What did you do in the garden today?

[Acre4Me]

One garden bed prepped and seeded! Cabbage, onion plants, spinach, and peas.

Onions, strawberries, garlic, all looking great and growing well. Flower buds developing on the raspberry plants. Lentils (pic) a growing well.

Fruit trees: looks like we might get some nice Asian Pears. I see some that are a little larger than others on the tree. If we get several per tree, I’ll be happy with that. There were a few flowers here and there among the peach and nectarine trees and an apricot tree, but I see nothing now, so I’ll guess no fruit on those.

Moved a bean tower to a new location, which was hard bc it was hard to move around due to height and weight, and it went to one of the farthest beds.

A neighbor gave me these awesome wagons! Dad made them to sell, but passed away 6-7 years ago. Neighbor bought home from his mom bc she moved to a smaller place. So he wanted the space for his stuff, and no one else in his family needed these wagons. Bc we are always out working on garden, he thought we could use them!

Cute goat pics! They are just over 3 weeks old. Little girl (born under 2 lbs) is nearing 7 lbs!!

 

[cj2024]

Ah, duckweed, the glitter of the aquatic hobby. You can buffer your KH with crushed coral. Aquarium Co-op has it for a good price. I have to use it because of the same thing in my 75G tank, I never need to do water changes, just add water, and add coral. The coral is nice because it's a slow release and only buffers so high. the higher the pH, the less it decays, if your pH and KH get too low, it buffers up without hurting any fish or plants. KH stabilizes pH; if you run out of KH, your water pH crashes.

My local Home Depot sells crush coral sand where they sell cement bags. I am pretty sure it's cheaper than a pet store bag.

Thanks for sharing, it gave me an idea. I'll run some test on it. I used it before, but I forgot why i stopped using it. I think it made the water milky and I was too lazy to rinse it.

Coral chips or coral sand can indeed contribute to the carbonate hardness (KH) of freshwater aquariums. Let’s explore how:

1. Buffering Effect:
   • Coral chips and sand contain calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), which is a primary component of their skeletal structures.
   • When placed in water, they slowly dissolve, releasing calcium and carbonate ions.
   • These ions act as a buffer, helping to stabilize the pH and maintain KH.
2. Natural KH Enhancement:
   • As the coral material dissolves, it increases the KH by providing a source of carbonates.
   • This is especially beneficial for soft water (low KH) aquariums, where maintaining stable KH levels can be challenging.
3. Considerations:
   • KH levels should be monitored regularly to ensure they remain within the desired range.
   • While coral chips/sand can contribute to KH, they might not be sufficient on their own.
   • Other factors, such as water changes, substrate, and additives, also impact KH.

Remember to test your water parameters periodically and adjust as needed to create a healthy environment for your aquatic inhabitants!

 

[jerryse]

My local Home Depot sells crush coral sand where they sell cement bags. I am pretty sure it's cheaper than a pet store bag.

Thanks for sharing, it gave me an idea. I'll run some test on it. I used it before, but I forgot why i stopped using it. I think it made the water milky and I was too lazy to rinse it.

Coral chips or coral sand can indeed contribute to the carbonate hardness (KH) of freshwater aquariums. Let’s explore how:

1. Buffering Effect:
   • Coral chips and sand contain calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), which is a primary component of their skeletal structures.
   • When placed in water, they slowly dissolve, releasing calcium and carbonate ions.
   • These ions act as a buffer, helping to stabilize the pH and maintain KH.
2. Natural KH Enhancement:
   • As the coral material dissolves, it increases the KH by providing a source of carbonates.
   • This is especially beneficial for soft water (low KH) aquariums, where maintaining stable KH levels can be challenging.
3. Considerations:
   • KH levels should be monitored regularly to ensure they remain within the desired range.
   • While coral chips/sand can contribute to KH, they might not be sufficient on their own.
   • Other factors, such as water changes, substrate, and additives, also impact KH.

Remember to test your water parameters periodically and adjust as needed to create a healthy environment for your aquatic inhabitants!

I am old enough to remember when crushed coral was all we had for a substrate in the aquarium. That was mid 60s.

 

[jerryse]

Rain overnight. I need to mow when the grass dries. So much yard and garden work this time of year. Plus I want to go fishing. All of it weather permitting.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I trimmed the backyard yesterday. The grass is coming up in clumps and not really ready to mow. Trimming helped make it look much neater. The seedings and starts I planted yesterday look great this morning. Temperatures in the low 70’s again today. I just ordered more 6 foot bamboo poles for the pole style beans I will be planting. I agree @jerryse, so much to do this time of year. I miss my afternoon naps. Lol!

 

[fuzzi]

crushed coral, as I mentioned prior. Its fantastic for buffering KH and stabilizing pH.

