Due to previous server problems, I no longer maintain this blog. Instead, all of my current gardening activities can be found at  http://engineeredgarden.blogspot.com . Enjoy the remaining posts on this one, as they will remain for a few months. Take care

EG

Now that the rain has finally stopped, I was able to get out and do some more constructing on the new garden bed. The uphill side of the bed was the easiest one so far, because it only required on timber. I like that! I wish they were all that easy….

Now, for the long side on the back. It was done pretty much like the one in front, starting from the bottom side, and working my way up the hill. Once the pieces were put into place (and level), I drilled the holes for the pieces of rebar to go thru, which anchored them into place. Here are some photos from various angles. I’m very pleased with the end result, and any possible future expansions should be very easy.

Now all I have to do is install some corner brackets on the inside, then dig the insides out to a depth of around 16″. Most likely, there will be a 4″ layer of gravel put into the bottom, as insurance against possible drainage issues. I’ll show a picture of the new bed filled sometime before planting the watermelons and pumpkins later. Who says building something on a hillside is difficult? Hee Hee… Man, I can’t wait to grow “moon and stars”, “congo” (watermelons) and also 3 varieties of pumpkins in here.

This evening, tornadoes are expected in my area. I hope all of the bugs get sucked up by one. Ha!

Take care, and happy building!

EG

Since there are so many different lakes to fish around here, I decided to check the status of the crappie at Little Bear Creek lake. This was a solo trip, but I took the camera along, regardless. When crappie start moving into shallow water for spawning, you’ve gotta be on your toes, or you’ll miss out on the hot action. The first few trips of the year are usually not very fortuitous, because you end up spending all day searching for them. Due to all the rainfall for the past few days, the water was pretty muddy, but I was still able to catch a few small ones. Here’s some photos from the trip….

Here’s my favorite slough to fish in. As soon as the trees fill out, it will be quite beautiful.

Photo below - one of the many homes situated on the lake. I’m not sure if I would want to live here or not. There’s always strangers in your backyard..

Photo below - Swimming next to the big rock, is a water moccasin. I saw 2 on this trip, and also a groundhog, and 4 deer. It’s amazing what a person can see while in a boat. Anyway, this snake doesn’t know how lucky he was today. I’ve caught more than my share of them. Ha!

Photo below - this time of year, the lake is full of little bass like this one. Look at that little stinker, he thinks he’s already grown up or something. I’ll be catching tons of big ones in about 3-4 weeks. I prefer the ones in the 1-3 lb. range for eating, and don’t really care to catch one any bigger than that.

The trip only yielded 2 small crappie, and 2 small bass like the one above. Unfortunately, this is something a person must deal with, so they know exactly when the prime fishing has arrived. With the cold front that will move in tonight, it’s gonna be a little more time before they move back in to shallow water. I’ll probably wait another week, then try again.

Take care, and happy fishing!

EG

On Friday, I took a vacation day from my work to be a judge for the various 4-H competitive events at our county roundup. I arrived at 8:00 am, and watched the mass of kids unload from the buses from various schools in Franklin County. In a last minute decision, I was chosen with 2 more people, to judge the beef cook-off. About 25 kids prepared their own recipe with beef included, and we (judges) tasted each one, and asked questions about the preparation of it, and the ingredients within. Some of it was pretty good, too!

Here’s some photos from the day…

One of my favorite events was the extreme birdhouse competition. Check out some of these cool entries…

Here are some receiving their ribbons….

This little girl racked up! Just look at those ribbons…

About halfway through the award ceremony, the emcee had to call for the kids to be quiet. They were pretty rowdy! Ha. She asked, “who is making that noise”?! There was a little boy making a sound just like a duck, and it was loud! Hee Hee…What the emcee didn’t know, was that it was her grandson! Ha! Little stinker…I took his picture for her. That’s him in the red shirt….

It sure was a fun day, and I can’t wait ’til next year…

Take care.

EG

Since the landscaping timbers finally went on sale, I purchased 10 of them for constructing the pumpkin/watermelon bed. I built the trellises a couple of months ago on the hillside at the edge of the yard, with intentions of possibly building a box for them later. Two are for the wild blackberries, and that leaves the third for this raised bed. Since the trellis was already in place, all that needed to be done was construct the raised bed under it - splitting the difference on both sides. Yeah…I know most of you think that’s backwards (especially my good friend sinfonian), but that’s just the way that I do it…heh. Anyway, I wanted to construct a 4ft x 8ft x 12″ deep box, so that each of the plants will have it’s own 2ft x 2ft x 12″ section of soil to grow in. That should work very well, although the vines are gonna really be hard to manage, once they start attaching themselves to the trellis…That’s another story though.

Let’s start the construction. You want to start on the low end, and work your way upward. That allows you to stair-step the individual timbers, so that a minimal amount of digging will need to be performed. With tent pegs and twine, measure out 2 feet from the sides of the trellis posts, and push the pegs into the ground. No pythagorean theorem is needed here, because the 2 posts are the only reference point that is needed. These posts were aligned by string, when previously set in place. Anyway, after the strings are stretched between the pegs, measure the distance between the strings and posts - on both sides/ends. The pegs can be moved just a little if needed, to assure that the correct distance is achieved. In this case, I was looking for a measurement of 2 feet.

Now, since a landscaping timber is 3″ thick, 4 of them stacked would be perfect for the bottom side - totaling 12″. These pieces must be leveled, by removing or adding dirt from the small area where they will rest on the ground.

Now that they are level and centered in reference to the 4×4 post, it’s time to start laying the pieces along the long side. From the picture below, you can see that the landscape is really sloped. The elevation difference is exactly 12″ over this 8 foot span. Of course, a person could always dig a trench to lay the timber in, but by the time you get to the top end of the bed - the trench would be very deep….

