Tag: urban garden

Garden week 4+5+6: spreadsheets sphagnum and stolen valves

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Plant plan

I created a scheduling spreadsheet to manage my garden planting timing. It’s based on dates from farmers almanac for Denver, in addition to instructions on seed packets (using the almanac frost date as reference date). It’s the beat way I’ve found to take all of the info from multiple sources and put them in one place so I can see them in order. Gotta love a spreadsheet.

Plant starts

Current state of the bathtub greenhouse. Note the butternut vine in the left that is now as tall as me.

Started on 4/1 (kale, chard, arugula, dill, poblanos, green onions)

4/4
4/4
4/5
4/5
4/10 cosmos
4/10 green onions
4/10 poblano peppers
4/10 dill
4/10 chard and kale
4/11 scout seedlings sent out overnight to see if it’s ok to go outside
Kale, dill outside hardening off
Green onion and arugula outside
Baby poblano peppers
Baby Swiss chard
Baby kale (Russian red)

Started on 3/17 (Honeynut,butternut, cucumber, zucchini, biquinho peppers, tomatoes)

4/10 tomatoes!
4/10 cucuberates galore

Tomato problems. I’m not sure what’s happening but I’m trying to fix by spreading them out more, trimming bad leaves, and being mindful of overwatering. Come on tomatoes, we’re not even outside yet! You got this.

Started in January (zucchini, butternut, basil, rosemary)

Full blow living room zucchini
First zucchini of 2022
4/18 Bebe butternut
4/18 another Bebe zucchini

I harvested a zucchini! I really wasn’t sure what would come of my January squash plants, but I have started so see some fruit appear in the last month. Since they are still indoor plants until the weather warms up, I’ve had to keep an eye on them and pretend to be a bee in order to pollinate (see Zucchini post). I don’t anticipate optimal fruit production from these guys as they’re a bit stunted, but it a impressive how well theyr

Plot progress

4/3
4/5 first tiny radish leaf?
4/10 oniony something?
4/10 lots of mystery sprouts
4/10 Asparagus?
4/10
4/10 carrot seeds in ground
Surprise!
Purple surprise!
Spinach
Snow peas!

Ollas

Until the garden water gets turned on, my sophisticated water supply system.

I interred some ollas and learned one important lesson: a funnel is very useful for filling them. I grabbed a 3-pack at the dollar store and it was the best purchase I’ve made all month.

They seem to need refilling once every 2-3 days or so at the moment, but it’s not very hot out. I’m hoping that being buried underground will keep them fairly well insulated from the heat. I have verified that the soil around them is moist, but I don’t really know if they’re going to be effective on their own. I planned on using them more as a drought failsafe. I’ve still been surface watering every few days since I’m trying to get some seeds to germinate.

Dig a hole. Insert olla.
Bury olla. Cover hole.
Ollas 2.0, trying a different bottom cap
Testing for leaks

Community

I set up a garden Facebook group for members. So far many have joined but not many are posting.

We have our second work day this weekend, I think we are weeding the paths and placing new gravel.

Gravel.

Some good news: we should have water turned on a few weeks earlier than expected! Bad news: someone stole our water valve so someone has to come out and fix it. Urban garden problems.