Grow your own food/ home, yard and garden DIY stuff/fixing your own home issues

[shavedape]

adding calcium is good, but you should be prepped with some water based calcium spray once you get fruit-just in case

it seems as if the Blossom End rot can never get hit with too much calcium--its a tough bastard

I tried crushing a Caltrate pill and adding it to the sprinkling can and it worked pretty well. I was surprised as I thought it wouldn't mix well with the water but it did. Crushing the pill was kind of a pain in the ass though. I had to put it in a tiny bowl and then carefully grind it with the blunt end of a pot handle.

I hope this works as there are already a bunch of green cherry tomatoes growing. Fingers crossed that they make it to maturity.

 

[YJ02]

I tried crushing a Caltrate pill and adding it to the sprinkling can and it worked pretty well. I was surprised as I thought it wouldn't mix well with the water but it did. Crushing the pill was kind of a pain in the ass though. I had to put it in a tiny bowl and then carefully grind it with the blunt end of a pot handle.

I hope this works as there are already a bunch of green cherry tomatoes growing. Fingers crossed that they make it to maturity.

as soon as you start getting fruit, spray them with a CA mixture also

best way; spray until leaves and fruit are dripping

 

[YJ02]

some pics from this years endeavors--so far


our "food pond"---asian watercress is all we eat--its pretty damn good too. the cattails and pickerel rush help clean the water

\\
the koi pond---a lot more growth this year-the water lilies have multiple blooms. we also have had neighbors move in; newts and crayfish from the nearby river and woods and fresh water shrimp that MUST have came in when we received the pickerel rush plant

 

[YJ02]

wife's garden:

this year was the first year we were able to harvest enough worm assisted and composted soil 80% grass clippings and leaves, other is a mix of chicken manure and veg and fruit waste to include egg shells and chopped banana peels. took 2 winters toil "cook" but we got great results! plants are growing fast and fruitful. also added about 200 ladybugs and some grub eating nematodes
.



Some of these tomato plants--beefsteak and plum--are about 5 1/2 high AND blooming--means got a good balance of all big three nutrients this year

 

[YJ02]

lots of promising tomatos. squash of diff types, peppers

we have so many Hungarian pepps that we have been selling them by the bagful--lots of customers too!

no tom's ripe yet, but soon--beefsteak, Black Prince (also called Black Russian by some but incorrectly so), Plums and one other slicer variety--all from seed thanks to the wife

everything is doing so well, that even with little rain, we are getting great growth, root strength and flowering/fruiting

mostly because of the soil we "made" and its excellent nutrient composition and its ability to retain moisture

like i said before-it took two years, but we got enough composted grass clippings, leaves fruit,veg and egg shells mixed that the process and the worms made a great pile of exzcellent growing material

this is the first year we have been able to fill all of our raised beds and pots with compost.

unless we are starting a new garden from scratch,we will never buy any 'garden soil' again no matter the quality

if you can, i strongly recommend making your own compost pile for gardening. your garbage will have less material and you'll save money on gardening.

i am sure it grows MJ plants real well too

 

[shavedape]

My cherry tomato plants have been cranking out the little gems since around July 4th. I've been too busy to take a picture of them unfortunately. At any rate, they taste really nice and sweet. I think it's because I used a lot of calcium this time around. I also added epsom salt but only once compared to the calcium which I've applied several times so far. Odd as it sounds I had really good luck by simply crushing some Caltrate pills and then mixing that in with the water in a sprinkling can. Works great.

 

[YJ02]

My cherry tomato plants have been cranking out the little gems since around July 4th. I've been too busy to take a picture of them unfortunately. At any rate, they taste really nice and sweet. I think it's because I used a lot of calcium this time around. I also added epsom salt but only once compared to the calcium which I've applied several times so far. Odd as it sounds I had really good luck by simply crushing some Caltrate pills and then mixing that in with the water in a sprinkling can. Works great.

you can try this for extending the fruiting of your tomato

you can't screw it up...if it works, you'll get more fruit, if it doesn't, the plant will 'turn off' at the same time it would of anyhow

https://brunswick.ces.ncsu.edu/2013...r-tomato-plants-to-get-more-fruit-production/

 

[Rac80]

didn't get around to planting this year- still working on our back deck etc... these jobs seem to take over.

