Garden Update — Sunday, 15 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 | 13.4°C (feels like 13.4°C) |
| Outdoor humidity | 75% |
| Dew point | 9.1°C |
| Soil moisture (ch1) | 49% |
| Wind | 0.0 km/h (gusts 0.0 km/h) |
| Rain today | 0.0mm |
| Solar radiation | 0 W/m² |
| UV index | 0 |
| Pressure | 1003.3 hPa |
7-Day Weather Forecast
🌅 Sunrise: 7:29 AM · Sunset: 8:03 PM · Day length: 12.6 hrs
| Date | Max | Min | Rain | Rain% | Wind | UV | ET₀ | Radiation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15/03 | 15.8°C | 13.7°C | 0.1mm | 5% | 22kph | 5.5 | 1.9mm | 9.6MJ/m² |
| 16/03 | 20.0°C | 11.0°C | 0.4mm | 45% | 10kph | 4.0 | 2.1mm | 11.9MJ/m² |
| 17/03 | 15.5°C | 12.7°C | 0.1mm | 15% | 23kph | 4.7 | 1.8mm | 12.7MJ/m² |
| 18/03 | 19.9°C | 12.5°C | 1.3mm | 50% | 33kph | 5.5 | 1.8mm | 8.5MJ/m² |
| 19/03 | 13.2°C | 11.6°C | 0.0mm | 26% | 13kph | 5.5 | 1.0mm | 5.9MJ/m² |
| 20/03 | 16.5°C | 10.9°C | 0.0mm | 32% | 15kph | 1.7 | 1.8mm | 12.8MJ/m² |
| 21/03 | 15.9°C | 12.3°C | 0.7mm | 20% | 16kph | 5.0 | 1.2mm | 6.6MJ/m² |
Generated at 7:23 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 not short of water today: live soil moisture is 49%, well inside the 40–60% ideal range for brassicas, so watering is not urgent right now. But the bed has shifted from the post-rain spike of 68% on 9/03 to a stable high-40s/low-50s band, and with broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage only 15 days from planting, this is a week to preserve steady root-zone moisture rather than let it slide.
Observations
- Soil moisture peaked at 68% on 09/03 and has settled to 47–52% since 11/03, with 49% live now → the young broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage have moved out of the waterlogged-recovery zone into a workable but no-longer-buffered moisture band.
- Past 7 days actual rain totals 53.1 mm against 14.5 mm ET₀, a +38.6 mm moisture balance → despite several dry days, the bed still carries surplus moisture from earlier rain, which supports holding off irrigation today.
- Forecast rain for the next 3 days is only 0.6 mm while ET₀ on 15–17/03 totals 5.8 mm → the current safe moisture level is likely to start drifting downward for all newly planted brassicas unless topped up soon.
- Wind is calm now at 0.0 km/h, but 18/03 is forecast to reach 33.1 kph → the full-bed insect mesh may begin to flap or abrade tender brassica leaves if its edges and hoops are loose.
- All plants are 15 days from planting → these are established transplants, not harvest-stage plants, so any mature-plant tasks such as cauliflower blanching are premature.
Actions for Today
-
Brassica bed — early establishment 49% live soil moisture + only 0.6 mm rain forecast over the next 3 days against 5.8 mm ET₀ → the bed is fine today but entering a drying window → do not water today; recheck ch1 tomorrow evening, and if it falls to 42% or lower, give 8–10 mm over the whole 3.74 m² bed in one slow soak in the morning.
-
Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage — early vegetative establishment Netting has been on since 28/02 and wind is forecast to 33.1 kph on 18/03 → wind movement can rub young leaves and loosen protection over recently planted brassicas → before 18/03, tighten the mesh, secure all edges to ground level, and make sure supports keep the cover off the foliage.
-
Brassica bed — post-transplant rooting phase Comfrey mulch was added on 12/03, 3 days ago, and soil moisture has held in the 47–52% range since then → the mulch is already reducing surface moisture swings, so disturbing it now would expose the root zone to the coming dry spell → leave the mulch in place and keep it clear of direct contact with stem bases by a few centimetres if any leaves are touching them.
Skip today
- Watering now — 49% soil moisture is already in the ideal range, and the past-week moisture balance is still +38.6 mm.
- Feeding again — seaweed tonic was applied at planting on 28/02, only 15 days ago, and there is no data signal today showing nutrient stress.
- Blanching cauliflower — all three plants are only 15 days from transplanting, with no curd-formation stage indicated.
Variety Watch
Green Dragon, Purple, and Side Sprouter broccoli — early vegetative phase — moisture is adequate now, but the next 3 days look drier than the bed has had since planting
White, Cheddar, and Violet cauliflower — early vegetative phase — too young for blanching; keep growth even through the drying spell
Lion Heart, Dutch Red, and Cannonball cabbage — early vegetative phase — stable root-zone moisture is the key condition this week
Looking Ahead
The key shift is a drying run from 15–17/03: only 0.6 mm rain is forecast while ET₀ totals 5.8 mm, so moisture is likely to ease down from the current 49%. By 18/03, wind may reach 33.1 kph, so the bed cover should be secured before then even if irrigation is still unnecessary.
Horticulture
Brassicas make their best early growth when soil moisture stays even, because young root systems are still expanding into new soil and cannot buffer rapid wet-dry swings. When the root zone alternates between saturation and drying, the plant must repeatedly shift between low-oxygen stress and renewed water uptake, which slows leaf production. In steady moisture, roots keep producing fine root hairs, and those hairs do most of the work of absorbing nitrate, calcium, and boron. That is why newly planted broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage respond better to fewer deep, timed irrigations than to frequent light sprinkling.
The bed sat still today under grey light, with the brassica root zone holding at 49%.
This post was auto-generated by the Garden AI pipeline. Weather data from Open-Meteo · Claude & GPT insights · Built with Astro