rainbowgardener 2017 spring planting!

[rainbowgardener]

Ten days later and we have gone from night time lows in the low 20's to night time lows in the mid 50's!

So given that there is no night time low below 50 deg F in the ten day forecast (which gets us into April and well past average last frost date) today I planted tomato plants, pepper plants, and basil plants! (As well as more broccoli, kale, cabbage).

I have to confess, these were started transplants I bought from a good local nursery. I am starting lots more things from seed in the ground in my new climate, but this year I just never got the lights going for indoor stuff. Didn't have good results last year with the LED lights I bought and I never got around to re-doing my set up, what with building the stone raised bed, re-doing the deck and what not. Next year I will go back to growing my own.

Sometime in the next week, I will plant corn seeds in the ground!

Pictures soon....

[rainbowgardener]

Here's updated photos:
Overview of five gardens (also have the quarter circle garden, the potato patch, fence line plantings, and tons of herbs in pots)


three tomato plants, a pepper plant, spinach and onions down left edge, garlic and peas down right edge. Can't really see it, but there's three basil plants across the back


three tomato plants and a pepper plant, lettuce down left edge, right edge has broccoli seedlings, then garlic, then peas, parsley in front


broccoli and cabbage down the middle, carrots down left edge, garlic and onions down right edge, parsley in back


swiss chard, then peas, kale and broccoli on the right and then garlic.


The small, square one in the middle has corn seeds planted in it, that haven't sprouted yet.

The last picture that has pea trellis in the back. That half of the 4x8 will be done early and then the second planting of corn will go in there.

Lots more basil and flowers to get tucked in here and there. Planting isn't spring, summer, fall, it is continuous as things get finished, more goes in. All that garlic will be done mid summer and then beans can go in all those spots....

The next quarter circle garden will be done soon and then will get planted with more peppers, basil, squash.

The mulch in the top pictures is used straw raked out of the chicken coop/run. It has very little chicken poop in it, because they mostly poop while on the roosting bars. The tray under the bars has lots of poop and it gets emptied into the compost pile. The straw in the run is inoculated with Nitrogen (chicken pee) to help it break down. So as it is raked out, it goes in the gardens. Eventually they will all be mulched that way and probably covered with pulled weeds for more green.

So what's visible in these pictures is 144 sq ft of garden space and it will produce a ton (well, a whole bunch!) of food....

[rainbowgardener]

update 11 days later!








Barely visible are some corn seedlings!

[SQWIB]

You sir, are an inspiration to us all, looking good!
What is that green stuff around the outside and in between the beds?

[imafan26]

Great job Rainbow. You've done a lot with the place since you moved in. What has changed in the way you have been gardening since you moved?

[rainbowgardener]

You sir, are an inspiration to us all, looking good!
What is that green stuff around the outside and in between the beds?

It is our miserable excuse for lawn. Our lawn was already more weeds than grass. Then we had terrible heat and drought for months last year. Since I refuse to water lawn, mostly the weeds survived.

[rainbowgardener]

Great job Rainbow. You've done a lot with the place since you moved in. What has changed in the way you have been gardening since you moved?

Interesting question, imafan. Gardening here is much more year around. Even without working at it, I had something growing all year. In a less drought year and by trying harder (covering things, etc), I could definitely have a four-season garden. That means planting is much more all the time, just popping things in when something else finishes, rather than a defined spring and summer planting season. It also means I really should do more to maintain the fertility of my beds, since they are in use all the time. Still working on getting that together. I'm not used to actually fertilizing, just compost, compost tea, and mulch. But that may not be enough in my new situation....