What I like to do, is cut pieces into 2 foot increments - staggering them as they are laid up the hill. This eliminates alot of digging, uses less timbers, and also looks much better. In the photo below, I have laid a 2 foot, and 4 foot piece beside each other. As each piece is laid into place, I gain 3″ of elevation with the next layer.

Photo below - I dug a shallow trench, only deep enough to make the 2 foot piece level. This piece is butted up against the pieces at the bottom side of the box. I use the strings to keep the corner at a right angle, and use a framing square to check the corner as well.

Photo below - The land was sloped enough to allow me to stack 2 of the two foot pieces. That saved 3″ of digging right there…I like that!

Now for the next piece. I always lay the timber on the ground as it is intended to lie, then use the shovel to score the ground on both sides. This marks where the trench will be, and I can remove the timber, then dig.

Photo below - The four foot piece is laid on top of the other 2, and leveled.

Photo below - since the box is less than 8 foot long, it only requires one more timber to complete this side. From a distance, the timbers look like they just run into the ground. That’s what I was hoping for!

Here’s a view from the other side.

Now comes the hard part….Drilling through 12″ of timbers, then driving the 2 foot long pieces of rebar through them - and into the ground. This keeps them in place. From the picture below, you can see that the rebar is located about every 2 foot.

Well, there’s half of it finished. Time to stop by Lowes again, and get some more pieces of rebar! Yay! Maybe this blister will have time to heal, before the rest is finished. Ouch!

Once the entire box is finished, Me and Austin will dig the inside part out to a depth of around 16″. This will allow us to put about 4″ of gravel in the bottom, which will help with drainage issues, if any.

I hope that anyone doing a google search for building a raised bed on a slope will land on this post, and get some useful information from it. Please leave a comment, if it was helpful in any way….Thanks.

Take care, and happy building!

EG

We went on our first crappie fishing adventure on Sunday, and although pretty windy at times - it was a perfect day for it. Here’s what we fish out of - a 16 foot Polar Kraft, with a 50 hp Mercury on back. It gets us where we want to go, and even some places that nobody else will go - because most fisherman are afraid of scratching their pretty, high dollar boats up. Not me! I’ll take it into anything! Ha! See how scratched up the sides are ? This ain’t no beauty contest….

Anyway, we decided to go to Cedar Creek Lake, because the crappie are usually plentiful, and larger there too…. Here’s the first fish caught for 2009. A little striped bass caught by Austin. Doesn’t he look thrilled about it ?

Crappie have got to be one of the most aggravating species to locate, but once you find them, there’s usually alot bunched up together. They are quite finicky! The first 3 hours of the trip were spent trying this and that, and also moving from place to place. I decided to try some flooded timber, because the depth was anywhere from 4 feet to 30 feet, and had lots of structure. Here’s a photo of an interesting tree sitting in about 30 feet of water.

As you can see, there’s alot of timber to fish!

As I was retrieving a hook and float from one of these trees for Austin, I got my first bite of the day. It was a crappie, about 11″ long. Cool! That’s what we came for. In the livewell it went…

Photo below - I also caught a pretty nice bluegill, which was thrown back. They are very bony, and I really don’t like to eat them. Oh well…fun to catch, though!

Photo below - The wife got in on the act, too. Here’s a nice crappie for the livewell.

Photo below - Time to fillet the 2 fish we brought home. I normally would throw these 2 back, but hey, i’m trying to get 100 lbs. here….

Photo below - I decide to spare you the ugly part of fish cleaning, but wanted to show you the end result. We’ve got 4 fillets in the freezer now!

Now, the hard part is over - locating the crappie….I’ll go back again on Friday or Saturday, and the numbers should be increased significantly. I’ve installed a fish total over at the left of the page, so you can keep up with our progress. It’s by dressed weight, not overall fish weight. Honestly, 100 lbs. is gonna be difficult to do, but we’ll see if it’s possible. Wish us luck!

Take care, and happy fishing!

EG

When you have accumulated more tools, gadgets, supplies, etc. than you have room for - it’s time to build something to keep them in. Oh…if you could see what a mess I have, you’d be shocked. Ha! I just can’t help it…..when a person does all of the various things that I get into, it just creates a huge pile of “stuff”. For instance, think about all of the tools/supplies you have accumulated for gardening. Now, think about fishing, carpentry, hvac repair, plumbing, etc. See what I mean? It’s unreal!

So, EG is gonna build a very nice shed to keep everything in, and take pictures along the way! Somewhere in the background, I can hear John whispering “build a greenhouse”. Nope, not gonna do it. Heh. I don’t have the location for it, and I don’t want people to be able to walk by and admire my tools! It’s all about the tools…..

Anyway, it’s gonna be 8×8, and have a place to do all of my seed starting next year. Oh yeah…it’s gonna be nice! This project will likely occupy several posts before completion - maybe 6-8 ? I really don’t know. Anyway, let’s get started!

Step #1 - Figure out what type of flooring you will have. A couple of years ago, I had constructed a platform that was 21 feet long, and 8 feet wide - for the sole purpose of setting (2) 8 x 10 metal storage buildings on. I have already purchased, assembled, and installed one by myself - for keeping seasonal household items in, but I don’t intend on buying another. Crap, that thing had like…fifty eleven pieces to it! No, really…it takes a 6 headed Mexican to put one of those together! Besides, it just doesn’t have enough roof height for my tall stature. I keep hitting my head. Ha! Ouch…see? I just did it again….heh. Anyway, the subfloor is already there.

Instead, I’ll construct my own, and locate it on the remaining section of platform. One thing’s for sure….we’re gonna have to draw it first. I always draw my construction projects, then build. It’s easier to correct the mistakes on paper, than in the real world. Here’s my overhead view drawing for three of the walls, and the lines represent the stud centers - which will be on 16″ centers. It’ll require 27 each, 2×4x92-1/2″ boards to get this much done. I forgot the wall cap when I did the drawing…/sigh….see what I mean?

