Quick look: Experiments in the Garden

I was just thinking about some new things we're trying this year and how I'd like to document it all. I'm just going to jump in.

- 3 sisters. We posted a quick look on this topic, but this is really a wider test of intercropping in general. One bed is specifically 3 sisters, but every bed I've planted is intercropped. I have radish and cucumbers together, peppers and bunching onions, tomatoes with herbs and greens, sunflowers with beans and peppers. This list goes on! In fact, I started some more greens and beans this week to fit in to open spaces as the beds fill out!

- Rain collection. I've never done this on the scale we are this year, but the most exciting test is how well a drip irrigation system runs on just gravity water. I figure a drip system preserves the most water, which is crucial when you only have 210 gallons of water to work with at any given time.

- chop and drop. I'm doing very little weeding this year. The few I am targeting are ones that are hard to remove once established. I was very excited for all the bitter dock that popped up. Little did I know the roots go down to the core of the planet! So, when I see dock, grass, or volunteer tomatoes and squash popping up in places that they'd cause physical issues, I pull them out. But ,I'm just dropping them around the base of the plants I want to keep to help mulch and feed them all season long.

- potatoes in pots. I don't like how when you plant potatoes in a spot, you will always have potatoes there until the end of time. So this year I'm seeing how well they'll do in planters. I like that I can move them around. Right now they're making a fun little hedgerow along the swing set!

- single stem tomatoes. Not only did I cram 7 plants into a 20 Sq ft box, I also want to try a head-to-head challenge between a single-stemmed opalka and a standard bushy opalka in a cage. 

- climbing cucumbers. I always have an issue with slugs on my cucumbers.  I planted my chompers delights at the base of my trellis to see if they'll fare better while suspended. 

- same year crop rotation. I have a crop of seedling bush beans started in trays waiting for my garlic to be ready. In a couple weeks I'll pull the garlic, drop the bean starts into their spot, and hopefully harvest those in time to plant garlic again. We'll see!