New Garden, pt 2

I bought eight 1cu.ft bags of store brand cow manure compost from Lowes and dumped them all in the garden this morning. I would like it noted that I don't currently have a wheelbarrow and had to walk each bag all the way around the shop. They were heavy. I'm tired.

After that, I got all my black pots in the 3gal size and began using them to sort dirt, weeds, and plants before putting them in the garden. There is about 6"-8" of compost and dirt from the previous garden. I'm happy to report there was lots of earthworm activity. All tiny, but present.

It was nice for the first hour and a half because the garden was still shaded. Unfortunately, the sun moved along and now my tomato plants are going to have to survive the transplant in full sun.

These are my two yellow pear cherry tomatoes. They are just beginning to set fruit. Hopefully won't experience to much setback from the move.

This is what I still have to work with after moving more than half the plants into the new garden. There are about half a doz mixed tomato plants, 4 sweet allysum, chamomile, four kale kale plants and I'm not sure what else.

 

New Garden pt 1

So yesterday I buckled down and spent like four hours outside in the heat putting this bad boy together.

The grading of this back area is terrible and will need a lot of fill to get it even with the rest of the yard. That was going to be my work for this morning, but the game was called on account of rain. Yesterday was actually the first day in about two weeks that it didn't rain.

I'm hoping it dries up enough that I can at least spread the rest of the hay into the garden. I've decided to use the rest of it here since I have so much fill work that needs doing.

You can see here that I'm really going to need the extra fast drainage the hay will provide because of this inconvenient downspout. I'm also considering a rain chain here instead of a long gutter. I need the hubby's approval first, though.

------Update:

I added nearly all the hay and the couple cubic feet of compost from my outside bin.

 

 

AAVCT Test Day 3

I haven't noticed a drastic change in the plants yet. The peppers on the plants seem to be growing more quickly than usual, but scientifically speaking, that's not quantifiable data right now since I don't have a direct comparison to "usual."

Day 3

The bamboo shoot (right) is now almost the same size as the original (left). I am wondering why the original has stopped growing. It shot up about twice its size when it got to me, and now it has slowed to a crawl. I see some new leaves slowly opening at the top, but that's it. I have been fertilizing it with the AAVCT in hopes that it starts growing again.

 

 

 

 

AAVCT Fertilizer Test Day 2

I moved the peppers, pot and all, into the part shade area where the rest of the garden is. At this time of year and in a clay pot, the full sun area is just too much for most fruiting plants. I had to give the plants an additional watering of plain dechlorinated water because the sun had dried it out too much. But, other than those two things, I gave it 3 cups AAVCT. So, continuing on.

Day 2

 

Putting Vermicompost Tea to a Test

I am making my second batch of AAVCT (actively aerated vermicompost tea). And I decided today to put it to the test. These are a pair of two-year-old cubanelle pepper plants (the dark plant is a purple flash pepper-we don't care about it).

As you can see, they are yellow and looking poor in spite of producing a small pepper already this year and having several new peppers forming. This is caused by a lack of nutrients. I have watered it properly, but it has used up the nutrients and in its pot. There is also a small population of pill bugs and small black ants that like to farm aphids on the leaves.according to everything I've read, the tea should help control the bugs and should offer a good amount of fertilizer to the plant.

Here is the test: I will take a picture of these plants every day and give them 3 cups of AAVCT. You can help me monitor the plants health in real time so that we can see if AAVCT is all it's cracked up to be. I will not fertilize or water the plants other than the tea that I give them. So, here we go.

Day 1

 

Good Friday and Saturday in Photos

We attended a somber Good Friday service at church where we remembered and honored the sacrifice Jesus made when he willingly died for our sins on the cross. It was a special time for our family because my oldest son Redding accepted Christ as his Saviour two weeks ago, so he took communion with us for the first time last night. It was a cherished moment in our lives as parents. We are looking forward to Resurrection Sunday tomorrow where we rejoice over the best news of all, Our God is Not Dead, He is alive! He has risen indeed! May you have a blessed Easter and may our Lord continue to show Himself to you in the days to come.