I’ll get this part constructed, then draw the front wall that has the door in it. This is gonna be fun!

Also, i’m about to start constructing the 4×8 bed underneath one of the new trellises. It’s gonna be used to grow pumpkins and big watermelons in! Yeah….I may have alot of passersby checking out my melons…Ha!

This is gonna be a pretty busy year with building things, because I have a large planter to build for the wife, also. That’s ok…I’m ready!

pssst! We may go fishing this weekend! Woo Hoo!

Take care, and happy building!

EG

From all of the building projects I do around the property, most of you probably think I am a carpenter by trade, but no… it’s just a hobby of mine. My actual trades are Air-conditioning/Refrigeration repair, and Industrial Electrician. For 26 years, I’ve studied, repaired, and installed every kind of system that you can think of. Being in these 2 fields has allowed me to be self-reliant, especially when things happen to our appliances at home. I really don’t like working on appliances, but I’m certainly not gonna call someone to fix them for me! That would be costly, and just downright weird…..Ha!

Anyway, a small problem arose with our refrigerator, and I thought maybe it might be helpful to some, if I blogged about the repair experience. I’ve literally known people to throw a refrigerator away for this problem, because they thought something was really wrong with it. I’ll give you the symptoms that my wife explained to me….

She noticed water in the floor in front of the dishwasher, and felt that it was the origin of the problem. So, I got my flashlight out, and monitored the dishwasher through a complete cleaning cycle. Not one drop came from it. The next day, the water was back. Hmm…. After a few minutes, I discovered that the water was actually dripping from the refrigerator. Because I’ve encountered this problem countless times throughout my 26 years of tinkering with these things, I immediately knew what was going on. Opening the door, I looked to the crisper section - and sure enough, the crisper drawers were almost floating in water. I had myself a stopped up drain.

I’ll explain what actually causes this to happen, as well as the effects it can have on the normal operation. A frost free refrigerator has a defrost timer, which energizes a small heating element embedded into the evaporator, for the duration of about 6 minutes every 6-8 hours. This melts any frost/ice buildup on the coil, so that proper air circulation can occur through it, and heat (yes, I said heat) inside the refrigerated space can be readily absorbed into the cold liquid refrigerant inside the evaporator. This sequence of events is what makes a refrigerator “frost free”. The water from this process is directed into a drain system that takes it to a catch-pan located underneath the refrigerator, where it is evaporated by the heat that’s created from natural compressor operation. Well….if the drain gets clogged somehow, the water can’t adhere to this normal routine, and has to go somewhere else. So, everytime a defrost takes place, water collects in the very bottom part of the internal cavity - which is where the crisper drawers are located. Now, EG ’s gonna show everybody how to fix this problem. Woo Hoo!

After all of it’s contents are removed, you’re gonna want to take the fridge outside. Doing so will allow you to correct the problem more easily, and also perform some preventive maintenance, as well. Fortunately, I have an appliance truck for moving it in and out of the house. I bought this thing when I was 18 years old, which at the time only cost me $212. As you can imagine, it’s got alot of miles on it!

The first thing I always do, is give the entire refrigerator a good washing - both inside and out. I was taught to only use Ivory dish washing liquid, because it helps keep the door gaskets soft. So, all of the racks and crisper drawers were removed, and with a good rag, bucket full of soapy water, and the water hose - me and my stepson Austin thoroughly cleaned it. This is so much easier to do outside, where you don’t have to worry about making a mess.

Only one more thing to clean, and then it would be time to access the stopped up drain. The condenser coil is either located on the backside of the refrigerator, or underneath. Keeping this coil clean is perhaps one of the most critical preventive maintenance procedures a homeowner can perform. A dirty condenser will cause your compressor to work a whole lot harder than normal, and this will be reflected on your utility bill. It will also cause your refrigerant suction and discharge pressures to rise, which raises the actual boiling temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator. Things won’t freeze as solid as before, and stuff like that….

Anyway, here’s a picture of the condenser - which is located underneath our refrigerator. Man…just look at all of that! We have cats indoors, and their fur gets all over the place. Everyone’s condenser coil at one time or another will look just like this one. It just happens.

Most people use a vacuum cleaner to remove all of the dust/lint/hair from the coil, but that doesn’t do a good job at all. A water hose will make it look brand new, though! Just look at the difference…

Now, for the hard part….removing the internal panels without breaking them. If a solid block of ice has formed on the bottom piece, don’t even try this. It will break every time, because remember…it’s made from thin plastic. First, I need to remove the icemaker. It’s fastened to the inner wall by three screws. Once they are removed, the electrical connector is unplugged from the icemaker.

Now that the icemaker is out, The bottom piece of the freezer compartment must be removed. It’s fastened by two screws. Here’s one of them….

Once the bottom piece has been removed, it’s time to remove the panel in the back of the freezer compartment. This is where the evaporator is located. Before removing it though, I can already see the blocked drain hole. It is located to the right side of the air duct - directly below the backpanel.

Here’s a closeup of the drain hole frozen over.

The backpanel was removed, and the water hose was used to melt all of the ice buildup. Don’t be scared to do this….the water won’t hurt a thing. Just make sure it’s not plugged in when you do it!

Now that the evaporator has been exposed, you can see the collection point for the water. If the drain hole becomes clogged somehow, all of the water from the defrosted evaporator will back up, freezing into a thin sheet of ice. This makes the water spill over into the bottom compartment. All you have to do is melt the ice away, then make sure the drain line is clear. From past experiences with this problem, I recall almost every blockage was due to a small piece of foil or something getting in the drain hole. Just take a water hose, and completely thaw all of the ice, even directing the water into the drain hole. It will eventually remove the clog.

