Weekly Garden Thread - July 1-7, 2023 - [Worm Composting 101 Edition]

July 1, 2023 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly 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.

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[Pollard]

I’ve got one that’s turning. It’s the red deuce hybrid I got from the Amish store. A commercial variety so I’m not expecting much for taste and they have thick skins for shipping and handling purposes.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You are so handy and inventive. You and Beau would really hit it off. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Good news on the Rhubarb! :)

[Pollard]

Blue collar guy who gets into techie stuff too. Can be dangerous. Maybe not such a bad thing with the times we seem to have coming. Working at a factory with huge machines that require a lot of automation definitely got the ideas flowing with the tunnel.

They build a lot of their own accessories that get tied into the automation system. Of course they use industrial level stuff that lasts decades in a punishing environment that us mere mortals can't afford. Also requires coding with a language called Ladder Logic. No graphic user interface.

Took this from the second story of a machine. You can see the plastic bubble coming up from an extruder.

This view is looking at the third story of another machine. It easily gets up to 140 degrees up here.

All this to make stupid plastic bags we use every day. They make a lot of the 1 lb ground meat tube shaped bags including most of them in the US that small processors use for deer, elk etc. This place has a $50k/mth electric bill and voltages are up to 440, 460, 480. Net zero isn't really a thing. It's just something they want to force on us peasants that work at these factories. Ain't no way you could run this place from solar/wind. You'd have to cover the entire small city and even then, there's no such batteries to run the place at night. We run 24/7.

That little blue relay is good for up to 105 degrees F. Everything will have to be on the North side in the shade, in a vented control panel/box with a cooling fan.(just like everything at work is) If we get a 110 degree heat wave? I don't know how they'll fare but nothing for consumer level is rated any higher. Underground vent pipe going to my root cellar to cool the control panel box? Just need a root cellar.

If it gets that hot, open it all up and shut the system down and bring the electronic components inside I guess.

[daniel1212]

Laser “death ray” kills weeds 80x faster than humans [VIDEO]

7/3/2023, 3:31:49 PM · by Red Badger · 38 replies

FreeThink ^ | July 3, 2023 | Staff

[tob2]

Oh how I wish I had room for a compost bin. The landlord said no and I have to go by their rules. Happy Fourth of July!

[Augie]

Good news on the Rhubarb! :)

The pie was fantastic. Mrs. Augie added some fresh blackberries. yum

[Pollard]

Got my alignment tabs welded on high tunnel truss #1 this morning to make it a jig for welding up the rest so they're all the same. Makes it a lot quicker too. Everything has surface rust so grinding to prep for welding takes more time than anything. They will all get some rust treatment and good epoxy primer when done. Some cheap white paint and felt tape on the top edges where plastic will touch. GreenhouseMegaStore has the tape.

17 foot tall before getting put in holes and 22 foot wide. Will be fun the stand them up and drop them in the holes.

• 16 foot extension ladder standing up in the bed of the truck leaning off the back.
• Couple of pallets to keep the foot of ladder from sliding towards cab.
• Cable from top of ladder to lower front anchors in bed to keep the top in place with lean out.
• Pulleys and come-a-long put together to stand truss up(rope) and pick it straight up(come-a-long), move truck up a little and drop it in the holes(come-a-long).
• One pulley at top of ladder and maybe a second one to double the mechanical leverage.

They call that block and tackle and each added pulley doubles your leverage. If one pulley up top and one at bottom are enough leverage, I won't have to work the come-a-long.

I think I can get the tunnel done enough in time to plant some Fall crops. If I keep the plants in the middle, I can still work on details on the sides and ends of the tunnel.

I looked into greenhouse/tunnel ventilation. They recommend one change of air every minute based on CU FT of tunnel volume. Figure this tunnel will be 7,000 cu ft so I need fan(s) that will do 7,000 CFM(cubic feet per minute). $1,000 or so. That ain't happening.

Haven't put much thought into end walls. Most people frame them in with wood but I'm already welding steel to build the trusses so it only makes sense to frame the ends in with steel. A minimal amount though so they don't get too heavy to handle and lift.

[Paul R.]

DRAT. A solid looking line of showers and t-storms (none severe) that was heading for us has largely fizzled. We are getting some very light rain - I doubt it's gonna total over a few hundredths of an inch... again.

