Gardening where my feet are: a tale of two containers and a newb

Hi all,

I've been living in short term rentals for the last 9 months and found myself in Chile when the current crisis hit.

So here I am in rainy SW Chile, where fall is here. I had only a tiny garden supply shop at my disposal, so I bought two containers and some non-ideal (heavy) soil.

I've planted some chard and a short stubby carrot variety! The pics are from today: I'm using the mulch material on hand (grass clippings, leaves and legume pods, tea leaves).

It doesn't really freeze here: I can expect nighttime temps of around 37 to 40 F. The containers get a few hours of sun a day: they are on the western side of the house. Rain is frequent and often heavy.

1) Should I thin a little more or wait till the current seedlings get bigger?
2) Should I mulch more?
3) anything else?

Are you staying there after the restrictions lift? Carrots take some time. Depending on your plans, you might want to stick with faster-growing crops: lettuces, radishes, Swiss chard, etc.

Great job. It's always rewarding to see those first leaves form. Give those seedings a little time before you thin them, like a set or two of new first leaves. You are probably good going with that thinner layer of mulch until the plants start to get a little growth on them. Keep at it - its a garden.

Lookin good!
Chard should do well there in autumn/winter. It stands cold very well.
Your carrots have to be thinned at some point but all of this is still down the road. When you thin them, i have heard of people making pesto-ish from carrot greens.....
Til they get bigger you might want to do what you can so that heavy rain doesn't wash the little guys away, in case you get a downpour (I`m jealous, we haven't had a good rain since January and there is still nothing substantial in the forecast.....).

My fall/winter garden a bit northeast of you is all greens, all the time. Arugula, napa cabbage, various kinds of chicory, kale, broccoli, collards, dandelions, snow pnow peas (all of which will do just fine in containers) and I even planted some bug-eaten popcorn for the rabbits to eat (it will not ear up, but that`s okay, they just want the greens).