learning as you go...

I had to make a pretty challenging decision this weekend on the root crops in the big box.  We have had things planted there for on about 2 months and they were not doing very well.  Nothing seemed to be getting past the seedling stage aside from a few radishes.  So I called in my buddy Jonathan who is pretty much an expert on these things.  Sun doesn’t seem to be the problem as all the leaves on things seemed pretty healthy.  Soil composition is about perfect for carrots and other root crops being fairly sandy.  Leaves yellowing on the beans suggest that we might be overwatering, but that seems odd given the direct sun these guys get all day long in the yard with no mulch to keep in moisture… and yet no dry brittle leaves to be found anywhere.  So, as a last resort, we have kept the beans, pulled up our handful of radishes which were delicious, and tilled everything under in the box.  Later on, we will run some soil composition using a test kit we picked up and see if it’s a key nutrient or pH issue.  If so, then we can take measures to amend our soil for crops in the next turn of season.  Not happy news, but it is all grist for the mill.

Meanwhile, things in the ground are doing awesome!  Corn, squash, melons and peas are all up and thriving now that the bird force field is in place.  Potatoes are growing like crazy in their containers and the onions are getting thicker.  And the tea herbs are very, very happy.

I picked up some 5 gallon buckets on Craig’s List for the tomatoes and transplanted a handful into those and the circular garden up near the house.  All doing well.  In other news, our buddies John and Michael dropped off some seeds for some birds eye peppers that we are crop sharing space for in our garden since they have only a north facing balcony on their condo.

Good things are coming up and I will keep you posted on the big box and what we find out there.