Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Planting Schedules - Not Yet

"D" asked me for my seed sowing schedule. Gosh gee, I'd like to see that list myself! Regretfully "D", I don't have one yet. I'm just now getting myself organized to the point that I'm developing a seeding schedule. 

Let's see what I've come up with so far....
...carrots. Every week sow enough seed to plant a 2 sq ft box. The should give me 2-3 dozen small carrots, enough to share with community gardeners plus perhaps a little extra to sell or trade. 
...lettuce. Every 2 weeks sow enough seed to plant 6 sq ft. That translates into about 100 plants. That would give me continuous cut leaf lettuce for sharing and a bit for selling. 
...cilantro & dill. Every two weeks sow seed. Right now I'm aiming for 2-3 dozen plants of each. 
...beets. Start a 1/4 bed (= 15 square feet) every other week. 
...onions. Sow a 6" starter pot of seed every week. That's about 25 plants. 
...bok choy. Sow once a month aiming for 3-4 dozen plants. 
...potatoes. Plant 10-20 seed potatoes weekly.  
...greenbeans. Sow a 3'x20' bed every other week. 
...radishes, weekly sow a short row. 

The above amounts are still in flux.  But it's getting closer to a set schedule. But as time goes on I will most likely need to increase what I'm sowing. If I can handle it, I'd like to grow extra of everything for selling. 

I've still got a lot of work to do to figure out a sowing schedule. Since I can grow things year around here, constantly reseeding is the way to go. That way I don't have to can or otherwise preserve my excess harvest. Plus I'd have a steady supply of something to sell. 

Some things I'm still working on expanding, like bananas. I'm constantly harvesting the extra keiki and replanting them in new spots. I'm constantly expanding the sweet potato beds. Any older pipinola get planted to start new plants. Taro is constantly being replanted as I have keiki. I haven't gotten to the point where I can say, that's enough. I use all these items for feeding livestock, so I could use more. 

I still need to look closely at many veggie crops to figure out their sowing schedule. I need to take into consideration the seasons (yes, Hawaii has seasons. Some veggies grow better in some seasons than others.) How quickly they mature during which season. How often to replant. Crops like -- cukes, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, chard, turnips, rutabagas, kohlrabi, and who knows what else. Squash and melons aren't on the list yet because they are difficult to grow here. I haven't figured out a successful way to do it without investing lots of time and infrastructure. 

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