I have been remiss in getting my Spring (almost Summer now) garden in, what with the rain and traveling and staying busy - we literally went from the end of Spring to Summer in a week. But I had a late start to Iaijtustu class yesterday, so I made some time.
As an update, The Redneck Raised Bed is going well. If you look just beyond the neighbor's squash plant growing through the fence...
You will see the friendly little sweet potato sprouts. This is promising. And the watering situation seems to be very effective.
In terms of the rest of the garden, this is what we have (tomatoes and peppers have already been planted):
This year's line up: Black eyed peas, Soybeans, Lemon Cucumbers, Daikon Radishes, Valencia Onions and Mill Creek Onions (from seed; not a lot of expectation there); Okra, Royal Burgundy Bush Beans; Calypso Dry Beans, Lemon Cucumbers, Sugar Drip Sorghum, and a new corn variety, Bloody Butcher (I refuse to not prove I can grow corn here and will continue to rotate varieties):
I got everything into the ground except the Calypso Beans and the Sugar Sorghum , as the Wheat and Rye I planted has not completed the drying process. Sorghum grows very well here so no worries there.
As you may remember last year, I took Leigh Tate's most excellent solution of using Ollahs, sealed clay pots, as localized watering points. These worked okay, but I still had issues with overall dryness. I fully intend to exploit the ollahs again this year, but am also rigging a watering system (hereby called The Redneck Sprinkler System) for daily watering - especially with going back to The Ranch one week out of every four, it just seems like a lower risk overall (yes, I know I am hitting the walkway. Working on it). It also hits that back section, which now frees that up for a big more usage. I currently have mint there and it loves the moisture. I enjoy mint for the odor and the plant itself, so it makes me happy:
The one issue is the spot right under the sprinkler: It is dry (the former sprinkler I was using - which was actually pretty effective - they no longer seem to make. Trying the other Big Box store today to see what they have).
In terms of expanding the garden, I am counting the Redneck Raised Bed as my expansion (really, wasted space otherwise). I think I can make more progress with more intensely gardening the area that I have.
We were finally about to get into our garden yesterday and plant some things we would have liked to plant a few weeks ago like potatoes and various beans. Hopefully in a week or so, we can finish planting the warm weather crops like tomatoes, squash and such.
ReplyDeleteEd, every year I say I am going to get it done by the end of April and every year, it pushes into May. On the other hand, the weather turned a little cold at the end of April, so it likely would not have made a difference.
DeleteApril here continued the cold trend that the first three months established so the garden goes in tomorrow. Potatoes and onions and tomatoes oh my! Yours looks good TB, best of luck this growing season.
ReplyDeleteGood Luck Nylon12! My biggest challenge here is enough water; hopefully this year I have tweaked things a bit more in my favor.
DeleteThe water from the walkway won't be wasted. If it can sink into the ground, something will be able to use it.
ReplyDeleteBased on the photo, some of the water goes out away from your garden also? Perhaps another redneck solution can be figured out to divert that water towards the part of the garden with a dry spot?
As for corn. There is a new variety out at Burpee. https://www.burpee.com/vegetables/corn/corn-on-deck-hybrid-prod003168.html
Maybe that will work for you. :)
You all be safe and God bless!
That is a good point - the water will go somewhere Linda. And thank you for the recommendation on corn. I am anxious to see if the regular watering helps.
DeleteI love seeing garden progress! Does the neighbor's squash invading your garden bed mean you get to eat the squash? :0 And thanks for the shoutout about the ollyas! Leigh
ReplyDeleteYou are more than welcome Leigh. I have very much benefitted from all of your advice.
DeleteAnd yes, we will eat whatever grows on our side of the fence (This happened last year as well, so it has all been discussed already).
Oh my! Your garden grows just fine, TB! We've been hit with super hot weather suddenly (90 yesterday, 87 today), so my planting is being put off to next week when it returns to the 70's for a few days. Can't wait! :)
ReplyDeleteBecki, I am heartened by the progress since this photo - it appears that the Redneck Sprinkler System is making a significant difference. Good luck on your planting!
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