planting fall crops

early september, double dug 3A and planted king carrot seeds as well as easter egg raddishes. started broccoli in seedling flat. single dug 2D/border and transplanted some herbs, sweet basil, marjoram, spearmint, peppermint.

updates:
1A - staked up tomatoes better and folded into stake/wire cages. still producing plenty of fruit, even spreading into 1B

1B - beans are pretty much done, have harvested several jars already, maybe can get 1 more. potatoes are probably done, no more green shows. cucumbers are mostly done.. already have made 3 jars of pickle, and a few more remain.

1C - corn is drying out, all good ears are picked. some ears remain to collect seeds from

1D - strawberries making a comeback, very green now and spreading out, some fruits starting to appear. all greens have been harvested. have several bok choi pods to collect seeds from

2A - jalapenos doing well, many flowers and several fruits showing. black beans doing well, lots of full pods.

2B - summer squash is amazingly good crop. 1 watermelon is making it. several acorn squash as well

jalapeno!

planted some jalapenos from orchard in 2A. also some black beans that Mike started. pulled some weeds around and in 2A. no lentils ever sprouted.

updates:

1A: lots of tomatoes, none quite ready to eat. plenty of onions, carrots, chives. some leeks and garlic (still growing).

1B: bean pods are growing large, but beans inside are still small. cucumber plant is big, but no fruits or flowers. potatoes are doing well, and are producing flowers.

1C: corn is growing well, about 5' height. flowers are coming up in the centers of the larger plants. smaller plants are growing on the edges.

1D: big cabbage plants growing well. several strawberries harvested already, nice and sweet. bok choi also harvested well... and spinach.

2A: new plants

2B: small line of bok choi/cabbage growing well

2C: several squash started and doing well. some watermelons are sprouted and growing on the edges.

gated

last week:
finished weeding area 3, and thinned out apple tree in area 3. planted watermelon seeds around area 2, and squash inside area 2B and C. transplanted some greens into area 2, between A and B.

this week:
built gate up in front of garden. staked up some tomatoes and corn that was blown down by wind. several bean plants are flowering, and tomatoes are growing larger. today witnessed first squash plants peeking out of soil. tried to start some more lentis in seedling boxes.

more dig

double-dug the rest of area 2, full texturising with compost and sand. rebuilt fence to encompass all of area 1 and 2. ready to finish fence around area 3 as well. area 3 started to weed, but need to finish it.

area 1 update:
A: tomatoes are coming! many fruits are seen, still very small tho. carrots and onions are doing great, have harvested many with great success. chives also taste great. yellow pepper plants look ok, but no sign of fruit or flowers.

B: bean plants are covering most of the lattices, but no flowers yet. several cucumber plants are doing quite well also. potatoes are the most suprising, growing into a rather large patch on both edges.

C: corn is growing well, taller ones are 12-18 inch now. tried planting new seeds along the edges, since transplants aren't doing well. need to feed.

D: many strawberries coming now.. they are still green tho. harvested some spinach leaves for a tasty salad, leaving room for more to grow. cabbage and bok choi are also coming, but hard to distinguish from weeds sometimes.

to do:
o weed area 3
o finish fence
o make gates
o plant area 2
o irrigate area 2
o transplant more bok choi and cabbage into less crowded 1D.. thin other parts.

more digging, planting

dug plot 2A, full texturizing with compost and sand. planted more corn seeds along the outside of the corn rows. trained beans along lattice.

to do:
o soil test 2A, fertilise accordingly
o dig 2B & 2C
o set up watering for area 2
o transplant greens into 1D
o transplant lentils into 2A
o plant melons and squash in 2B & 2C

wow! plants!

plot A: very thick with greenery. tomatoes are flowering, and getting very tall and thick. double tied them to their stakes. about 12 plants have survived, several of which already have 15-20 flowers. onions are also doing well, and have harvested several greens, still allowing the bulb to grow larger. carrots are growing well and can be harvested at any time.. cut the greens off to try to thin out the plot. some chives growing well, too.. but no rush to harvest, can take them a bit at a time as needed.

plot B: planted potatoes on the edges, and trained beans up their poles. several beans are growing up near the top of the lattice, will train them to grow out and cover the entire lattice. many cucumbers died, but some remain in between the bean lattices and on the other edges. potatoes growing extremely well on the left and right sides.

plot C: transplanted in more corn started at work, and still lots of corn plants starting to grow up inside this plot. most around 6 to 9 inch spacing, so we'll see if they need to be thinned as they get taller or not.

plot D: has been weeded and double-dug, full texturizing with sand and plenty of compost. left the rose bush in the corner of the plot. fertilised entire plot with blood meal. transplanted in spinach and strawberries started at work, and transplanted in storebought strawberries and lavender. strawberries started from seed did not last, and most spinach died as well, but several plants remain and continue to grow. also planted seeds from Greta's organic seed depot, baby bok choi and chinese cabbage.

added fence posts and supported fences, and spread them apart accross area 1 and area 2. spread bird netting accross both fences, attached with nylon zip ties to the fences and held down on the edges by 2x4s. improved watering system by switching from bubblers to 360 sprayers. added PVC watering system, with space for 2 more octopus manifolds (areas 2 and 3). PVC is self supporting with 4-way Ts and 1 foot PVC sections with caps. weeded all of area 1.

to do:
o weed and double dig area 2 plot A (have sand and compost already)
o start lentil seeds

Growin', Plantin'

things are going pretty well..

plot A: several tomatoes are growing sizeable and should begin to produce fruit soon. onions are growing well, and we have already harvested some of the tops. chives are so-so, maybe not the right variety for this climate... but still quite tasty. carrots are growing like crazy, still yet to try harvesting. lots of little bushes all around that have more than doubled in size since planting.

plot B: first try at beans and cucumbers failed, too cold and some birds got in there and ate the bean sprouts. started new batch of beans in seedling boxes, and transplanted in.. looking good so far. also started cucumbers in seedling boxes, they are ready to transplant in.

plot C: added an inch or so of compost to the top, and then scatter-planted corn about 6-8 inch centers. plan to thin once they reach a good size, and plant potatoes all along the edges.

plot D: need to weed and cultivate... will attempt spinach and strawberry...

to do:
o pull weeds (especially from plot D)
o double-dig plot D
o plant potatoes, cucumbers, spinach, strawberries
o tie up any drooping plants
o re-organise watering system
o build last module onto compost heap
o turn compost with new weeds