Winterizing Swc's, and shed progress

What a beautiful weekend it was for working outside. As you can imagine, I took full advantage of the opportunity, working outside all 3 days. About 8 wheelbarrow loads of leaves were transported to the compost bins, but most of my efforts were spent on more important things. Like working on the shed, and winterizing earthtainers. Two more earthtainers were dealt with, leaving only 2 more to empty.

Photo below - as each earthtainer is disassembled/cleaned up, the components are allowed to dry, then marked with a sharpie pen for ease of assembly next spring. If matching sets of components aren't kept up with, I imagine it would be kinda difficult assembling them, because the holes for the toggle bolts in the sides probably aren't in identical locations.

Photo below - Here was my main focus for the weekend - the vinyl siding for the shed. After another trip to Lowes to purchase a louver for the backside, it will be finished in a couple of hours. Then my efforts can be focused on covering the eaves with something. Of course, some trimmimg will be needed to be performed at the bottom - or some scrap used to cover it....Just for kicks, I put a scrap piece along the bottom of the front side. It will probably buckle next summer, but I just wanted to experiment with it. I've also gotta caulk the seams of the j-channel where the corners were formed. Within a couple of weeks, the shelves will be installed, and I can finally start organizing some of my stuff. WooHoo!

Since most of the pieces came in 10 foot lengths (and I only needed 8 feet), the leftover pieces will be used to build a nice doghouse for Jude. I bet she'll like that. I'll also make it heavy enough that she can't flip it over - the little stinker.....

Oh! I also reformatted my computer over the weekend, because it was running really slow. I try to do that at least once a year, no biggie.

Take care, and happy gardening.

EG

First killing frost of the year

We had our first killing frost on Thanksgiving night, but the onions and broccoli just laughed at it, of course. A low of 29 degrees is about 7 degrees short of damaging the broccoli, and the onions are hardy well below zero. However, the lettuce is a bit iffy.

Thanksgiving dinner was probably the best we've ever had, and the green beans from the garden were a big hit. It was a great gathering.

Here's a picture of the broccoli on Friday morning at about 7:30. Boy, it sure looks rough, don't it? Heh. By midday though, the leaves bounced back to their former selves.

Photo below - I finally got the new bins filled, but they settle pretty quickly. I'll keep topping them off for a few more days, then leave them to decompose. I'll probably turn the piles in about a month - and I hope the electro-mechanical turning device is built by then. Due to the shed construction, it's looking kinda doubtful, though. I'll eventually get it built.

Photo below - The other bins will be filled now, and thankfully I still have plenty of shredded leaves left out front. Gosh, this is gonna be alot of compost when finished!

Even though my Auburn Tigers came up short against Alabama on Friday, I'm very proud of them. They really took it to them! War Eagle!

The vinyl siding is going up pretty well on the shed, and I decided to tackle the front first. It's the most difficult to cover, mainly because of all the angles to cut in the J-channel around the door and the gable end. After this weekend, the rear should be the only part left to do, and another trip to Lowes will be needed for getting more siding panels.

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Happy Thanksgiving from EG

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the blog won't get much attention for a few days. Family is coming into town, and we'll participate in the greatest redneck extravaganza you've ever seen. Heh. Our Thanksgiving dinner is not formal at all, and after Daddy says the blessing - it's pretty much every person for themself. Yeah, most civilized people would be shocked. Hehe.

I'm probably gonna shoot a few videos over the weekend - of which one might not be garden related at all. I promised my buddy sinfonian a long time ago that I'd shoot a special vid for him, and if possible - I'm aiming to make good on my promise. Of course the workload will include shed/composting stuff, and I hope to winterize more of the earthtainers, too. I'm feeling better, and hopefully will get alot done.

Anyway, from my family to yours - have a happy Thanksgiving!

