So it's been about a month since I started growing my crops. The picture to the left was taken about 3 weeks ago. The picture to the right was just taken this morning. Scarecrow Steve has been doing an excellent job so far. Since his first appearance on September 4th, not one of my plants has been eaten. However, my mom still decided to buy me a second scarecrow because apparently Steve is not a "real" scarecrow. I strongly disagree.
Crop Status
Everything I started growing on August 22nd is still doing very well. My sunflowers, cucumbers, tomato seedlings, corn, muskmelon, carrots, red pepper plant, string beans, spinach and peas are all growing pretty quickly. The only thing that never started growing was the cilantro, but that's okay.
Today I transplanted my sunflowers into a larger pot. I also transplanted my tomato seedlings & muskmelon in the same planter my corn is currently in. I'm not sure if there are going to be any negative side effects to this, but we'll see!
My carrots have been growing rapidly too. I pretty much just threw a bunch of seats in the pot and hoped for the best. I think you're supposed to thin out the seedlings so the carrots will have room to grow, but I'll just leave them for now.
Finally, I'm happy to announce that one of my cucumber plants started budding and now I have six cucumbers already growing! One of my colleagues told me that it takes about two weeks for a cucumber this size to become fully grown.
I would've expected another month, but I hope I'm wrong. Right now these cucumbers are only about a few inches, but I'll keep a close eye on the progress.
Based on the growing times of the majority of my plants, I will need them to last until around end of November in order to harvest them. Unfortunately, the first frost is expected to come around November 1st and they all will die.
Dealing With the Cold Weather
In order to prevent the cold weather from killing my plants I headed over to Wal-Mart & Home Depot to pick up some large plastic containers and plastic sheeting.
I am planning to put the shorter plants in the plastic containers to act as small greenhouses and I will put the taller plants in my "green tent". You can see a picture of the "green tent" in the picture above. It is made of 6-mil clear plastic sheeting and is covering the stone wall (which hopefully can help retain some heat).
Here is an inside view of the "green tent" and the $3 thermometer that I bought. It is warmer in there, but definitely not over 100 degrees. I probably should have purchased the $7 thermometer instead...
The stone should keep a decent amount of heat, but according to Google, water can retain heat longer than most other substances. Based on this, I may have to include very large containers of water in the "green tent" in order to keep as much heat in there as possible (Especially to help my plants last throughout the colder nights).
If this green tent works well enough, I will have a warm place to stay when my parents kick me out of the house.
Preparing for the Spring
(15' X 7' Area Cleared For Raised Beds)
A couple of weekends ago, my younger cousins came over and helped me clear out a 15' x 7' area in the woods to make room for my 2016 Spring Garden! It was a a tough job removing all of the weeds, rocks, vines, etc., but luckily they did most of the work. They even made me three scarecrows, which I will be saving to use for next year.
Most would likely schedule a fun weekend of activities for their cousins, but not me. I believed it was best to delegate intense manual labor instead.
Cons
- Far distance from house (Difficult to check on & water)
- More vulnerable to attacks from deer, small critters and insects
Pros
- 7+ hours of sunlight each day in the Spring & Summer
- Can make raised garden beds without ruining existing property
Next Steps
I still have to level the entire area with either dirt or leveling sand. Next, I will make two or three raised garden beds. Finally, I will have to make a fence to keep the deer and other wild animals from eating everything.
Although this spot is not the easiest place to get to, I was able to run a few hoses and attach them to a soaker hose. Once I buy an electronic hose timer, I should be all set with an automatic watering system!
Aside from water, sunlight and protection for my crops, the last thing I need is good soil!
Collection of Leaves (Obtaining Black Gold)
This summer I bought a couple bags of garden soil, which cost me about $15. I thought this was pretty reasonable, but next year I am going to need a lot more (and regular cheap topsoil just won't be good enough, as the plants need additional nutrients to grow). I checked out some farming videos on Youtube and the #1 way of obtaining cheap garden soil is to make it yourself!
