Saturday, April 24, 2010

Mulching Day! A New Bed! More Plants! Better Photos!

April 17th was mulching day at Savasana Community Garden. We pulled as many visible weeds as possible, then surrounded our seedlings with a dark wood-based mulch. We hope that the mulch will prevent further weed growth and keep the surface of the soil moist (the top of our disappointing soil tends to harden when dry).

Check out these mulching action photos!

















Since we were given even more tomato seedlings, we also decided to use up our remaining wood and soil to build an additional 4.5' x 4.5' garden bed, henceforth known as the tomato bed. We're mulching the tomato bed in the photos above.

In addition, we have planted various herbs in two containers:

















Determined to harvest rhubarb next year, we now have three experiemental rhubarb plants in the ground: one is situated on the south-facing wall of Peggy's house, and the other two are in the northeast side of Virginia's property. All are looking healthy at the moment.

Here's how the garden looked by the time we had finished last Saturday:
















From the top, we have:

...in the large gardening bed,
Cherry tomatoes
Cowpea (still just a single seedling!)
Cucumber (yellow and green)
Eggplant (Japanese and Fairytale)
Green beans
Patty pan squash
Snow peas
Zucchini (Eight Ball and regular)
Peppers (mini and Maxibell
Tomatoes (German Johnson, Homestead, and Tumbling Tom)

...in the herb bed,
Garlic (additional tubs of garlic have been planted by Jane and Virginia at home)
Mixed salad greens (butter lettuce, green leaf lettuce, and romaine)
Leek
Spinach
Chives
Butterfly bush
Chives

...in the root vegetable bed,
Bok choy
Carrots
Green onions
Peppers (Chocolate and Long Red Cayenne)
Parsnip (which has finally germinated and is growing well)
Radishes

...in the new tomato bed,
Tomatoes (Homestead and Hillbilly)
Sunflowers

...and in the two herb tubs,
Basil
Cilantro
Mint
Oregano
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme

Today's Update:
A check of the garden today showed that squirrels have been digging holes in the mulch, and they appear to have dug up about half of the green cucumber seedlings just for fun. Grrr. We will have to consider cages for the plants if this hooliganism continues (*sigh*).

In addition, the yellow cucumber and Petit Gris melon are showing serious damage from accidental overwatering (a malfunctioning soaker hose is to blame); the melon is definitely a goner, but the yellow cucumber may still survive. Finally, the two seedlings in the tomato bed (which were not very healthy to begin with) are still looking quite weak, but if we're lucky one of them will pull through.

2 comments:

  1. The garden is looking wonderful! Did you know that the mulch will keep the soil cool? Tomatoes need lots of heat around them, so my garden guru friend says. She is also amending our soil this year with some very interesting stuff. I will get details if you're interested.

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  2. We welcome all potentially helpful advice!

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