EG

Filling the new pallet bins

Those 2 bins in the photo below don't look like much, but let me tell ya - there's more to them than meets the eye. They are packed, layered, and ready for decomposition to take place. I'll worry about turning them later, because there's 4 more bins to get filled. Over the next month, these bins will be topped off with more ingredients - as they will be reduced to almost nothing by the time they're finished decomposing. I'm hoping that by mid-April, they will be finished. We'll see......The turning mechanism is still in the planning phase, because it's hard to make something cheap. Finding the right components for almost nothing is quite a challenge, but my friend Truitt will come through for us - I just know it.

Photo below - here's one of probably 25 ziplock bags of dry dog food that is being mixed into the grass clippings and leaves. My friend had tons of this on hand, and didn't have any use for it. That's alright....the piles will love it! Jude likes it too, the little stinker... I've also ordered a compost thermometer, which will be valuable for telling me when I need to turn the piles this year. It'll be nice to finally know what's going on in the center of each pile.

Photos below - I have GOT to harvest the lettuce......It's just kinda hard to be excited about eating a homegrown salad with crappy storebought tomatoes in it. Blech.

It has done very well in the deck-rail planters. Now, if I could just get carrots to grow this well - i'd be in good shape. Carrots don't do well for me, but i'll give them another try in the spring.
In other news, I picked up the J-channel and outside corner pieces for the shed (vinyl siding) today, and will get at least 1 square of siding for the weekend ahead. If the weather permits, I should get the siding at least 75% completed. I'll also fill at least 1 more pallet bin with compostable material - I'm so ready to be done with those leaves. UGH!

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I'm happy to say that the 2009 garden will contribute to the feast in 3 different dishes : Homemade pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, and green beans. That's pretty dang good! I just hope nobody asks about the salsa in our pantry...I'll be like "Salsa? I don't know what you're talking about" Heh.

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

An update on the broccoli

In a few more weeks, the current growing cycle will be complete for at least 1 of the broccoli plants. It has performed excellent in the homemade self-watering planter made from 2 cat litter buckets (4 gallon). I knew it would, but still had to provide evidence to the Universities for my proverbial future publication. I'll probably do cabbage in a couple starting in February, and various tomatoes in April. I like growing in these containers, even more so than the large ones. Cleanup is easy, and they provide excellent growing conditions.

Photo below - A quick peak into the center of the plant revealed florets, which will reach maturity in 2-3 weeks. I certainly hope the heads turn out to be pretty large, because all previous attempts at growing broccoli have been less than ideal. One thing's for certain, though....my climate is ideal for growing broccoli in the fall, and cabbage in the spring. To do it any other way is not advisable - unless using some kind of season-extending methods.

Photo below - while taking photos of the other stuff, I decided to show how the onions were doing. I know....pretty boring. heh. There's nothing exciting about onions, that's for sure. Some could definitely be eaten now, but i'll just wait to see if large bulbs form later.

Photo below - This little onion planting could provide some excitement later, because it's granex hybrid from seed. As previously discussed, "Granex" is the origin of sweet onions - especially "Vidalia". Boy, i'd love to get some large bulbs from these babies.....

I'll try to get a few shots of the compost happenings before the holday hits. Boy, i'm planning on doing alot during that long weekend.......especially on the shed.

Take care, and happy gardening.

EG

A day of composting

Today was spent transporting leaves from the big pile out front to one of the new compost bins. I layered it (at least 20 layers) with shredded leaves, dry dog food, and grass clippings. I use a watering can to add moisture to the pile as I go - it's alot of work, but works very well. The dog food was given to me by a friend, and is an excellent source of nitrogen. Only thing is - Jude pretty much gets in the way the entire time (as can be expected).

Gosh I have alot of leaves......I'm sick of seeing leaves right now. But - it takes alot, ya know? As of today, I have got 2 of the 6 bins completely filled - packed even. Perhaps my gathering of grass clippings throughout the summer was a little too much, because there's no way i'll use them all this year. Oh well.....i'll be able to cook another batch next summer, I guess.

I had even thought about selling some of my finished compost next year - but in reality, it's not worth much on the market. I guess I can barter with it, though. Bartering is good! Finished compost is priceless, when getting a garden ready for the spring.

