outdoor gardening

Outdoor Soil Experiment Contd…

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You know how there are times when you want something to be really good, but it turns out very disappointing? Kind of like the Ghost Pepper Fries from Wendy’s… well, the outdoor tent itself seems to leave much to be desired.

At first, it fit like a glove and it is the ideal size for our soil beds; however, a few days after installation, we experienced some wind (nothing major, just a normal cold front that came through the area) and the plastic flew off of the frame and, of course, that does nothing good for plants that need a little bit of humidity to grow and need to stay a smidgen warm.

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The plastic is a little thin and rips relatively easily both on the seams and with any type of object.

 

 

 

 

 

Because of the problem with the actual tent coming off of the frame so easily, we had to use plastic cap roofing nails to ensure that the tent does not fly off of the frame again:

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Because of the tent problems, I feel that the outdoor Winter tent is not doing well and therefore a bust for this season, unless a miracle happens.  I will continue with it, but probably wont see much until the spring season when we begin the outdoor soil summer garden.

2018 Winter Outdoor Soil Experiment

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The beginnings of our soil “experiment” start with our planter boxes which we had already established a few years ago and installed irrigation set-ups in each box (smartest thing we did in that garden!).   For now, just because this is new for us, we are only using one planter box to see how well it works.

20180121_155330.jpgWe purchased greenhouse domes made by Outsunny which fit our box which measures approximately 8’x4′.  Rory and Chewy really wanted to be in the photo. We added a little peat moss in and tilled the soil (yes, I know, gasp… we should be turning it by hand with a shovel, but to be fair, it’s winter and soil tends to be hard.)

 

 

 

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The basic of outdoor plants that we, in our household consume were planted
(in order from left to right):

  • Peas
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Broccoli
  • Beets
  • Acorn Squash
  • Onion (red and yellow, planted throughout the whole garden).

 

As the season progresses, updates will be posted.

Outdoor Garden Progress, Day 18

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It’s almost planting day, but not yet… we are anticipating planting on Earth Day (April 22).

So, without further ado, here is our outdoor garden… again.  ~18 days after planting (plus the grid, again):

The peppers are a little slow and stout but generally they take longer to germinate, so it’s expected.  Most everything in this big planter is up, so it will be ready to plant when the time is right.

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The below seedlings actually went into the tent for germination about a week after the original batch so they are still catching up but still doing quite well.

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The medium sized sunflowers are still having a little trouble, but I let them get a little dry last week, so hopefully they will catch up; however, the 5′-7′ flowers are all up and ready to go.

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