Thank you. I did try it about 10 years ago, the KH hardly budged. Then I remembered a product that I had used back in the 1980s, Neutral Regulator, and haven't had issues since I started using it. I add it as my water conditioner when I do water changes. And I can also raise freshwater shrimp now!

Regarding my soil gardens...I got my first snap pea yesterday. Yum.

 

[fuzzi]

One garden bed prepped and seeded! Cabbage, onion plants, spinach, and peas.

Onions, strawberries, garlic, all looking great and growing well. Flower buds developing on the raspberry plants. Lentils (pic) a growing well.
View attachment 3815571

Fruit trees: looks like we might get some nice Asian Pears. I see some that are a little larger than others on the tree. If we get several per tree, I’ll be happy with that. There were a few flowers here and there among the peach and nectarine trees and an apricot tree, but I see nothing now, so I’ll guess no fruit on those.

Moved a bean tower to a new location, which was hard bc it was hard to move around due to height and weight, and it went to one of the farthest beds.

A neighbor gave me these awesome wagons! Dad made them to sell, but passed away 6-7 years ago. Neighbor bought home from his mom bc she moved to a smaller place. So he wanted the space for his stuff, and no one else in his family needed these wagons. Bc we are always out working on garden, he thought we could use them!
View attachment 3815572

Cute goat pics! They are just over 3 weeks old. Little girl (born under 2 lbs) is nearing 7 lbs!!
View attachment 3815573

Stop it! I don't want goats!


Nice wagons!

 

[Liz Birdlover]

One garden bed prepped and seeded! Cabbage, onion plants, spinach, and peas.

Onions, strawberries, garlic, all looking great and growing well. Flower buds developing on the raspberry plants. Lentils (pic) a growing well.
View attachment 3815571

Fruit trees: looks like we might get some nice Asian Pears. I see some that are a little larger than others on the tree. If we get several per tree, I’ll be happy with that. There were a few flowers here and there among the peach and nectarine trees and an apricot tree, but I see nothing now, so I’ll guess no fruit on those.

Moved a bean tower to a new location, which was hard bc it was hard to move around due to height and weight, and it went to one of the farthest beds.

A neighbor gave me these awesome wagons! Dad made them to sell, but passed away 6-7 years ago. Neighbor bought home from his mom bc she moved to a smaller place. So he wanted the space for his stuff, and no one else in his family needed these wagons. Bc we are always out working on garden, he thought we could use them!
View attachment 3815572

Cute goat pics! They are just over 3 weeks old. Little girl (born under 2 lbs) is nearing 7 lbs!!
View attachment 3815573

Your place is my vision of Heaven Looking Good!

 

[Minanora]

My local Home Depot sells crush coral sand where they sell cement bags. I am pretty sure it's cheaper than a pet store bag.

Thanks for sharing, it gave me an idea. I'll run some test on it. I used it before, but I forgot why i stopped using it. I think it made the water milky and I was too lazy to rinse it.

Coral chips or coral sand can indeed contribute to the carbonate hardness (KH) of freshwater aquariums. Let’s explore how:

1. Buffering Effect:
   • Coral chips and sand contain calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), which is a primary component of their skeletal structures.
   • When placed in water, they slowly dissolve, releasing calcium and carbonate ions.
   • These ions act as a buffer, helping to stabilize the pH and maintain KH.
2. Natural KH Enhancement:
   • As the coral material dissolves, it increases the KH by providing a source of carbonates.
   • This is especially beneficial for soft water (low KH) aquariums, where maintaining stable KH levels can be challenging.
3. Considerations:
   • KH levels should be monitored regularly to ensure they remain within the desired range.
   • While coral chips/sand can contribute to KH, they might not be sufficient on their own.
   • Other factors, such as water changes, substrate, and additives, also impact KH.

Remember to test your water parameters periodically and adjust as needed to create a healthy environment for your aquatic inhabitants!

Yup. I test water weekly with multi parameter strips but test my minerals monthly with the liquid tests. About every 6 months I do a 30-40% change on the 75G due to the GH beginning to build up. I clean my canister filters on both of my big tanks pretty regularly so I can feed the mulm water to the garden.

I could see coral sand causing milky water. I'm not sure how coarse it is, but giving it a thorough rinse before use would solve that. I would be hesitant to use a fine crushed coral that couldn't be put in the mesh bag to easily remove when needed. The stuff I use is worth the cost for my purpose. I hardly ever have to replace it and it rinses easily. My substrate is pretty much neutral at this point. Though my 40G has a bag of peat pellets in the canister to buffer the pH down slightly for the livestock and plants in it.

 

[muddy75]

Seeds not to surface yet