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.