april one three

been busy!!

building a bed: turtlebed

yay!

this new one is shaped a little like a turtle.

removed layer, pulled layer beneath. flipped removed layer then put back pulled layer, worked straw in, then layers of dirt=dirt lasagna

first layer of dirt

ooh shiny fresh dirts

aw the new guy fits right in

time for to plant

April 3 update...

well!! so let me see...hops rhizomes are starting to peek out of the soil, greens and cabbage family stuffs are more than just sprouts now, garlics are all quite excited, peas a bit bigger, and we are working on transplanting some smaller starts from indoor to outdoor, such as tomatoes (four heirloom varieties so far), Swiss chard, broccoli, and eggplant. found some valerian and yarrow (for hops guild), catnip, and two more species of blueberries (2 kinds increases yield by 40%, 3 by 15% more, levels out around 4 kinds grown together) (two to add to the mystery shoots we have started, that is, for at least two kinds and possibly 3). also have thornless blackberry shoots to start (5?), which will not yield this year but next. progress on the fence, which we can trellis some stuffs on and also keeps out some critters and keeps in our dogs. hmmmm what else, i know I'm forgetting more!!! picture update soon, stay tuned!!

house perimeter planning

For this area we get so much water that one important strategy for this site is to create raised hugelkultur-style beds so the plants on site do not flood.  I have already added three beds on the north side of the house from old wood and soil from on site, and so far they are working famously in soaking up the moisture...already flooding is greatly reduced on the design site!  This is of course very encouraging and we are very excited to see what plants will do well in this raised style bed type.  (Picture included as well...this image has a bit of all three raised beds on the south.  Some lettuces and garlics are popping up on the right (planted 1-2 weeks ago), kale, peas, & rosemary can be seen in the far bed, and on the left two side of a keyhole entrance which we just started building...it needs to be built up more yet (not yet tall enough). (See also posts on: Raised Bed images).

For the map, the hops guild I have planned will be located on the north side of the property (but far enough away from the house that it receives full sun).  To the south of the house are the hugelkultur-style variation beds I have already built and begun to plant.

The water flow from the roof of the house drains to the four corners of the main structure, with the largest volume of water going to the northwest corner of the primary residence (where the water storage tank is located).

There is an abundance of exciting plants in this plan.  Fortunately I have a terrific seed collection saved up from the last two years when I really wanted to have a garden but couldn't yet.  I still need to acquire several kinds of seeds including bee balm, veronica, raspberry, rue, savory, and mint, as well as yarrow, valerian, & borage for the guild.  I have all the other seeds on site already including hops rhizomes for the hops guild, and many seeds already starting in pots indoors.

I'm not certain if raspberries will work on the east side but they will certainly get sun there.  I am trying for blueberries on the east side near the main structure...not *too* much sun, the soil is acidic, and that part of the yard gets a lot of moisture.  The mints and other companion plants help to attract bees, and the herbs on the south side (east of the porch) and native flower gardens are also for attracting pollinators.  This is so much fun to organize and begin to implement...I am excited for the spring to be in full swing and watch everything grow!

design site guild project: hops guild

Here is what I have so far for a guild out back...the one I do will most likely be much simpler but i wanted practice researching guilds.  There are no major plants on site already that I wanted to build a guild around, but we love to home brew beer so we already ordered some hops rhizomes (Cascades & Newport varieties), which we want to attempt to make an archway with as hops tends to vine and trellis quickly.  There are both perennials and annuals included in this plan, and strawberries can be grown for 4 to 5 consecutive years before I would want to switch that crop.  The nitrogen fixers are next to the hops because hops requires a good deal of nitrogen.  This plan seems to have a good deal of sage and spinach incorporated, but I love sage and spinach.  It also seems like a good deal of borage, but it does work to make strawberries more robust.  I would love any suggestions as several of these plants I have not tried growing together.

hügel-type bed two

^heirloom 'little marvel' peas^

^kale/ rosemary^

^dogs are like, what.?.^

interesting climate data for this region

First and last average frost date: 
Average first frost...October 20.
Average last frost...April 1-14.

Average annual rainfall or snowfall by month (30 yr period)January........5.40
February......4.85
March...........6.19
April.............4.23
May..............4.28
June.............3.99
July..............4.73
August.........3.59
September...4.31
October........3.26
November....4.88
December.....4.81
(Yearly..........54.5) Record 24 hour rainfall
Most Rain in 24 Hours was 9.5" from September 5-6, 2011.

Average low temperature
Average January low is 31 degrees.

Record low temperature
-10 degrees F on January 21, 1985. Average high temperature
Average July high is 90 degrees.

Record high temperature: 
107 degrees F on June 30 and July 1, 2012.

Any other interesting climatic data you run across: 
Most Rain in One Hour was 2.70" on July 27, 1976.
Most Rain in One Month was 16.32" back in March 1980.
Most Rain in One Year was 73.70" in 1994.
Most Snow in 24 Hours was 20" on March 12-13, 1993. (so far this year we have only seen snow 3x, and all three times it covered the ground completely within an hour and melted off within another hour...) (can you tell I am coming from Arizona, as I am impressed by all this rain!)