The clog was finally removed, and you can see the water really coming out of the drain tube, now! Man, I’ve got to clean this section, also. It’s amazing how dirty a refrigerator can get from standard usage. Blech!

Then, me and Austin finished cleaning the various removable shelves and drawers from the fridge, and assembled everything once more. I just put the shelves where I think they go, and my wife will re-position them if I’m wrong. Anyway, it’s nice and clean! When we were finished, I asked him what he thought about the job. He thought it was easy….Cool, maybe I can get him to do all of the work next time! Ha!

I hope this will help some of you in the future, even though it’s not pertaining to gardening. I’d like to blog about stuff like this from time to time, because I would like to think that some of my readers might find stuff like this useful. Any feedback is always welcome, and I would be glad to answer any questions - technical or not. Yay!

Take care.

EG

I received an award last night at the 4-H Centennial Celebration Banquet held in my county, and it was quite unexpected. Since I am a 4-H volunteer leader, the award was for outstanding volunteerism in my community. Man…that was nice! The banquet was well organized, and the food was good, too! Katernia and her staff did a great job at coordinating the event, which honored the late Dr. Luther Noble Duncan. He was a native of my county, and became the president of Auburn University - where he actually pioneered the 4-H program for the state of Alabama.

On the gardening front, everything in the garden is doing exceptionally well, and some of the foliage on the potatoes are in plain view. Cool! Best I can tell, some of the outer leaves on the collards will be ready to harvest in about 3 weeks. Mom and Dad will love that….

I’m gonna try to take a few photos this weekend, but that’s only if the rain lets up for a while. Between Thursday night and Sunday afternoon, we are expected to receive from 2-3″ of rainfall. The garden and orchard will love that! And it’s a slow, drizzling rain, too. Cool!

I looked at the seedlings last night, and they are improving. Whew….that was a close one! Only thing is, the Mortgage lifter seedlings are getting really crowded now. The seedlings on the shelves are still doing well, but some of the toms are gonna need to get on with it! Man….only 4 more weeks, and my propagation will be complete. I can’t wait. heh. Hey, this has been really stressful! That’ll also be the same time that the self watering Earthtainers will be assembled, then put into action. I can’t wait for that..

Concerning the compost, those pine needles are still not as decomposed as i’d like for them to be. No more pine needles for me….

I’ve decided that after the current propagation is complete, I’ll start propagating some flowers for our own use. Marigolds will be the main variety, but there may be more as well. I’d like to put lots of the marigolds around the plants in the garden, because I’ve read that they are excellent as a deterrant for pests. The mexican bean beetle hates them, so i’ll definitely try to put some around the pole beans and cowpeas.

Hopefully, today’s rain will let up so I can play with Jude. This is her the other day….she’s ready for more. Ha!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

I wanted to post this today as well, because the seed tower post was kinda boring, I figured. Anyway, here’s a little bit about my vermiculite. Enjoy!

Anyone that is just getting into square foot gardening quickly realizes one problem with using “Mel’s Mix”….getting your hands on vermiculite can be a challenge. When I initially filled my beds, I was elated to find some 4 cubic foot bags at my local farmer’s cooperative, even though it was medium grade. And sure, it worked great! Recently, as most of you already know - I was able to get the course grade vermiculite at the same store. I didn’t know what the size difference was, but as soon as the bag was opened, it was astounding! Here is a photo I took of the different materials that I currently have on hand. From left to right…perlite, course vermiculite, and medium vermiculite. Big difference, huh?

Photo below - Lots of folks ask me what my trellises are made of, so I decided to take a closeup photo of the material in place. It is located in the garden center at Lowes, has 2″ x 3″ openings, and comes in a 4ft x 50 ft roll. It is used exclusively in our garden for trellises, and the removable fencing.

One of my good friends in the Master Gardener class had asked me about my fencing, and I promised them I would show them how they were constructed. Here’s a direct link to the post wrote last year. Enjoy! http://engineeredgarden.thegardenjournals.org/?p=216

One of the things on my ” to do ” list this weekend, is to make a small repair on our refrigerator at home. I plan on taking photos as I go, and next week will devote an entire post to it. I’ll try to include several tidbits of information, but it may be a little lengthy!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Man, that little snow storm that blew through here over the weekend packed a pretty good punch! If I’m not mistaken, it’s snowed here 3 times during this cold weather season….That’s crazy! Although it’s pretty to look at, I can’t stand it. I’ve seen enough snow in my lifetime, from all the traveling I used to do all over the country - while working as an Ammonia Refrigeration service technician. Blech!

But, when you have to deal with it occasionally, there’s only 2 options for using it to your advantage:

1. Make a snowman, like ribbit and her family

or….

2. Make snow cream! Woo Hoo!!!!!

Ok….if none of you know what i’m talking about, it tastes VERY good, and is kinda like a slushy/grainy homemade vanilla ice cream - without all of the hard work. People have recipes and stuff, but we don’t use one for ours, just add the ingredients to taste.

My Momma showed me how to make it, and we use Milk, snow, imitation vanilla, and sugar.

First, I add enough milk to make the snow clump, as in the photo below. I also pour a generous amount of vanilla in there - then fold the mixture with a plastic spoon.

It’ll look like this.

Then, add a generous amount of sugar, then fold that in, as well.

Photo below - the snow melts pretty quick, so you keep adding vanilla and sugar…tasting the mixture as you go. Once it’s about right, I place the bowl into the freezer, to stop the melting process.

After 3 or 4 hours in the freezer, it should be stiff enough to spoon into bowls. That’s when the best part takes place - eating. Only thing is, it will melt pretty fast. That’s when the brain freeze of a lifetime happens! Ow! I had to stop several times while eating this bowl full. Jude (our german shepherd) eats it with ease, and LOVES IT! Man, I don’t know how she does it……Now, maybe this post will encourage my good buddy sinfonian to make some for his little ones sometime. Don’t let ‘em eat it too fast, though!

