2013 Garden Kickoff

Our garden is planted!  Our garden plot had been covered in weed block for the winter.  We uncovered the garden, turned the soil, and added some soil (organic compost, peat moss, and perlite) since it had settled a bit.  We mixed in some organic fertilizer (bone meal, blood meal, and Age Old Bloom).  We installed the trellises and irrigation system.

The old water timer failed last year after just under two years of use (Orbit 62001 Lawn and Garden Digital Watering Timer), so we now have a new one (Orbit 91213 One-Dial Garden Hose Digital Water Timer).

We have a garden plan similar to previous years with a few changes.

• Added a tomato plant in place of a bell pepper plant
• Moved the herbs to the east column
• Planted aji dulce seeds directly in one square
• Planted lettuce seeds in addition to lettuce seedlings
• Included a hot banana pepper

We installed two worm towers and still have two paver stones for access to the back of the garden.  We also installed a tomato cage in the northwest square for cherry tomatoes.

To keep the lettuce seeds and aji dulce seeds moist, we installed five misters (one in each square).  The lettuce misters are on stakes, and the aji dulce mister is attached to the metal trellis brace.  We put a thin layer of sphagnum moss over the seeded squares to help hold moisture.  The sunshine has turned hot for the season.

The water timer is set to water for twelve minutes each time, four times per day.  We will adjust as needed.

The automatic garden is all done!  Now just train, trim, feed the worms, and harvest!