15/05/2024
It's May and the garden is really coming alive! I'm trying some new things this year and seeing what will work.
First, I'm using soaker hoses for irrigation. I think I'll still have to hand water on really hot days, but so far it's working out nicely. Also, since my amazing husband got me a greenhouse, I'm now able to start seeds early. The greenhouse works so good it's already too warm! So we just ordered a solar fan to keep it cool.
I've got a ton of garlic and onions growing. This year I also installed two arches for climbers (cucumbers, nasturtiums, pumpkins, squashes, peas) made of hog paneling and t-bars. We like them so much we're going to get another one. I find I need stakes more than I anticipated, but thankfully my neighbor Chuck is generous with letting me cut from his backyard bamboos so I'm always in supply of stakes, which the dahlia bed will need.
It's going to be a great garden this year and I'm looking forward to expanding it into an all year garden with hoop houses and other garden extenders. This book I'm reading shows how to keep harvesting every season. It takes a bit of planning, but so far I'll have summer crops and then in August start seeding for a winter crop, of which there are many cool and cold weather vegetable varieties to plant. Seems there is a trick to knowing which vegetable to plant for which seasonal temperature. In the old days I just planted everything all at once in May like everyone else. Now I'm pickier and more selective and I'm using my space (and time!) wiser.
