What did you do in the garden today?

[igorsMistress]

I like the fact you buy two books that are pretty much opposing each other.

How so? Hydroponics uses less water than conventional gardening.

 

[igorsMistress]

New to the thread,
I'm finally getting a garden started on our new property. Last year we were moving right at planting season. Needless to say I'm dying for planting to begin!!
I'm starting herbs, potatoes, okra, tomatoes, and pumpkins soon.
I'm trying out Survival Garden Seeds this year, they had some great reviews so I'm hoping for a good turnout.

Today I added more soil to our raised beds.

Welcome!

 

[Iluveggers]

5B or 6. I'm right on the border of the two.

My records show the earliest planting of carrots the second week of April. I put in a late planting last year the last week of June and got some nice sized winter carrots, too!

Question of the day:

Thinning... Do you wait to thin out seedlings until you have true leaves or do you thin the sprouts? I'm specifically curious about tomatoes and peppers right now, but this will apply for my cucumbers and melons too when I start them.

I usually put 2 seeds per mini-cell. If they both look strong before getting 2 inches tall, I will separate into 2 plants when i up pot. If one is noticeably smaller, I snip it down.

 

[igorsMistress]

I would say, as far as I know at least, the best tactic to use less water, is to live on the British isles. But if you can’t do that, there are vegetable varieties that were specifically bred to use less water.
Baladi Shami tomatoes don’t need watering at all when they reach two months old! They use dew.

If you have dew that’s great. There’s no such thing in the desert where I live when my tomatoes are two months old.

Hydroponics is used quite a bit in arid climates, along with other methods of course. Permaculture is something I’m working on also, but more so for trees and such first, then we can add other things once trees are larger. I pretty much started with a blank slate here and nothing would grow but desert scrub. We have desert adapted fruit trees and such, but I water much more than people in other zones. Limiting that is important here because our water situation is damn frightening.

 

[CNJ]

I made some adjustments to my no perlite pilot Dutch bucket experiment and this is what I have going now.

I have 5 gallon buckets with a 1/2 inch hole drilled 3 inches off the bottom with a 90 elbow that extends inside the bucket, so the water drains from the bottom and on the outside, I have another 90 elbow that extends down into a slanted 2 inch pvc pipe drain to the pump reservoir.

I have 5 inch bucket net cup covers and the total height of the bucket is 14 inches, so 14 - 5 - 3 = 6 inch air gap. The solution from the pump trickles in from the top and the air space is constantly moist from condensation. I think this is the reason the roots coming out of the net cup, filled with clay pebbles, don't air prune. The roots keep growing in the air space to the bottom 3 inch reservoir.

I have 3 systems for comparison Kratky Buckets, Wicking Buckets, and Aero Dutch Buckets. However, I think the reservoir fed Wicking Buckets will have the best results.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

New to the thread,
I'm finally getting a garden started on our new property. Last year we were moving right at planting season. Needless to say I'm dying for planting to begin!!
I'm starting herbs, potatoes, okra, tomatoes, and pumpkins soon.
I'm trying out Survival Garden Seeds this year, they had some great reviews so I'm hoping for a good turnout.

Today I added more soil to our raised beds.

Welcome to the thread and I hope you have a fantastic gardening season in your new location!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Question of the day:

Thinning... Do you wait to thin out seedlings until you have true leaves or do you thin the sprouts? I'm specifically curious about tomatoes and peppers right now, but this will apply for my cucumbers and melons too when I start them.

I personally wait until I see true leaves and I snip the extras, only leaving the best looking sprout but if you're wanting to separated and try to plant the extras, then I would do it earlier.

 

[CNJ]

Question of the day:

Thinning... Do you wait to thin out seedlings until you have true leaves or do you thin the sprouts? I'm specifically curious about tomatoes and peppers right now, but this will apply for my cucumbers and melons too when I start them.

This guy pinches off his tomato roots when they are too long and he just tear them apart.

 

[igorsMistress]

I made some adjustments to my no perlite pilot Dutch bucket experiment and this is what I have going now.

I have 5 gallon buckets with a 1/2 inch hole drilled 3 inches off the bottom with a 90 elbow that extends inside the bucket, so the water drains from the bottom and on the outside, I have another 90 elbow that extends down into a slanted 2 inch pvc pipe drain to the pump reservoir.

I have 5 inch bucket net cup covers and the total height of the bucket is 14 inches, so 14 - 5 - 3 = 6 inch air gap. The solution from the pump trickles in from the top and the air space is constantly moist from condensation. I think this is the reason the roots coming out of the net cup, filled with clay pebbles, don't air prune. The roots keep growing in the air space to the bottom 3 inch reservoir.

I have 3 systems for comparison Kratky Buckets, Wicking Buckets, and Aero Dutch Buckets. However, I think the reservoir fed Wicking Buckets will have the best results.

View attachment 3425942View attachment 3425943View attachment 3425944View attachment 3425945

I would definitely like an update! I was thinking about trying a few wicking buckets also but that may wait until fall.

 

[igorsMistress]

I made some adjustments to my no perlite pilot Dutch bucket experiment and this is what I have going now.

I have 5 gallon buckets with a 1/2 inch hole drilled 3 inches off the bottom with a 90 elbow that extends inside the bucket, so the water drains from the bottom and on the outside, I have another 90 elbow that extends down into a slanted 2 inch pvc pipe drain to the pump reservoir.

I have 5 inch bucket net cup covers and the total height of the bucket is 14 inches, so 14 - 5 - 3 = 6 inch air gap. The solution from the pump trickles in from the top and the air space is constantly moist from condensation. I think this is the reason the roots coming out of the net cup, filled with clay pebbles, don't air prune. The roots keep growing in the air space to the bottom 3 inch reservoir.

I have 3 systems for comparison Kratky Buckets, Wicking Buckets, and Aero Dutch Buckets. However, I think the reservoir fed Wicking Buckets will have the best results.

View attachment 3425942View attachment 3425943View attachment 3425944View attachment 3425945

PS, why do you have the reflective covering over the buckets?