Ok. Now. The Alabama Master Gardener class this week was about vegetable gardening. This was the topic I have been waiting 5 weeks for! Only thing was, at the end of the class - I realized that all of the research that I had done over the past year about gardening had already exposed me to everything the class covered. Man……all of the previous topics were new to me, and I absorbed all kinds of new information. But not this one…Oh well, at least I’ll ace the test next week. BTW, If I made a hundred on this week’s test about herbicides ( and i’m pretty sure I did ), then that will give me an overall average of 97.8 so far. Not bad for an ol’ country boy. Anyway, that’s the extent of my Master Gardener experience for the week. Take care.

EG

I got up early on Saturday morning, and drove to my local Co-op to pick up the Perlite I had ordered at the beginning of the week. It was the final ingredient for making our own “Pro-Mix”, the popular growing medium that everyone is talking about these days. It was a dreary day because of the rain, but I was tickled to get my hands on this big bag for only $13.97. Here’s a photo -

Since I don’t have any storage room left in the outbuilding to keep it in, I went ahead and bought 2 more barrels. One will hold the vermiculite, the other - Perlite. That way, the 2 ingredients can be kept outside, and won’t be harmed by the elements.

While in their warehouse, I noticed there was another bag of vermiculite just like the one I purchased last week. Hmm….I may have to go back and get it, because the 4 cu.ft. bag only filled the barrel up halfway. That should give me enough to last quite a few years! What do you think?

In other news, a few of the buds on the Santa Rosa Plum tree have opened, and that was what I was afraid would happen….The temperature tonight will reach 19 degrees, and I won’t be able to cover it, because the wind is gonna blow pretty steady. Boo! Stupid global warming……I doubt there will be any plums this year.

The photo below reminds me why I never half-way do anything. The 20-30 miles per hour wind gusts uncovered everything….

Photo below - my collards are somewhere under the snow.

Photo below - I won’t be turning the piles anytime soon. Stupid snow….heh.

Needless to say, I didn’t feel like turning cartwheels. But, at least the snow made somebody happy….Jude. Just look at that stinker! Oh, she thinks it’s big stuff!

EG

The decision is final…..I’m going to construct some hoop covers for my main box. It’s the only way three separate crops will be possible in my area, because of the very cold winters and my choice of veggies. Although they won’t help with the current planting, i’ll be ready for the fall crop. In the “All new Square Foot Gardening” book, Mel illustrates 2 different designs. The “covered wagon” design is most commonly used, but isn’t the ideal choice for our garden. This is because of the raised bed’s physical characteristics. Instead, the “dome support” is more suited for it, and that’s exactly what i’ll build.

The first thing to do, was walk out to the garden and figure out how many could be installed in there, as well as how they might be fastened. Of course, cosmetics will be important to me, but ease of installation/removal is important too. I know people driving by think “That guy is just plain weird, because he’s always out there just looking at that garden…”  Ha! I have to be in “the zone”…so I can run all of the possibilities through my mind. Unlike most people, I can envision each step of a project completely from start to finish - then plan, order materials, and complete the construction of it based on the steps imbedded in my memory. Yeah….i’m weird! Heh.

Anyway, I’ve decided to construct 3 separate domes, each covering a 4ft x 4ft area. The entire garden will still be planted, but the most important cole crops will be placed in these 3 zones.  Here’s a picture of the pvc framework from the book…..

Mine will look pretty much the same, but several enhancements to the design will make it even better. Ease of installation/removal is perhaps the most challenging attribute to address, so - it takes priority. I like to get the hard stuff overwith first, so the remaining issues can easily be addressed.

Anyway, a trip to Lowes was necessary to see what materials were available for it, and the plumbing department would be my first stop. After browsing through all of the connectors and clamps, the items were purchased, and I had myself a plan! The construction details will be posted sometime over the next couple of weeks, because a project for the cub scouts will needed to be completed first. Yep, I’m gonna build a Trebuchet! It will be very small, but they’ll still think it’s cool! Little stinkers…..heh.

Now…I wanted to share some more tidbits from this week’s class on weeds, and their control.

Dacthal is one of the few herbicides that are recommended for use in a vegetable garden. Vegetables vary in their tolerance or sensitivity to herbicides, and this fact limits their use in most gardens. Three vegetables that are too sensitive for the use of Dacthal are :sweet corn, lima beans, and okra. It is safe with broccoli, greens, cabbage, cucumbers, kale, peppers, potatoes, snap beans, southern peas, squash, and tomatoes.

Also, the most effective ingredients you’re looking for on the label of a herbicide for weeds in your lawn are - Dicamba, MSMA, and 2, 4-D. Always read the label for proper instructions on use.

Oh! I bought a moisture meter today, and checked the moisture level in the cups that have the tomato seedlings that show signs of yellowing leaves….I’m watering them too often! Whew….that makes me feel much better. From now on, i’ll always check the moisture level of each cup before watering. Yay!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Now that it is complete, let’s address the issue of adding water to the swp. As most people know, if there’s alot of swp’s grouped together that have large tomato plants growing in them - it’s kinda like a jungle of growth. A person has to kneel down to position the end of the hose into each fill pipe, while keeping the foliage out of your face the entire time. One way to make this task easier, is to install some type of automatic level control device on each swp. That’s not too expensive to do, if you don’t have many swp’s…..but what if you have lots of them to fill? That could get expensive really quick! You know….I’ve got 8 of them, myself…and certainly wouldn’t want to have to buy something for all of them. By the time I bought 8 little float valves, and various connectors to attach a pressurized water supply to them - it could easily cost over $100 just for keeping them filled. That got me to thinking, and doing some research on the subject. I wondered if there was a way to use one level control device to control the water level in several swp’s at the same time….Ya know what? There sure is….by using the siphon principle that was discovered in ancient times by mathematicians and philosophers. Man, those guys were smart! It uses both gravity and atmospheric pressure to lift water over very high arches, and as long as there is no air present in the tube/pipe/conduit - the water level in two different containers will always equalize. So, let me show you how it’s done….

