Alec Fielding

Gardening

Alec Fielding · Platform engineer

The garden

I started gardening seriously in 2025, on about a third of an acre in San Luis Obispo County, in USDA Zone 9a. I follow permaculture ideas and I'm working toward growing most of our vegetables and fruit. I start nearly everything from seed, because it's cheaper.

Four metal raised beds on drip irrigation hold herbs, peppers and squash. This year 26 tomato plants went in the ground on a Florida weave trellis, all started from seed, next to tomatillos and potatoes. Peaches, a nectarine and a cherry are in the ground. Citrus and avocados are in fabric grow bags, and a rock garden of native plants is there for the pollinators.

This year's 26 tomato plants

  • San Marzano
  • Beefsteak
  • Big Brandy
  • Ox Heart
  • Gardener's Delight
  • Red Pear
  • Sun Gold
  • Yellow Pear
  • Green Zebra
  • Cherokee Carbon
  • Black Krim
  • One I forgot to label
One dot for each plant, in the colour its fruit ripens to.

Not all of it works. In 2026 gophers took the pole beans twice, and poor germination and squirrels finished off the Three Sisters bed.

Rematch in the spring.

I keep the garden's records in Notion and plan with Claude. We work from which bed is free and when, the local frost dates, and what to sow next. The peppers end up as fermented hot sauce and the basil as pesto.

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