The Wicking Beds: One month on.

Hello there. It's now mid-May and the beds have been active for about a month. May has been a really variable month in terms of weather. 60s and rain one day, high 80s and bright sun the next.

My hubby and I later re-built the shade on this box with a 30% shade cloth rather than scraps of weed cloth. I had two patches of red-veined sorrel in the front, but they really didn't like the bright sunlight and heat, so I moved them to another box.  The alyssum in front is wilting and shriveling. The Lollo rosso lettuce wilts daily, and I'm sure I'm going to come home to desiccated leaves one day soon.  They don't have deep roots yet. This is an example of how the soil in a peat-mix bed has inconsistent moisture. The soil around the alyssum (front), Lollo rosso (exact center), and in the back by the peppers (just over the cat's back) shows low moisture level. Four inches from any one of these spots, and the meter reads moist

The blackberries. The one on the left took a bit longer to take off. But it seems happy in the sub-irrigated planter.  I ran out of mulch, but in eventually had about a 3 inch layer on it. 

Blueberries, a high bush variety. Planted too late for berries this year, but I should get a few next year. 

Nasturtiums, because they are happy flowers. 

The "rookie mistake" planters. These are the clear plastic ones that grew algae. The black plastic blocked the light, and all the algae died. I planted garlic that had sprouted in my fridge, kale, and arugula. The heat is hard on these seedlings. 

Anyone know what this plant is, the one with the varigated border? It came is a mystery pack of greens I got on clearance. It's pretty and tasty. 

This one finally got big enough to identify as Kolrabi. The aphids think it's about the tastiest thing ever.