Week 8 · Practice

Maintenance in minutes

Edible Landscapes

Landscapes fail when they require heroic weekends. Five-minute habits — tied to existing routines like morning coffee or after-work parking — keep harvest current, pests visible, and water stress caught early. Design the garden so the highest-value crops live along these paths.

Daily five (rotate)

  1. Harvest something edible

    One bowl of greens, herbs, or cherry tomatoes — keeps plants productive.

  2. Scan for water stress

    Wilting at dawn means real thirst; wilting at noon may be normal heat droop — learn the difference.

  3. Pick off damaged fruit

    Remove rotting fruit before pest populations build.

  4. Note tank or meter

    One glance at gauge or log — prevents Sunday night surprises.

Weekly add-on (30 min)

Mulch top-up, tie tomatoes, mow paths, empty compost bucket. Same day each week — Saturday morning or Wednesday evening.

Children

Assign one zone per child with a photo checklist on the fridge — water, pick, look for bugs. Rotate weekly.