Compare these pics with the ones I took a week ago and you can see the difference. So I'm optimistic this will work and I'll have some turnips to eat before long.
As you can also see, I've mulched them to protect the soil from the sun. Without that, the surface dries in a few hours and repels water when I try to irrigate with sprinkling. This causes the topsoil to develop little gullies and wash into the paths...definitely not what we want. With the mulch in place the bed is like a big sponge and readily absorbs irrigation. I've been sprinkling them with liquid feed every day.
The exact ingredients in the feed vary, and I've tried different things over the past year. There are a lot of rules about gardening and farming here...you can't grow kang kong, for example...that's a felony. Kang kong is a crop universally grown throughout the Tropics as a nourishing and tasty green vegetable...but it's considered invasive here.
So my liquid formula is not for publication. It's nothing special, look on Youtube or just research online to find dozens of different formulas...all of which seem to work. The most common one is to soak compost in a sack of landscaping cloth or old pantyhose in a bucket of water. I don't know all the ins and outs of local laws, so mum's the word on what I currently use.
The important thing is that it supplies nutrients to the plants regardless of how well the soil microflora is cooking. It's kind of like a booster to get you through the changes in soil moisture and other variables. You want your plants to really thrive, not just survive. Liquid feeding also boosts the soil organisms...it's all good. I like to do it every day in small doses so the area just under the mulch stays well moistened. That's a hot spot for microbial activity...a lot goes on there.
The next bed over from the turnips has been nearly all evacuated of topsoil so I can get at those pine roots that invaded the bed. I moved the soil to a cleared spot alongside the driveway.
I'll keep it moist and mix it with compost when I have enough. Meanwhile I'm on a mission to clear the pine roots out of the area where I removed the soil. Last time I filled two or three wheelbarrows with the darn things, and it looks like a similar pile of roots is growing out there again as I pull them out.
I have plans for a new container garden too. The current location isn't getting enough sun these days...the trees to the south are shading them most of the day. So I'm eyeing a sunny spot north of the house for some concrete blocks and containers. That's one advantage of containers...you can set them up anywhere you want. With the right kind of cart, they're not hard to move around to new locations as conditions change.
So I'm feeling good about the garden. I've had some days where the air was free of smoke and chemical fumes, that always makes me more optimistic. Last evening the smoke was thick enough that you could easily see it without even going outside. I cleaned my truck windows of dew yesterday morning and the towel came away all black from soot. Lung cancer here I come.
But it won't spoil my optimism. Lately I've been harvesting lots of greens...mustard, pac choy, vegetable amaranth, radish, etc. Yes radish greens are edible, in fact I'm growing a variety that's grown just for its tops...the roots are woody and not very good. Radish greens are very good for stir fries and soups...and also salads if you like a spicy taste in your greenery.
I have a lot of seed I haven't planted yet, and seedlings coming along. I hope to have a wide variety of greens to eat this cool season. That's for the nutrition and for the taste as well. Nothing can take the place of a well-maintained kitchen garden.
No comments:
Post a Comment