To do so I will need to make my very own compost (consisting of coffee grounds, tea leaves, banana peels and last, but definitely not least.... leaves!!!)
To prepare for next year, this going to be me over the next few months.
Crop Status
Everything I started growing on August 22nd is still doing very well. My sunflowers, cucumbers, tomato seedlings, corn, muskmelon, carrots, red pepper plant, string beans, spinach and peas are all growing pretty quickly. The only thing that never started growing was the cilantro, but that's okay.
Today I transplanted my sunflowers into a larger pot. I also transplanted my tomato seedlings & muskmelon in the same planter my corn is currently in. I'm not sure if there are going to be any negative side effects to this, but we'll see!
My carrots have been growing rapidly too. I pretty much just threw a bunch of seats in the pot and hoped for the best. I think you're supposed to thin out the seedlings so the carrots will have room to grow, but I'll just leave them for now.
Finally, I'm happy to announce that one of my cucumber plants started budding and now I have six cucumbers already growing! One of my colleagues told me that it takes about two weeks for a cucumber this size to become fully grown.I would've expected another month, but I hope I'm wrong. Right now these cucumbers are only about a few inches, but I'll keep a close eye on the progress.
Based on the growing times of the majority of my plants, I will need them to last until around end of November in order to harvest them. Unfortunately, the first frost is expected to come around November 1st and they all will die.
Dealing With the Cold Weather
In order to prevent the cold weather from killing my plants I headed over to Wal-Mart & Home Depot to pick up some large plastic containers and plastic sheeting.
I am planning to put the shorter plants in the plastic containers to act as small greenhouses and I will put the taller plants in my "green tent". You can see a picture of the "green tent" in the picture above. It is made of 6-mil clear plastic sheeting and is covering the stone wall (which hopefully can help retain some heat).
Here is an inside view of the "green tent" and the $3 thermometer that I bought. It is warmer in there, but definitely not over 100 degrees. I probably should have purchased the $7 thermometer instead...
The stone should keep a decent amount of heat, but according to Google, water can retain heat longer than most other substances. Based on this, I may have to include very large containers of water in the "green tent" in order to keep as much heat in there as possible (Especially to help my plants last throughout the colder nights).
Preparing for the Spring
(15' X 7' Area Cleared For Raised Beds)
A couple of weekends ago, my younger cousins came over and helped me clear out a 15' x 7' area in the woods to make room for my 2016 Spring Garden! It was a a tough job removing all of the weeds, rocks, vines, etc., but luckily they did most of the work. They even made me three scarecrows, which I will be saving to use for next year.
Most would likely schedule a fun weekend of activities for their cousins, but not me. I believed it was best to delegate intense manual labor instead.
- Far distance from house (Difficult to check on & water)
- More vulnerable to attacks from deer, small critters and insects
Pros
- 7+ hours of sunlight each day in the Spring & Summer
- Can make raised garden beds without ruining existing property
Next Steps
I still have to level the entire area with either dirt or leveling sand. Next, I will make two or three raised garden beds. Finally, I will have to make a fence to keep the deer and other wild animals from eating everything.
Although this spot is not the easiest place to get to, I was able to run a few hoses and attach them to a soaker hose. Once I buy an electronic hose timer, I should be all set with an automatic watering system!
Aside from water, sunlight and protection for my crops, the last thing I need is good soil!
Collection of Leaves (Obtaining Black Gold)
This summer I bought a couple bags of garden soil, which cost me about $15. I thought this was pretty reasonable, but next year I am going to need a lot more (and regular cheap topsoil just won't be good enough, as the plants need additional nutrients to grow). I checked out some farming videos on Youtube and the #1 way of obtaining cheap garden soil is to make it yourself!
To do so I will need to make my very own compost (consisting of coffee grounds, tea leaves, banana peels and last, but definitely not least.... leaves!!!)
To prepare for next year, this going to be me over the next few months.
I have had great support from everyone so far, including my family. Quotes from my grandma below:
"You are one sick basta**"
"Nevermind this farming bulls***. When are you moving out!?"
Updates to follow.
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