Rework, Repair, Improve and Extend Drip Irrigation System. 4.27.22

Last year, the areas where I installed drip irrigation were so much easier to water.  For areas without the drip lines, I had to carry buckets of water or haul garden hose around.  I'm not always up to all that work, especially in the heat when it is needed the most.

Plus of course, drip is considered more water conservation friendly.  So win/win.

However, I had to pull out the lines to install and repair the raised beds.

Time to get to work before summer. Waiting too long made it harder for me last year.

This year, each of the beds will have a shut off valve.  So when water isn't needed for a particular crop, I can turn off that bed's water supply and still water the others.  Or, when one needs less water thN the others, I can control that. 

This is the start of the system for the tall raised bed.  Next it will need lines to distribute water to each plant.  I may wait until the lettuce and radishes are done, and tomato plants are in place.  It's not needed yet.

Here it is for the big planter box.   This is an extension to supply water to more garden plants than I did last year.  Last year, I had to hand water this area.The main line is installed.  I'll add the distribution lines when they are needed, although I started some already.

The lines for the garlic are 1/4 inch soaker hoses.  Last year the clogged up and I used a safety pin to punch tiny holes and convert them into minisprinklers.  They are outside the bed because watering isn't needed yet and the lines get in the way of weeding.  It's messy.  I should find a way to make them neater.

The lines are all held in place by brackets.  That's a lot better than having them sprawl all over the place.

There is still a lot of work to do.  I ran out of energy and some of the parts.  I think this was a good start.  About 1/4 of the system is done, or about half of what I had last year, only better.

Tomato Plant Update. 4.26.22

 Here are some of the tomato plants now.  I'm glad I did not plant them as early as last year, although I could probably have waited one or two additional weeks.

Reisentraube and Dwarf Johnson Cherry.  It's interesting that, at least at this stage, Reisentraube is growing a lot like a dwarf variety.  I didn't expect that.  It will be fun to compare it to other varieties.

Most of the other dwarf varieties.  They have shorter, stockier stems compared to non-dwarf types, and the leaves are more compact and stockier too.  Brandyfred and CC McGee (not shown) have potato-type leaves.

"Bush" type (Early Girl Bush).  These are not dwarf type, but grow multiple stems that in the end don't grow as tall as regular tomato plants.  To confuse matters, "Extreme Bush" is both dwarf and determinate. The blue labeled plants, "Honeybee" and "SunGold" are regular height varieties that I planted a few weeks later.  I had those varieties planted at the same time as the others, but gave them away to someone who I think will appreciate that they are already blooming.

Some of the sauce tomatoes, Ranger, La Roma III, and Supremo.  I planted these a month after the fresh eating tomatoes.  I'm not interested in as early bearing for these and they appreciate the later sunnier, warmer weather.

Do Little Ducklings Like Water? 4.22.22

 Yes they do!

Rufus at the Oregon Tulip Festival. 4.23.22

 There were lots of tulips there.  South of Oregon City.  I think Rufus got a little overstimulated but if so, he's all better now.

The Buried Dead Chicken Test. 4.21.22

 For the past two years, I grew sweet corn in this area.  The year before, it was potatoes, and squash the year before that.  Last winter, I buried a dead chicken who was viciously murdered by some sort of chicken-obsessed predator.  Then I planted nematocidal mustard in the bed for green manure and to kill of any nematodes.

The lush thick leaves are the mustard on the chicken grave.  The test is the mustard where there are no buried chicken victims.

It's the same seeds, but obviously the area over the chicken is much more fertile than the rest.  Those leaves are green and lush, and the plants are very vigorous.  The other mustard plants are puny and unhealthy looking.

That proves that the soil there is now depleted and needs fertilizer (preferably organic) or nothing will grow well there.

It also proves that chicken corpses make a good fertilizer, at least for mustards.