From seedlings to 6 foot tall vines in just weeks, these cucumber plants were a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, about half were plagued by a disease and did not make it. We are looking for natural ways to combat this going forward.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YZ8nRPsRrrYR4gg38
One essential herb for cooking is Thyme, and there are many varieties, but two of them are common here. They are referred to as Thyme, and Big Thyme. Common thyme is the most widely used culinary thyme. It is narrow leaf and also known as english thyme. What is referred to here as big thyme is Oregano, which is of the same family.
We planted some of both in one of the beds and they are doing well.
We planted both Scallion (Spring Onions to some) and common onions. The thinking was that while the scallions would thrive, the regular onions would be something of a gamble in this climate. However, the opposite has happened. None of the row of scallions has sprouted, and the regular onions are healthy and thriving. We will see what the harvest looks like, but this is a surprising early outcome.
With plenty of watermelon seeds, a row of them was planted between the columns. It was a chore to till the soil as it was very rocky, and full of roots from the Guava trees close by.
The peas I had planted in the seedling tray quickly outgrew that stage and sent roots through the bottom. I transplanted them to the ground after clearing more of the area next to the watermelons. Sporadic rain is helping out so far.
A few packets of seeds were acquired in order to try out some varieties of vegetables. With the greenhouse sheltered, they went into a tray to get started.
The plans for getting water to the greenhouse evolved over time. The initial plan was to have rainwater barrels immediately behind the structure to capture water from the roof and feed into the sink area. This requires an elevated structure for the barrels to generate enough pressure, and a gutter system for the roof edges.
However, the collection from the main house was already in place and much more robust, so plan B is to run a hose for now from those barrels, and feed the sink area. Not very elegant, but functional, and it avoids/delays the whole gutter solution for the greenhouse itself. The pump and the timer will be powered by the Jackery, although a long extension could reach the side of the house. This whole setup may be revisited at some point…..
The fill for the beds is roughly following the Hugekultur method. The bottom layer are branches, logs, and other pre-compost materials from the property. The middle layer is topsoil, and the final layer is natural organic compost. Each bed is filled one wheelbarrow at a time with major help from Anderson. It takes a couple of days for the finished product.
The next logical step in the process was to tackle the roof. There was a race against time for planting season, but the final roof material was not available, so a temporary solution was put in place. UV plastic was doubled up and spread across the roof. It was clearly not going to withstand any significant wind and rain, but we were in the latter stages of the dry season, so we took the risk. Shade cloth was added on top to control the brutal sun’s impact on seedlings and starters. The clips worked ok and it actually looked fine as long as it was not pulled too hard. Length was fine, but we had barely enough plastic for the width. We will see what happens with some rain…
With the external structure in better shape, attention could be turned to the internal components. This was relatively simple in that it consisted of a sink section to bring in running water, and planting beds. The concept was to allow for planting beds and aisles wide enough for a wheel barrow. This resulted in three beds that were between 12 and 14 feet in length. Everything was constructed from materials saved from demolition or construction. Scraps of wood, the old double sink found onsite, and bits of plastic sheeting in a few spots. Since the external structure was far from a perfect rectangle, the internal components just roughly followed the outline. There was no attempt to create beds of a uniform size. Nature doesn’t work that way either.
In many areas, the walls were too soft to hold tapcons or even concrete nails, so I got creative in order to make structures which would not bow. The floor worked for anchor points in the first two beds (partially). In others there is just a structural “U” which will probably need bracing over time. Boards used for concrete forms were scraped to get back to wood, and steel rebar was used in places to support the corners.
The sink area was just formed from the back corner. The eventual intent is to bring water from the rain barrels in via a small pump, and to route the drainage back out and into the drain we just created/fortified right outside this rear corner (see drainage post).
The beds are roughly 24″ in height, and a few new pieces of 1×12 were needed to avoid a really time-consuming mosaic. The floor dictated that the beds were not perfctly level. Again, no concerns for this purpose as they will each be filled to a level height. All in all, a real mixture of bits and pieces with no exacting carpentry in sight !
