Terrace Square Foot Garden: Summer Planting Diary Week2
This book inspired me to start this gardening project. If you'd like to experience this joy too, click the image to purchase your own copy.
W2: July 7, 2024 - July 13, 2024
Day 7: Sunday, July 7, 2024 - Sunny
Today's Tasks:
This evening, we finally started assembling the Square Foot Gardening planter box. Here’s a detailed rundown of our steps:
Install the Drainage Board: We placed the drainage board at the bottom of the wooden frame, folding up the edges to ensure all water flows through it.
Install the Geotextile Fabric: Using the same method as the drainage board, we laid the geotextile fabric over the drainage board, ensuring complete coverage.
Add Clay Pellets: We added a layer of clay pellets on top of the geotextile fabric to enhance drainage and aeration, preventing root rot.
Add Planting Soil: After each layer of soil (about 40-50 quarts), we paused to water it, making sure the water penetrated thoroughly. This was a good opportunity to observe the watering effect visually, which will be harder to check once the vegetables are planted.
In total, I added about 160 quarts of planting soil and 12 quarts of clay pellets.
How to setup a Square Foot Garden Box
Experience and Insights:
Since the bottom of my planter box is on the hard, impermeable tiles of the terrace, I used a drainage board and geotextile fabric. The drainage board serves as both a water reservoir and a drainage aid, while the geotextile fabric ensures the soil doesn’t escape through the drainage holes. This setup provides a well-aerated and well-drained planter box.
Drainage Board
The clay pellets further enhance drainage and aeration, preventing root rot. A thin layer suffices. My planter box (3 feet 11 inches long, 31.5 inches wide, and 8 inches high) used about 12 quarts of clay pellets, though 15 quarts might be more suitable.
Clay Pellets
The soil I bought contains a good amount of perlite, which helps with drainage and soil aeration, keeping the soil loose. It also reportedly includes compost, providing sufficient nutrients for the seedlings in the initial growth stage.
Soil with Perlite and Compost
Even though we chose to work in the evening, it was still very hot. Thankfully, Dora’s enthusiasm easily overcame the heat. For city kids, gardening and planting have a magical appeal of nature. Parents with terraces, seize the opportunity to satisfy your children's curiosity.
Installed Garden Box - Day 7
Tomorrow's Plan:
As planned, tomorrow we will introduce earthworms to our planter box.
Day 8: Monday, July 8, 2024 - Sunny
Today's Tasks:
At 5 PM, I checked the watering status before introducing the worms into the planter box. I inserted my finger deep into the soil and felt the damp geotextile fabric and accumulated water on the drainage board, confirming yesterday’s watering was thorough.
Checking Watering Status
Given the moist condition, I decided a small amount of water was enough today, so I added about 2-3 quarts. Then, I opened the worm bag and saw them wriggling in the soil. I used to find worms a bit gross, but now I think they’re kind of cute.
Carefully, I scooped the worms with the surrounding soil and evenly spread them into the planter box. It’s important to handle them gently as they seem quite fragile. Lastly, I lightly covered them with a layer of planting soil to help them adapt and start burrowing. Task complete!
Spread Worms Into The Planter Box
Experience and Insights:
Worms offer several benefits for vegetable gardening:
They continually loosen the soil, improving aeration and drainage.
Worm castings are rich in nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, providing a natural fertilization system.
They accelerate the decomposition of organic matter, promoting healthy plant growth.
Worms help balance the soil ecosystem, reducing harmful pathogens and pests.
They increase the number of beneficial microorganisms, enhancing soil diversity and stability.
If starting from scratch, introduce a small number of worms first. They can reproduce to a suitable quantity in about 9-12 months. I introduced 200 red worms, a common type often used as bait by anglers.
To manage the worm ecosystem and speed up reproduction, consider using a worm tower. Once mine arrives, I'll detail how to use it. Stay tuned!
Done! Looks Like Nothing Happened.
Tomorrow's Plan:
If it doesn’t rain tomorrow evening, we’ll divide the planter box into grids and start planting seeds. Another exciting day awaits! See you tomorrow.
Day 9: Tuesday, July 9, 2024 - Cloudy
Today's Tasks:
No rain today, so Dora was up early, excited for the big seed planting. She carefully packed the seeds into storage tubes and placed them in a storage box. This setup is perfect for balcony gardening newbies.
Next, Dora labeled small wooden signs with the names of the vegetables we’re planting. Meanwhile, I handled the seeds that needed soaking, placing them in purified water. We eagerly waited for the evening.
At 5 PM, with the sun no longer blazing and the air cooler, we got started. First, we used a tape measure to divide the planter box into 12 grids, securing them with twine and screws.
Then, we installed the worm tower, adding some cucumber peels inside, hoping the worms would find this new spot soon. According to our planting plan, we started with pumpkins. We placed the labeled wooden sign in the first grid and planted two pumpkin seeds. Since pumpkins need more soil, we gave them two grids. Planting two seeds increases the chances of successful germination, doubling the odds.
We continued planting seeds from the back row to the front, covering them with a thin layer of soil. As the soil was still quite moist, we only gave a light spray of water. Planting was done. We made a few adjustments to the original planting plan from last week. Here’s the final layout:
Experience and Insights:
The worm tower is designed to boost worm reproduction and efficiency in the planter box. I talked about the benefits of worms in yesterday’s entry. Now, let's discuss installing and maintaining a worm tower:
Choose a central location in the planter box to ensure worms can cover the entire area.