Our little two day trip late last week had two bad consequences:

Our last layer of really jumbo eggs, an ISA Brown, got bound up & couldn't pass an egg and is now dead. I've harvested her & she'll be supper tomorrow. ISA Browns are the only breed that's given us this trouble - 3 of them so far... I guess there's a price for the birds themselves for those big brown eggs in quantity.

And... the half dozen butterfly weeds I had FINALLY got going in good shape got attacked by some sort of little tent caterpillars that are about 1/2" long. Maybe the caterpillars get bigger - don't know - but they did a number on the butterfly weeds. I expect half to not survive, but, we'll see. I didn't mess around with the caterpillars: They got a heavy dose of Sevin spray about 7 minutes after I noticed them, and another a couple hours later. (I usually only use Sevin spray in dire circumstances, and this was one!)

I've set up some leaf lettuce in a little used back basement room, under a grow light and we'll see how those plants do. Temps down there average 68-70 deg. F -- I guess we'll see if that's cool enough...

That Burpee seed starter soil I've been using -- unsuccessfully in a few cases -- talk about retaining moisture! In the case of the Bok Choy I was trying to start it's been 2 weeks since I watered it - I thought - moderately. This was for seeds I was starting in re-used 6-packs (the 6-packs originally had small tomato plants in them, long since transferred with all their original soil to the garden.) Anyway, one tiny Bok Choy is trying to grimly hang on in the 6-pack I was starting them in from seed almost 2 months ago. I thought "surely this needs watering by now." Nope - not only did the soil feel damp, I could squeeze out a little water between my thumb and forefinger, squeezing firmly. Amazing...

[Qiviut]

The (Wisconsin) Canary Bird zinnias are blooming - definitely a bright spot in the garden!

So “steamy” with heat/humidity - miserable to do much of anything outside. Grass needs mowing, but I will tackle that this weekend. At 7:30 this morning, I watered the garden well - still need to do the boxwoods probably, but they catch water off the roof where they are planted and I need to get under the pine mulch & see just how much moisture is in the dirt. The hydrangeas wilt every morning in the sun & as soon as the shade gets to them around 2 pm or earlier, they perk right up. My SIL’s hydrangea did this the first year after it was transplanted so I am not too worried about them.

Not ready for fall, but some lower humidity ‘fallish’ weather would be mighty nice - current trend of hot & humid is forecast to continue for a good while, so I’m just dreaming about friendlier temps.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Glad the Zinnia are working out! They are the biggest and brightest that I’ve found.

We had a scant 1/4” of rain late in the day, so I didn’t have to water, yesterday. Tomorrow, though, I will be hose-in-hand AGAIN, watering all the fruit trees. All this watering IS working because there is no fruit drop - which normally happens in drought conditions. “Abort! Abort!” LOL!

I have mowed only ONCE this season, so it’s been bone dry. Also, when your Sedum BEG you for a drink, you know there are problems!

Trip to town today to drop off donations at St. Vinnie’s and do some used book browsing and whatever other crafty things catch my eye to rehab.

The Bear Hunters have treed a few bear so far; it’s just practice now for them and the dogs - the shootin’ don’t start until October.

Took delivery of our newest puppy on Tuesday night, and she is a beauty. I’ll post some pix when I can. All black with brindle muzzle and feet. A real looker! Plott Hounds come in so many color combos, it’s ridiculous. Beau has been waiting YEARS for a pup from this bloodline, so he’s pretty excited. The older puppy, Arikara, is thrilled to have someone to tussle with all day; my elderly Beagles are kind of ‘over that,’ ;)

Garden-wise it’s still Weed, Water & Wait...and it will be for a while, though the beans are climbing rapidly and the zukes are performing well. :)

[Qiviut]

So a heavy garden watering this morning & what happens at 12:30? Thunderstorm! This is not the first time this has happened - I wonder if ‘pretending’ to water would have the same effect? Most of the rain passed us by, so the watering was not in vain.

I HATE shopping of any kind (well, maybe not for yarn) so I had to force myself to Aldi’s - no heavy cream for my coffee & a couple of other items needed. T-storm hit while I was in the store - was hoping the power wouldn’t go out before I could check out.

Got home & put on the coffee pot - turned to go to the fridge & sudden movement on the floor scared me so bad I let out a little scream! It was a tree frog - had likely hitch hiked in on all the hosta blooms mom cut off the other day & put in vases. Easily captured and released outside in a shady spot.

