What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

Water daily, feed once a week, yeah.

Can be too cool or too wet. If the roots are too wet they stunt.
++++
DS just texted from allergist. He's allergic to the whole world. GEE where have I heard THAT before?!?!?
Been out potting more tomatoes. This is their last up-pot before they're sold June 1st.
I can only handle being out there for just over an hour, even in the shade and the wind. Then I'm in for at least 30 minutes drinking and eating.
I have about 80 plants to go. PHEW. The greenhouse is about to be full again. That feels good. Then it's just daily watering and checking.

 

[DParker75089]

In canning, you can denature the toxin by boiling canned item for a minimum of 10 min once removed from the jar. That is what I was taught, but haven’t verified that anytime recently.

Botulinum toxin actually denatures faster than that at those temperatures (5 minutes or less), but of course it doesn't hurt to add a little more time just for caution's sake.

 

[DParker75089]

I decided that the connection to my drip irrigation system was far too simple, so I added a fertilizer injector with some supporting hardware (a pressure regulator and a backflow preventer).

 

[gtaus]

Here's something that I've wondered. What kind of support do you have to have underneath to hold up what must be very heavy? 15 gallons of water is close to 125 lbs. Plus all the logs/compost/dirt. And what is the bottom made of so that it doesn't rot away?

I'm in awe of your planters, @gtaus.

Most people would use 4X4 legs. I used 2X4's for the legs. Yes, 15 gallons of water alone would weigh about 125 lbs., then you have to add in all the wet potting soil. My planter is 2X4 feet by 16.5 inches high and the 2X4 legs seem to be holding everything up well. Wood has a lot more strength vertically than it does laying horizontally. Even if my planter, filled with water, weighed in at 200 lbs., that still would make each 2X4 leg supporting only 50 lbs.

Other than the 2X4 legs, everything on my planter is made from 1X6 wood. The bottom of the planter is lined with a rubber liner about the same thickness as a pond liner. I had some old rubber roof liner that I used, but if you had to buy new, then look for a pond liner made for fish ponds. I went up the insides about 6 inches, but the water reservoir only needs to be 3 inches high. If you wanted to line the entire insides, then I imagine the wood would last even longer.

Like most everything you build for growing plants, you have to decide how much money you are willing to spend to get extra years of life out of the build. I bought regular 1X6 pine board, the cheapest option at the time. 1X6 treated pine would last longer, but cost more. 1X6 cedar board would last years longer, but at about 3X the cost. Again, I built these planters 3 years ago, before COVID, and the skyrocket price hikes in wood we have seen since then.

At the time of my build, even with the lower prices, it still cost me about $50 per planter just for the wood. Add to that the price of the 4 inch perforated drain pipes, the PVC pipes, and the liner, I think I had something around $80 into each planter.

IMHO, it was worth it because, in a normal year, I get more produce out of one 2X4 sub-irrigate planter (8 square feet) filled with beans than I got in my main garden plot which had about 48 square feet. And, last summer, we had a terrible drought and all my bean plants dried up and died in the main garden. I got no beans from my main garden last year.

If you are asking can you upgrade the materials on the planter to last longer, then, yes, that is certainly possible. But, at my age, if I get 5-10 years out of each sub-irrigated elevated planter, I will be more than happy.

 

[jerryse]

Back from fishing . Enough for a meal but no spawning yet for bluegills .

 

[vall]

All of my tender cuttings from Cali are in solo cups rooting. It's been dry enough that I needed to put bags over them. Only 50% humidity in Florida, go figure. Depot was out of peat moss last week so I bought the finest soil they had which was indoor potting soil.. hopefully it works. It's back in stock now so my dragon fruit cuttings will go in peat/perlite next week. Also need to find a couple loquat seedlings to graft my scions onto.

 

[MACCanadianCoop]

I popped down to the garden store on break and bought some *actual tomato* plants

 

[WthrLady]

182 tomatoes down. Only 72 left to up-pot for the season. I'm out of pots, so I'm going to cool off, hydrate, and go get some when I go to the grocery store.
90 Dewpoint of 71
I will have the AC in the truck set on penguin habitat.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

99 today, humidity back down to 30% so the icky sticky is going away. Maybe I can find some time to tend to my garden a bit later. Hey tomato people, quick question. My tomatoes sprouted, got about two inches tall and that's it. No progress, nor are they dying. Any ideas?

How long have they been at that height? Could be heat stress. Did you test the soil for nutrients? If you’re getting too much hot sun you may need shade them a bit.

 

[Sally PB]

It's hot out there today! 87, but at 22% humidity, it didn't feel nearly that hot.

I planted 30 more hills of potatoes; 18 blue Magic Molly (new to me) and 12 of the Elbas I have sprouting in the basement. Elbas have been my best producing potato. Big, and lots of them.

I planted my gift rhubarb and the two I bought. I gave them a good sized hole with compost and lots of water. Then compost mulch and more water. The gift rhubarb wilted from being dug up, but I think it'll be fine in a day or so.

I have 4 different kinds of basil sprouting in the green house, and a few marigolds too. Marigolds have been a wonderful addition to my tomato garden: the soldier beetles leave the maters alone. The flowers attracted Japanese Beetles, but that just meant another easy place to catch a bunch for the chickens!