In this week three weeks of Hour-A-Day Gardening . . .
Join in our 100 days, 100 hour gardening challenge and be entered in a raffle for prizes. Follow along by checking out the hashtag: #100days100hourgardeningchallenge.
Summer Weather is Here
The last three weeks have been 70s, then 80s, and finally 90s with occasional rain. The high temps have fried from starts I wasn’t careful enough about, but they have also jump started most of the established plants.
More Plant-Outs
Warm-weather crops are almost all out now. The last tomatoes were put out in the main garden and small greenhouse (our paste tomatoes were out in the big greenhouse a month ago). Some are in cages, while others are tied to posts. Butternut squash, pumpkin, and Long Island cheeses squashes are also out.
Mowing Season
We try to keep our mowing to a minimum. We have a front lawn and then behind our patio is a clover patch. Other than that, it is garden or brush and trees here. I did make a fun video about the first mowing of the season.
Neglected Projects
I also was able to get some long-neglected garden projects completed. I am working on a compost study and revamped my design. I’ll do a whole post on this before long. But I did catch this great shot of steam rising off the compost pile one morning.
I also was able to get my sprinkler system set up in the grain fields. I used PVC pipe and fittings to make 5-ft-tall posts with an impact sprinkler on top. The hose connects at the bottom. These stand up above the tall grain and allow for more complete watering than if they were ground level.
Greenhouses
I also planted out tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, sweet potatoes, peppers, okra, and other greenhouse varieties. Our small greenhouse is coming along, and I got the sweat hose put in below the mulch. I still have to complete the sides. Always something to do . . .
Volunteers and Support
We’re always looking for volunteers. If you want to spend a few hours in a garden (and take home something yummy for your trouble), reach out to us at info@lowtechinstitute.org. It can be regular or sporadic as you have time.
We’re also asking those who get something out of reading our site, watching our videos, and listening to our podcast to join the community of supporters of the institute by throwing us a few bucks a month on Patreon. If you’re in a position to help us out, a little goes a long way. Thanks for considering it.
The Data
Here’s the breakdown day by day. In three weeks, I worked 21:15, raising my my average a minute to 59 minutes a day. These have been busy weeks, but we should be back to regular posting now.