The Garden Thread - April, 2024

April 1, 2024 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.

If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.

This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.

It is impossible to hijack the Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table Recipes, Preserving, Good Living - there is no telling where it will go - and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to/removed from our New & Improved Ping List.

NOTE: This is a once a MONTH Ping List, but we DO post to the thread all throughout the month. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time!

[Pollard]

That is some scary water on the roads to your house! ‘Turn Around! Don’t Drown!’ is something our police and weather-guessers are always telling us. ;)

When we lived down in South MO, they built a $10 million dollar bridge across Bryant Creek. Two months later, we got a lot of rain and it ended up getting under the bridge and pushed it up, moved it and broke it into pieces. When it was calm, even without the bridge, we could get to the town in that direction by driving the 4x4 Suburban across the creek. It was about 12-18 inches deep but not fast moving. Clear enough water to see the bottom too, else I wouldn't have tried.

Have you figured out an electronic gizmo that measures rainfall? ;)

Well of course I have and since the thread is nearing it's end, it's time for one of those Pollard posts.(or 2 or 3 or)

All the full featured consumer level weather stations have a rain gauge built in, plus you can buy stand-alone models which is my preference to an all-in-one station.

https://rainwise.com/wired-rain-gauge

8 inch tipping bucket (Meets NWS Specifications)

8" tipping bucket is a misnomer because there's a little tray inside that actually tips over and empties when a certain amount of rain is collected in it. The 8 inch dia part is to protect the tipping bucket from wind.
One side fills up until it tips, then the other side fills up until it tips.

On each tip, the magnet triggers the reed switch as it passes by and gives a pulse signal of electricity that the controller will read. It's a digital input that can be set to Counter mode to count the pulses.

Each tip is a known amount of rain(0.01” per tip for this one). 100 tips = 1 inch of rain. There's a setting in the controller called Slope(multiplier) that I'd set for 0.01 and the result is 100 = 1.

Then I can view it and click on it to reset it on the display page. (I cheated and added an offset of 2 which makes it start at 2 instead of 0 - just so it would read 2 for the screenshot)

It can also be set to reset when it gets to a certain number which is a little useless in this case. I can set up the log file to log the rainfall every day/week/month etc. With a little programming code, I could get it to log rainfall once a day/week/month and then reset it. If I give the controller internet access, I could have it log, email me the log file and reset the counter every day/week/month. I'm seriously considering connecting the controller(s) to the web. I need to see if there's a way to do it just for emailing the log file and real-time monitoring with no ability control anything remotely.

Ok, you talked me into it ;~)

FREE Shipping woo hoo.

I may end up getting one of these to keep the birds from perching on it.

Next on the list is the part to make the RocketBombPlane read wind speed because the little a cup anemometer is lame. The coil I need is $68 plus about $20 for shipping. Have to call them to order parts. Old School. The propeller on the RocketBombPlane is spinning all the time but it takes at least 3 mph to make the 3 cup spin.

Bugs me to see the propeller spinning away while the cups just sit there. There's a possibility that I've called the 3 cup thing bad names.

With the rain gauge being near the RocketBombPlane that's almost constantly spinning and rotating, I might not need the bird spikes.

[Pollard]

Picked up the Buff Orpington yesterday and believe it or not, the Barred Rock that are ONLY ONE WEEK OLDER were pecking at their eyes

Last batch I hatched, one had a bad leg. Within three days, the others stomped it flat.

[Pollard]

"What's in the box?"

Comes with a display that simply counts and has a reset button. I won't be using it and will just wire the bucket to my controller instead.

Slight moment of panic when I realized I wasn't 100% sure what voltage to supply to the rain gauge and it wasn't in my notes. Found this with a quick search and pasted it into my notes.

NOTE: the Default Slope of 0.254 is for if you want metric - mm of rain - because 25.4 mm = 1.0 inch.

Supply Voltage - anywhere from 5 to 12 vdc. My controllers have a 5 vdc output(Vref) to supply sensors with a reference voltage. Most of the sensors I'm using that for are analog and will output a variable voltage from 0 to 5 vdc in return. The RocketBombPlane for instance returns 0-5 with 2.5 being 180 degrees aka South wind.