For this demonstration, I decided to use an orange colored liquid for easier visualization. I’ll position 2 clear glasses side by side, and fill both to the same level.

Now, with a very small clear tube, i’ll siphon some from one glass, immediately placing the end of the tubing into the second glass as soon as a siphon is achieved. If done correctly, there will be no air bubbles inside the tube, and the orange liquid will remain in the tube, even though it is arched upward. Now that the 2 masses are in unison, any adjustment to either glass should cause a corresponding change in the other.

So, if I were to add more liquid to the glass on the right, this creates a weight differential between the two liquid masses. Since the siphon has no bubbles inside the tube, the contents of both glasses are actually as one. A combination of gravity, weight, and atmospheric pressure causes the heavier mass of liquid in the glass on the right to overcome the lighter mass of liquid in the left. Here’s a picture of the glass on the right with a significant amount of liquid added to it.

See the air bubbles in the tube? The drink is of course carbonated, and the tiny bubbles eliminated the siphon. So, I just waited for the drink to go flat, then went through the process again.

After a few minutes, the levels of the two glasses have now equalized. That’s pretty cool, huh?

So, you can see how a larger tube can be used to “connect” several swp’s together now - making the reservoirs one continuous body of water. If the water level in one drops, all of the others will make up the difference, until they all become equalized again.

 I plan on using this same method for keeping my 31 gallon totes filled, too - and will use a 1/2″ hose for the siphon tube. For the water makeup unit, there’s an old 16 gallon container in the shed, that’s just the right size for maintaining the big totes. All I have to do is keep the water level in the makeup unit at a sufficient level, and it will take care of the rest. That’s gonna be suh-weet!

After performing the siphon test, I decided to make a couple of swp’s from cat litter buckets. Hey Granny! Now that is being “green”. Ha! These smaller swp’s will be used to grow jalapeno pepper plants, so Lin and Kim can make some stuffed jalapenos the next time they come to our house. Woo Hoo! Come on down….

 For these swp’s, i’ll use a 5 gallon bucket to act as their water makeup supply. All that I have to do, is position all 3 containers onto a common level plane, then control the level in the makeup container. These swp’s will get their first opportunity to grow something around the first of May. I figure 2 plants will yield enough peppers for our needs.

Well, there you have it -  the completion of the swp project, and I hope it has been helpful. I’d like to thank Mr. Ray Newstead, for sharing his knowledge about constructing homemade self-watering containers. Alot of his ideas were used in this design. Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

February is the recommended time of year to prune most fruit trees/vines in Alabama, and I didn’t think it would ever arrive! After close inspection of everything, the Muscadine vines are the only thing that actually require any this year, and they need it bad! During the first 3 years, it is acceptable to let them grow out of control, and that’s exactly what I did with these vines last year. Oh boy….they certainly showed out! No problem, though - it’s actually quite easy, once you learn how to do it correctly. There are lots of articles on the internet about pruning, but most are quite lacking, and don’t paint a clear picture of the process. So, today….EG is gonna show everybody!

The first thing to do, is to remove any spurs from the main trunk. Just look at this twisted mess. There’s only supposed to be 2 arms going up to the top of the cross piece.

Photo below - this tiny thing is a bud. It will produce fruit later.

Photo below - The large wood is called an arm, and the small piece growing from it is called a spur. A properly pruned vine will have spurs like this one, that have been cut off - with only 3 buds remaining.

Also, spurs that come off the top of the arm are ideal, as these 2 are. You don’t get many like this, though….Ha!

Photo below - This is called girdling. The tendril has wrapped itself around this arm, choking the life out of it. These have to be removed before they cause problems.

See how much damage that little tendril did? Tendrils don’t mess around.

Photo below - Here’s one of the vines, after pruning. It looks much better!

And, all of the spurs were removed from the arms leading up to the top of the trellis. Some mid-season thinning will be needed to keep this from happening again.

See the “wet” looking wood? That is called “bleeding”. It is caused by sap that leaks from the cut, and amazingly, it doesn’t harm the plant at all.

Photo below - here’s the pile of everything that was removed. Man! That was alot!

The Master Gardener class covering fruits a couple of weeks ago was priceless, and made this pruning successful.  Mr. Andrews did a great job in showing how to prune all kinds of stuff.If you have vines, and live in zone 7 (like me), now is the time to do your pruning.

Speaking of the MG class, this week’s topic was soil. We actually did a satellite link to Auburn University, where Dr. Mitchell gave the 4 hour presentation live to our extension, as well as the extension in Pike County. It was cool! As you might expect, we learned everything there is about soil, but my favorite part was about fertilization. I learned alot! A small tidbit from the session…..Everybody has their own thoughts about what tomatoes need in a way of fertilization, well the most important nutrient it needs is potassium. Looking at the NPK value on a bag of fertilizer, you would want the K value to be highest, with the N value being a little less - and the P value to be very minute. I also found out why cotton grows so well in Alabama. It’s because of the typical red-colored soil we have. The characteristics of this soil causes it to drain very well - a must for good cotton production. Anyway, this was valuable information, for sure….

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Now that the fabric has been trimmed to size, we need to install a pipe for adding water to the swp. A fairly large pipe is normally used for filling most self watering planters, but a much smaller pipe will work just as well, once you understand all of the possiblities with water movement.  

After measuring the total height of the swp, a piece of 1″ pvc pipe cut to a length of 16″ is about right. The bottom of the pipe should be cut at an angle, so it can rest on the bottom of the reservoir without becoming restricted.

