FARMING JOURNAL Date: 2026-07-16

Kitchen at home and My Garden. CUISINE PLANTS, Fruits, Veggies, Spices and Herbs Gardening: Chilli, Coriander, Ginger, Lady Finger, Lettuce, Pandan, Pasley, Spinach, Spring Onion. Pitcher Plants, ORNAMENTAL PLANTS, Cactus, Ferns, Carnivorous, Orchids,


FARMING JOURNAL

Date: 2026-07-16

Morning Update

Had a productive morning tidying the garden. Feeling very happy.

I especially love Garden Platform #02. It has turned out exactly as planned. The engineering calculations we worked out together have proven to be accurate, and everything fits perfectly.

OUTSTANDING TASKS

#02 Garden Platform

Irrigation System

The irrigation system has been improved.

Currently waiting for the Taobao shipment (Y-joints and hose connectors) to arrive before completing the pipe diversion.



Main Water Supply Layout


Enclosed  (avoid mosquito) Main Tank collect rain water from the roof.
    │
 Filter  (keep water clean, inject oxygen and avoid fungus)
    │
8/11 Main Pipe
    │   5/8 pipe            4/7 pipes
 ├── Branch A → #02 Foam Boxes (peas, beans, cucumbers, gourds, honey dew, mini water melons)
 ├── Branch B → #01 Trellis (car shelter) (malabar spinaches, winter melons,  cucumbers)
 ├── Branch C → Nursery + Grapes,  gingers
 └── Branch D → Public Walkway (lady fingers, cucumbers, tomatoes, chilli,  sugar cane, banana)


One 8/11 mm main hose will split into four outlet systems.

Outlet 1 #02

Three long 5/8 hoses will run downward, each connected through Y-diverters into 4/7 mm drip lines, supplying:

  • 8–10 foam boxes containing:
    • Peas
    • Long beans
    • Bitter gourds
    • Cucumbers
    • Old cucumbers (老黄瓜)
    • Honeydew melons
    • Mini watermelons

Outlet 2 #01

Supply water to:

  • #01 Grapevines
  • Gingers
  • Seedling nursery hut

Outlet 3 #01

Supply water to the outside public walkway planting area:

Pot planting

  • Lady fingers (okra)
  • Cucumbers

Further outside

  • Sugar canes
  • Banana trees

From the 8/11 mm main hose, another splitter will feed four 4/7 mm black irrigation lines, each responsible for approximately one-quarter of the grounded trellis pots.

Outlet 4 #01

Four 4/7 mm irrigation lines supplying the cucumber, malabar spinaches and winter melon trellis.

Other Tasks for #02

  • Release the Taobao shipment once everything is ready.
  • Install the protective netting onto the roof.
  • Move two hydroponic towers to Area #1.5.
    • (Currently empty because all seedlings failed.)
  • Build low-rise trellises for two growing Hami melons (currently about 30 cm tall).
  • Use the remaining thin trellis sections to support another five foam boxes.
  • Prepare to plant:
    • Peas
    • Long beans
    • Dutch peas (荷兰豆)

#01 Garden

Winter Melon & Cucumber Trellis (Car Shelter)

The entire trellis needs to be raised approximately 25 cm using stone blocks.

Reason:

  • Cucumbers keep touching the car roof.

This modification will shorten the main irrigation hose, so the water diversion and flow will also need to be adjusted.

The new winter melons are growing in the same planting beds.

Current observations:

  • Around 15 cm tall.
  • Stems appear thinner than the previous batch.
  • Soil nutrients may need improvement.

#01 Outside Ground

One cucumber plant has climbed onto the grapevine trellis.

Action:

  • Redirect it back toward the Car Shelter Trellis.

Grapevines

The two-tier grapevine system is growing well.

Observations:

  • Upper tier: Growth appears to have stopped after tip pruning.
  • Lower tier: Growing very vigorously.

Planting Preparation

Prepare to transplant lady fingers (okra) into #01.

Seeds are currently soaking in water.

Overall Progress

The garden is becoming increasingly automated and organised.

With the irrigation system nearly completed, future maintenance should become much easier, allowing more time to focus on improving soil quality, training vines, and expanding crop varieties.

A very satisfying day.

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