 

[YJ02]

we've had a great yr for the garden-lots of "returns"

pecks and pecks of hungarian wax peppers, sweet peppers and so many tomatoes!

we are all "tomatoed out"

to use them we've made spaghetti with them, chili, soups, countless tomato and cheese sandwiches and just eating them as is-even got creative and 'stuffed' the larger beefsteak ones as you would a sweet pepper

also canned 14 qts on top of that!

i don't know what happened--my wife used burpee seeds this yr for the first time-they are non altered/non gmo seeds-and we planted them in the garden in about pure homemade compost

no blossom end rot/ wither

also we have cantaloupes, korean melons, cucumbers and several types of winter squash still growing

 

[YJ02]

on the korean melon or, chamoe, if you have never had one and get a chance to, try it. they are very good. taste is a lot like a honeydew with a bit of cucumber-like after flavor

they are in season now, so if you are near a korean market, they will have them

the seeds (As all melons are) are edible and easy to eat as they are very soft and of course, as seeds are, full of fiber and other good stuff that is good for aspects of health-especially for the prostate

 

[YJ02]

Another benefit of the late arrival of fall

the fall ripened tomato

many ppl do not realize that once your summer tomatoes are done fruiting, if you cut back most of the foliage leaving only a few top leaves, the plant will begin to flower again. usually ,we do not get enough time before a frost to get any fruit though. but this yr and last yr, things were diff.

our beefsteak tom's have had the best re-growth; they do not get nearly has big but this and the cooler nights makes them compact and EXTREMELY sweet. they are sweet enough in the summer, but wow are these things awesome in the fall.

and they are still growing--still have about dozen and half on the vine, see if we get them to ripen before a frost-which doesn't seem to be anywhere near (last yrs first frost was not until the middle of November)

this is also great weather for growing lettuce and spinach as well!

 

[YJ02]

so, finally got the multi year project of replacing our decks done

this back deck used to be 20'x20'

i cut it in half on the rebuild

planning on using the left over space to build a semi permanent greenhouse at ground level (vs the elevated deck)
adjacent to the deck

the door will be under the deck so it is protected from wind ( the whole deck is in a corner of the house where it is mainly sheltered from wind/blowing cold, snow) as well

planning on doing a treated wood floor about 6 inched above ground level, 2x4 studded walls and 2x6 rafters with a glass roof

my questions/ask for your suggestions (any kind of prior experience,something you have seen?) are:

-planning on using old glass storm doors for the roof with a sealant in between
but debating on getting glass that is cut to size--anyone have exp with cost on this? opinions on which would be better?

-sides could be glass or heavy clear(ish) plastic
would use same concept-old glass doors/windows OR new glass vs a thick( like 20mil) clear plastic

here is a pic of the unfinished deck- the planned greenhouse would be just off the edge-at ground level, the edge facing the tomatoes:



thoughts? thanks ahead of time!

 

[PussyGalore]

I've re-purposed some glass and mirrors before, mostly by taking it to a glass company across town and having them cut it. I've also ordered new glass from them and also new mirrors cut to a special size. It's been a few years so I don't remember the cost but it was fairly economical. Using the glass from storm doors sounds like it would work fine but if it's a hassle to work with you might be better off just buying glass cut to the size you want. It all depends on what you have nearby for glass options. Big box hardware stores weren't much help compared to a locally owned glass company to be honest.

Heavy duty plastic should work fine for the sides as that's what most farms and greenhouses here use. And it's easy to affix and/or replace over time. A sturdy staple gun and something to cut it to size is pretty much all you need.

 

[YJ02]

greenhouses here use

thanks!! forgot about the mirrors...we actually have a couple of old thick ones from a very old barbershop.

where is "here"?

the only hesitation i have with plastic is if it doesn't have a good resin content ?( i think that is the issue?) then after a winter or 2 it tends to 'freeze dry' and crack apart. i am in north central pa and it can get below zero at night, though it hasn't in a few years

my main issue with the glass and what glass is for the roof. it would need to be substantial enough to not shatter under a snow load. so, that is an issue when converting glass meant for vertical installation on a basically horizontal use.

on the deck near our main entrance, we have a pergola type covering, over the door, i put a very old storm door glass (had to take away the frame it was too heavy) flat to keep off rain/snow. works great and thick enough to withstand a lot of snow.

 

[PussyGalore]

Well yes, you will have to replace the plastic over time, but it's relatively cheap and easy to do. You could knock out re-wrapping it in less than an hour probably. Not sure how the glass doors will work as a roof though. If they are angled I would assume the snow would melt off quicker than on a flat surface. Just make sure the panes are secured in place. You don't want a pane of heavy glass falling on you.

