Coelacanth (@coelacanth2)

Did a little contemplating on the couch last weekend. Realized I’ve been trying to run a bit vegetable garden like a farm. Going to try more of a permaculture approach. When I planted my sweet potato slips a couple of weeks ago, I tilled the area up to kill off the few weeds that survived 8 weeks of no rain, raised up a couple of rows about 6-8” high with a bit of a trench on either side. I’d watered the area pretty thoroughly the night before and I watered the slips again after planting. One more short dose about 3 days ago. Was pleased to see how much moisture the wood chips were holding, and that there was significant moisture just below the surface next to the slips. Rest of the garden was significantly dry, except where I’d watered or had layered leaves and compost last fall. Replaced a row of failed beans with a new row, significantly hilled with deeper chips. Getting some rain until 3-4 pm, so I’ll see how that and the hills of butternut and Dutch crookneck (now surrounded by wood chip moats) fare over the next few days. I’m going to measure the stances of my Kubota and the Cub - eyeball says they are similar - and set it up so that either can straddle a row and lay things out that way. I suspect that the width will be about 4 ft. That’s enough for double or triple rows within.