The linear actuators that will open/close the sides and gable vents(and maybe end doors) are the same. Supply a reference voltage of 5vdc and get back a 0-5vdc reading depending on how far they're extended.

The rain gauge will just send the full 5vdc back as a short pulse.

[Qiviut]

Blooming now ... it was a birthday present to my dad Dec. 2022. It was a little sad looking after that, not blooming. Mom gave it some organic fertilizer & the plant perked up & appears to be a happy camper!

[FamiliarFace]

Beautiful!! The one I have is about 3-4 times the size of yours, and the same color. I did give mine a bloom booster squirt in January when it was on its second set of seasonal blooming. I haven’t fertilized it since then. I can see that this one of yours have several smaller blossoms ready to go. It may be unusual this year to have the blooms happening this long this year, but I am certainly enjoying it!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Within three days, the others stomped it flat.”

Well, Chickens are supposedly related to the flesh-eating Pterydactyle.

Nature is a cruel Mistress!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Very pretty! I love them all. I’m in the market for a white one, next time I happen to see one. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The ‘Bonnie Truck’ is like the ‘Ice Cream Truck’ to us Gardeners!

I’ve got my pocket full of quarters saved from my allowance, but I’m not sure if I can run fast enough to catch either of the those trucks anymore. ;)

P.S. My orchid is still blooming away. Just one more bloom at the tip to open; seven are open now. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Happens every year! More so the older I get. ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“You knew I was a Scorpion when you let me on your back to cross the river!” So true!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Beau was threatening to make a Dandelion Greens and Kale Salad the other day.

I might actually make one when the rain stops - the greens will be nice and clean, for sure. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

...and with enough salad dressing, ANYTHING can be a ‘salad!’ :)

[Qiviut]

I had only seen a pink one before we ended up with this peach one. No idea they even had a white one!

Three things off my list of 10 items to do before Thursday when my youngest brother is coming to visit & spend the night. The biggy of the 3 was getting ‘flat free’ tires on the cart the mower can pull. Of course, the bearings already in the tires were the wrong size (too small) so I had to get them out (screwdriver & hammer) & get larger ones in (came with tires) which took a hammer & piece of wood plus some serious pounding. It was also my first project in the shop at the new place - great place to work!

Very warm here today @ 83° so waiting for some shade to fall on my next outside project. As predicted by my cousin who lives nearby, when it’s cold the wind howls, but when it’s hot, nary a breeze!

[Pollard]

Still need to buy more frame but I figured it's time to price wiggle wire and track which is the only thing I hadn't priced yet.

Tunnel Vision(6.0') and Boostrap Farmer(6.5') are the cheapest wire/track combos and they're sold in qty of 10s basically. Can also buy them individually or BS farmer has a four pack. I need a minimum 228' which would be 35 pcs at 6.5' and 38 @ 6'. Might as well do the 40 pcs(240' or 260') since your always supposed to add an extra 15% for scrap. (228 + 15% = 260.2)

Tunnel Vision $244.30 + $65.99 shipping = $310.29 (240')

BootStrap $331.98 (free shipping) (260')

Just did the rest of the math based on 240' vs 260' and BS farmer is 2 cents less per foot. $1.27 vs $1.29

Bootstrap Farmer has PVC coated wiggle wire that's supposed to be a little nicer on the plastic. I would think it would be a little grippier too. They seem to put a lot of thought into their products, probably because they're farmers and use the stuff. The 6.5' works out perfect for that 15% extra.

6 mil poly film from bootstrap

32x40 for top $172.99
16x40 for sides $97.99
16x30 for ends $87.99

Plastic $358.97 + wiggle wire - $331.98 (free shipping on all)

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Throw some of these in there and call it $730 - They mate 2 pieces of chain link top rail at 90 degrees.

Actually need the brackets asap so I'll buy those today. Already found fence parts that fit my trusses. Come to find out, my frame is the same diameter as a chain link fence post, 2-3/8".

