unicornduke (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
unicornduke) wrote2019-04-18 05:55 pm
unicornduke) wrote2019-04-18 05:55 pm
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Plants! I have so many plants now!
So first, this weekend:
I got almost all of my plan planted with some minor changes, but overall, I planned it really well.
Rototilling was first and it took me about an hour to physically do the rototilling, it didn't include time to hook it up and drive down there, but that's pretty reasonable for fifteen rows done. And this ground really is lovely in some parts, here's a picture
The rototilling also should work to terminate the rye/vetch that is in my summer crops section, although I will need to do that twice because it will need once to terminate it ahead of planting and once to work it right before planting to kill any weeds. It will mostly just bury it, it doesn't chop it. Freshly killed rye can suppress plant growth so you need to let it decompose for two weeks or so before planting. Or do strip tilling but I'm not messing with that right now. The far end of the field is much more rocky and I was really making a racket.
Here's my final planting map:
Everything in red is a spring crop and everything with numbers/info was planted. Everything that's left is either empty space, or left open for more potatoes.
My spring seeds were in their own bin:
I started with the oats, because the oats were going to be the easiest to make sure the planter was working and a good starting point to get a feel for distances and walking in the soil. The seeder is a little earthway seeder with replaceable plates. Now, these plates generally plant more than needed, even for the crops they work on, so my goal with planting the oats, was to plant more than I thought was needed because there would be some loss and I was aiming for a good stand. These were all in rows, probably six to ten inches apart depending on how many rocks I hit.
Then I planted the row just above the winter crops in yellow which I did with the seeder mostly. It has trouble picking up the seeds if it's only a packet so I did plant one thing in that row with my very fancy modified PVC pipe. Basically I took a PVC pipe around chest height, although it could be lower and then chopped one end at a 45 degree angle so I can stick it in the ground without clogging it with dirt. Mostly.
In total, that probably took me two hours or so although some was just getting accustomed to the planter and how I was going to mark things completed, just getting my systems down. That was it for that night, I went until sunset.
The next morning, up bright and early, I got back to planting.
I planted a lot more using the PVC pipe because the amount of some seeds was so small, but I chugged along. It was quite lovely and peacefully quiet because it was Sunday morning.
I wasn't sure how to plant the flax, so I planted it both ways for both varieties because it took very little time. So the drilled sections were done with the earthway seeder but I don't think it planted quite enough because there was a lot left in the planter when I was done. I'll see if it ends up too thin of a stand if maybe I would use a bigger hole plate or just keep broadcasting. This is almost all being saved for seed so I'm relatively unconcerned. I think I did five rows in the row, so maybe six inches between each? or less maybe four. Then the broadcast sections, I just took a small handful, shook it over until I was out and then came back through and ran the rake through it to just get a little bit of soil contact. I wasn't super concerned about soil contact because we were due for a lot of rain, which would finish the job.
The F's are the flax variety trial, where I took all six varieties and planted about the same amount of seed in the same space so I can compare them. The smallest amount I had was three grams, which is so little. I'm also growing them all out to save seed so I can keep increasing seed amounts. I might pull a few for fiber evaluation but not much.
The lower row of peas is all pole peas and the upper row is mostly bush peas with one pole pea, which is a dry pea called Wild Pea of Umbria and looks like this:
So cool! And neat colors! It seems to be similar to roveja, and I think there is a variety of that in the Slow Food Ark of Taste thing.
The only potatoes I ended up planting was the AF5414 and the mixed potatoes sections, which is about 90 feet. I stopped there because it is a bit early to plant them, they're at risk of frost so I only planted about a third in the hopes that I would spread out the risk of frost. I'll plant another third when I'm there next weekend and the rest two weeks or so after that.
I finished that up by about 12:30, so in total about 5 hours. I also threw in a row of peas up at the very top of the field so they would be near the strawberries so if all goes well, I can sell some PYO shell peas to the strawberry pickers. Those are bush peas but I might put in a low trellis anyway or maybe mulch it with straw, I haven't decided yet.
So total to plant 15 rows: 7 hours with maybe two hours rototill time. I've got 28 rows in the summer section, so it'll be maybe three to four hours rototilling and probably closer to 20 hours planting due to the fact that I'll be transplanting a bunch there too. But I try and spread my summer planting over two weekends just because I can and also some things do better planted a little bit later.
It rained light that afternoon and then we got a absolute crashing thunderstorm that night so at least all the seeds will have moisture.
And my starts are doing well! I've got a lot of TPS up and I'm very pleased with the germination rate on them. Some have three or four cotyledons!
I got about 90% germination on both types.
My herbs are also doing well, with thyme, oregano, spearmint and rosemary up and one tiny lavender. It's older seed, so I don't need as many plants as I have but that's fine.
I'm starting my tomatoes and sesame plants tonight using my lovely trash bag method. We'll see how fast they go. It' s a little bit early for them but I'm getting impatient.
So first, this weekend:
I got almost all of my plan planted with some minor changes, but overall, I planned it really well.
