🌽 Farm Watch

🥕 Veggie schedulewhat happens each month, per crop🌱 sow / plant grow🧺 harvest

Hume, VA · zone 6b/7a · last frost ~Apr 15–25, first ~mid-Oct — hover any bar for the how-and-when. Spinach = a new succession every few weeks Sep–Apr; peas + carrots run twice (spring and fall). Log real planting dates in the farm log and GDD tracking takes over from there.

🗺️ Layoutthe field from above · north up · greenhouse floor plan below

To scale within each panel. One ~10×26 greenhouse now holds the whole garden — no outdoor enclosure. It sits long-face-SW on the pad's west side (vents leeward, NE); everything climbs (strawberries on sidewall gutters, peas + melon up strings) to fit under one roof. Corn + pumpkins stay in the field. One trench carries power, water, and Cat6 west-to-east from the small barn to the hydrant + subpanel (~200–300 ft off the satellite view).

🗺️ Systemplanned · mock data today

Everything meets in Home Assistant on your server: Davis feeds climate + soil, Protect feeds snapshots (an automation sends them to a vision model for scouting notes), and each valve is an HA switch — so watering automations can react to the same soil data you see here.

🛠️ Build plan0/10 steps done

1. 1
   🏡 Structure: ONE bigger greenhouse — no outdoor enclosure (~$4,800)

   The whole garden now lives under one roof: a ~10×26 house holds the tomato run AND everything the outdoor cage used to (strawberries, peas, carrots, broccoli, flowers) — so there's no fence to build, no bird netting, no groundhog apron, and every crop is climate-protected and season-extended. Value pick: the Planta Sungrow 26 (~$4,400) — heavy multi-wall polycarbonate on an arched aluminum frame, high wind/snow rating, and it sells matching extension kits so you can lengthen it later (the old plan's 'extend, don't widen' rule still holds). Pretty premium: the T-shaped Janssens Junior Orangerie 10×13 (~$12k) — real Belgian glass, the T-vestibule look — half the grow space for ~3× the price, so it's the splurge, not the value. Budget floor: a Bootstrap Farmer 12×24 hoop house (~$1,800 all-in). Site prep is the same, just a bigger footprint than the old 8×20: the bluestone circle was scoped for 160 sq ft, so plan extra tarp/fabric/stone-dust to level out to ~10×26. Tarp now to kill grass (4–6 weeks), lay weed fabric, screed stone dust off a straight 2×4, anchor the frame (open field — anchoring is not optional). Placement unchanged: WEST of the circle, long face southwest, vented roof slope NORTHEAST (leeward of summer SW winds). Black water barrels on the NE wall for thermal mass.

   🛒 Planta Sungrow 26 (value, ~10×26)🛒 Janssens Junior Orangerie 10×13 (T-shape premium)🛒 Hoop house alternative (12×24)

   unlocks: the whole garden under one roof — no enclosure to build
2. 2
   ⚡ Utilities: ONE trench for power + water (~$1,750)

   Rent a walk-behind trencher and cut one ~30" trench WEST-TO-EAST from the small barn to the pad (~200–300 ft by the satellite view — measure it) — the dig is the expensive part, so everything shares it. Bottom: 1" poly water line (below frost) ending at a frost-free yard hydrant at the greenhouse — its valve sits below the frost line and self-drains on shutoff, so it works in January with zero winterizing. Backfill 12", then two conduits at ~18": 1¼" PVC pulling a 240V feed to a small subpanel (at that run length voltage drop settles it: aluminum 2-2-2-4 URD feeder, no 120V option), and a ¾" PVC carrying outdoor Cat6 — the scouting cams want PoE ethernet, not WiFi, and the greenhouse can host a tiny PoE switch that later feeds a corn-field cam. Warning tape, backfill, done. You dig and lay pipe; an electrician (plus likely a permit) does the tie-in at the barn's panel. Book the bulk soil drop for the same weekend, while the delivery truck still has clear access.

   🛒 Trencher rental (1 day)🛒 Frost-free yard hydrant🛒 1" poly pipe + fittings

   unlocks: year-round water at a hydrant, heat + fans, and wired cams
3. 3
   🪴 Beds: two long runs + wall gutters, all inside the one house (~$1,200 with soil)

   Tall metal beds (Vego / Birdies, Aluzinc steel, ~20-year life) are the whole lazy strategy on clay: never till, weed from the aisle, carrots get 17" of loose mix instead of clay. With everything under one roof the layout goes VERTICAL-first — two long ~2×20 runs down each sidewall, zoned by climate: the SUNNY (south) run is the heat crew (3 tomatoes, snack peppers, jalapeños + basil, melon up a string), the COOL (north) run rotates spring peas → carrots → fall broccoli → winter spinach with scallions/cilantro/parsley on the edges. Strawberries ride SIDEWALL RAIL GUTTERS (day-neutral, 25 crowns) — off the floor, at kid-picking height, and away from voles entirely. Snap peas and sweet peas climb the wall trellis; a short 2×8 flower nook at the sunny end carries zinnias + fragrant annuals with lavender in the corners. Staple hardware cloth under the floor runs anyway (cheap insurance). Fill: ~5 yd³ now, bulk-DELIVERED 50/50 topsoil/compost (~$350 — bags cost 3–4× at volume); hügel the bottom third of the runs with logs + leaves EXCEPT the carrot section. It's tighter than two separate structures — that's the trade for no fence, no netting, and frost protection on all of it.

