First almost ripe tomato of the season. A tiny tot at 385g (13.58oz). I've named him Jimmy Durante:
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Here is a good looking tomato...
First almost ripe tomato of the season. A tiny tot at 385g (13.58oz). I've named him Jimmy Durante:
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
New Season, New Aspirations
So it sounds like there is no money on the line this year, but that doesn't mean I don't plan on bringing in a large tomato. Plants are in the ground and growing well so far. I have dodged most of the severe weather and hail thus far (knock on wood).
Here's a Big Zac that looks almost too picturesque.
Here is an ugly Domingo.
Here are some potential Big Zac blooms. Not sure if or when I will cull some of them.
Monday, April 29, 2019
Improving the quality of my sleep
After reading too many Amazon reviews about cheap LED grow lights catching fire, I decided to fuse the AC input to my lights. I hacked a power cord and put a fuse holder in series with the line (hot) wire. The fuse holder is intended for low voltage automotive wiring, so I covered it with shrink tubing to make it safe to touch.
My Viparspectra 300W lights nominally draw 1.14A. I daisy chained 2 together, so that's 2.28A. I figured a 5A fuse should be about right. Here's the final setup:
My Viparspectra 300W lights nominally draw 1.14A. I daisy chained 2 together, so that's 2.28A. I figured a 5A fuse should be about right. Here's the final setup:
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Winter Tomatoes - Part 3
I have been pleasantly surprised with not only the quantity, but quality of the tomatoes I have received over the past month. The Sub-Arctic plenty tomatoes put on a lot of fruit as determinates do, but now that most of that fruit has ripened it is blossoming and fruiting again. All but 2 of the tomatoes have been very good and we have been enjoying them on salads and sandwiches. This type of plant usually produces 4-6 oz fruit, but I did get a nice ~10 oz tomato from it. The cherry tomatoes keep coming and the taste has gotten much better over time.
The new tomatoes/peppers are off to a great start and I am looking forward to getting them into the ground in about a month.
Boxcar Willie moved into a 5 gallon bucket for the time being. I topped it and grew out 5 suckers. I buried them when transplanting to hopefully get 5 growing stems. I will bury this deep when I plant it into the garden bed.
The new tomatoes/peppers are off to a great start and I am looking forward to getting them into the ground in about a month.
Boxcar Willie moved into a 5 gallon bucket for the time being. I topped it and grew out 5 suckers. I buried them when transplanting to hopefully get 5 growing stems. I will bury this deep when I plant it into the garden bed.
Beefsteak Tomatoes. Most were getting too large, so I topped them as well. Will keep 2-5 growing stems on them
Some of my pepper starts in their new pots. The bottom middle is an experiment growing 2 plants together (recommended by the Farmers Almanac)
Monday, March 18, 2019
Useful Links
Hey all,
FWIW, here is a set of gardening links that I have recently compiled. These are some garden things that I've found to be pretty helpful. If you got a recommendation of your own, add it! It'd be cool to get everyone's favorite item on the list:
Extension Bulletins:
FWIW, here is a set of gardening links that I have recently compiled. These are some garden things that I've found to be pretty helpful. If you got a recommendation of your own, add it! It'd be cool to get everyone's favorite item on the list:
Extension Bulletins:
This one tells you when to plant what. These are the dates for a transplant, not from seed.
If you are starting from seed, use the dates in the previous doc and use this to back track from there to know when to start from seed.
I like my starts a little bigger so I would pad that date by about 1-2 weeks.
LED Grow light: This is the one I bought off Amazon. Seemed to work fine last season and definitely reduced the hardening off period.
Heat mat + Temp control: This is the set I bought. It's been working fine for me the last few years.
Light hanging ratchet cord: If you aren't using these to move your lights up and down, you are trying too hard.
https://www.amazon.com/Light-Hanger-Rope-Ratchets-Extended/dp/B00K9R26RO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1547583123&sr=8-3&keywords=rachet+cord
Garden Stakes: Just some generic strawberry/weed barrier stakes. They seem pretty high quality.
https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Bunny-GB-6871B-Galvanized-Irrigation/dp/B076XGM63D/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_2?keywords=GrayBunny+GB-6871B&qid=1552940530&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-2-fkmrnull
Plant tags: These are industrial, no rust tags made out of aluminum. You can just write on them with a pen and it will emboss whatever you write. This is my first year trying them.
https://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Gardening-Durability-Applications-Aluminum/dp/B01LP3KFWS
Potting Soil: Mark J told me about this one. It's a huge cube of potting soil for $25. It fills up one of those galvanized old timey trash cans. Great deal and pretty decent quality although, complete disclosue, some herbs I started in it came up a little sickly. Still, for the money, this is what I'm going to use.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/SunShine-Mix-4-2-2-cu-ft-Professional-Growing-Mix-with-Mycorrhizae-5047041-CFC002-2P/205674316
Thermometer: This thing is fantastic for under $20. I left it outside in my soil for two years straight and it still works great.
https://www.amazon.com/Vee-Gee-Scientific-Thermometer-160-Degree/dp/B00JE5GI3U/ref=sr_1_3?crid=OO3S7G0FY1NP&keywords=vee+gee+thermometer&qid=1552941492&s=industrial&sprefix=vee+gee+%2Clawngarden%2C184&sr=1-3
Garden Stakes: Just some generic strawberry/weed barrier stakes. They seem pretty high quality.
https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Bunny-GB-6871B-Galvanized-Irrigation/dp/B076XGM63D/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_2?keywords=GrayBunny+GB-6871B&qid=1552940530&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-2-fkmrnull
Plant tags: These are industrial, no rust tags made out of aluminum. You can just write on them with a pen and it will emboss whatever you write. This is my first year trying them.
https://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Gardening-Durability-Applications-Aluminum/dp/B01LP3KFWS
Potting Soil: Mark J told me about this one. It's a huge cube of potting soil for $25. It fills up one of those galvanized old timey trash cans. Great deal and pretty decent quality although, complete disclosue, some herbs I started in it came up a little sickly. Still, for the money, this is what I'm going to use.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/SunShine-Mix-4-2-2-cu-ft-Professional-Growing-Mix-with-Mycorrhizae-5047041-CFC002-2P/205674316
Thermometer: This thing is fantastic for under $20. I left it outside in my soil for two years straight and it still works great.
https://www.amazon.com/Vee-Gee-Scientific-Thermometer-160-Degree/dp/B00JE5GI3U/ref=sr_1_3?crid=OO3S7G0FY1NP&keywords=vee+gee+thermometer&qid=1552941492&s=industrial&sprefix=vee+gee+%2Clawngarden%2C184&sr=1-3
Monday, February 25, 2019
Winter Tomatoes - Part 2
I was able to pick my first cherry tomato last week and now I have a sub-arctic plenty ready to go.
Hoping it's not too mealy. I think the cold of the basement definitely slowed the growing and ripening process, but all my plants are producing flowers and fruit. The peppers haven't enjoyed the temps nearly as much.
Hoping it's not too mealy. I think the cold of the basement definitely slowed the growing and ripening process, but all my plants are producing flowers and fruit. The peppers haven't enjoyed the temps nearly as much.
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