Well, I guess that's it for now. It's really late!

Take care, and happy gardening.

EG

Thanks, Kalena Michele

'Tis the season for giving, and I have been given an award from Kalena Michele. Thanks!

I haven't been blogging lately - because I just haven't been myself. Although I'm mostly over my recent bout with the flu, a big case of the "blahs" still lingers. Nothing tastes good, I don't have any motivation about me, and I haven't done anything outside in a week. That's pretty messed up, ain't it? I'll put a big dent in that pile of leaves this weekend, though. It's just gotta happen. I know Jude will be glad to see the weekend come, because playing with her in the dark ain't too much fun. Still, I make it a point to let her out every morning, and night - even if it's only for about 30 minutes each time.

It's really weird that we haven't had a killing frost yet. It's already 4 weeks past due, but the broccoli sure does like the weather - let me tell ya. One of the plants is huge, and florets are beginning to form. And...no bugs....at all. Now that's really weird!

I may take some photos this weekend, but honestly don't know what they'll be of. There's nothing new, just lots of leaves and such. I'll be glad when "normalcy" returns.

EG

Current growth status of the broccoli in swc's

Update on my sickness - The fever has finally left me, but I am far from being well. My biggest issue right now is shortness of breath, which might require breathing treatments to correct. Even climbing the stairs in our home causes me to gasp for air, and I breathe heavily for several minutes thereafter. I filled Jude's food and water dish yesterday, and felt that I had ran a marathon afterwards. This is one bad illness, let me tell ya.

The other day, I told you that I had built another swc from 1 gallon buckets, and wanted to see if the size container was adequate for the plant. Common sense tells me that it will never work, but I like tinkering with stuff. Who knows? It may work just fine.....Anyway, the plants are doing very well, and appreciate the abundance of sunshine we've been experiencing lately. The little greenhouse will be used to get them through the winter, if needed. These photos were taken before I got sick....

Photo below - with just a few more finishing touches to the roof and eaves, the vinyl siding will be next. I'll probably hold off until the massive pile of leaves is completely moved from the front yard. Besides, I need to get that big batch of compost started quick!

Photo below - the buckets for the workshop continue to come in, and the WalMart in another town is really coming though for me. Much better than my hometown store....

I'm confident that the number of buckets accumulated by next spring will be enough for a workshop at 3 different counties. That's great news, and I know that everyone will enjoy it.

In other news, I will probably construct an actual walk-in greenhouse. It won't replace the small 4x4 I'm working on, but will be for my wife. I had expressed an interest for propagating perrenials to sell to the public, and she stated that if I built a greenhouse - she'd help. This was a no-brainer! It will be constructed sometime next year. She has decided to become a SAHM, and will hopefully enjoy spending time helping me propagate all kinds of plants - especially japanese maple trees and heirloom tomatoes. That's great news!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Be careful what you ask for

When I found out that the city street dept. would bring me a load of shredded leaves, of course I was ecstatic! Last year, I worked my butt off raking the leaves from our yard - then transporting them to the composting system out back. My back really felt it, just from the raking part. Well, the dept. supervisor warned me that a load of leaves was alot, but hey - it takes alot!


While waiting for the load to arrive, I decided to get started on the new pallet bins. I came up with a different design for this setup, because it would need to be pretty sturdy. Extra strength would be needed since the piles will be turned mechanically later. The only problem with this construction, was that all of the pallets were different sizes. This wasn't good, and I really had to add alot of lumber to make them pretty much the same. I'll most likely do the ones on the left the same way, as soon as the contents are removed later.

Photo below - This load of leaves was so big, that I had to have them dumped in my parent's front yard. Holy moly.........I may need to build more bins. I learned something from this ordeal - when someone pulls into your driveway, and asks what you're planning to do with all those leaves - you have got ALOT of leaves. As soon as I'm well, everyone of them will be relocated with the use of my wheelbarrow. Yeah....like 2,000 loads or something.....Hehe

Oh well, at least they're already shredded, and i'll be able to make enough compost to fill the deeper garden next spring. I'm a big time composter, now!