Bootstrap sells these but I've got a vise, hammer and drill so I can do the same to the ends of my cross braces, albeit not as pretty.

And last but not least is a smaller version of the bracket already on the tunnel frame but it fits the top rail.

I'll be able to do the angled pieces from the 1-3/8" cross members to the 2-3/8"frame to make an actual truss. The horizontal piece will be closer to the ground on mine. Close enough to reach and hang vines on lean and lower from lengthwise pieces or wire attached to them.

I just now found that last bracket($1.27 ea) and 90 degree cross bracket($2.41) this morning. I love it when a plan comes together. (See, I did work on the tunnel today:) On any of those band straps for the truss pieces, I'll be running 1-2 screws through them into the pipe so they'll never slide.

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Need 6 linear actuators at $150 ea.

Then there's gable vents to start thinking about. I can get 18" square with louvers that open/close for $75 ea. Two of the linear actuators will open/close the vents.

The purpose made item is $186 and it's 120 VAC. I'd rather deal with the 12 vdc actuators.

12 VDC Actuators - IP65 rated which means they can get rained on.(and they look way cooler)

I'll be making my own brackets or finding something cheaper because dayum they proud of those things.

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Then more drip system stuff, lean and lower components, shade cloth, row covers, wiring components, more input/output modules.

• Frame ($400)
• Plastic and wiggle wire/track ($700)
• Vents ($150
• Actuators ($800)
• Wiring components ($200)
• Modules ($500)
• Drip ($200)
• Shade Cloth ($160)

Just another $3,100 to go. Yep, gonna take the rest of the year @ $440/month. Frame next month. Wiggle wire/track June. Plastic July. Shade cloth asap after that. Sides will be open day and night from then until I get the actuators which will take the rest of July and August. Then it's gable vents and the wiring/automation stuff. Should be buttoned up by my Birthday in late Nov.

Next year's project is fixing up one of these 1950 Chevy trucks I have. Sell it use the money for the big project, building a real house.

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Finally got some wind to read. Initially, the log graph shows the last 24 hours

Saw that spike so I zoomed in to last night 6:40pm to 8:00 pm. A 48 mph gust at 6:54pm out of no where with a couple of 16 mph gusts right after. Must have been a little funnel trying to start up. Surprised we didn't hear it.

I've got it set to take a log when the wind changes by 3 mph or more because there wasn't much wind last weekend when I put it up. I need to change it to take a log when the wind changes by 7 mph or more or maybe 10 mph. That will make the graph easier to look at. The 3 cup anemometer doesn't start spinning until 3 mph.

On the real time monitor page, I've been looking at 0.0 mph all week every time I happened to look at it. I could see 5mph on the log. Nice to finally see a live reading now. Up until the day I installed it, we had 10, 20, 30 mph winds all the time for the past several months. Installed the anemometer and wind became 0-5 mph. Maybe I'll wait on installing the rain gauge so I don't put us into a Spring drought. Then again, I wouldn't have to take the long way out/in.

If I were ever to buy a high tunnel kit, it would be this 20' wide model from Tunnel Vision because it just looks aesthetically pleasing to me. Height vs width vs shape.

Four Seasons Farms(Elliot Coleman) has two 30x48 mobile tunnels made by Tunnel Vision.

[Pollard]

I hear ya. When it’s 30-40 degrees here, it’s usually 30-40 mph gusts. When it hits the 90s, no wind. Smack dab in the middle of the US with humidity like the Southeast.

[FamiliarFace]

Your pocketful of quarters is gonna have to be big and hearty to buy even one ice cream treat these days, and don’t get me started on the Bonnie plants!

We are on our way home from Ohio. Decided to just stop for a quick look around at the antique mall in Springfield, which is my favorite one, and where we seem to find many unexpected treasures. I found a couple more today! Someone was selling a blue teapot like my Mama had, and this one isn’t chipped. I have no idea who in my family got her original, maybe my oldest brother. I’m happy with duplicates if it’s something that brings back happy memories.

