What did we plant today?

Actually, that is a really good question. As you know, we are using the Square Foot Gardening technique (loosely). The fire ants colonized the bamboo we were using to partition off the squares, so we tossed those aside for everyone's safety. The beds are still planted in a square foot pattern, and as of now there are no empty squares. I didn't write down what we planted as we went, so from my poor memory... it might go like this:

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Green Bean	Bell Pepper
Celery (10/23)	???
Eggplant	Onion
Bell Pepper	Parsley
Leeks	Peas
Basil	Beets (10/23)
Carrots (10/23)	Green Bean
Raised Stone Bed (10/23)
Carrots (10/23)	Beets (10/23)
???	Kale (10/23)
???	Green Bean (10/23)
Lettuce (10/23)	Beets (10/23)
Bell Pepper (10/23)	Kale (10/23)
Parsnips (10/23)	???
Carrots (10/23)	Peas (10/23)

I admit, in the ??? spaces I can't even guess what we planed there. But there is, really, some seed there! There are only two spots labelled Empty/Available in the image above. If you have a hankering to plant something, tell me which of those two you want.

What Is Where?

I've received many questions regarding the layout of the garden. What is growing where? How are we watering everything? Well here is our current layout, not showing the various junk that needs to be cleared out (Friday, Aug 19th, 3pm). Click the image to enlarge.

Eggplant, Japanese

Tomato, Heirloom Tiger Stripe

Pepper, Orange

Pepper, Red

Okra

Citronella

Leeks

Marigold, Orange and Yellow

Flower (I keep forgetting to check the tag!) Pink

Mulberry

Banana

Cantaloupe

Pumpkin, Early Sugar

The pump is not working, because it needs to be primed each time it is used or the motor will burn out. Essentially a one-way valve needs to be installed in the hose, as close as possible to the water source. Since we can put it on a timer, that would be essential. It is an inexpensive part that will require some tools for cutting and resealing. However, my big concern is that I don't know whether the water in the pond/stream is safe to put on our edibles. I've been told that people who live along this water let their kids fish and swim in it. I'm not sure if that means it is safe. I've also heard that we can send a sample to the water utility and they will test it. I just have to get around to that. Meanwhile, it has been raining plenty. If it hasn't rained in a few days we only need two or three pails of water carried from the faucet outside the church. Alternatively, with as much rain as we get, we might set up a rain collection system.