For now, all I can do is stare at the big pile - because even a simple trip to the mailbox causes me to cough uncontrollably. I think I'm on the road to recovery, though.

Take care, and happy composting.

EG

Same problem, more meds

I went back to the doctor this morning, and they performed another flu test with still no indication of what's wrong. My current temperature is 102.8, and they prescribed meds for the flu this time. This sucks - even my scalp is sore. Getting well before Monday looks impossible right now. Thanks to everyone's concern about my health. I'll be back to my old self eventually.

EG

Back to the doctor tomorrow

My wife seems to be doing well with the virus, but I'm not so fortunate. I checked my temperature this morning at 99, and thought things were looking up for me too. I took a nap for a couple of hours this evening, and awoke to a shivering, cold, wet sweat. After checking my temperature, it was indicated at 102.5. Dangit, looks like another trip to the doctor in the morning....

EG

Went to the doctor today - wife too

Well, My wife has it now.....We went to the doctor today, and were treated at the same time. Pretty weird - but funny! We have the same prescription drugs and everything. He checked us for flu, and the test came back negative. However, he said that we could still have it. HUH? Instead, he diagnosed us with a viral infection of the upper respiratory system. Since it's very contagious, I can't get near anyone....Thanks everyone, for your words of encouragement. Probably the worst part of the illness, is the constant wheezing when I lie down. I also wake up drenched in sweat each morning. Weird....Anyway, me and the wife are gonna get some rest, and should be well in another day or two, hopefully.

EG

EG really sick, now :-(

Well, I'm still sick, Dangit. I now have a fever of 102. Oh well, i'll eventually whip it.

The last monsoon that hit a couple of weeks ago left Jude's pen sitting in a big pool of water, so I moved the entire thing over 10 feet and spread a new layer of cedar shavings on the ground. This would give her a brand new start, and keep her from having to lay in the mud. Wouldn't you know it.....that little butthead flipped her doghouse over, and dug a huge hole in the front/left corner. So much for making things more comfortable for her. I know she doesn't like it in there, but it's the only way I can keep her safe.

Photo below - check this out - grapes in November. I told the nieces to eat them all, because there wasn't enough for anything else to be done with them. Oh, you can bet that I added them to the harvest total!

Photo below - here's the spot for the new composting system. After much deliberation and figuring, I've came to the conclusion that a compost turning system will only be possible for 3 bins. It's got to do with the span of the top beam of the support system, and there's nothing that can be done about it. A 6 bin setup would span about 24 feet, whereas a 3 bin system would be about 12ft. - which is more along the lines of common lumber that can be purchased. No biggie, it can be duplicated if needed.

The bins themselves need to be assembled rather quickly, because the turning system can be addressed later. This should hopefully make my backyard composting experience more enjoyable, due to the decrease in manual labor needed. Turning them by hand is for the birds - especially at 41 years of age, and all the health issues I have!

Also, I've got my sights on controlling my greenhouse fan with something different. Yeah, I know.....always changing things. The original idea provides too much of a temperature swing for my liking, and is a fixed temperature range. With a programmable logic controller and 4 channel type J thermocouple input module, i'll really go high tech this time! It'll allow me to maintain the temperature to whatever I want, and can also be used to control the propagation chamber too. With 256 timers and over 4,000 words of memory built in, I can program it to do all kinds of freaky stuff. Haha. Oh, the possibilities are endless. It's the perfect solution for a greenhouse grower - but writing the code is very tricky. Thankfully, I have been writing code for about 12 years now, so it'll be a snap. If something like this might interest you, here's the online user manual (volume 1 of 2)

http://www.automationdirect.com/static/manuals/d0user/d0uservol1.pdf

Take care, and happy gardening - *cough*

EG

Another problem

Khim and hippygeek - thanks for following my blog!

