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My Goals - Oct 2
Archery

Goals for the Week of October 2

I am all about goals, so the week of October 2nd, I need some goals. I bit off a little too much last time, so hopefully I am able to get all of these things done this week.

  1. Buy a kitchen composting machine
  2. Use my new bow
  3. Set up outdoor composter
  4. Learn about taking down a garden

This week, I am mostly just trying out things and setting things up. I did buy the kitchen composting machine already, so I can knock that off the list.

Kitchen Composting Machine

I bought the Vitamix Food Cycler from Amazon. It was 349.99. As the week progresses, I will use it and tell you how it works. I love my Vitamix, so I am sure that this Kitchen Composting Machine will also be awesome.

Outdoor Composter

From Home Depot, I bought the most popular outdoor composter. It was $89.00, which was cheaper than the manufacturer’s website.

I began putting the outdoor composter together, and it was too difficult. There were just so many parts. I need to look at the instructions online, so this will help me do that by the end of the week.

The problem that I had setting it up was the exact problem that the instructions said I would have. When I set up the base, for the rotating composter, the base was too small (2 inches too small). My sister watched this video, which went through the problem that I had. Then, we were able to set it up without a hitch.

Using my New Bow

I have begun to use my new bow, and I love it. I am not sure if I need to adjust it for better aim. So far, I have never hit the target. I don’t know if that is because my arms are not steady or because I need to adjust the sight.

The next thing I need to do is get a license to use my bow and pay to hunt something. It seems like I am late at doing this so the only thing I can shoot is turkeys, but I will sign up to do that.

Learn about Taking Down a Garden

I did some research about taking down a garden, but I will dig deeper into this. My mom already took down the garden and since we will not have that property next year, we don’t have to be concerned with the prep for next year’s garden.

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Micro Climates at your House
Garden Planning

Micro Climates at your House

Knowing your micro climates is important because you need to know how much sun your your garden is getting. In other words, the sun comes up in the east and makes its way to the west. The garden that you plant around your property should take into consideration the movement of the sun.

Micro Climates Due to the Sun

Do your research and jot down how much sunlight each area gets.

Southern Exposure (Full sun)

What to plant?

  1. Raspberries
  2. Grapes
  3. Beans
  4. Cucumbers
  5. Tomatoes
  6. Basil
  7. Eggplant
  8. Melon
  9. Squash
  10. Sweet Potatoes
  11. Peppers
  12. Corn

Eastern Exposure (Morning sun)

What to plant?

  1. Sage
  2. Mint
  3. Chives
  4. Parsley
  5. Lemon Balm
  6. Dahlias
  7. Hydrangeas
  8. Himalayan Blue Poppy
  9. Jacobs Ladder
  10. Oak Leaf
  11. Astilbe
  12. Irises
  13. Lilies
  14. Kale
  15. Chard
  16. Lettuce
  17. Arugula
  18. Carrots
  19. Celery
  20. String Beans

Northern Exposure (Weak sun – full shade) (Plants that like cooler sun)

What can you plant?

  1. Hostas
  2. Blackberries (Only certain varieties)

Western Exposure (Full hot sun in afternoon – shade)

What can you plant?

  1. Herbs (Basil)
  2. Peppers
  3. Tomatoes
  4. Tulips
  5. Jasmine
  6. Shasta Daisies
  7. Roses
  8. Daffodils

Vegetable Garden (Southern and Western Exposure)

Micro Climates Due to Structures

Natural Slopes

  • Could be a spot where you would put raised beds

Windy

  • You might plant some trees

Standing water

  • Where is the water coming from?
  • Take note of standing water

House

  • Wind break for young vegetables

Color of your planter

  • If you have a black planter, it might retain heat.

Crushed Stone

  • Crushed stone can heat up the micro-climates so that your plants get more heat

Cement

  • Cement grabs the heat, so heat loving plants might do better around it.

Take note of your plants at the end of the season and move them in the fall or early spring, so that things are flourishing in their spot.

Ways to Notice Your Micro-Climates

  1. Pay attention to your snow. If snow melts earlier, that place has more sun.

Useful Websites

  1. This Growing Guide has a lot of information on each crop.

Micro Climates at Your House

When you plan out your garden, you need to think about your micro climates at your house. Furthermore, after each gardening season, you need to reassess how each plant did in its micro climate. Then, you need to adjust the plants. Heat, sun, wind and water drainage are the factors that you are taking into consideration. I hope this guide to micro climates at your house was helpful.

I am learning this from Melissa K. Noris’s class on Micro Climates.

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