I also found a utility table that will be the beginning of my new potting bench! I will have to tweak it to make it be exactly what I want, but my creative juices have been going since first deciding that I needed something in better shape. The process has begun! I’m excited!

Across the street from the antique mall is a garden center that was VERY busy, and of course, the Bonnies were out in full force. I found some nice things to go into planters in various spots on my front path and porch. I didn’t go crazy. I limited myself to 8 plants! I will try this year to plant what I purchase quickly, and not go overboard. We will see how that works out.

[FamiliarFace]

I love salad. All kinds, and all dressings. I want to find a copy of that salad recipe book you shared before. I haven’t looked yet, but it’s on my list.

[Pollard]

...and with enough salad dressing, ANYTHING can be a ‘salad!’ :)

Ranch chicken is good stuff. I've drizzled Italian over chicken leg quarters and cooked it in a Dutch Oven over an open fire and that was good. Chicken leg quarter salad.

Just got back from the grocery store and they're loaded up with plants, including nice looking 8" tall Shisito peppers. Fist time I've seen them but we're a little behind out here in MO. Just looked at the receipt. $1.50 per 4" pot. I grabbed a couple and will be headed back for more, plus maters. (screw Bonnies and Lowes with their $6 per plants prices)

At $1.50 a plant, I'm growing as much as or more than last year durnit. They had a LOT of different tomato varieties, all good looking plants. I may do paste tomatoes after all. Don't have a food mill but stewed tomatoes works for me.

I was starting to get depressed, spending, spending, spending but hardly growing anything.

Also grabbed a mini bell pepper plant called mini snack aka lunch box, and a Carolina Reaper which held the Guinness record for Scoville Heat Units until 2023

I'll wrap something around the tunnel frame to exclude the goats and grow stuff down the middle so I can still work around the outside. $125 worth of pipe plus $25 for connectors this week and I can do the truss diagonals. I already have the horizontal pieces. I have enough misc field fence I can double up and have some chain link too to exclude goats. Won't be pretty but will work.

That reminds me; I need to go to the other grocery store and see what they have for seed potatoes. The goats won't mess with nightshades because they're poisonous to them.(they will eat tomato fruits though) I can grow a couple of rows on one side of the tunnel. They nibble on other poisonous plants around here but know their limits. Last batch of taters I grew, they left them alone, but the chicken scratched up the soil looking for bugs and damaged half the tubers. She's gone now though.

Just had to look at the receipt again. 1 @ 2/3.00 four times. So ya don't even have to buy an even number. Yeah, I'm going back for more of whatever they have in that size pot which is something the cashier mentioned. Didn't care about what the plant was. Just that size pot and scanned one barcode for all of them.

And they had Snow Crab on sale for $9/lb so I grabbed a 2lb package and big bag of frozen fries. Dinner. My dad was a lobsterman so I try and have a meal of Crustacean for my birthday but everything was high priced last Nov. No such thing as Maine/Mass lobster here so crab is the closest thing and $9/lb wild caught from Canada ain't bad.

Grilling/smoking meats are starting to drop in price for Memorial Day. Get it while they got it. I've got a big dead hickory that needs to come down and will be years of smoking wood.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’m really enjoying that book. So much info and lots of great salad ideas that work as MEALS, as well as lots of homemade salad dressing recipes.

Salad dressing is NOT hard to make. And homemade tastes SO much better!

As long as I give Beau some meat at each meal - he’ll eat all the salad I can throw at him. We only do two meals a day. A ‘brunch’ and then Supper. Veggies and dip or cheese and sausage is our afternoon snack (if we need one) while we try to demolish one another at Cribbage. ;)

I could live on salad and something off the grill at any meal! I am NOT a ‘Breakfast Person,’ though I was when I was in the Army. But, breakfast was at 6am after being up for a few hours beforehand. I burned EVERY calorie I ate back then, that’s for sure. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You are gettin’ ‘er done! Those high tunnels are the thing for extending the season - even growing year-round - and producing an amazing amount of food for fun and/or profit!