Personally I would probably just go with all plastic for the first year and see how that works. If I wanted a hard roof I'd just try some sheets of the type of plastic they use for cheap shower doors. If it's angled it should probably be able to hold snow and if it doesn't work it's easily replaced come Spring.

And you're not going to be using the greenhouse in the depths of winter anyway unless you are going to heat it. In which case your design would have to be thought out more. But for a basic, unheated greenhouse I think plastic would be fine.

 

[YJ02]

And you're not going to be using the greenhouse in the depths of winter anyway

yes we are..well, from about late feb on for seed starting

as you can see in the pic, it will be right next to the foundation of the house.

thats a full basement with one of our woodstoves being right inside that wall

i am considering putting like a 4" inch pipe in the wall into the greenhouse to allow heat to travel in on its own

i forget the "physics" of it; does heat move into cold spaces and pushes it out because it is heavier? i know heat rises, cold air drops, but i think i read in a home impr forum that heat would seek out a place to go so long as you give it a path


as far as replacing things every yr or so? i am getting to be an old bastard who ALREADY has some arthritic challenges (fake hip, really f'd up neck and shoulders ,etc) i like to now do things on a more--relatively-- permanent basis

thats yet another reason we are looking at glass if possible

THANKS FOR THE IDEAS THOUGH!!!

ps-also looking at the 'new type' of corrugated plastic (vs the old crackly fiberglass stuff) sheeting

there is a bluish -clear type that some ppl around here use--another option, it is just a bitch to cut

 

[PussyGalore]

If you're gonna put heat into the greenhouse and it's that close to the foundation and wood stove look into running a geothermal pipe/hose to it. It might not be that hard to do from what I understand. I looked into it years ago but never got around to doing it. From what I recall there are simple methods of burying a flexible hose under soil and/or compost to retain the heat on the way to the room you are heating. It sounds labor intensive but for your needs it might not be. Regardless of what you do I'm sure there's something you can gleam from researching geothermal heat options.

And yes, cutting/drilling hard plastic and fiberglass is a bitch. It's best to get it cut to fit originally and find other ways to secure it into place, mastic, etc.

 

[Lord Ba'al]

thanks!! forgot about the mirrors...we actually have a couple of old thick ones from a very old barbershop.

where is "here"?

the only hesitation i have with plastic is if it doesn't have a good resin content ?( i think that is the issue?) then after a winter or 2 it tends to 'freeze dry' and crack apart. i am in north central pa and it can get below zero at night, though it hasn't in a few years

my main issue with the glass and what glass is for the roof. it would need to be substantial enough to not shatter under a snow load. so, that is an issue when converting glass meant for vertical installation on a basically horizontal use.

on the deck near our main entrance, we have a pergola type covering, over the door, i put a very old storm door glass (had to take away the frame it was too heavy) flat to keep off rain/snow. works great and thick enough to withstand a lot of snow.

I was in PA in March this year and the whole place was covered in snow. It was there for at least a week. I must assume that the temperatures were definitely below zero, perhaps even at daytime.

 

[YJ02]

I was in PA in March this year and the whole place was covered in snow. It was there for at least a week. I must assume that the temperatures were definitely below zero, perhaps even at daytime.

you were down by Philly, yes? whole diff climate there. diff weather patterns,etc

they get a lot of moisture from the ocean and if i remember right, that storm you are referring to was one that comes from the mid west and passes through an area that used to be called the 'cumberland gap' area of west virginia, southern pa and maryland

i live in north central pa--elk county--about 6-7 hr drive from philly

we are a little too far inland for lake effect from lk erie and usually too far north so we miss out on those big storms like the one you saw

however, i live in one of the coldest, on avg, areas of PA. Normally, the colder it gets, for us, the less moisture is in the air and far less snow. last winter and the winter before we got very little snow all yr long. but, it has and defi can happen again

in winter, if it gets warmer around here, watch it, usually bad news means wet snow or ice/rain

<<this yr we still have firewood that SHOULD have been burned two winters ago, but it has been so warm, that the stuff just keeps piling up!! >>

i believe that storm was around the 13th of march? according to the data, we got a 'trace' amount of snow that day--yup, it def missed us! and the lowest temp for us that month was 24f:

https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/ridgway/pennsylvania/united-states/uspa1378/2017/3

 

[YJ02]

were definitely below zero

just dawned on my dundering old self you probably meant celsius!