Planting!

Today was a big work day.  We got to work just before 10 am and were heading home at 4:30.  During that time we got all the posts for the deer fence set up, installed the drip irrigation system, and put seeds in the ground.

Setting up the posts.

Laying out the drip irrigation system.

Pressurizing the system.

Checking for leaks.

Planting potatoes!

Burying the drip tape for the irrigation.

Planting beans.

Photos taken while gardening are always flattering...

Quitting time!

It was a long day, but we got a ton done.  My mom broke her arm this week, so instead of playing in the dirt, she got to keep an eye on the twins inside the church.  Chris intended to help in the garden, but ended up kid wrangling for most of the day, which was also amazingly helpful.

My dad and my husband put up all 30 T posts for the deer fence and got half the netting up.  The wind picked up enough that it was too difficult to install the rest, so we are saving that for another day.

The drip irrigation system, ordered from Dripworks, was very easy to put together and install.  Once we pressurized the system we found some leaks, but those were easy enough to fix.  We started putting the drip tape and fixtures together in the morning when the plastic tape was a bit stiff.  The tape was warmer and more pliable in the afternoon, so we could get tighter seals then.

The drip tape in action:

Each emitter on the drip tape uses a half gallon of water per hour.  There is an emitter every eight inches.

Once the irrigation system was all set to go I started planting.  I planted Yukon Gold potatoes, butternut squash, acorn squash, summer squash, two lettuce mixes, two varieties of kale, two types of green beans, a beet mix, two kinds of carrots, radishes, and yellow onions.  I also planted four parsley plants that were given to me.  I intended to plant cucumbers, but I misplaced those seeds somewhere between my house and the garden.

Tomatoes will go in later this week, once I build a support structure for them.