Tasks:
Filled raised beds
Went junking
Blocked peppers
Watered HT and basically everything else… where is the rain!
Removed dirt from greenhouse foundation
Set cinderblocks on sand base, poured cement around perimeter, poured cement inside the blocks for anchors and set anchors
Framed long wall and backs wall, raised both walls
Planted raised beds
Raised tomato branches and continued pruning them
Planted lime basil
Cultivated
Harvested and dried thyme and chamomile
Planted sunflowers
Notes:
Squash mounds- When forming squash mounds, make sure that the mounds are more of plateaus than mountains. Even more, the plateaus should have depressions at the top, similar to the underside of a bowl. This will ensure that when you water them the water has a chance to seep in rather than just run off the sides.
Potatoes hills- When making potatoes hills, place the potato started on the ground and then make the hill above it. Potatoes grow up from the seed, never down, so you want a good amount of dirt between the seed and the sun. Midseason you can come in and cover the mounds even more. We did not do plant this way for this year; I’m worried that we will not get any potatoes at all.
Row covers- If you want them to look nice (they don’t have to by any means) follow this process. Secure one entire length of the rover with bricks. Then secure he middle of the other side of the cover. From there, secure the ends of the cover, making sure to pull the material so it lays tight and even. Once both ends are secure, go back and fill out the length of the cover with bricks.
Incubators- The incubators are working very nicely. Note that sometimes when you lift the incubator off the plant the topsoil comes with. This can be prevented by carefully puncturing the topsoil with the circle of the incubator before removing it. Some people though, just leave the incubator on until the plant dies in the fall. We should talk to the food service about getting us large tin cans for this purpose.
Seed blocks- Many of the seed block have not had a successful germination rate. The Brussels sprouts and broccoli for instance. We are unsure if this is because of the greenhouse, the watering schedule, or the soil mix. More to follow.