   🛒 Vego 17" metal beds🛒 Birdies beds (Epic Gardening)🛒 Strawberry rail / gutter planters

   unlocks: no-till beds + vertical strawberries — everything protected, nothing to fence
4. 4
   🏠 Hub: your existing Home Assistant (free)

   HA already runs on the Linux server. Install HACS for community integrations and the Mosquitto MQTT broker add-on (needed for the LinkTap in step 5).

   🛒 HACS install guide🛒 HA MQTT integration

   unlocks: the brain everything else plugs into
5. 5
   🌦️ Weather: your existing Davis console (free)

   The Davis station keeps doing wind, rain, and outdoor temp — add the WeatherLink integration in HA. Skip Davis's soil add-ons; step 4 covers soil for a fifth of the price.

   🛒 WeatherLink HACS integration

   unlocks: rain, wind, and outdoor climate on the dashboard
6. 6
   🌱 Soil sensors: Ecowitt kit (~$110)

   Three WH51 moisture sensors — tomato run, spinach/salad bed, one at root depth mid-corn — plus a WN34 soil temp probe. They talk 433 MHz to one small WiFi gateway that HA reads locally.

   🛒 WH51 moisture sensor ($18, ×3)🛒 WN34 soil temp probe (~$26)🛒 GW1200 WiFi gateway (~$30)🛒 HA Ecowitt integration

   unlocks: real bed + corn moisture and soil temp
7. 7
   🚰 Water: LinkTap D1 + G2S, three zones of drip (~$490)

   One D1 two-zone timer (two built-in flow meters, fail-safe close) + its gateway at the frost-free hydrant — the greenhouse drip manifold on one outlet, poly tubing out to the corn's drip tape on the other. The hot (south) and cool (north) runs want different schedules, so add a G2S to split the greenhouse into two interior zones on the same gateway (optional — you can start with one manifold and add it later). Everything speaks local MQTT to HA. Drip + timer is what makes the beds truly ignorable in August. Get drip kits WITH filter + pressure regulator — skipping those is how drip dies.

   🛒 LinkTap D1 + gateway bundle🛒 LinkTap G2S (split hot/cool zones)🛒 Drip Depot irrigation kits

   unlocks: the Irrigation card for real — watering driven by the soil sensors
8. 8
   💨 Climate: thermostat fan + small heater, no HA required (~$450)

   Cooling: the iLiving fan WITH built-in thermostat — set ~85°F and it runs itself, no HA, no network, keeps working through a WiFi outage. Passive intake shutter on the opposite wall. Heating: a small 1500W greenhouse heater with its own thermostat, set ~40°F — it's NOT for making winter tropical, just for holding seed trays and spring transplants frost-safe Feb–April (twin-wall polycarb holds heat well, so it runs less than you'd think). Both are set-and-forget appliances; the dashboard's Fan/Heater chips already infer state from temperature. Kasa smart plug optional for HA override.

   🛒 iLiving 16" fan + thermostat control🛒 Greenhouse heater w/ thermostat🛒 Kasa smart plug (optional override)

   unlocks: heat-spike AND frost protection, even offline
9. 9
   📷 Eyes: UniFi Protect camera (~$120–180, optional)

   1–2 UniFi cams covering beds and field, RTSP enabled, HA's native integration. An automation forwards snapshots to a vision model for the scouting notes.

   🛒 UniFi cameras🛒 HA UniFi Protect integration

   unlocks: the Cameras card: motion, snapshots, AI ripeness/pest notes
10. 10
    🔌 Wire this dashboard to HA (free)

    Long-lived token in HA, HA_TOKEN as a Wrangler secret, HA_URL via a Cloudflare Tunnel, fill the entity map in src/lib/ha.ts, redeploy. The mock switches off automatically.

