Each month, I need to check in with the garden. I have a list of things that need to be done each month, but this is a check on what I've actually accomplished.
Inside:
Aerogarden. My Aerogarden produced a crop of lettuce, which I have planted in the Aquaponic garden as well as outside. I also harvested quite a few leaves for salads along the way. As always, germination was 100% and there was prolific root and leaf growth for the variety of lettuces.
At this stage, I have re-planted the aerogarden with the seeds I need to transfer to the garden outside. Spring crops include Bok Choi, Swiss Chard, Broccoli greens, and Beets. These have sprouted but not uniformly: after one week: 50% of the beets failed to sprout, 7 of the 10 Broccoli sprouted, but all of the bok choi and all but 2 of the Swiss chard.
So phase 1 is still a general success and I'll continue to hold out hope for the stragglers. The great thing about the aerogarden is that if you set it up correctly and you will definitely get some useful results. This is far more certain than previous experiences with jiffy pots or direct seeding. What this means is that in about 2 weeks, I will have started plants that are ready to plant outside.
Aquaponic Garden. The aquaponic garden was producing very well but then began to get a little spindly. I realized two things. First, the 30" light I was using simply wasn't large enough and I replaced it with a 48" led light.
The other thing I learned was that the amount of fish that I had in the tank weren't producing enough nitrate to satisfy the plants. Nitrate testing was always at zero, and still the plants had yellowing leaves indicating a nitrogen deficiency. I added three more gourami to the tank to up the ammonia production slightly and then I'll see how the nitrate test and the plants in the grow bed react.
Front Beds The intention was to plant more edible permaculture in the front yard. To that end, I did three things. First, I planted the walking onions in the front bed, behind the Japanese Maple. That bed was enhanced with compost first and then I had about 9 viable onion starts that I put in. Some of these didn't thrive, but I think that about 6 of them have taken hold. Theoretically, they should self-multiply and will fill in for the plants I lost.
On the corner bed by the stairs, I cleared out all the mint and instead planted Jerusalem Artichokes. This is another perennial and a prolific spreader that is hard to contain, hence the need to keep it in that particular raised bed. The sunchokes are already in the ground and I intend to put a row of garlic in front of them. We'll see how well suited they are as bedfellows. The garlic is currently inside, sprouting.
Raised Beds The cabbage in the raised beds are still growing strong. The green cabbage never did do especially well, though they produced well enough. They had a tendency not to form heads and were susceptible to a fungus that rotted the leaves. The red cabbage is huge and beautiful, so that I am hesitant to pick them and wonder what another month will do for them.
Where the cabbage has been harvested, I have replaced it with a Meal Kit garden of two lettuces (one red and one butter), Two onions, and a short row of radishes complete the meal kit. Already the radishes have sprouted and some of the onions have started to grow, though others still seem dormant.
Structure I have turned my compost boxes, and they seem to be working. Some composting is happening. In addition, I moved one box to the tumbler and have been trying to keep it moving.
However. the lower bed appears to have greater problems with underlying roots that need to be removed. Also, the middle bed, where we were going to plant strawberries, is still covered with a tarp. Nothing is stopping us from throwing off that old tarp, refreshing the soil underneath and then starting to plant my Strawberries first, followed by the ground cherries when the earth gets a little warmer.
Overall, for the month of March, this seems very productive
Looking ahead to the current month of April: in two weeks, and following, I will need to transplant spring seedlings outside, and start summer crops. In order to do that, I will need to harvest those beautiful red cabbage in all their majestic splendor. So now that the garden season has begun in earnest, its all about keeping the process working, keeping the harvest coming, keep planting new meal kits where the old ones have been removed
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