Planting onions

We straightened out which key is which today. I went out at 9:30 AM and put in 24 Walla Walla onion seedlings and 24 yellow onion seedlings, interplanted with the pansies, peppers, and mesclun-mix salad greens. I figure if the pansies serve to shade the onions, the mesclun and peppers should too.

The Walla Wallas go from the left side in.

The yellow onions go up the right side.

Closeup of the peppers with onions:


Then I poured more fertilizer on: used up the last of the compost tea, and then some for fish&kelp. Between yesterday and today, I've put 5 gallons (2-1/2 cups fish&kelp, 3 qts. compost tea) on the vegetable bed; 1-1/2 gal. each (3/4 c. fish&kelp, 1 pt. compost tea) on the strawberry bed and the herb bed.

As near as I can calculate, our garden needs 45 gallons of water a week. I probably gave it that much Saturday evening. The soil was moist and easy to dig for several inches down today, while being dry in patches just on the surface. With the extra water today, and whatever Jean and Claudia add when they plant their additions tomorrow, I'm not expecting to do another watering until Saturday. I'm going to try to use a much lighter touch Saturday; I think I brought the water down too hard on the pansies and petunias last time.

I'm going to get more compost tea every Saturday, but I need a mister to apply it properly. Pouring it onto the soil is helping the soil texture, but to get the most benefit I also want to soak the leaves, gently.

Here's a closeup of some soil. The soil from the veggie and herb beds is sandy, but at least holds together when pressed in a fist. A handful from the strawberry bed is more sandy; it forms a nice clump when pressed, but falls apart when released. (That's the sample in my hand, and it's too close to the camera to see clearly.)



No sign of slugs yet.

First food for baby

I dropped the camera off at Walgreen's for development, then I spent all my money at the garden store, and I don't know when I'll have the photos to post.

I bought two more pots of onions, one of Walla Walla and one of yellow onions, for Wes's sake. I also bought a gallon of compost tea and a gallon of liquid fish&seaweed fertilizer. The compost tea mixes up 1 gallon to 4 gallons water; the other mixes up 1/2 cup to 1 gallon water; as far as I can find out, 8 gallons of water mixed with 2 gallons of compost tea and 2 cups of fish&seaweed should be about right for our 75 sq. ft. garden. twice a month. Next time I'll buy two gallons of compost tea.

I wanted to get in and apply the first batch of fertilizer this evening, but the staff person at the front desk is new, and didn't know which key unlocks the garden gate. I got one and a half gallons of the mix spread over the left side of the garden to about a foot wide, and the whole top triangle to about 2 feet down, by pouring it over the fence. Next time I have to do that, I'll get a picture for you. :D

We had a birthday party for Jean this evening, and I told her that I had drenched the area she plans to put her dahlias in. She will probably do her planting on Tuesday, and Claudia will plant Majestic Giant pansies around the nursery pansies, probably on Tuesday.

Tomorrow, when I can get the gate unlocked, I'll finish the fertilizer dousing and plant the onion seedlings. Since they have to stay in my room overnight, I already doused them with some of the mix.

When I get my next check (May 3), I want two more thyme plants, and maybe another sage plant.

Two weeks from now we should be seeing sprouts. We can sow another batch of seeds (probably beets and spinach) in the bare spots, and pour on another batch of food mix. I'm starting a garden calendar.