Anarchapulco Permaculture Farm, Garden Update 5: Pickaxes, Planting Sprouted Seeds and Pruning the Devil's Fruit

Things have been a bit slow here since the last update.  I came down with dengue the day after and have been recovering since. I've really only mustered the strength to do anything other than write today, and it took a lot out of me. I remembered that I transplanted new things and had forgotten about them as well as started seeds, so I decided to address them today when I was feeling better.  I even forgot to remove the carrot seeds from the fridge a day after, John reminded me to handle that one, just 12 hours after the 24 hour recommended freeze time.  Despite the extra cold, they seem to be sprouting as I noticed some of the seeds starting to split as I checked them today.

The beet seeds were much overdue, I'll start by admitting that.  About half of the seedlings had grown to the point where they shed their seed coat, something not desired with this method considering they're root vegetables.  You really don't want ANY seedling to leave it's coat behind with this method, but I imagine it's really not good for root veggies as they hate transplanting. 

This is more the stage at which you want to plant, where you see lots of short white roots poking out of the seeds. The rest are swollen and ready to split, so I'll plant those probably tomorrow, possibly with some carrots. 

I had prepared this bed previously in the year, attempting to grow some carrot seeds I had from home with me.  They didn't take, probably because they needed cold stratified, and the rainy season hit and really battered hard on that bed.  I didn't realize quite how hard until today, when I attempted to plant it.  I couldn't even stick my finger in the soil, it was so firm.  I went inside, grabbing a claw shaped fiskars garden tool, hoping it'd break up what was once loose, it didn't make a dent.

It took the combined action of a pickaxe and a shovel to loosen this dirt. I went about a foot down, because I intend to grow roots here.  I essentially used the pick axe to break the hard packed dirt into big chunks, which I crumbled with my hands.  I only did a section of it, choosing to do the rest as I needed them.  I'm not sure I could have finished the whole thing with how I was feeling. The whole thing took way longer than I expected.  It became very clear, very quickly that I was going to need to amend the soil, so I headed inside. 

I filled these two pots with used peat moss based soil, topping one of them with the powdery brown magic that is Organodel. Armed with my seeds, dirt and some water I headed out to plant.

I just dumped the soil over the area I wanted to plant and mixed it in with the newly disturbed soil, making something pretty similar in texture to what the lettuce is planted in on the hill.  I watered it well and started planting, until all the sprouted seeds were gone.  I didn't keep count, we'll just see how many come up after a few days.  Hopefully I didn't mess up the beets too much, worst case is I can always plant more. 

Covered with a good mulch layer, to keep moisture and to deter my cat from using the freshly disturbed dirt as a litter box. It's fall here too, leaves are falling here too, just not all of them, save for certain trees. 

Noticed this little hive in my new mulch layer, good thing it was empty!

I noticed today, my healthy new tomato plants on the ledge needed pruning, if I intended them to produce at their best.  At least one of them, the largest, is a cherry variety (technically yellow pear, small like a cherry) which always prefers a good heavy pruning.

They look a bit bare but I know they'll thrive from their pruning, tomatoes are known to love being cut back, especially healthy ones.

Some of the kohlrabi seedlings have died, others are flourishing.  I intend to plant some more seeds, not a lot, just enough to fill in this space, as it's dedicated to kohlrabi.

I transplanted these and became pretty sick the next day.  I forgot about them for another day after that and when I checked them they were fine, thanks to that mulch layer. These should produce very well. 

The peppers I supported with the bamboo teepees have been FLOURISHING, so much so I had to write that in caps.  They've really appreciated the support.  There are new growth sites everywhere, and some small bell peppers starting to form, now that the plant no longer has to worry about gravity or wind. 

So things have been slow here, but the plants keep growing.  I got a bit done today, despite still feeling pretty crappy, I made it happen.  I'm interested in seeing these plants flourish, partially because I want to eat them.  I've had the issue of starting seeds in the past, forgetting about them until it was too late.  The mess that comes from that is saddening, especially when you live so far away from the source of those seeds.  In the states, getting heirloom seeds is easy, not so much here, especially if you're on a budget like I almost always am. 

It's easy to get overwhelmed by gardening, especially big gardens because they do take a lot of thought and work to make them turn out well.  Things don't always go well and that gets discouraging, life's about making it happen and doing what you can.  The plants will grow if they've got what they need, you've just gotta make it happen. So until next time, hopefully with more to share.