Scorching the Garden 2020 Part 9

This is the third documented grow for us and we are introducing a lot of new things this year. We have more hardware, better software, and the same growing plan that has worked for many years. With June just around the corner, we’re about to enter the outdoor stage. Here’s where things get dirty.

We finished up the first plot and finished the perimeter of the second. 72 cans of mulch in total for the first plot and close to 300 sheets of cardboard. We took a HUGE chunk out of the mulch pile covering all the cardboard. By our estimation, we used about 3.6 tons of wood chips so far. We figure, we’re going to use another 250 sheets of cardboard and 84 or more cans (35 gallons each) of mulch. Don’t even get me started on the compost.

We’re doing things a little differently this year. Ideally, we put down the compost and plant at the same time as we put down the cardboard, then cover everything with mulch. This year, we put down the cardboard then immediately dumped the mulch. This, turned out to be much faster and eliminated the need to stake down the cardboard before laying down anything else.

We brushed away the mulch and mounded the compost on the cardboard. We discovered the cardboard’s been colonized with mycorrhizae. We also discovered that the plants have a brilliant root mass. Since you asked, we’re talking 3 tons of compost, at least.

With the first plot done, we can focus on the second, and larger one. As we were working on it, we took notice of a few things. For starters, a few of last year’s plants overwintered nicely. A large patch of oregano and catnip made it just fine as did a swatch of thyme. All over the place, dill, cilantro, and mint are growing. Most of the cardboard has become part of the soil with only bits and pieces peeking out from under what mulch remains.

After a day of prep, we loaded the wagon with plants and bamboo and raw wood mulch. This plot is a bit larger than the first and is not as flat. We also are having a hard time sourcing cardboard so some swaths won’t have that benefit. To mitigate the weeds as best possible, we dumped twice the amount of hot mulch over the areas. We are now about 65%-70% complete with the planting stage. Our next big hurdle will be keeping everything alive until the Gang of 9 arrive. Which brings us to our next segment.

The biggest challenge is keeping everything watered. Our first plot was tricky, but manageable. Buckets and bottles and a rain catcher made of old feed bags. The next year, we used cans, barrels, and rain catchers made from plastic sheeting. That’s when things became very difficult. Transporting all that water and getting it on the plants was quite a chore, all we could think was, there has to be a better way.
This year, we were able to acquire a couple of 275 gallon IBC totes and made rain catchers made from plastic wall material. As for watering the plants, check out the next post for what we did about that.