Constructing a swp from a 5 gallon bucket

Gosh I love building self-watering planters........It's a piece of cake compared to the construction projects I normally perform, and they give me something to do when I get a break from other things. Knowing that I would need a few models for the (hopeful) upcoming workshop in the spring, I decided to build one from a single 5 gallon bucket. This planter is suitable for all kinds of veggies, but not for all of them. The following things will work in it, mostly with a single plant inside:

Determinate tomato, broccoli, cabbage, collards, pepper, etc.

Here's what you'll need - A 5 gallon bucket with lid, small piece of landscaping fabric, a scrap piece of 1" pvc pipe at least 20" long, 5 yogurt cups, and a cheap piece of 12" square floor tile (about $0.40 each at Lowes) Total cost for planter - less than $5.
I'm gonna be moving pretty fast through this tutorial, because the pictures pretty much speak for themselves.

Photo below - here's a closeup of the cheap floor tile. It didn't come in my color, but was the cheapest one they had. (Okay, I was just kidding, I don't care if it has sissy designs on it - it's gonna be covered with soil anyway) Hehe....

Photo below - components prepped for assembly. Notice the various holes drilled or cut in the bucket where the small black line is marked ( 3/8" hole drilled 3-3/8" from the bottom), in the corners of each of the 4 yogurt cups to the left (which will let water from the reservoir move freely in and out of each, so as to not take up valuable water storage area), in the pvc pipe, and in the piece of floor tile. The yogurt cup inserted into the floor tile is the wicking basket, which has a single 7/64" hole drilled in the bottom of it.

Photo below - Place 4 of the cups evenly spaced into the bottom of the bucket. These will be used to support the perforated barrier (floor tile), which keeps the soil mass resting above the water reservoir.

Photo below - Slide the round piece of floor tile (after trimming it to the contour of the bucket) with wicking basket inserted down to the bottom.

Photo below - Insert the pvc fill pipe down through the perforated barrier (after cutting a hole for it to fit through), all the way down to the bottom of the bucket.

Photo below - cut a piece of landscaping fabric to rest on top (which helps keep the soil from falling into the water reservoir, and also roots inside the soil mass).

Photo below - using a 1-1/2" hole saw, cut a hole in the center of the lid (for the plant to grow through), and also another one to the side - which allows the pvc fill pipe to protrude through.

That's all there is to it. Ok, I know I didn't show how to fill with soil, but this post is only about constructing it - not filling or planting it. I'll probably place a pepper or tomato plant in this one during the spring workshop, and show the attendees every step of maintaining and cleaning it for storage, as well.

Anyway, this is one of the many planters and containers that will be shown at the event.

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Getting ready for the upcoming propagation cycle

On and off for the past week, i've been working on getting one of the long shelves in the shed ready for the upcoming tomato seedling propagation. Since the capacity of one shelf alone will be about 220 plants, it may be all that is needed this year. However, the chamber and another system are ready and waiting too - if needed, that is....I currently have orders for 212 plants so far, but can handle alot more. (around 400 total)
The first thing I had to do, was get a 4 bulb, 8 ft long fixture from work (I bought a new t8 and switched them out), because it was much cheaper than spending over $100 on a couple of t8's that would do the same thing. Anyway, the light fixture from work must be at least 40-50 years old, but had ballasts in it that had been in service for less than a year. The flimsy metal that runs the entire length is bent pretty bad, but doesn't effect how it works, thankfully. I'll have to organize the wiring when finished, but will be quite easy with a few cable ties. Man, this fixture barely fit in the space, and I had to remove some boards from the end to get the bulbs in there. Once the light is put into action, a makeshift cover/door will be installed, completely enclosing the space. Oh, this is gonna work really well! I'll definitely have to make a video of this setup in action later...

Photo below - the ballasts are mounted underneath the shelf on top, which won't interfere with the suspended light. This was a must, because I needed all the head room I could get. I'll have enough room to grow transplants at least 7 inches tall - which will be some pretty big transplants. However, before they get this tall, they'll be moved out into the coldframes, or even the small greenhouse to hold them until sale.

Photo below - here's my propagation flats/cellpacks that came in the other day. These cellpacks (4 total) will handle 192 plants, which will be a pretty good start on things.They separate into 4 packs, which should be real convenient for handing out plants later, too. Of course each one will have a 1020 tray with no drainage holes under them to keep water from going everywhere, also. For the remaining seedlings, i'll just use leftover cell packs from last year's purchases.

Man, i'm getting pretty excited over this years' propagation cycle, because I haven't grown under lights in almost a year. The spiffy little control system I built for it will come in handy, too - because less time and effort will be needed on my behalf for this grow cycle. The thought of automatic watering has entered my mind recently, but i'll just be satisfied with watering them manually. I get to have some interaction with the plants, don't I? A completely automated propagation system would take all the fun out of it....

Due to my customers' demands for Cherokee Purple (84 plants), I had to put in another order for seeds from Tomatofest. Strangely enough, I couldn't complete the order over the internet, and sent Gary Ibsen an email about my dilemma. He called me later in the evening, and we had a pretty good conversation. I bet he was like "Dang...that guy was a real redneck!" Hehe.... Anyway, this propagation cycle is gonna be really fun!

In other news, it seems that a representative from Auburn University will come to our house on Monday to take pictures of my cat litter bucket swp design, and interview EG about the details of it, too. That should be pretty interesting, and will be published on the ACES website for all to see. Although the document hasn't been turned into a publication yet - it'll still be pretty dadgum sweet! Of course i'll show them all of the weird gardening stuff I get into, also. Reckon they'll freak out over my crazy contraptions? Hehe...Something tells me that this person will never look at gardening the same after this visit.......Ha! I can hear them now. When they get back to the University and tell the professors "words can't describe the things that I have just witnessed, this guy's methods and contraptions were just so horticulturally wrong" lol. I just wish the compost turner was ready - that would be a conversation piece, for sure! Anyway, i'll provide a link to the interview when it gets published. No biggie, I just wanted to share.

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Germination in the coldframes

Gosh, my entire body is sore from the recent fall. After all of the health issues from the last few months - i'm beginning to wonder if i'll get to see my 42nd birthday. Sheesh! It's just no fun getting older....Anyway, here's some new developments on the property.

I didn't think it would ever happen, but lo and behold - we have germination of some things in the coldframes. The only problem is - I didn't mark any of the containers, so I'm kinda guessing at what they are. OOPS. No biggie, They'll make themselves known when they get bigger. I'm really glad I built these things, because they'll really become lifesavers between now and May.

Photo below - this is gonna be some variety of lettuce, and will be thinned out in a couple of weeks. I'm pretty sure it's one of the varieties that Daphne gave to me a while back. Maybe deer tongue?

Photo below - who knows? It's gonna have to be broccoli, cabbage, or lettuce. I've really gotta remember to mark these things next time....I just get in a hurry sometimes, ya know? Especially with all of the various projects going on. Oh, and don't forget the falling part.....hehe.

Photo below - I'm pretty sure this little seedling is carrot, as I sowed several cells with them. From previous plantings, this is exactly what I remember they looked like. True leaves should begin to form in about a week or two. Once they become decent sized transplants, i'll plant them into some kind of pretty deep container.

Photo below - Austin wanted to see what wintersowing was, so I just let him plant a couple of containers. One has spinach, the other has collards. He's decided to take over the 4' x 25' box this year, and I hope it performs well for him. Of course, i'll be keeping an eye on things to make sure bugs don't destroy all of his hard work, because let's face it - they can really do some damage. EG likes finding - then killing bugs, too! Hehe....

My favorite type of container to WS in would definitely be the 2 liter drink bottles, and they are beginning to add up from our household. The homemade mix in them is 50% peat moss, and 50% perlite. No science behind it - just wanted something that would drain very well. A couple of shelves were constructed in the playhouse over the weekend, which gave me somewhere to neatly store all of the recycled containers. Man, this winter sowing thing is REALLY addictive, and i'm having a hard time controlling myself. Ha! Me likey!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Bringing the compost turner to reality

Saturday was all about acquiring most of the compost turner components, and prepping everything for future assembly. I drove to my friend's shop about 20 miles away, and began cutting, grinding, and welding pieces of 6" I-beam, then hauled the 12 foot long finished beam back home. It took 3 hours to accomplish these tasks, and I was back home at noon. Austin helped me carry the beam about 150 feet to the composting location, and we were glad to get it there! Man, that thing must've weighed 150 lbs.

Anyway, I want to show you most of the components needed for the project. Below is the 1/2 hp electric motor and 160:1 gearbox for driving the auger. Thanks to the gear reduction, the output shaft at the end has an unbelievable torque value, and lets me use a small single phase motor to accomplish this. After connecting power to it, I counted the output speed, as well. As previously calculated, it was turning at 11 rpms.

Photo below - Here is the 10" earth auger that will be coupled to the output shaft of the gearbox. Due to it's pretty short length, an extension made from a solid piece of round stock will be added to it. This will help keep the motor from getting into the compost mixture - as I really wouldn't want to keep cleaning debris out of the cooling fan on the back of the motor.

Photo below - Here's the steel I-beam  with trolley included.You can clearly see the two different pieces that I had to weld together to span the 12 foot distance between the vertical posts.  I could paint it to make it look all nice and purdy - but this ain't no beauty contest....hehe. This is gonna be a "manly" machine, not something at a hair salon.

Photo below - This was the hard part - lifting the beam, so it would rest on top of the posts. Holy......moly......After doing a backward flip off the top of the pallet bins into the woods - I decided to use a rope draped over a huge limb about 25 feet up to help hoist the thing into place. As Austin held tension on the rope, I struggled to lift each end. Oh god.....words simply can't describe how difficult this was. Talk about feeling relieved afterward! 20 years ago this would have been a piece of cake.

As can be expected, i'm pretty skinned up from the nasty fall. My left arm, back, and both thighs are really cut up - but the left thigh injury is the most significant. A really big bump came up on it, and i'm sure it will cause me to limp for a few days. I basically fell backwards into the large trees you see there, and ended up on the ground at their base. Man...i'm really lucky that I didn't land on my head. It serves me right, though - because I was wearing crocs on my feet. Duh!

Anyway, i'll recover over the next week, and will anchor the beam to the posts next weekend. My prediction for a trial-run is 2 weeks from now, and i'll video it in action for ya! WooHoo! EG's crazy compost turning machine will be ready for action soon!


Take care, and happy composting! (Ouch)

EG

Wintersowing a few things

Annanas and gardeness - welcome to my blog, and thanks for following!

Ok. I don't know squat about growing flowers from seed, but wanted to add some beauty to the landscape out back. I'll come up with some type of planter probably, and will place it somewhere in the vicinity of the garden. Since nobody really sees the area but me and Jude, this planting is gonna be for us. I'll wintersow these in plastic bottles in the near future, and just let Mother Nature germinate them for me. I'm sure the bees will like them, too!

Here's the four varieties of perrenials that are included in the pack. Although they probably won't produce flowers this year, they should provide flowers for years to come. I still can't believe i'm planting flowers....it kinda makes me feel "dirty" - especially since i'm the big, manly redneck type. Ewww......I need to do something manly right now, like maybe chop down a tree or eviscerate a wild animal....

Speaking of wintersowing, here's a couple of jugs/bottles prepped and ready to be used. Most people like the milk jugs, but i'm kinda partial to the 2 liter bottles. The yogurt cups are for constructing swc's/swp's with, and just happened to be in the picture. Momma sure does go through alot of yogurt, holy moly!

Photo below - While looking at the seed racks for the "girly flower stuff", I also picked up a pack of Early Girl tomato seeds. Since the "days to maturity" is only about 53 days, they will be wintersowed too, because there's no room for them in the 2 propagation systems where the other tomato seedlings are being grown. They will most likely be given away to family and friends, and I may try at least one myself, too.

Now, let me tell ya about the upcoming sale of tomato plants....I have made a nice little binder that is complete with pictures and descriptions of the various heirloom tomatoes that i'm growing, and left it down at the store close to where we live. The customers browse through it, and become very interested in the various colors and such. These plants are probably gonna go pretty quick, and will be priced from $1 - $3 each (according to size of plant and container). It should be interesting, to say the least. Due to increasing interest, I may be able to justify purchasing the lights needed for one of the long shelves. Woo doggie! That would let me grow around 400 plants. Watch out - it just might happen! Hehe.....

As you can imagine, the outdoor building projects are starting to pile up - which is usually the way things happen. I'm putting together a schedule of when each is to be done (in order), which will hopefully keep me on track with things. They are:

1. Compost turner - This project has got to be finished soon, because time is running out. I'll go to my friend's shop hopefully on Saturday morning, and perform some welding on the pieces of I-beam for the trolley to run on, as it needs to be mounted before the concrete is poured into the post holes. I already have the motor/gearbox and auger on hand, and will check the output shaft of the gearbox this weekend. My calculations tell me that it'll produce around 11 rpms, but I hope it will be even faster.

2. Install homemade shelves in the old playhouse - Whether I want to or not, this has gotta happen. It has become so cluttered from saved plastic bottles and such, that I can barely walk into it. I'll do at least 1 side, which should be enough for now. I hope to start on them this weekend, because Saturday's weather is supposed to be pretty nice.

3. Add another propagation system - With the increased interest for tomato transplants by friends, family, and citizens in  my town - I really don't feel that 192 plants will be enough. I mean - some people put out 20-30 plants each year. If 6 gardeners like this ordered plants this year, that would give me only 6-7 total customers, which wouldn't provide much "word-of-mouth" advertising. I'm gonna have to get at least 1 of the long shelves ready before long, because that would increase my capacity to at least 400 - 500 tomato plants.

4. Build a flowerbed along one side of the driveway - this is gonna be a big project, and will be about 3 feet wide, by 40 feet long. Landscaping timbers, lots of hard labor, and filling with compost will occupy several weekends of my time as spring arrives. This project is for my beautiful wife, and I really don't know what will be planted in it.

5. Support part of my parents' roof with a new wall - The entire end of their house (where the carport is located) is falling. This is due to several years of termite damage to the supporting walls. I'll have to use my 12 ton jack to lift the entire roof section, then construct a new wall in place. It might sound like a pretty big deal to some people, but will actually be quite easy.

Anyway, that's pretty much the schedule of things to happen.

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

One last time for taters

bslafaut and Marnix de Willigen - welcome to the blog, and thanks for following!

Ok. I've tried growing potatoes twice with no luck, but will give it a go one more time. I seriously can't believe i'm doing this....It's Lowes fault, they put these things on display, and I just had to buy some. Where to plant them has yet to be decided, because they occupy a growing space for a really long period of time, and every spot has already been planned out already....hmm....I'll think of something. I might just have to grow them in containers......

Photo below - As stated earlier, the old aquarium stand propagation system is getting a complete makeover. The ornamental iron was cut loose from the sides, and pieces of allthread rod installed for support. A piece of white marker board was fastened to the backside, then styrofoam panels along the sides and top. Kinda looks like a big, freaky beer cooler. Heh. Those 2 little cpu fans on top were secured into place with caulking, and will be controlled from the PLC control system. This will likely be the last time it is used for propagating seedlings, as the large system will be in place next year. Of course, the chamber is ready and waiting, too - which will bring my total seedling count for this year to 192 transplants. Anyway, all I like is putting a makeshift door on the front of this system, and it'll be ready to go.

Photo below - Man....those onions look pretty rough! They didn't care for those brutal temps a while back, but should rebound quite nicely. As stated before, they will be allowed to mature until May - then sweet potatoes will take their place. Yeehaw! We like them sweet taters! (start intro to backwoods banjo music now) I left out the "purty mouth" part. Hehe...

Photo below - After the rain stopped the other day, I couldn't help but admire the beautiful look of the cedar boards on the main garden bed. Man, that's some pretty stuff.....The lone broccoli plant in the 1 gallon swp didn't survive the cold spell a while back, and will have to be thrown away. Oh well, no biggie, it was only for research purposes....

In hopes that members of my family will be enthuised to take part in this years' gardening experience, I have printed off a blank planting template - with hopes that someone will completely plan and care for the largest bed in 2010. There's no takers on it yet, but I hope someone decides to. It's just too much for me to handle, now - especially since the number of tomato plants to be grown will be increased from 12 to 28 total.

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

It was a good weekend for composting

Well, it was an extremely rainy weekend around here - causing my outdoor activities to be pretty limited. I got the rest of the weeds out of the large raised bed, but it sure did make my back hurt reaching into it. A good inspection of the onion planting revealed that the ones started from seed didn't make it through the recent cold spell. The ones from sets don't look too good either, but will make it just fine. The lids of the coldframes were left open during the long, steady, misting rain - to let mother nature water everything for me, which was better than me having to stoop over to water them..

More was done on the small shelf propagation unit, too - because it's gotta be finished sometime over the next 6 weeks - which is when the tomato seeds will be started. Yay!

Photo below - With lots of rain on the way, I dug a pretty good-sized hole in the center of each compost bin on Friday evening, then sprinkled some of the large bag of Starbuck's UCGs into each one. That was alot of used coffee grounds! After mother nature watered the piles for a day, I then fluffed the piles as best I could without opening the fronts. This should get the piles going again, hopefully.

Speaking of UCGs, the little convenience store only a mile from the house is giving me 2 gallons of them per week, which combined with the stuff from our 2 households - amounts to quite a bit, (about 4 gallons). Here's a 2 gallon bucket from the store...

Also, since the ground was really wet - I went ahead and dug the holes for the compost turning apparatus. They're 2 feet deep, and it was pretty interesting getting the posts set in place by myself. Don't worry - I was really careful - and had my back brace on, too! Oh gosh....these things are really heavy!

My Dad came out and gave me a little scolding - as can be expected. He'll be 76 years old next month, and always has to see what i'm doing. Hehe....Pouring the concrete is gonna be the most difficult part, but will have to be done after the I - beam is secured to the top. This will keep the vertical posts from twisting, which would not be good. Well, that's about it for now.

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Still trekking right along with my plans

Alison - welcome, and thanks for following the blog!

No pictures today, but there's still quite a bit to talk about!

First, I drove 90 miles roundtrip on Tuesday night to pick up a 20lb bag of UCG's from Starbuck's. Ha! I know....pretty crazy, but I just had to get that little bounty for my compost piles. It was probably 10 gallons of it, and i'll be making another run in about a week. Meanwhile, I have 2 local convenience stores saving theirs for me too. The owners love growing tomatoes in their gardens, and i'll give them free plants this year.

Second - i'm making some major modifications to the little propagation system that was made from an old aquarium stand. When finished, it'll be fully enclosed to keep the warmth of the lights inside, and also have some small cpu fans mounted in the top. The propagation shelves in the shed will have to wait until next year, because I need $300 worth of lights for them. So, i'll use the money made from this years' transplants to pay for them, and go big time next year. Woot Woot!

Third - I've been wintersowing stuff like crazy! Oh god....it's addictive, I tell ya! I'm doing all kinds of flowers, and even a couple types of early maturing tomatoes, too. Me likey.....

Fourth - My wife bought Jude a little frisbee from Pet Depot the other day, and she's happy again. Yay! I have to throw it kinda easy though, because it really flies well!

Other than that, i'm just waiting for the weekend to arrive, so I can get out there and turn at least one of the compost piles. The postholes for the turning system will be dug too, but you can bet that i'll wear the back brace. I'll have to remember to take it easy, because the injury is still not 100% healed yet. It's probably around 95%, and still bothers me when I stoop over for anything.

Well, that's about it. I'll be sure to take lots of photos over the weekend.

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG 

Preparing for the upcoming Tomato growing season

Kathy's Klothesline - welcome, and thanks for following the blog!


Just because it was 15 degrees on Saturday morning, you really didn't expect me to just sit on my butt, did you? That's right - I got my saw out and starting cutting lumber! Hehe...Yeah, i'm sure the neighbors thought "that poor guy must be mildly retarded or something".....But hey - there's just too much to do around here, and frigid temps ain't enough to stop me.
My plans are always subject to change, as is with the eventual 24 running feet of combined propagation shelving in the shed. Yeah....24 feet, and should hold a total of twelve 1020 propagation flats. When I do something, I always go big.....
Anyway, i'm going to pull 205 cfm of air across the plants on all three shelves, by using 2 little fans, and manipulating the airflow so that it will have to travel the entire length of each shelf - and create a continuous duct from the 3 shelves combined. Oh, it'll work good, and will be controlled by temperature - of course.....

           

Photo below - while the weather was bad last weekend, I spent some time getting these water level indicators ready for the upcoming 5 gallon swp's that will be built. With some wooden skewers, plastic straws, and a little bit of super glue - These babies are ready to be attached to wine bottle corks, styrofoam, or anything else that will float well, and also fit inside the fill pipe of a swp. (the straws were added as extensions)

           

Photo below - I wanted to show some more varieties of slow-release fertilizer I picked up from Lowes. I'll be running trials with them in 4 gallon swp's planted with Black Cherry tomatoes in the spring, with hopes of determining which one will provide the best benefits. Most of the swc "experts" use nothing BUT Tomato Tone, but I generally don't follow anyone's lead. Besides, it is not available in my area, and I really don't want to order any online. Quite honestly, I feel that all of them will be sufficient - but it will certainly be fun experimenting with it. I'll do 6 plants total, and keep up with which swp has what ingredient. That Bio-Tone on the left will be put into the hole at planting time, then the others mixed into the top 2-3" of soil a few weeks later.


           

Speaking of tomato plants, the 2010 propagation session will begin for me in about 6 weeks, and I've got some really interesting varieties for this year! Oh, i'll blog about them later on - maybe sometime in February. Regardless of the increasing excitement, i'm not gonna start them too early like last year....sheesh! That was a mistake...Instead, i'll hold off until the first week of March (3 weeks later than last year).

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Winter woes and plumbing repairs

debiclegg, welcome to the blog, and thanks for following!

I hate it...... That sums up all of my feelings about this arctic blast that has pummeled the area for over a week, now. It looks like i'll get to rip out the corner shower downstairs, because the pipes froze, and one is busted. Crap....It's gonna have to be disassembled and everything. On a positive note, though - i'll be able to add more insulation to the pipes and walls while having access to them. Sigh....and if that's not enough, I clumsily knocked a large picture from the wall in the stairwell - causing it to bounce down the stairs and make a large hole in the sheetrock at the bottom. So, I've got to repair the wall - then paint it when finished. I really, really didn't need these problems right now. Not with the composting operation just sitting there waiting to be turned by what will be built for this purpose.
Anyway, I wanted to show some pics of the diminishing snow cover on a few things, as the onions look really sad right now. Oh, they'll make it with no problems at all, but just look pitiful.

       

Photo below - here's my plantings of japanese maple seeds all covered up with the white stuff. They like this snow business, because it will only help break the seedcoat from the "thawing - freezing - thawing" of those little seeds. Speaking of seeds, I've done a little bit of trading lately, and have also been cutting plastic jugs and bottles for wintersowing some things.If you haven't heard of the propagation method, then I suggest you visit this site , because it's very easy to do. (Apparently) This will be my first time doing it, and will do mostly tomatoes and flowers. I have to admit - it's pretty addictive!

       

Oh! And you guessed it......She really loves the stuff, as evident from her nose. This little weenie head just puts her nose to the ground, then starts running. It's kinda like a road grader does, except she eats it, of course. What is it with dogs and snow?......

       

In other news, you know that just because the weather has been bad - it didn't stop me from tinkering. Yep, many things were done around here to help prepare for the upcoming gardening season. I just can't watch TV......nothing on there really interests me, unless it's something educational.
Well, that's about it.

Take care, and happy gardening.

EG

All about Jude

Ok all you dog lovers....this one is for you. Jude was a real sport!

Relocating the big pile of leaves

I'm thinking about starting my own television program, called "Man vs. Pile" - pile of leaves, that is. Gosh, I don't know how many loads my wheelbarrow transported to the composting location - maybe 200? It sure seemed like it....But, with persistence and a few free mornings, the pile has vanished from the front of the property. I bet all the passersby saw me out there every frigid cold morning and thought "that guy has to be mental or something". Hehe....In the photo below, Jude is looking at the spot saying " it's gone". I know my Dad was glad to see them gone from view....Speaking of which - see those steps to the right? Those lead up to their front door. Everything that I blog about, every thing I construct - is on their property, not mine. We live side by side (literally). Even the recently built shed is behind their house. A few years ago, we split the 1 acre lot 60-40, but my wife and I have our names on both deeds. It'll eventually become one lot again.....

Photo below - reckon I have enough leaves left over for next year's composting cycle. Probably! Thankfully, though - they won't have to be moved very far. I know what Daphne's thinking.....leaf mold heaven! As long as the bottom part will be sitting there - surely i'll have some later. Anything that will make my life easier would be greatly appreciated, because all this work is starting to take its toll on me. Maybe I can make enough compost this year to just relax the following year.....that would be a blessing. I contribute this composting operation as the reason for my back problems, and the compost turner will certainly make it MUCH easier - even if it works halfway decent....Ah, to flip a switch and turn compost....

Photo below - 25 little containers filled with an 80/20 potting soil and perlite mix, then 2 japanese maple seeds planted into each one. They were watered well, then left alone for Mother Nature to take over. Gosh, I hope they germinate halfway decent, because they would bring a pretty penny later. My only worry is SQUIRRELS. I'll have to make a custom screen to put over them this coming weekend, as I have some mesh left over from the compost screen construction last year that has 1/2" openings. That'll keep them out...

Other than that, we've just been trying to stay warm around here. We've had a few pipes freeze, but not for long. Thankfully, on Monday morning - the crazy temperatures will be a thing of the past. Normalcy will be greatly appreciated, even if it's still too cold for my liking.

Take care, and happy composting

EG

Weeding the main garden bed

Some varieties of weeds only show themselves during cold months, as this video shows. As soon as the soil thaws, i'll remove the rest of them. Doesn't look like that'll be anytime soon though, because it's gonna be in the low teens all the way through the weekend. Dangit! I hate it......You people that live north of the border are crazy! How do you stand it?

Monitoring the control system

Sandy Grayson, Maddy Montgomery, Renee Jankord, Mrs. NtJS, hearts283, and Alison Russell -
Welcome to my blog, and thanks for following!

Old man winter is showing his butt, ain't he? Dang....I really feel sorry for all you northerners. It's bad enough here, with the temps plummeting to 12 degrees last night - but that's nothing compared to what all of you have to withstand. I hope this crazy weather is over soon, because Jude is keeping me from getting hardly any sleep at night...Little weenie head! Anyway, I was out in the shed the other morning looking at live data with the control system, and decided to do a pretty good tutorial on how the whole thing works. It's far from being finished, as I've already added alot more stuff to the OIP and plc program since the video was made. I hope you like it!

This guy reminds me of myself

Breanne - welcome, and thanks for following my blog!

Well, it's been a pretty good holiday weekend so far! I've been doing things outside, and me and Jude have hung out together quite a bit. She's having to spend the next several nights inside with us, because the temperature outside is so cold that I don't feel safe about leaving her out there. For the record, I bring her in when it gets colder than 24 degrees. She'd probably be ok much lower than that, but I don't want anything to happen to her. She's my buddy....

Anyway, I've sowed 50 japanese maple seeds outside ( 2 seeds per cell), and i'll just let mother nature take care of them for me. I sure hope at least 10-15 germinate, because they sell like crazy! I'd keep them for at least another year, because nobody will purchase little twigs....

Alright. You know that I build all kinds of crazy stuff around here...well, I ran across this guy on youtube the other day, and thought "dang...that guy does crazy stuff just like me" hehe...I figured you might enjoy watching them, as he makes me laugh. I'm sure some of you have seen his show before, but it was completely new to me.....

This is some funny stuff.....Enjoy!

A video of the coldframes in place

In this video, I show both coldframes in place, another small project to be done in the area, and of course a few moments of interaction with Jude. Enjoy!