This pipe should be located to one side of the swp, so that it will not interfere with the growing plant later. Again, a hole saw is used to make the cut, but this will require a 1-1/2″ hole saw. I had to purchase one of these, because it was the only size I didn’t have.  Bummer… The fabric will also need a small notch cut into it, at the location where the 1″ pipe will penetrate it. Also, draw 2 lines across the diameter of the bottom of it. (This would have been easier to do before the center hole was cut out, but I forgot. Oops!) I obviously needed another cup of coffee before making these lines, too. I think I was still asleep. Ha! Now, make a mark on each line, exactly 1/2″ from the outer edge. Drill a 3/16″ hole at each new mark.

Now, to address the issue of supporting the weight of the plant, as it grows. There are alot of different ways to accomplish this, and probably the easiest would be to just place the planter next to something that can be used as a trellis of sorts. This could be a fence of some kind, or a post in the ground, and even might be a tomato cage that has it’s support legs pushed firmly into the ground, around the outside of the planter. I think any of those would work very well. But, I’m gonna do something different with this one, because I realize some people live in large cities, and might not be able to use any of the methods previously mentioned. So, let’s fasten a tomato cage to the planter itself. This is the four legged, 54″ cage most commonly used for supporting tomato plants.

Invert the tomato cage so that it rests on it’s top hoop, then make a mark on each support leg, exactly 1″ from the end.The next thing to do, is to install a 1/8″ wire rope clip on each leg, exactly on this mark. Be careful to not overtighten the small nuts, because the clip will break in half from too much pressure.

Take a plastic bucket lid, and cut the inner part out with some tin snips. I drilled a 1/2″ hole to help me get it started. Once it is cut, slide it over the legs of the tomato cage, so that the top side of the lid is pointed down. The purpose of the lid will be to hold a piece of white garbage bag in place, which will cover the soil. This will help minimize evaporation of the moisture from the growing medium, and will be installed after filling.

Now, take the inner bucket and insert the legs of the tomato cage into the 3/16″ holes. Once into place, install a wire rope clip on the remaining part of the legs that are protruding from the bottom side of the inner bucket. Here’s some photos for better explanation.

Here’s the way it should look.

Now, reassemble the swp as before, and the cage is supported by the planter. Don’t worry if it tries to tip over, because once the swp is filled with soil and water - it will become pretty heavy. Re-install the fabric in the bottom of the inner bucket.

Slide the 1″ pvc pipe down through the hole in the bottom of the inner bucket, and drill two 1/4″ holes, right at the top - on both sides of the pipe. This will allow us to use a cable tie to fasten the pipe firmly in place. Here’s a few pictures for better understanding. Man, this is difficult to explain without photos…..

Here’s the way it should look now….As you can see, I got kinda carried away with the scissors. Oops.

Here’s a shot of the complete unit, ready for the spring planting. All it needs is filling with soil - then covered with plastic, and a plant of some kind. I’ll grow a jelly bean tomato plant in this one, which is of course, an indeterminate variety. Me and Austin like eating those little things…

I think that’s enough for part 2. For the final post of this project, we’ll discuss water movement, and how to keep numerous swp’s to the proper level using 1 level control device. Take care, and happy gardening!

p.s. - Just wanted to say hi to Lin, Kim, Wade, Rick, and of course Chris!

EG

For people with no available room for a small garden, swp’s (self watering planters) are an excellent alternative for growing veggies in. They are compact, give excellent results under the right conditions, and best of all….you can build one yourself from many different things! They are very good at eliminating alot of blossom end rot problems with peppers and tomatoes, because as you know….most BER is caused by inconsistent watering. SWP’s address this issue well, because the soil inside the planter is moist all the time. Today, I decided to build a couple, and took photos along the way. This project will be split up into 3 posts, and I hope you’ll join me in building one! Let’s get started….

First, let’s discuss how it works. A sponge placed into a shallow dish of water will eventually soak up the water, due to what’s called capillary action. Water molecules are also attracted to soil particles, although the properties of soil doesn’t make it as absorbent as the cells of a sponge. Still, soil wicks water very well, and that’s exactly what this swp will do. All a person has to do is keep a sufficient amount of water in the reservoir at all times, and the plant will always have a supply to drink from, should it decide to take some.  

For the first one, I decided to use a couple of 5 gallon buckets. Tomatoes do quite well in them if their preferred criteria is met, and as everyone knows….you’ve gotta grow tomatoes, if anything at all. The first thing to do, is slide one bucket down into the other one, and determine how much space is available for storing the water that will be wicked up into the soil mixture. In the picture, you can see that I have drilled a 1/2″ hole in the bottom bucket, exactly at the point where the bottom of the inner bucket is. This will be used as an overflow, and also allow oxygen to enter the root zone. 

Next, we have to make a wicking basket. You can make one from a yogurt cup, 20 oz. plastic drink bottle, plastic cup, etc. Since I had alot of these clear plastic things laying around, and it had the general profile I was looking for - this is what I decided to use for mine. It’s a little bit too tall, but can be cut down to proper size very easily. No biggie.

Now that the height of the wicking basket has been determined, it’s time to mark where the hole will need to be cut in the inner bucket. This will be where the wicking basket will protrude from.

Now, you’ll want to drill alot of 1/4″ holes along the bottom side, as in the picture below. These holes will be used to allow oxygen to get to the plant roots. This is very important, for a good, healthy plant.

Photo below - A 3″ hole saw is just the right size for making a hole large enough for the plastic cup to fit through. I realize most people don’t have one of these laying around, but you can also use a jigsaw, or something similar.

Here’s a view of the inside.

As you can see, the hole was made for allowing the cup to suspend from it. Perfect!