Enjoying my first but very late cup of coffee for the day - sun is back out, too.

[MomwithHope]

.

[Qiviut]

We just had a T-storm dump about 3/8th inch of rain. Still raining lightly, so it may end up closer to half an inch. Of course, I did a major watering yesterday....

What I love about this time of year is having enough of something coming in from the garden to make a meal. I am overflowing with Giant Marconi peppers, so tonight is “Unstuffed Pepper Casserole” to use them up. The recipe calls for a pound each of ground pork & ground beef .... pork is from a relative’s regenerative farm & the beef is (grassfed) Butcher Box. I upped the spices a bit - pretty tasty & once cheese is melted on top .... yum! :-)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Recipe, PLEASE!

I make a ‘Stuffed Pepper Soup’ that is to DIE for. Love it in the Winter months when everything I need is frozen or canned from the Summer garden. Yay!

Beau doesn’t really like ‘Casseroles’ and for someone raised in poverty who went on to better himself, I ‘get’ that.

But seriously? I was dirt-poor as a kid, too! You’ve read my MANY references here through the years to my Grandma and her way with, ‘Free Government Cheese’ so this ‘picky eater’ chit ends in MY kitchen! ;)

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/13378/stuffed-pepper-soup-iv/

P.S. I have enough Jalapenos on to make a batch of the baked Poppers this weekend that we’re all so addicted to here...thanks to YOU! :) (And seriously? THANKS!)

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240785/baked-jalapeno-poppers/

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“All this to make stupid plastic bags we use every day.”

Wow. I never knew! I try VERY HARD to bring my own reusable bags and boxes and totes when I shop, but for some reason I’m still over-loaded with plastic bags! (I blame Beau, LOL!)

My local Walmart takes back any plastic bags you want to stuff into their bins, but are they REALLY doing anything about recycling them?

Most likely not. :(

[Pollard]

Polyethylene is very easily recycled so I would hope the grocery stores are doing the right thing with them. In fact, this place I work for has a bin for employees to bring in grocery bags from home. They also get as many as they can from local businesses, one of which I know is a grocery store. They grind them up, melt them down, form them into new plastic resin beads and process them into bags. Colors are an issue so this place makes and sells 33 and 55 gallon trash bags in varying shades of grey to brownish grey. Heavier in mil thickness than anything you can get from the store.

The reason this small company has the recycling equipment is to recycle all their own scrap which can amount to 1,000s of pounds every month. Most of it is simply trimmings, not mistakes. Typical scrap rates are 5-7% of the new plastic film produced. Pretty sure most plastic film/bag makers do the same.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Don’t feel for a minute that you need to explain/justify any of this to me! :)

As Madonna sang so long ago, ‘We are living in a Material World and I am a Material Girl.’ ;)

[Qiviut]

So here is the recipe I came across & used:

Unstuffed Pepper Casserole
https://lowcarbyum.com/stuffed-pepper-casserole/

This was the first time I made this recipe & it was ‘ok’. It was pretty “juicy”, even though I drained the tomatoes well. I would prefer a thicker ‘sauce’ (there really is no sauce). I also used twice the peppers called for (I used 4 Giant Marconis instead of 2 bells).

It’s low carb because that’s what I have to do - I’m sure there are others that aren’t low carb. I often take ‘regular’ recipes & modify to get low carb (my Brussels Sprouts casserole is one I substituted to get to something low carb) ... might do it in this case.

I have some large jalapenos on my plants & bought a package of bacon on my Aldi’s trip that is in the fridge, not the freezer. I will probably do a batch of poppers this weekend ... it’s “time”! :-)

****************

LOL! I was looking up a “regular” recipe for unstuffed peppers & realized I left out the cauliflower rice - that would have probably made a difference.

Here’s a “regular” recipe that looks pretty good:

Unstuffed Peppers Casserole
https://www.thespruceeats.com/unstuffed-peppers-3061371

Looking through a bunch of these, I’m seeing ‘marinara sauce’, tomato sauce, tomato soup, etc. .... lots of ideas.

[Qiviut]

I had a couple of bites of the leftover unstuffed pepper casserole this morning (so I could take some Vit D - needs to be taken with fat). It was a lot better than last night - the flavors had really developed and come out. I think if you take the Keto recipe and add real rice instead of cauliflower rice, maybe some tomato sauce, it would be a very good casserole.