
Monday, August 3, 2020 –
Holy Moly! Has it really been 20 weeks!? Are we even still in 2020!?
I know, I know…there are still a bunch of the Captain’s Logs I need to do. Actually, I **think** it is just the basic primers on the Eucharist and a rundown of all the liturgical infographics and monthly devotionals I have done, but whatever. BUT, I really have to take a break and giddily tell y’all about some seriously nerdy news.
Wait for iiiiiiitt…
I nerdified my planting schedule for Flusche Veggie Garden 2021! Oh yeah!
That’s right, folks, I dropped some math and logic functions on my planting schedule and came up with a ridiculously nerdy solution for keeping track of succession plantings and harvestings for next year’s uber bed (to be built, by the way…ahem Mr. Flusche and Neighbor Dan really need to stop slacking and start trucking on my new raised beds!).
Anyhoo, behold! I give you the uber nerdy succession planting schedule:

Of course, the first plantings will depend more on when our last frost is, if I use row covers, and when I want to start indoor seedlings, but the math all checks out. Really, the beauty of this sheet is that I can change all the important stuff and (eventually) have a fairly accurate planting / harvesting schedule based on how long veggies take to grow in my own garden. WOOT!
I am excited because maybe I can start keeping up with Mr. Flusche’s salad demands, or at least not have 20 bags of potatoes and 200 carrots ready to harvest at the same time. Ya know, spread the veggie love!
For those who do not speak Excel, your basic “IF” logic statement has three components:
=IF (logic statement, return true, return false)
In this case, I needed to compare the harvest date for a particular planting cycle to the first frost date in the fall to ensure I had enough time to gather my veggies before winter killed them (NB: this sheet does not track if I choose to use row covers to extend my growing season…YET!).
If my harvest date was after the first frost date, I asked my spreadsheet to return a blank harvest date AND a blank planting date (using two separate functions, of course). If the harvest date was before the first frost, then I allowed the sheet to run the math and insert the respective dates.
And for those who want to see the mind-boggling logic statements in all their glory:
Planting N = IF((1stPlanting+(IntervalDays*(N-1)))+DaysToMaturity)>FirstFrost,””, (1stPlanting+(IntervalDays*(N-1)))
Harvest N = IF((1stPlanting+(IntervalDays*(N-1)))+DaysToMaturity)>FirstFrost,””, ((1stPlanting+(IntervalDays*(N-1)))+DaysToMaturity)
So yes, I am ridiculously nerdy and proud of it! #PresidentOfTheMathClub
Blood of Christ, through which we are assured of everlasting life, save us!