With a razor knife, I trimmed the cup to the right height, and also made several vertical slits along the sides. These will allow the water to seep into the suspended soil, which wicks the water up to the root zone of the plant.

In the photo below, I have slid the modified bucket down into the other one, then placed the wicking basket down through the hole. Enlarge the photo, to see it better.

Photo below - to keep the soil from falling through the 1/4″ holes and into the water reservoir, i’ll trim a piece of landscaping fabric to create a barrier between the two. The fabric will still allow the transfer of water and oxygen through it, and also keeps the roots out of the water reservoir. We certainly wouldn’t want to end up with mud in the water reservoir, that would be a bad thing.

Photo below - nice fit, but we’re still not ready for the soil yet!

At this point, most people install a pretty large vertical pipe down through the bottom of the inner bucket, and into the water reservoir. This of course, is used for adding water as it is absorbed by the plant roots. That could be done with this one too…..but, we’re gonna do something different this time. In part 3 of this project, i’ll show you how an unlimited number of swp’s can be kept at the proper level - with only one control valve. Yeah…..10, 20, 50, whatever…..Be sure not to miss it!

Happy gardening!

EG

At almost 8 months old now, our very large puppy is quite playful, as you might imagine. Everytime I work outside on the weekends, Jude is either getting in my way, or into something she shouldn’t. Oh…she’s a real stinker! Just look at that first picture….all calm and everything. I assure you, though….she’s only resting for a few minutes.

Her favorite thing to do, is fetch a stick, tree limb, or basically anything she can carry in her mouth - then try to keep me from getting it from her. She often gets into my scrap lumber pile, as you can see below.

Photo below - as I took this photo, she’s probably thinking ” Ok, mister….try to get it from me.”

She really enjoyed rolling around in the yard, as the sun was shining very brightly.

After playing for a little while, I always let her get a drink of water from the spigot outside. Oh, she can’t get enough of this.

The day was fun, and I know that it meant alot to her. The only time I had to get onto her, was when she started chasing the ice cream truck, as it drove by. Ha! She can’t stand that song that they play! Anyway, today was a good day.

EG

Granny, over at Annie’s Kitchen Garden posted a recipe the other day, on how to make homemade blackberry syrup from wild berries, and I just had to try it. Looking at the 9 quarts of frozen berries still in our freezer from last summer, I’ve been waiting to use them for something besides cobbler…Here’s a link to her recipe, and it’s good! http://annieskitchengarden.blogspot.com/search/label/blackberry%20syrup%20recipe My wife made pancakes on Sunday morning, and here’s a picture of mine. You know I like this stuff! Heh. That’s the way a redneck eats pancakes….

This was one of the best recipes that I have tried in a long time, and it’s a definite keeper. Thank you, Granny.

In other news, the second Master Gardener class was about turfgrasses, and their requirements. The instructor was from Auburn University, and it was the best class yet! Wow! I learned alot! Of course, a few things always stick out in my mind when each class is over, and one this week is concerning “Weed and Feed”. Most people are guilty of using it on their lawn, but here’s the thing - turfgrasses have a time of year when they should be fertilized, and also a completely different time of year when they should be treated for unwanted weed growth. For instance….Let’s say a person applies some to their lawn between March/April. This of course, is the perfect time to address any weed issues that might be present, or beginning to emerge. One would think, that the “feed” part would stay in the soil, and be used by the turf later (say, July) - when warm weather turfgrasses are “greening up”. Not gonna happen……Of the 3 major nutrients used by plants ( Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium ), Nitrogen is the only one that doesn’t stay in the soil. Instead, it is leached away by watering. So, in other words…..you’re only getting the benefits of 1/2 the ingredients of the mixture at any given time of year…..What a ripoff! Instead, the ingredients should be purchased separately, and applied at different times of the year.  The next class is about Fruit trees/vines, and it’s perfect timing for it. Pruning of fruit trees around here is usually performed during the month of February, and this class should give me lots of new information on how to prune our stuff. I can’t wait!

Tomorrow’s post will be about my cabbage, collard, and broccoli seedlings that are in the propagation chamber right now. Oh boy!!!!! I’m very proud of those little things!

Take care, and happy gardening.

EG

As you know, I had previously converted the old aquarium stand into a propagation system, by installing a piece of plywood on the bottom shelf, and hanging some 2 foot fluorescent lights by chains. The hopes were to add another level to it by incorporating some type of light suspension system, but there just wasn’t enough room for a second lighting system in there. Hmmm…There existed a possibility of using the top shelf, but something would need to be erected for supporting the lights above the plants. So, I put my thinking cap on, and came up with a way to do it, but needed to see what kinds of brackets and hardware were available at the store. Well, after visiting my local Lowes hardware section, I managed to come up with a system that should work just fine. It’s not the most attractive setup, but sometimes looks aren’t everything.

The first thing that had to be done, was to attach a steel plate that was in the shape of a ” T “, so that the upright pieces used later would have a good foundation. Doing so, gives the best rigidity possible, without having to weld something to the frame.

Next, a piece of flat metal was attached to the tees, to add some lift to the light suspension system. Since the tees couldn’t be mounted closer to the front of the frame ( because of the ornamental ironwork ), something had to be added, to get the lights more centered with the top shelf.

Going to Lowes again, I managed to find these ” L ” shaped brackets, and fastened them to the ends of each upright piece of flat metal. It sure looks funny, but is quite functional! So, there you have it, an aquarium stand converted to a multi-level propagation system. This should make it possible for me to grow around 36 good sized tomato and pepper plants with this new one, and the chamber will hold 42, so that brings my total capacity to 78 seedlings. Umm….I think that will be enough! Now, to get in touch with my sisters, and find out what varieties of tomatoes they’d like me to grow for them….Woo Hoo! I’ll be growing seedlings like crazy this year!

Take care, and start planning your 2009 garden!

EG