    🛒 Cloudflare Tunnel docs

    unlocks: every number on this page becomes real

📅 Season planbuild this fall → planting spring 2027 · frost dates for Hume, VA (6b/7a)0/10

1. 📦 Sep 2026— Order + site prepyou are here — order now
   • • Order the greenhouse now — prefab kits ship in weeks, not days
   • • Tarp the bluestone circle NOW to kill the grass (needs 4–6 warm weeks)
   • • Order the bigger greenhouse, metal beds, strawberry gutters, drip kits, LinkTap, Ecowitt in one go
   • • Get electrician quotes for the subpanel tie-in; book trencher + bulk soil delivery for the same October weekend
2. 🏗️ Oct 2026— Build weekend(s)
   • • Trench FIRST, west from the small barn (~250 ft): ~30" deep — 1" poly water at the bottom to a frost-free hydrant, power + Cat6 conduits at 18", warning tape — take the soil drop while the truck has clear access
   • • Pull the tarp, lay weed fabric, level with stone dust screed off a 2×4
   • • Assemble the greenhouse + ground anchors (2 people, a weekend or two)
   • • Set the 17" metal runs + strawberry sidewall gutters (hardware cloth under the runs), hügel-fill run bottoms with logs + leaves — except the carrot section — then bulk soil on top
   • • Mount the exhaust fan + intake shutter, set thermostat to ~85°F
3. 🔌 Nov 2026— Systems online
   • • Electrician ties in the subpanel; plumb the hydrant + greenhouse drip manifold
   • • Install drip lines, LinkTap D1 (+ optional G2S to split hot/cool zones), and the Ecowitt sensors
   • • Move the tarp onto the corn block — kill the sod over winter
   • • Wire HA: MQTT for the valves, Ecowitt + WeatherLink integrations
   • • Connect this dashboard to HA — mock data switches off
   • • Winter shakedown: let it water on a timer and watch the graphs
4. 🗓️ Dec–Jan— Plan + order seed
   • • Order seed from Johnny's (catalogs drop now; popular varieties sell out)
   • • Order strawberry crowns (day-neutral Albion/Seascape) for March — they sell out by late winter
   • • Bed map: hot run = 3 tomatoes + melon + snack peppers; cool run = winter spinach · peas→carrots · fall broccoli · herb edges; strawberries in sidewall gutters; flower nook + sweet peas on the trellis
   • • Buy seed trays, heat mat, and seed-starting mix
5. 🌱 Feb 2027— First sowings
   • • Direct-sow spinach in the salad bed — it germinates in the cold
   • • Start tomatoes (Sungold, Big Beef, Cherokee Purple — 1 each) + jalapeños + Lunchbox peppers in trays late Feb
   • • Herbs: soak + sow parsley now (it's slow), basil later; cilantro direct in March
6. 🥬 Mar 2027— Greenhouse fills up
   • • Mid-March: snap peas into the greenhouse cool run, trellised up the sidewall
   • • Plant strawberry crowns in the sidewall rail gutters — kid-height picking
   • • First spinach picks; sow the next succession every 2–3 weeks from here
   • • Pot up tomato/pepper seedlings; greenhouse holds them frost-safe
   • • Pull the tarp off the corn block — till the dead sod + compost in (rent a tiller for a day), lay drip tape
7. 🍅 Apr 2027— Transplant (last frost ~Apr 15–25)
   • • Transplant tomatoes + peppers into the hot run mid-April; bench-start the melon
   • • Set trellises the same day — before the plants need them
   • • Sow carrots in the cool run's deep section (Danvers / round Paris Market)
   • • Watch the dashboard's soil temp: corn wants 60°F+ soil
8. 🌽 May 2027— Corn goes in
   • • Direct-seed sweet corn as a BLOCK, ~20×20 ft, at least 4×4 rows (corn is wind-pollinated — single rows give half-empty ears), in the sunny NW corner away from the east tree line, once soil holds 60°F
   • • Sow corn block 2 about two weeks after block 1 to stretch the harvest
   • • Plant the melon at the tomato run's end — up a string, fruit in slings
   • • Sow the flower nook after frost: zinnias + sweet alyssum, nicotiana, heliotrope — bouquets till October
   • • Plant lavender 'Phenomenal' in the flower-nook corners — once, then it's there every year
   • • GDD tracking starts earning its keep — stage estimates go live
   • • Mulch beds, watch the fungal-risk alerts as humidity climbs
9. 🧺 Jun–Aug— Grow + harvest
   • • Jun 1: pumpkin hills (Howden + Jack Be Little) at a bed edge, vines spill onto the grass — ~100 days lands them ripe for Halloween
   • • Herbs cut monthly (parsley, basil), first tomatoes ~July
   • • Corn silks ~mid-July, harvest ~20 days after silking — electric fence or cam-watch the block while ears ripen (deer + raccoons)
   • • July: start fall broccoli on the bench → transplant to the cool run mid-Aug; sow fall peas, carrots + spinach from mid-Aug
   • • Let the automations water; you just pick and prune
10. 🍂 Sep–Oct— Wind-down
    • • Final corn + tomato harvests before first frost (~mid-Oct); fall broccoli heads up in October
    • • Cut pumpkins with stems on, cure 10 days in the sun → porch
    • • Fall spinach thrives in the cooling greenhouse into November — the winter salad bed takes over
    • • Roll shade cloth off as it cools; mulch the strawberry gutters for winter
    • • Pull the LinkTap inside before first freeze; compost the beds

tap a dot to mark a month complete — saved to the farm database