Crap. Now I have a cold.....Oh well, it'll prepare my immune system for the work to be done outdoors during the winter months. I stayed in bed for almost 48 hours straight, and the coughing is unbelievable. God, I feel so wimpy right now....a big baby even. All of the rattling in my chest is quite annoying, and thankfully the Nyquil keeps the coughing under control.

Photo below - I wanted to show you the Rubbermaid 18 gallon totes I picked up at Kmart a while back, for only $2.50 each. Yeah...talk about a sweet deal! These will be turned into swc's, then sold to friends next spring. They only had 1 lid, so attaching plastic mulch will be questionable. A large rubber band would proably work well, I bet.....

Photo below - I couldn't help but notice this cluster of ladybugs in the little playhouse out back. Sadly though, they had to go. I had to fumigate the interior completely, because of an unbelievable infestation of brown recluse spiders. Poor little ladybugs......

Photo below - Here's a juvenile brown recluse spider. I still don't know why it's butt looks like that, others looked like that, too. I must have counted 20 of these in there the other day, and thought "Holy Crap! I need John Goodman!". However, some "Demon" wettable powder from the farmer's cooperative took care of these with no problems. It will kill anything! While at it, I sprayed all of the outbuildings, and my parent's cupboards too. I found a big one in a pot under the kitchen sink last summer, and told Dad to wash any pot/pan that he removed from there after generously spraying the area. I'd sure hate for them to get sick from it. Oh yeah......this one is dead. I may be crazy, but not that crazy.....

In other news, the month of November has lots of banquets and such that pertain to the Master Gardener program, and also the local extension service. I'll get my name tag, a t-shirt, and diploma for the Master Gardener Program on the 19th, and get to attend the Farm City Banquet on the 24th. The Farm City banquet is all about the 4H program - which I am a big part of. Who knows? Maybe i'll win some kind of prestigious award.....That would be sweet!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Acquiring more buckets

First of all, I want to tell you that I have injured myself the last 2 weekends. Sheesh....Last weekend was a strained muscle on my left shoulder, and today was a muscle in my back. I don't know what happened this morning at about 9 am. I mean, I had just finished the roof of the shed, came down the ladder to pet Jude on the head - and it hit me. Oh gosh....talk about a bad way to start a weekend full of outdoor plans!

Anyway, I still managed to do some more stuff - even though every move was a painful one. The buckets are still coming in slowly, and in different sizes, too. In the photo below, from left to right: back row - 5 gallon, 4 gallon, and 3.5 gallon buckets.
Front row: 1 gallon, 2 gallon, and 4 gallon buckets.

Photo below - since I had to buy a 9-pack of broccoli transplants a while back, I decided to put one of them in a swp constructed from two 1 gallon buckets. I like to experiment, and this was better than letting them go to waste. I really don't think it will make it, but it will still be fun trying it.

Photo below - here's the 2 planted a month ago in 4 gallon containers. They are doing very well, and so far no pests have bothered them. Oh, you can bet that I check them daily, because I know the cabbage worm is bound to show up before this grow cycle is complete.

Back to the shed - It's now time for the vinyl siding, and i'll pick up some j-channel and corner pieces next week. I should be able to have it completely covered by the end of Thanksgiving weekend, and the wiring will take place after that. This "daylight savings thing" really makes it hard for me to make any progress in a timely manner. Thank god for weekends....

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Big things are in the works - Compost extravaganza

I don't have any pictures for today's post, but I wanted to share some exciting news with my readers.

There will be no searching for bagged leaves by the curbside, because I can get all the shredded leaves I want delivered to my house. It's true. All I had to do was call the street dept. supervisor for my little town, and ask some questions. It seems that they are collecting people's leaves left by the curbside with a vacuum fitted truck, and gather about 5-6 large truckloads a day. After telling the man what I wanted them for, he only asked me 2 questions...
1. How many truckloads did I want?
2. Where did I want them to be dumped?

Jackpot! And they're already shredded....hehe....

It also seems that my desire to construct a system that will turn the piles for me will come true. I have a very good friend that has his own electric motor winding business, and he will provide me with the necessary components to build the system. All he wants in return is enough homemade compost for his 16' x 16' garden each year. I'll give him tomato seedlings next spring, too. Man...it's good to have friends!