Dig a moderate hole and bury part of the worm tower in the soil for stability.
Drill holes at the bottom and sides for worm access and drainage.
Feed the worms every 3-7 days, depending on their consumption rate. Replenish when they’ve finished the food.
Suitable food types are similar to green compost materials but avoid the following:
Acidic foods: Citrus peels, vinegar, etc.
Spicy foods: Onions, garlic, chili peppers.
Soaking seeds helps promote germination, especially in spring and winter. Here are some key points about soaking seeds:
Be mindful of soaking times. For home gardening newbies, it’s better to under-soak. Not soaking long enough means less germination help, but over-soaking can suffocate seeds.
It’s not always necessary for most vegetables. Seeds will still germinate well if soil temperature and moisture are suitable.
For this summer planting, I shortened the recommended soaking time from 8 hours to about 6 hours.
Tips for Summer Planting for Beginners:
Choose morning or evening to avoid high temperatures harming the seeds.
Water thoroughly before planting to ensure soil moisture is suitable for germination.
Finish worm introduction and tower installation before planting to avoid major soil disruption later.
Since not all seeds will germinate, plant more seeds than planned. For instance, plant two seeds for one plant, six to eight seeds for four plants. If all germinate, select the strongest seedlings later.
Decide the number of seeds based on grid size (actually soil volume). There are plenty of suggestions in Uncle Mel’s book and online.
Plan plant height by row. Usually, climbing plants go in the back row with trellises. Middle rows for medium-height plants needing support. Front rows for low-growing plants like leafy greens and radishes. This arrangement is not only aesthetic but also ensures good light for all plants, especially crucial for my wall-placed planter box.
Tomorrow's Plan:
Starting tomorrow, we will observe the changes and progress in the planter box daily. Feel free to guess in the comments when we’ll see the first seed sprout and which vegetable will be the first to emerge!
Day 10: July 10, 2024, Wednesday, Light Rain
D10: Nothing Happened
Observation and Records: Observation Time - 9 AM
No seeds have sprouted in the planter box today.
No worms have gathered in the worm tower yet.
Today's Tasks:
No tasks for today.
Experience and Insights:
None.
Tomorrow's Plan:
Wait for the other seeds to sprout.
Day 11: July 11, 2024, Thursday, Light Rain
Observation and Records: Observation Time - 9 AM
Great news! Two types of vegetables have sprouted today, just about 40 hours after planting. Can you guess which ones? Drumroll, please... It's Bok Choy and Radish! Specifically, we have one Bok Choy seedling and five Radish seedlings.
Bok Choy Sprout
Radish Sprout
The worm tower still hasn't attracted any worms, possibly because the current worm population is too low.
Today's Tasks:
The soil moisture is sufficient, and with more rain today, there's no need for additional watering.
Experience and Insights:
Since both sprouting vegetables have tiny seeds, I wondered if seed size affects germination time. After doing some research, I found out that seed size doesn't determine germination time for different vegetable types. Here's a reference for the germination times of some common vegetable seeds, which may be faster in summer:
Radish (small seeds): usually germinates in 3-7 days
Bok Choy (small seeds): usually germinates in 5-10 days
Cucumber (medium seeds): usually germinates in 7-10 days
Pumpkin (large seeds): usually germinates in 7-14 days
Eggplant (small seeds): usually germinates in 7-14 days
Pepper (small seeds): usually germinates in 7-21 days
Tomorrow's Plan:
Continue to wait for more seeds to sprout.
Day 12: July 121, 2024, Friday, Moderate Rain
Observation and Records: Observation Time - 1 PM
Great news! More veggies have sprouted today, just under 72 hours since planting. Here’s the breakdown:
Bok Choy: 8 seedlings
Radish: 13 seedlings
Bush Bean: 4 seedlings
Okra: 2 seedlings
Cucumber: 2 seedlings
Cucumber
Okra
Bush Beans
Bok Choy
Radish
The worm tower still hasn't attracted any worms.
Today's Tasks:
The soil moisture is sufficient, and with heavier rain today, there's no need for additional watering.
Experience and Insights:
Our observations show that seeds sprout much faster in the summer, as long as the soil stays moist.
Tomorrow's Plan:
Continue to wait for other veggies to sprout. See you tomorrow!
Day 13: July 13, 2024, Saturday, Moderate Rain
Day 13
Observation and Records: Observation Time - 1 PM
Zucchini
Water Spinach
Pumpkin
Good news! Three types of vegetables have sprouted, less than 72 hours after planting. Here's the breakdown:
Zucchini: 2 sprouts
Water Spinach: 3 sprouts
Pumpkin: 1 sprout
Compared to yesterday, many vegetables have grown taller, especially the Bush Beans.
Bush Beans have grown taller
The worm tower still hasn’t attracted any worms. Looks like we need to be more patient.
Today's Tasks:
With the continuous rain, there was no need to water the plants. Thanks to the drainage board, I’m not too worried about waterlogging causing root rot.
Experience and Insights:
None for today.
Tomorrow's Plan:
Continue to wait for other vegetables to sprout.
Weekly Summary:
This week has been full of joy. We planted 11 of our favorite vegetables and celebrated the first sprouts—8 types germinated within 4 days of planting. Reflecting on this week, we also introduced worms and installed the worm tower. The compost bin has been steadily receiving new materials. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the third week. Please continue to support our journey into the next week. If you're interested, join us and start your own gardening adventure. Happy planting to everyone!