The cauliflower looked much better when I got home today. I gave the garden a good soak last night, and although it was hot and sunny all day inland, at my house by the beach it was overcast and cool all day. The top of the soil was still wet when I got home, so I think this confirms the shallow roots theory. I still need to get some mulch.

March 17th, 2010

Its been a busy week. I've been enjoying my spring break by taking advantage of the extra daylight savings hour, riding my bmx bike the last 2 days after work, and I took today off to pedal a bike up Saddleback mountain. Spring is my favorite season.

Somewhere in there I also found time to get the irrigation system going in the garden. I made it out of 1/2 inch PVC pipe, some corner an T fittings with threads on top, some sprinkler risers and brass sprinkler heads. I used 12" risers for the sprinkler heads, I figured the extra height will help the spray reach over the garden once the plants are much bigger. I attached the PVC pipe to the wooden edge of the garden and placed sprinklers at the corners and the two long sides. I got the wrong fitting to attach the hose to the sprinkler system, so I had to go back to the hardware store (a couple times) until I got right. I added a second valve and a hose bib upstream of the sprinkler valve so I will have a hose right at the garden and I can use it while the sprinklers are off.

Once I got everything built I had a very fun time trying to adjust the sprinkler heads so they don't spray out of the garden, in the dark, getting all wet. I still have to fine tune it a bit. I have been trying to figure out the right amount of time to leave the sprinklers on. Some plants look fine and others look wilted and thirsty. I have a couple of cauliflower plants that I transplanted from my dad's garden that are the most wilted. I think they may be losing water because their roots only reach the top layer of soil, which dries quickly on these hot days. I think I need to get a bag of mulch to put over the soil, this will help keep the water in the soil by blocking the bright sunlight. I an technically only allowed to water with sprinklers 3 days a week, due to the water district's water conservation program. So I am hoping I can soak the soil on the watering days and have it stay moist on the non-watering days. I would like to grow my garden with as little water as possible while still keeping it healthy. I actually work at a water district so I am well aware of the importance of saving water.

I have decided to try starting my seeds indoors. I do some posts on that in the future.

Day 2:

I put in a lot of work yesterday getting all the weeds and grass out of the garden. I tilled a lot of the plant matter under the soil to recover some nutrients, but I tried to remove all of the weeds that were already gone to seed. I'm sure I will have lots of weeds popping back up anyway. My plan right now to control them is just to let the sprouts pop up and then till the soil to kill the weeds. I'm sure I will have to do this on a regular basis, but it sure beats putting poison(herbicide) in the garden where I grow my food. It took me quite a long time and it was pretty hard work, but it sure wasn't a bad way to spend a Friday afternoon. I brought my little record player outside and listened to some music while I worked. Friday's playlist: "The Hopeful and the Unafraid" by Jason Anderson (jasonandersonswebsite.com), and "Ladies of the Canyon" by Joni Mitchel. Singer/songwriter music helps me relax, maybe it will be good for the plants too.

Today I put some plants in the ground. I went to Shore Gardens in San Clemente and picked up some pre-started plants for an early harvest. I got a couple kinds of tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and some squash. I also picked up a bag of organic compost to spread over the soil and a box of organic fertilizer (see pictures). I used this fertilizer last year and my garden exploded with growth, especially the tomatoes. Shore gardens is great because the owner is right there in the store most days and he can answer almost all your questions, unlike Lowes or Home Depot, they barely know where the potting soil is. On top of that the place smells amazing! I also got some PVC and sprinkler heads to make an irrigation system. I had to go to Denault's/True Value for this . Unfortunately there aren't any locally owned hardware stores in San Clemente.

So this afternoon I mixed the compost and fertilizer into the soil and built the sprinkler system. I had a brain fart at the hardware store and got a male threaded piece for the hose attachment instead of a female, so I cant test the sprinklers until I get an adapter. I'll show you how it all works when I get it set up. I put the plants I got into the ground and tried to space them out a bit more than I did last year, things got a little crowded. I also put up some cages for the tomatoes, I didn't do this last year and they took over. Saturday's playlist: James Taylor's self titled (I think), and "The Yes Album" by Yes.

Welcome to TTTG

The garden after a winter of neglect ---->

This blog will be a record of my gardening experiences here at my humble abode in Capo Beach, Ca. It is by no means a source for any kind of expert advise, I've only had a garden for 2 summers so far. The first time I only managed to grow 3 tomatoes and a bunch of arugula (which is disgusting by the way). Last year my garden grew so large and fast that it became unmanageable. I got about 200 tomatoes and many of them ended up rotting on the vine because I couldn't pick them fast enough. So needless to say, this is still a learning experience.

I will, however, be passing along any tips or techniques that I find work well for my garden, and my situation. I am a full time student in Environmental Engineering at Saddleback College, in addition to working full time, so I have very little free time. Most of the work done on my garden will be done on the weekends, and a big part of my plan is to make the garden as automated as possible while still keeping it organic. More to come on this in future posts.

Now for the real reason for this blog. Last night I watched some of the documentary Food Inc. Being a vegetarian for the last 7 years I was already aware of some of the horrible things that go on in the food production industry, but this film showed me that it was far worse than I even knew. Not only is it unsafe and completely unsanitary/disgusting, but the way in which the vast majority of our food is grown and produced is destroying our country, or economy, our farmers, and our health. I couldn't possibly explain all the information in Food Inc. so I just recommend everyone go see it. This film has reinforced my long standing desire to become self sufficient and live a more deliberate life. The food in the grocery store is no longer actually food, more like different combinations of corn syrup and chemicals, so therefore I will grow my own food.

I hope to show with this blog that anyone can grow their own garden, in whatever space and time they have available. There is no reason to have your food trucked in from hundreds of miles away and processed until most of the nutrition is gone, you can grow your own healthy, nutritious, and great tasting food at home. It is better for the environment, your health, the country, and the world as a whole.