Re: pepperhead212's 2020 garden.

[pepperhead212]

I got a lot more done today, so I figured I'd start my thread. I didn't get any more started out there, but a lot in place, for me to get started in.

I needed help, simply put, so I called that kid that I used to deliver male to, that would do odd jobs for me. He is now down in Bridgeton (the further south you go in NJ, the less I incidents of corona virus, and he hasn't had any in his area, fortunately), the but still comes up here sometimes, and I figured that he was probably in need of work! So he came up today, and went to that local hydroponics place, where I made a good sized order, to be picked up out back - 2 bales of Promix HD, 2 large bags of worm castings (a great organic addition to containers), a cu ft of perlite (I was almost out of this), and a bag of Big Foot Mycorrhizae concentrate. My friend was able to load those bales into the truck, but barely! I told him, now he knows why I brought him.

Then, after unloading this at home, he went to Lowe's with me, both of us wearing masks, but only maybe 25% of the rest of the customers with masks. All of the workers, however, so they are using their heads. There, I got the lumber for making another raised bed - something I definitely wouldn't have tried myself!
And after we unloaded these, he helped me smaller ones into my workshop, through the side window, so I can work on those later on, but the longer - 10' pieces - we worked on outside, on my picnic table. I joined these side by side using a doweling jig, and 3/8" dowels, and Gorilla glue, as well as 7 clamps per pair. I used a plane to get the edges better joined, but the spaces are filled up with that gorilla glue - an essential reason to use this here.

After he helped me uncover all the rest of my SIPs, and put them in their places. I uncovered 7 Earthboxes and 4 buckets yesterday, but there were still a lot to go - I think 15 larger ones, and 8 more buckets. Then, we unclamped the wood - he was surprised at all that foam that expanded out of it, but I told him that's why I used excess glue - to fill the gaps! We slid those double boards into my shed, and got the tools indoors k just in time, as the rain drops started appearing.

Now I need to get a few days in a row w/o rain, so I can put the outdoor stain on the wood, then the contruction starts.

All of my tomatoes have germinated now! All of my eggplant varieties have germinated, as well, and I planted the extra seedlings in the spare pots in the tray, as with the tomatoes. Not sure if I will plant more this year, given the situation, or give them to friends. Peppers are just starting, which is normal.

Now, as soon as I have a break in rain, I'll get working on topping off those SIPs, getting ready for those seedlings.

[pepperhead212]

Last night, while it was still raining out there (over 2" late Thurs through Friday), I did some indoor trimming of my bay leaf and kaffir lime trees. I kept the bay for drying, but I don't do that with the lime leaves, since they are better fresh, and I always have them! As usual, there were a lot to trim off, to ready it to go out in a couple of weeks.
Clipped kaffir lime tree branches. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The weather was great today, and I spent about 7½ hours out there, getting my SIPs ready , starting with the tomatoes. I also fixed up some of the bucket SIPs for the cucumbers.

I emptied out 3 of the EBs, the ones I had the longest, that I grew cherries in every season. I expected to find more in them.
Earthbox, disassembled after 6 years. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I used Promix HD on two of these, each with 3 c dolomite, and one of them I mixed 4 c of that organic 5-4-6 Ecoscraps tomato food through it. The other, I put a new fertilizer sock with 3 cups of 10-10-10 granular. I will plant one Subsugar and one Cherry Bomb in each of them, and see how they compare.
Earthbox with Promix HD and a fertilizer sock in the trench, ready for final fill. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And I decided to make my own mix, for the Earthboxes, and see how it works in comparison. I mixed about 14 scoops (a large flour scoop I use for transferring soils) of peat moss, 1 scoop vermiculite, 1½ scoops coarse perlite, 1½ scoops worm castings, plus the 3 c dolomite and 4 c organic fertilizer, with a little micorrhyzae powder, and all mixed together. I'll see how it works, in comparison.
Making a homemade Earthbox growing mix by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished mix for the Earthbox by pepperhead212, on Flickr

SIPs, ready for tomatoes! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Earthboxes, ready for the tomatoes! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Bucket SIPs, ready for cucumbers! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I took the mix from those EBs, and added it to the topsoil in that new raised bed, along with the calcium carbonate gravel from a fish tank - won't dissolve quickly, since it was in that tank for over 20 years! But I sprinkled all that around, along with some fine perlite - only a little at the end of a bag I had, which wasn't going to use in the soil mixes. Using my Mantis, I churned all this up, until it looked totally homogenous.
Raised bed, topped off with old Earthbox soil mix, and some calcium carbonate gravel, from fish tanks. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Today, I started hardening off the tomatoes, though not for long, as the sun was intense! First time I've actually put sunscreen on this season, being out there for so long, and the sun so intense. They look ready to go in already - I might have to start them a little later than 4-1, from now on. I can't imagine starting them as early as some do, unless it's in an unheated greenhouse.
Tomato plants 4-26-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Tomatoes are going in tomorrow!
I spent another 7 hours out there today, getting all those SIPs ready; a little spitting occasionally, but just enough to see drops on the picnic table for a couple minutes at a time. Around 5:30 it started getting worse, as predicted, but I was done, and I just put everything in the shed and came in.

I topped off all of the bucket SIPs, and I had two empty 18 gal SIPs that I did a silmilar experiment that I did with the cherry tomatoes - in one, I mixed the dolomite and organic fertilizer in with the Promix HD, and in the other, I just mixed the dolomite with the Promix HD, then put my usual fertilizer sock in it. Big Beef will be one of the varieties in both - I'll have to check for the other. All "snacks" and other additions to the tubs will be the same.

These tomatoes were growing too fast, until I put them out in this cool weather the last few days, to harden them off. 51° for a high today, and down in the 40s most of the time. It's been quite breezy, to strengthen them up, plus I have been adding silica to their watering, to strengthen the stems, and had an oscillating fan on them an hour at a time,about 8 hours each day, since they were maybe 4" tall.
Tomatoes, and 2 tomatillos, ready for planting on 4-28 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I got the tomatoes in today! 28 plants, of 21 varieties, plus two tomatillos of a new (to me) variety: Everona. They were the only plants that got somewhat rootbound, and one had a hint of a blossom on it, which I removed. I still have 5 extra plants, of some of my favorites, in case something happened to any of them. The rain started just as I was finishing, which gave me an excuse to stop. After a break, I'll get working on getting the cuttings in the cloner.