the light rain on Sunday and the storm on Tuesday morning. The same storm dropped about 2' of snow up in the Sierras, way more than all of January. Doesn't touch the drought but very, very welcome nonetheless. And temperatures have been seasonable, finally.

We've pulled quite a bit out of the garden, lately. 

Box 1

The mesclun and radishes had started to bolt so they're gone now. We started in finally on the Little Gem lettuces and they are really good. What's remaining of the Red Lettuce Mix is starting to bolt now. I've been thinning the garlic a little for green garlic but they're now starting to mature so those days may be done. The rocket (arugula) looks about done and the radicchio will probably force me to use them soon too. Not sure what will replace this half of the box, maybe another lettuce/mesclun seeding and a row of basil.

Box 2

We've harvested most of the chard. It was very good but since it was there for a while, the leaves had become rather large and somewhat leathery to an extent but still quite useable. There were a lot of small aphids and their ant overlords that had to be washed out but they left no significant damage at all. The kale will have to be used now too before they get too long in the tooth.

The peas, Progress #9, were sold as shelling peas and they're starting to plump up quite a bit. The early pods are quite edible as raw though just a touch fibrous. I'm letting them fill in the peas and should start picking them this week. Overall I think snap peas will be a better use of our space since there is relatively little yield given the size when just shelling the peas as opposed to being able to use the entire pod.
The beets definitely can use more space. The greens have been good but I have to be on top of the thinning to give the roots space to grow.

Box 3

We cleared out the box this week to prepare and plant the tomatoes. The celery, cole crops, and chicory were all an experiment anyway. We harvested the celery and it's sitting in the frig now. I don't know how long it will store but they sure are good. The chicory was a bit more than we wound up wanting. They made for some nice dishes but a little will go a long way. I finally got a couple of the cores to form and made some puntarelle with anchovy sauce - that's still a work in progress. As I mentioned earlier the cauliflower just takes up too much room for this setup so probably won't be growing them again. The broccolini was amazing, though. Definitely a keeper for late and early plantings.

To prepare the box for the tomatoes, I turned the top half of the soil over completely, added 2 more bags of Local Hero and fortified the planting holes with steer manure, 2 bags overall. I've come up with a new method for growing the tomatoes based on the new setup and experience from last summer. This time I've added much better support to the cages using 7ft stakes. The plants got so big last year, the cages couldn't stay upright without support. I'm also experimenting with 14" tree watering stakes tied into the drip irrigation to provide deeper water to the plants, the idea being that the tomatoes grow deep roots so get the water to them down there. I've put the stakes on the perimeters of the cages but will see how and where the soil gets wet to determine the ideal placement of them as the season progresses. This should eliminate the need for any hand watering which was always a pain to maintain as well as an inefficient means of keeping them supplied with water through the season.

Box 4

The first seeding of cilantro and dill from January 15 are still going strong more or less taking over their space crowding out the perennial tarragon and the parsley I planted a couple of weeks ago. The second seeding from February 15 are coming up as well. I'm still learning the life expectancy of their growing time to determine the ideal seeding schedule for a continuous harvest through the year. So far it seems I should seed quite a bit less and less often. Maybe a two-month period rather than a one-month. The second chives are performing very well, I'll probably have to take out the first as I only need one for use. The thymes, oreganos, and marjoram are doing quite well with their spacing and twice a week watering. I've planted another basil yesterday just to have some around until I seed an entire row for the summer. I'm not sure yet where the seeding will go.

Box 5

The celery is progressing, the seeding of the kale and chard are crowded. The lettuces are doing well but the rows are too crowded. I planted a couple of new peppers yesterday giving them some room. The carrot seedlings are coming up but rather spotty, not sure why. The snap peas are growing but yet to produce any flowers.

Containers

Everything doing quite well. The rosemarys are getting into a growing groove now. I've kept watering all of this to only once a week on Sunday though I skipped this week in lieu of the rain. Last year I tried to water at least two or three times a week, I'll see if I need to step up the frequency as the season progresses, especially with the mints.