Rototilling was first and it took me about an hour to physically do the rototilling, it didn't include time to hook it up and drive down there, but that's pretty reasonable for fifteen rows done. And this ground really is lovely in some parts, here's a picture
The rototilling also should work to terminate the rye/vetch that is in my summer crops section, although I will need to do that twice because it will need once to terminate it ahead of planting and once to work it right before planting to kill any weeds. It will mostly just bury it, it doesn't chop it. Freshly killed rye can suppress plant growth so you need to let it decompose for two weeks or so before planting. Or do strip tilling but I'm not messing with that right now. The far end of the field is much more rocky and I was really making a racket.
Here's my final planting map:
Everything in red is a spring crop and everything with numbers/info was planted. Everything that's left is either empty space, or left open for more potatoes.
My spring seeds were in their own bin:
I started with the oats, because the oats were going to be the easiest to make sure the planter was working and a good starting point to get a feel for distances and walking in the soil. The seeder is a little earthway seeder with replaceable plates. Now, these plates generally plant more than needed, even for the crops they work on, so my goal with planting the oats, was to plant more than I thought was needed because there would be some loss and I was aiming for a good stand. These were all in rows, probably six to ten inches apart depending on how many rocks I hit.
Then I planted the row just above the winter crops in yellow which I did with the seeder mostly. It has trouble picking up the seeds if it's only a packet so I did plant one thing in that row with my very fancy modified PVC pipe. Basically I took a PVC pipe around chest height, although it could be lower and then chopped one end at a 45 degree angle so I can stick it in the ground without clogging it with dirt. Mostly.
In total, that probably took me two hours or so although some was just getting accustomed to the planter and how I was going to mark things completed, just getting my systems down. That was it for that night, I went until sunset.
The next morning, up bright and early, I got back to planting.
I planted a lot more using the PVC pipe because the amount of some seeds was so small, but I chugged along. It was quite lovely and peacefully quiet because it was Sunday morning.
I wasn't sure how to plant the flax, so I planted it both ways for both varieties because it took very little time. So the drilled sections were done with the earthway seeder but I don't think it planted quite enough because there was a lot left in the planter when I was done. I'll see if it ends up too thin of a stand if maybe I would use a bigger hole plate or just keep broadcasting. This is almost all being saved for seed so I'm relatively unconcerned. I think I did five rows in the row, so maybe six inches between each? or less maybe four. Then the broadcast sections, I just took a small handful, shook it over until I was out and then came back through and ran the rake through it to just get a little bit of soil contact. I wasn't super concerned about soil contact because we were due for a lot of rain, which would finish the job.
The F's are the flax variety trial, where I took all six varieties and planted about the same amount of seed in the same space so I can compare them. The smallest amount I had was three grams, which is so little. I'm also growing them all out to save seed so I can keep increasing seed amounts. I might pull a few for fiber evaluation but not much.
The lower row of peas is all pole peas and the upper row is mostly bush peas with one pole pea, which is a dry pea called Wild Pea of Umbria and looks like this:
So cool! And neat colors! It seems to be similar to roveja, and I think there is a variety of that in the Slow Food Ark of Taste thing.
The only potatoes I ended up planting was the AF5414 and the mixed potatoes sections, which is about 90 feet. I stopped there because it is a bit early to plant them, they're at risk of frost so I only planted about a third in the hopes that I would spread out the risk of frost. I'll plant another third when I'm there next weekend and the rest two weeks or so after that.
I finished that up by about 12:30, so in total about 5 hours. I also threw in a row of peas up at the very top of the field so they would be near the strawberries so if all goes well, I can sell some PYO shell peas to the strawberry pickers. Those are bush peas but I might put in a low trellis anyway or maybe mulch it with straw, I haven't decided yet.
So total to plant 15 rows: 7 hours with maybe two hours rototill time. I've got 28 rows in the summer section, so it'll be maybe three to four hours rototilling and probably closer to 20 hours planting due to the fact that I'll be transplanting a bunch there too. But I try and spread my summer planting over two weekends just because I can and also some things do better planted a little bit later.
It rained light that afternoon and then we got a absolute crashing thunderstorm that night so at least all the seeds will have moisture.
And my starts are doing well! I've got a lot of TPS up and I'm very pleased with the germination rate on them. Some have three or four cotyledons!
I got about 90% germination on both types.
My herbs are also doing well, with thyme, oregano, spearmint and rosemary up and one tiny lavender. It's older seed, so I don't need as many plants as I have but that's fine.
I'm starting my tomatoes and sesame plants tonight using my lovely trash bag method. We'll see how fast they go. It' s a little bit early for them but I'm getting impatient.
no subject
I hope it keeps going at least so well!
Rain coming through today; went from "not really spring" -- the air was still raw, none of the spring moist-and-growing smell -- this morning with chill fog to feeling like June, air with actual heat content, before the rain hit an hour ago.
Keeping the potato planting staggered seems like a really good idea!