I have to start designing the system soon, but only after the exterior part of the shed is finished. Yay!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

November 4th, 2009

First of all, i'd like to tell my friend Judy that I can't leave comments for your blog again. Sorry, it won't accept my sign-in.

Also, I'd like to thank Daphne and Granny for educating me on the dangers of grapes to dogs. Gosh, i'd never heard that before. Even though I will refrain from feeding them to her, I don't know how I will keep her from eating the ones that fall to the ground. Sigh....


In gardening news, the broccoli is still doing well, but the leaves were kinda droopy when this photo was taken. It was pretty warm this day, and definitely the reason for it. Also, when the swc was assembled, the effective water/soil exchange surface area was reduced drastically - in hopes of reducing the rate of capillary action. Initial tests conclude that the soil moisture level measures 3-4 with my moisture meter. That's fantastic! That is exactly what I was shooting for.....This should be really good for tomatoes next year.

Photo below - Remember those containers at the edge of the woods, that I tried corn in? Well, there's a good reason why they didn't perform very well....

They were filled with my (unfinished) compost that was heavily comprised of pine needles, which hasn't decomposed after all this time. No wonder they didn't grow well, because it looked awful!

Photo below - However, the compost that I made during the summer looks fantastic, and another container was filled for growing more onions. These are from seed, and are a granex hybrid. Granex is the original cultivar for the "vidalia onion", I believe. Boy, I hope they do well! Jude was lookin' at me like "Hey, retard.....why all the fuss about this dirt-looking stuff? Don't ya wanna play?"

This next look was convincing, so I had to put away the camera and play frisbee for a while.

Since moving the clocks back last weekend, it's already dark when I get home from work each day. With flashlight in hand, I still make the daily trek out to Jude's pen, and play with her for a little while. Sadly, all of my projects will have to be done on the weekends, now. I'll finish the roof on Saturday, and start on the soffets, too. The vinyl siding should be started the following weekend.

BTW....I made my homemade spaghetti sauce the other day, and only have 4 pints to show for my efforts. As usual with anything I can for the first time - I reduced it too much. So much for pouring it from the jars - because it's really thick! heh. No biggie....water will be added to it when it gets used in the future. One thing's for sure, i'll be growing at least twice as many tomatoes next year, because it takes alot!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Onions and weeds

Lots of leaves are falling

Here's a video I shot behind the house. I hope you enjoy it!

Greenhouse alteration

I changed it. The previous design had an issue causing the bottom part of the frame to bow upward, and I felt this new layout would work much better. Hehe...it still looks weird, though. Initially, I had intended on constructing 3 of these, but this will be it for now. Besides....I need to see how it performs, and if there are any unforeseen problems with it. A few more pieces of pvc pipe might be added, but only along the front, as they'll probably be needed for the door.

Photo below - I installed some screws thru the existing wooden cross pieces, and into the corner of the pvc framework. This anchors it into place very well, and wind shouldn't be an issue, now.

Photo below - Since the little fan was now exposed to the elements, I covered a piece of cardboard with foil tape - then skewered it with the upright machine screws. Since foil tape is water resistant, rain shouldn't get into it now. I love foil tape.....it's expensive, but very useful. This protection will be temporary, because I have other plans for the top.

Photo below - here's the view of the circuit board from the backside. Lots of tedious work was done right here - let me tell ya!

However, the component side looks very neat. You're looking at the entire controller - minus the thermistor. Not much to it, huh?

After the entire greenhouse is finished, i'll probably shoot a video of the controls in action, and also every aspect of this design. Since making changes to the framework design added more area to the enclosure, the little fan will only do a complete air change every 2 minutes now. Oh well....it shouldn't be a problem. The added height will come in handy when tall plants are being grown in it next year. It also gives me the option of placing a two tiered shelf system on the inside, which will come in handy if I need to place all of my seedlings in it. As usual, the project just keeps getting bigger...

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG