Of Soaker Hoses and Pivot Tables

Since this is my first time working with soaker hoses, I'm still a little nervous, especially given how hot it is outside. I'm a very visual person- if I can't see it, I have a hard time believing it is there. So tonight, when we returned home from Hollywood Studios, I decided to test them out and see how they are working.

There are currently two 50' lengths, connected and snaked through the south side of the garden and through the tomato and pepper patch (which I guess we could say is southwesternly, if that's a word). One thing that became immediately clear is a water pressure problem for the second length of hose. With the tap turned all the way on, the water flow is vigorous for the first section, and trickly by the end. This doesn't bode well, as one more length will need to be added for the southwestern portion of the garden. After 20 minutes' worth of running, the bare soil around the bare tomato and pepper patch was slightly damp, while the southern part of the garden, with a 2-3 inch layer of mulch over it, was soaked through like an unhappy baby's diaper first thing in the morning, although much more pleasant-smelling.

I'm almost afraid to see how little water the 3rd connected section of seeper hose will put out. There's really no other way of doing it. There are only 2 hose connectors: one on each side of the house. Given that there will be a concrete patio between sections of garden, it's really not feasible to connect it to the spigot on the north side of the house. Hopefully, that's where the mulching will come in handy. I will test it out though before I commit.

Being a geeky sort of girl, tonight I actually collated some of the loose notes and chicken scratches in notebooks into an Excel spreadsheet of ideal planting months for our area, estimated harvests, and even plant families so that I can attempt to rotate crops properly. The University of Florida has a very helpful online publication with specific Florida regional information. Comment if you want me to put a link up.

The spreadsheet looked very unwieldy. I knew what I wanted the data to show me, but it wasn't exactly the stuff that bar graphs are made of, so I called in the expert: my sweetie. I now have pivot tables that only he really knows how to use, but they do pull up the information I want. He has a grand scheme in mind, which even pulls in visual basic. Smart men are so sexy.

He likes the idea of being scientific and organized about this garden dream of mine. I'm all in favor of anything that gets him more excited about it.

The first sprouts are popping up from the seeds I started in the kitchen on the 6th. It always gives me a little rush, and my little guy takes it as a point of pride. He loves using the spray bottle to water the baby seeds (and the counters, and the floors...). I've got butternut squash, balm lemon (for tea), bush beans, sugar snap peas, bell peppers, banana peppers, summer squash, and carrots, which are my early poppers. The Mesclun mix and new lettuce seeds I planted in containers outside last week are already sprouting as well.

Tomorrow, after I drop my older son off at camp and tackle some laundry, I'm going to be a cool mommy and let my younger son chill out on Wizard 101 for awhile, and give myself an hour on the book. I feel it calling me.