What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

I've had my asparagus for about 4 yrs now. Last year was when I really began harvesting in earnest. I collected some awesome, tender, big, fat spears this spring... Then I noticed that certain areas, my crowns had not sent up a single spear. And a few new spears from areas that I collected from this spring have gotten about 5 inches out of the ground and then died. So I'm not sure what is going on there... I stopped collecting more spears to give the plants more time to grow & expand. I have both male and female plants.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Our large chicken run is split in two. Today I blocked off the right hand section because my evil birds are doing extensive damage on that side, and channelled them to the Far Side. They'll no doubt be lost and confused for a few days till they figure things out. There's only lilies and daffodils in these "gardens," so the only real damage they can do is by scratching and digging, but they were getting a little overzealous on their home turf.

Hole so deep only her head sticking up. HEY! You're killing my daffodils, you dope! Who, moi??? (The other girls are waiting under the "bus stop" for the #3 bus, which never seems to show up.)

 

[Smokerbill]

I think I understand how the wicking pad works. I have several sub-irrigated planters and they work great. I like the whole water reservoir concept which is used in my sub-irrigated planters.

But, back to my original question, if the wicking mat is keeping the soil in the seed starting packs moist, is there any difference between that wicking mat and just having a small amount (1/8 to 1/4 inch) of water in the tray all the time? In both cases, I would think, the potting soil will absorb as much water as it can until it cannot hold any more. I don't see any method that only allows the water up to seeds when needed. It's just a matter of if the soil can absorb more water, then it does.

I could be wrong. Maybe there is a difference.

In any case, the way I first was introduced to bottom watering the net cups was to fill the tray to about 1/4 inch full of water and stop. Then you leave the net cups in the tray for a few days as they drink up all that water. When the tray is dry, you wait another day or two for the potting soil in the net cups to dry out a bit, then refill the tray with 1/4 inch of water again to repeat the cycle. Each cycle is about 5 days for me.

That's the way I did it last year and was successful. I am doing it that way this year as well and my plants are growing well.

I have been interested in making my own self-wicking seed starting trays. There are a number of YouTube videos on this DIY project. If you have some of material laying around, you might not have to spend much money at all to make your own self watering seed starting trays...

@gtaus , this works just fine for me. Water the seed starting pots and the runoff wicks upward for a day or two. When the tray is dry and the soil mix feels slightly dry on top, I repeat the process. Sometimes, instead of watering from top down I'll pour water into the tray. Simple and next to no cost is the best choice for me.

 

[Minanora]

Ditto! Between work & the crazy weather, then these ole bones just pooped out...what I wanna do & what actually gets checked off of the "To do" list...yeah, I'm embarrassed

I don't think you should be embarrassed! The fact that you didn't overdo it is a huge accomplishment. I'm the queen of overdoing it on accident.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I don't think you should be embarrassed! The fact that you didn't overdo it is a huge accomplishment. I'm the queen of overdoing it on accident.

We always pay for it...usually by aching back lol

 

[Liz Birdlover]

BTW, googling drunken or alcoholic Rooster did not show me the cheese dome. There were quite a few images that popped up, though. Go figure!

 

[Yard Farmer]

I need to post some of my garden projects here!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@gtaus , this works just fine for me. Water the seed starting pots and the runoff wicks upward for a day or two. When the tray is dry and the soil mix feels slightly dry on top, I repeat the process. Sometimes, instead of watering from top down I'll pour water into the tray. Simple and next to no cost is the best choice for me.


View attachment 3810312

Are those styro trays?

 

[Smokerbill]

Are those styro trays?

Yes they are. I save styro meat trays from the store, and I bought this pack of 30 trays at Dollar General for a dollar. I'm set for life for foam trays. LOL

 

[Smokerbill]

Ok off topic question...so I donated some stuff yesterday & went inside, saw this for $2. Thought, ok cute, I can use it to cover pie. We usually bake the smaller pies. They had it masking taped together so I didn't open it. So I get it home...& it is just the exact size of the pie, so no, can't use it to cover the pie. Not big enough to rise dough, either.

My question is...what the heck is thing supposed to be used for anyway? Any suggestions?

View attachment 3810248View attachment 3810245View attachment 3810244View attachment 3810247

DH thinks I only bought it cuz a rooster was inside, lol, but no it was taped shut, didn't see Mr. Roo til I got home. Looks like Mr. Roo depicted there may be an alcoholic. So what's this thing for? Covering sliced fruit wedges for drinks? We need a better use for it than that! Give me ideas!

I wonder if that thing is oven proof? Maybe it could be used like a dutch oven for baking bread????

https://www.theperfectloaf.com/how-to-bake-bread-in-a-dutch-oven/