Garden Update — Saturday, 7 March 2026
Daily insights generated from live sensor and weather data, compared across 3 AI models. Sensor data from Ecowitt GW1200 · Weather from Open-Meteo · Dunedin, NZ
Live Sensor Readings (Ecowitt)
| Sensor | Value |
|---|---|
| Outdoor temp | 21.5°C (feels like 21.5°C) |
| Outdoor humidity | 66% |
| Dew point | 14.9°C |
| Soil moisture (ch1) | 34% |
| Wind | 0.0 km/h (gusts 0.0 km/h) |
| Rain today | 0.0mm |
| Solar radiation | 62 W/m² |
| UV index | 0 |
| Pressure | 1010.1 hPa |
7-Day Weather Forecast
🌅 Sunrise: 7:18 AM · Sunset: 8:18 PM · Day length: 13.0 hrs
| Date | Max | Min | Rain | Rain% | Wind | UV | ET₀ | Radiation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-07 | 20.3°C | 14.8°C | 0.0mm | 5% | 14kph | 6.3 | 2.3mm | 14.7MJ/m² |
| 2026-03-08 | 18.2°C | 10.5°C | 12.4mm | 90% | 25kph | 4.0 | 1.5mm | 8.9MJ/m² |
| 2026-03-09 | 12.6°C | 9.1°C | 0.6mm | 68% | 24kph | 6.0 | 2.2mm | 16.3MJ/m² |
| 2026-03-10 | 14.6°C | 8.7°C | 0.0mm | 0% | 24kph | 5.5 | 2.0mm | 14.0MJ/m² |
| 2026-03-11 | 17.9°C | 12.2°C | 0.5mm | 8% | 19kph | 5.4 | 2.5mm | 17.4MJ/m² |
| 2026-03-12 | 16.4°C | 11.1°C | 1.6mm | 18% | 36kph | 5.7 | 3.1mm | 19.8MJ/m² |
| 2026-03-13 | 16.5°C | 8.4°C | 0.0mm | 41% | 24kph | 5.7 | 2.5mm | 13.3MJ/m² |
Generated at 8:30 AM NZDT
AI Model Comparison
⚠️ 2 model(s) did not respond:
claude-opus-4-6,claude-sonnet-4-6
🟢 OpenAI — gpt-5.4
The Brassica Bed is the main issue today: soil moisture is 34%, which is below the 40–60% ideal range for brassicas, and these transplants are only 7 days from planting, so young plants like Green Dragon broccoli are still in establishment mode. With 0.0 mm rain today and ET₀ at 2.3 mm, they would normally be using water, but 12.4 mm rain is forecast tomorrow (2026-03-08), so this is a hold-and-watch rather than a full irrigation day.
Observations
- 7 days since planting on 2026-02-28 → White cauliflower and the other brassicas are still newly established transplants, so this is a protection-and-rooting phase rather than any harvest or curd management stage.
- Soil moisture 34% (ch1), with the 7-day trend flat at 34–34% on both 2026-03-06 and 2026-03-07 → Cannonball cabbage is sitting below the brassica target band and not getting any recharge yet, so steady but suboptimal moisture may slow establishment.
- Today’s ET₀ 2.3 mm and rain today 0.0 mm → Side Sprouter broccoli will still be losing moisture today even under partial shade, so the bed remains slightly on the dry side until tomorrow’s rain arrives.
- Current temperature 21.5°C, humidity 66%, wind 0.0 km/h → warm, still conditions favour active insect flight, so Purple broccoli and the cabbages are at the sort of weather window when cabbage white activity is more likely to matter.
- Day length 13.00 hours at 45°S in autumn → longish days combined with recent transplanting mean Lion Heart cabbage should be kept evenly growing now to reduce stress while days are still relatively long.
Actions for Today
-
Brassica Bed: do not do a full irrigation today; reassess after tomorrow’s rain.
Reason: soil is 34%, below the 40% threshold, but 12.4 mm rain is forecast on 2026-03-08 with 90% rain probability, so a routine watering today risks being redundant. -
Brassica Bed: if the bed is sheltered enough that tomorrow’s rain may miss it, give only a light settling drink around each transplant, not a bed soak.
Reason: the plants are only 7 days from planting, today has 0.0 mm rain and ET₀ 2.3 mm, and the sensor is already reading a low 34%; the need is establishment support, not saturating compost-amended soil. -
Brassica Bed: use today’s calm spell to put on fine mesh netting if it is not already in place.
Reason: current conditions are 21.5°C with 0.0 km/h wind, which makes today a more plausible cabbage-white flying day than a windy one, and the bed notes already flag weekly monitoring for eggs. -
Cauliflowers at the north edge: leave the outer leaves alone for now.
Reason: the three cauliflowers were planted just 7 days ago, so they are far too young for blanching; curd-covering is a mature-plant task and not justified at this stage. -
Brassica Bed: after the forecast rain on 2026-03-08, check whether ch1 rises out of the current 34% band before watering again.
Reason: the recent sensor history is flat at 34% on both recorded days, so tomorrow’s 12.4 mm rain should provide a clear test of whether this bed is actually recharging.
Looking Ahead
The biggest change is 2026-03-08, with 12.4 mm rain, 25.2 kph wind, and a cooler 18.2/10.5°C range after today’s 20.3/14.8°C. Secure any netting or covers before then, because by 2026-03-12 winds rise further to 35.6 kph and that is when loose protection starts behaving badly.
A week in, they’re still just settling, and 34% moisture says the bed is waiting on tomorrow’s rain.
This post was auto-generated by the Garden AI pipeline. Weather data from Open-Meteo · Claude & GPT insights · Built with Astro