Early June Downpours Pack Punch

The growing season is just getting underway and last night there was a downpour. Followed by another at 13:30. Downpours can deliver a powerful punch. Weather can knock-out a garden before its prime. Between the downpours, I ran outside to assess the damage.

Above is a well established Black Eyed Stella Daylily with petals thinned by a rain beating.

This Clematis x durandii was wet but came through without needing the cut man.

The remaining blooming flowers were down for a technical. So I wondered over to the raised bed rings to see if the vegetables got their ears pinned back.

Lettuce was still holding their heads high. Prepared for what ever nature may unload on them in later rounds. 

The above lettuce is Red Rosie purchased from Johnny's Select Seeds for the 2012 growing season. I have been taking some outside leaves for salads over the last week. It tastes delicious. Nothing better than lettuce from the bed directly to the salad bowl. Except for tomatoes directly from the vine to my lips.

This is Buttercrunch. It, too, was purchased at Johnny's for the 2012 growing season.

The potatoes planted in the lazy bed are showing signs of growth.

After I covered the potatoes with sod, grass side down, I covered the bed with shredded tree leaves collected and shredded last autumn. There are five or six plants that have pushed their way to the sunlight.

On the whole, the garden is in good shape this early June. All one can do is be prepared. And, hope for the best.

I hope it will be a champion season.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

September Embraces the Garden

September embraces the garden. Autumn is but a fortnight away. The plants have grown tall. The vines climb and the tomatoes tied to the remesh. The potatoes are eager to be freed from their cages.

The main square foot garden is 4'x4'/1.2m square with two potato towers nearby.

Most of the summer has been dry, very little rainfall. Now, the remnants of Hurricane Isaac are passing over.

 Wet ripe Super Sweet Tomatoes are ready for their sacrifice.

Leaves are beginning to turn yellow and wither. The reaper stands in the shadows. 

Only to wait for Persephone's return.

Soon Demeter begins to wail.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

What to Wear at London Olympics?

Weather Underground:London

As you can see from the graphic above, the temperature rose above 70ºF only eleven days in July of this year. There was precipitation every day. What do you wear in London in the summer?

If you are Australian, fluorescent clown wigs and flip flops

If Doc Brown just dropped you off, you wear your pajamas

Kathleen, Bobby and Dennis

If you are a Bobby, a hi-viz vest.

As you do if you work in the Underground

If it rains at the Olympic, a plastic Union Jack

If you're a chilled American, use your nation's flag

If you're a proud American, the Stars and Stripes

When you're at a football match of Brazil vs GB women in a covered stadium, you wear what is proper

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Rain And Watering Your Square Foot Garden

One of the important needs of any plant is water. Knowing the amount of water needed is essential. Rain provides some, if not all, water to an outdoor garden. A mix of rain and irrigation will most likely be needed.


It is recommended that each square, in a square foot garden, get 1 gallon/3.785L of water per week. Assuming you get some rain, you need to know the amount of rainfall in volume measured in gallons/liters. Subtract the rainfall from the gallon/3.785L and you have your answer. 



Use a rain gauge or check the weather report for your area to determine the amount of rainfall received. I use Weather Underground. There is actually a weather station within the .5miles/.8K of my house. I assume the rain amount reported at that station is the amount of rain my square foot garden received.

If the rainfall reported is 1.6" for the week, the square foot garden does not need supplemental watering. If not, it will need irrigation.

Let's start with the fact that 1 gallon = 231.00 cu.in. Each square foot needs one gallon of water/week.

1. One square foot area = 144 sq. in./ 929 sq.cm
2. 231 cu.in. / 144 sq. in.(1490 cu.cm / 929 sq.cm)= 1.6 in(4cm)
3. Each square needs 1.6 in(4cm) of rainfall/week.

It is always better to deliver the water to the soil and not by spraying from the top. Watering cans, soaker hoses and drip irrigation are the best methods. Watering cans will eat a good bit of time out of your day. Fill the cans, transport the can to the garden, deliver the water and repeat. Soaker hoses and drip irrigation only need to be turned on, timed and shut off. You will, however, need to calibrate soaker hoses to get the volume of water delivered within a certain period of time. The last and most reliable is a drip irrigation system. 

Drip irrigation uses calibrated emitters. Emitters come in varying sizes, 1/2G/hr, 1G/hr. 2G/hr or 6G/hr.  Just do the math. Turning on the irrigation system for one hour using 1G/hr emitters will supply the proper amount of water needed for one week. Compensate for any rainfall for the week and you will have happy productive plants.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Garden Planning 2012

I am in the midst of planning my garden plot for 2012.  The plot covers only 16 sq ft of area.  For that reason I need to plan carefully to get the most production.  

Last year I dug and planted a 4' square foot garden plot.  I removed a great deal of rocks and large stones from the soil.  I added sand, vermiculite, perlite, blood meal, super phosphate, calcium and composted manure.  When I was finished extracting rocks and stones, digging, turning and racking, the garden soil was level with the existing lawn.
My ground is mostly rock with just an inch or so of topsoil.  Back in the late 60's when my house was built, the builder scraped all of the top soil from the land before building the homes.  Just one inch or so of top soil was returned to cover the sub-soil after building the house.  I dug down two feet into the lawn for the garden plot.  I removed all of the rock and screened the soil through 1/2" hardware cloth.  Added the above soil amendments before I began to plant.

2011 Garden Plot Plan

Magnetic orientation of plot

I divided the plot into 16 - 1' squares, four wide by four deep.  I used 1/2" rebar and other supports on which I strung twine to vertically support the tomato vines.  I sunk one plant in each square except the corn which I seeded with 4 plants per square.

I didn't have enough money to purchase more soil amendments nor did I have the physical energy to increase the amount of soil to mound it above the lawn level.   This proved to be a big mistake.


In May there were two long spells of rainfall.  With each rainfall the plot flooded because of the rock and dense clay structure of the surrounding soil.  The garden soil looked like quicksand.  Many of the plants drowned and had to be replaced.  The growth of the plants that survived, was retarded.  I should have cut a drain into the lawn or built up the soil at least 8" above the lawn level, but I didn't.


In the fall, in an effort to remedy the soil problems, I used a leaf blower to pile all the fallen tree leaves on my front lawn.  I then reversed the blower and sucked the fallen leaves into a trash can.   The blower shredded the leaves and reduced their volume by 80%-90%.  I then surrounded the square plot with 4' high wire fencing and dumped the shredded leaves onto the plot.  The pile was 3' high and 4' square, 1.33 cubic feet of dry, shredded leaves.  I expected the leaves to naturally compost over the next several months.  Sometime in late February or early March, I will turn those leaves into the first 1' of garden plot soil.  That action will add nutrients, retain water and raise the soil above the lawn level.  Hopefully, raising the plot will eliminate the water drainage problem.


All of that in due time.  Now I need to plan carefully and judiciously.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved