Weekly Garden Thread - October 21-27, 2023 [A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch Edition]

October 21, 2023 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Go sack out! Glad you got it all done before the Rain! The rain here starts tomorrow.

Fall/Winter Garden: Planted Broccoli in 2 low tunnels about 3 weeks ago. (Pictures taken last week!) They are now about 10" tall. Two varieties, Castle Dome (22"H 50 days from transplant) and Gypsy (30"-36" 60 Days from transplant). Used a fine Nylon pest barrier rather than frost barrier. I should probably have just planted the Castle dome since it would fit under the low tunnel.

The tunnels and mesh are not really optional, squirrels dig anything you plant looking for stuff to eat, and while I had the tunnel off yesterday I had cabbage loopers flitting around trying to sneak in and lay eggs. (They did, and I picked the off wherever I found them and sprayed everything down with spinosad.) Note that the green rings are sections cut from plastic drain pipe. I put them around the seedlings to prevent them from being eaten by sow and pill bugs. I interplanted lettuce with the Broccoli since there is a lot of space between the growing plants.

View up the broccoli tunnel and view of some multiplier onions and inter-planted lettuce protected by chicken wire.

[MomwithHope]

Well I can't eat pumpkin, it gives me terrible heartburn no matter how it's served. But our church did something new this past weekend and it will be up through November. A pumpkin rosary on straw bales. Whiteland orange ones.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That’s a great set-up! If I weren’t so sick of the garden, I’d do the same, LOL!

I am growing lettuces and spinach in the greenhouse; I feel guilty if I don’t at least make some effort to use it during the Fall and into Winter. ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

What a neat idea! Love it. :)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

For a while last winter I grew lettuce in gallon pots, but like you, at some point I want the gardening to end. (Still, that is about $80 worth of broccoli and I do not know how much lettuce growing out there.)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I would never waste anything on purpose, but I get to the point where enough IS enough...and then I start planning for next season, LOL!

I REALLY need the down-time that Winter brings. I am on ‘Full Speed Ahead’ from March through October. Part of NEXT season’s plan is going to streamline some of that so I don’t feel so burned out come October.

Or so she says, LOL!

[Augie]

This starter has been rebuilt once since I’ve owned the tractor. It was never 100% perfect after that was done, and now the guy who did the rebuild has retired.

I’m going to pull it off and see if there’s room to get a bar in the opening to manually turn the engine. If it’s not locked up I can buy a new starter and solenoid for under $200.

[Pollard]

My mom used to make a killer Pumpkin pie, albeit from canned pumpkin. She did 50/50 with sweet potatoes. Need to see if any of my sisters has the recipe. She used basic flour based pie crust but I think a graham cracker crust would do well with pumpkin pie.

Still gardening.

All 7 of the Salanova for the first succession have sprouted, as have some of the broadcasted lettuce/mustard. I was worried they might have dried out too much before I got the plastic.

Once they're 2-3" tall and have some root depth, the drip should take care of them. I've been wetting the beds after work and got the lettuce/mustard covered with plastic the night before last, all done after dark. That's why the hoops aren't lined up. LOL

It worked though. Plastic had moisture on the inside and bed was moist this morning and I didn't have to water it last night. I put a temp/humidity gauge in there this morning and when I pulled the plastic off at 12:30, it was 94 degrees in there.

Won't need the plastic again until it gets super cold because the mini impact sprinklers came in and I installed them. They moistened the beds up nicely in half an hour or so. I had to hold a poly feed bag in front of my legs and feet while I adjusted the flow rate and moved them around a little. LOL

Now that they're adjusted, I think 15-20 minute sessions, 2-3 times a day ought to do. Maybe 5am, 10am, 3pm. They definitely use more water than the drip. I'll have to track the amount tomorrow.

Still need to plant one of the beds with the bok choy and Asian greens. Will do that tomorrow too. Gonna do them in blocks in succession which will allow me to leave the last two cherry mater plants in place a little longer.

My new automation gadgets also came in today as did my new tractor seat and I got it installed.

It was like Christmas today.

Tech Stuff

These will open/close the drop down sides and gable vents based on temperature and/or wind.

The X-400 is the brain and the Quad Relays are the muscle. Each relay module will switch four 15 amp circuits. I need to run 6 DC motors but doing them as reversible motors, takes two relays per motor, hence 3 quads. The X-400 is expandable and will control up to 32 direct connect modules, plus 32 modules that are simply on the same network which is how it will handle the relays. I was going to buy expansion module relays but got the quads for $89 each and they're $170 each from the manufacturer. Such a deal.

[Augie]

Good Nanner news... removed the starter... was able to manually turn the engine... nice and smooth... with any good luck I’ll have a new starter here by the end of the week and be back in business.

[Pollard]

$500 later

Got me gadgets set up but I need a few more Ethernet cables which is why most devices show an X in a yellow box for a status. Those aren't on the network.

The control page will get bigger once I add inputs like Temp/Humidity sensors and a wind speed/direction sensor.

I'll probably buy some cat5 cable and some ends(and maybe the required tool?) so I can make my own Ethernet cables because they only need to be 6-12 inches long. For now though, local walmart has 7 foot cables for 5 bucks.

Banged my head against the wall for 3 hours last night and another 3 hours this morning. For some reason, I was unable to add the three relays to the main controller. It just wasn't seeing them. Finally figured out I had copied and pasted http://192.168.1.30 from the browser into the software when what it should have been is just 192.168.1.30

Then for the fun of it, I banged my head against the wall for a couple more hours. Seems you can't use the same power source for the individual relays that you use to power the relay unit itself.

I can now finally turn a DC motor in forward or reverse to open or close a gable vent or drop down side.

Without the X-400 as the main controller, this is what the Quad relay control page. Lame.

You can turn the relays on/off from a computer but that's it. It's simply a remote on/off switch.

With it connected to the X-400, I get the logic feature to automate it. With a temp sensor, I can have the gable vents open when it gets over 80 degrees and close them when below 50.

Time/date based schedules can be created to control things as well. Multiple schedules or logic can be created for the different seasons/crops.

[Qiviut]

Worked on my new compost pile today. I checked all the pole barns looking for possible materials to use, but ended up with my original idea: T-posts & plastic netting taken off my garden fencing panels when I redid them with wire.

My post pounder is 18.5 lbs so that makes for an arm workout! First two post were ‘easy’, really feeling it after post #3. I took a break, then tackled post 4 & got it pounded in fairly quickly. The bin area has been raked, used a weed eater to cut any grass, weeds, etc down to the dirt, & got one piece of weed barrier down.

At that point, having to bend over for dealing with the weed barrier & pounding in staples to hold it down, my back was saying ‘enough! I will finish the bin tomorrow morning & start rounding up leaves in the afternoon when the grass has dried. The bin is 10’x10’ (old one is 5’x5’) so I should have enough room to turn the leaves & hopefully have a ‘hot’ pile. I also paced off the distance from the water hydrant to the new bin & my 100’ new hose should just reach.

Processing is tonight, I think - I will be pooped after that is done.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You need Minions or a Cabana Boy, LOL! Good job, though. ;)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Its good to have someone who knows automation, and eventually you will be able to use it on your High Tunnel.

No high tunnel unless I move out to the countryside, until then if it does not survive the heat or cold under minimal cover its going to die in my garden.

Its raining here now, is probably raining where you are at. I need it to stop for a few days so I can bring in the rest of the basil and tomatoes and get my garlic and multiplier onions planted! I Have some broccoli and cauliflower and its going to freeze next week, I might throw some pipe cables under the covers.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

That is good news! Hand tilling and having a tractor (Or a horse!) is the difference between subsistance poverty and abundance! (Assuming you know how to farm or garden!) Plus, you get a lot of friends who invite you over to plow or disk their small gardens!

[Pollard]

Just ordered some new sprinklers, better brand the the last ones.

Second bed will be planted this weekend, Sat morning it looks like. Will cover them with plastic for a few days until I see sproutage.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Its not hard to make Yogurt, most people know how to do it. Here is an article that discusses fine points to a really good Yogurt culture! The article publisher is selling a product that will help you culture yogurt. (I find it interesting that they culture the yogurt in ball jars which I think most people here have in their canning supplies!)

Science of Great Yogurt

I make a gallon of yogurt per batch in a stainless steel pot. I take it up to the point of a simmer, then move it to a water batch until its 105F, strain into containers, innoculate with Stoneyfield yogurt, and move to and off / cold oven and allow to cool and culture at 85F for 12 hours. This is approximately the same as the article process. Based on the article I will keep the milk at 195F for a full 10 minutes before cooling to 104F inoculating and culturing

Yah, namaste' and all that, its great after yoga class!

But, its full of protein used in muscle repair.....this stuff really belongs in the weight room!

Icelandic strongman Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is one of the cofounders of the latest Skyr brand and would say "Hi ladies!" if he were here!

Viking Invasion: Icelandic Strongman Hafþór Björnsson And Dylan Sprouse Backed Thor’s Skyr Promises More Protein And Less Sugar

You can concentrate the yogurt by straining it through cheesecloth. Enjoy your Skyr or Greek Yogurt (Lebana) and enjoy drinking the whey! (Gut shot....do not discard!)

Yes, I am of Scandinavian descent and have a blue shirt. Yes pretty sure his Thor thing is just for advertising purposes.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Good info! Yogurt is another one of those things that is ridiculously expensive yet very easy to make at home.

I’ve got a book on soft cheese you can make at home. That will be a good winter learning/curve project for me.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“My mom used to make a killer Pumpkin pie...”

Reminded me of a ‘Woody’ from ‘Cheers.’ Woody got a package from home and it was his Mom’s ‘Killer Brownies.’

Turns out an Uncle was running to the house to get one of those brownies, got hit by the combine and at the end, “he was just prayin’ to die. Well, eat up Everyone!”

And then he offers the box around, LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Diana in Wisconsin]