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applestar
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Re: Applestar’s 2021 Garden

…I have been a bit thrilled to see those planes because Hawaiian does’t fly around here normally. Another one that’s easily recognized is the yellow Spirit Airlines jets. :()

I did get under one of the protected low tunnels and thin/cull all these turnips, daikon, and other greens, plus harvested a few raspberries as I have been doing almost every time I’m out in the garden. They are good for a quick energizer while I’m outside. My DD’s have gotten so used to having these one or two to half dozen fresh raspberries to snack on every day that they’ve tired of them and now we have a slowly building stock of frozen berries….
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applestar
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It seems I didn’t get the garden as ready for the gusts of 25mph winds we’re having tonight as I should have.

I was wondering why there was bright light outside the bedroom window — it’s pretty bright out there despite the overcast skies due to the full moon/eclipse behind the clouds and urban lights reflected ON the clouds, BUT I realized the motion-activated Side Yard Garden security light keeps turning on because one of the low tunnel protective covers is flapping around …. :x

I think the VG area security light is probably turning on and off too because I KNOW the VGC protective covers weren’t secured properly — I noticed but was too focused on getting other stuff done the other day…. :oops:

The forecast for tonight doesn’t go below freezing so I may still have chance to rescue the plants if I fix the covers tomorrow before the temps drop again, though the wind damages may be severe. We’ll see.

Not confident the skies will clear up in time to see even a glimpse of the eclipse, and it’s too blustery out there to venture out in the open where I can spot the moon without obstruction anyway.

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Gary350
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Here we go again I click RED color flag for NEW posts the forum sends me to, Fri May 28, 2021 4:02 pm. Is this happening to anyone else to get sent to places 6 month to 7 years ago??? I can't figure what what is real? Do I need to GO to last column & bottom of page every time I click Red flag or email??? I am on 1st post page 8 or 9.

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applestar
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@Gary350, I’ve reported your problem. Webmaster may PM you for details. For a possible interim fix, try clicking on right arrow next to last posted member name on the “new posts” lineup — that link will jump you to the last post (but there may have been other posts between last post you viewed, so scroll up a but to check)

“your posts” is good for list of all threads you have posted to, and “active topics” is good for ones that “new posts” might not show if you have been away and missed a few, as well as the more lively discussions :wink:
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imafan26
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It might be a Hawaiian plane. The news said that the crews from Hawaiian Air lines just returned from ferrying Afghan refugees on the East Coast. You must be near the airport to be able to see the logo on the planes.

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applestar
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Wow, so I might have seen one of the last Hawaiian flights. :-()

I’m not close to the airport…not really…. Normally they fly way too high to see them clearly, although I know some of them do normally fly much higher overhead as they gain altitude or descend for landing — I think it was a trip to Florida when I saw my house way down below.

But these special Afghan resettlement planes are making an ascent from the airbase that is maybe 45 minutes drive away (without shore traffic — usually) and landing at the Philadelphia International which is also approx. 45 minutes away (without commuter or game night rush traffic — usually), so I see them just as they make that arch (sometimes visibly still climbing, sometimes level flight) and they all appear to be following a flight path that take them within a wide east-west swath with our house in the middle, then bank/turn after passing our house to head in direction of the PHL which is the designated civilian commercial hub and processing center.

I’m thinking the path itself (but not the altitude) is part of the standard navigation on the aviation map. Also, if there is some kind of delay at the airport (weather, etc.) and the planes have to circle around waiting to land, I see them flying in line along that general area where these low flying planes turn and head for the airport.

These are flying as low as I have seen them at a NJ state park located just across the Delaware River from PHL airport, when they are taking off and landing.

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applestar
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Yesterday, I worked inside the Sunflower House and prepped the beds to the right (south side). I also cobbled together a couple of flower pot heaters and tried leaving them with lit candles from yesterday afternoon until mid-morning today.
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Today, I took an infrared thermometer and measured the outside of pots and the bigger one registered 87°F to 93°F and the medium one registered 68° to 75°F. The candles had burned down like this—
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HOWEVER, outside overnight temp got down to 26°F and the minimum overnight according to remote sensor inside of the Sunflower House had been 28.8°F … so definitely room for improvement there.

I noticed most of the posted designs involve blocking the outer pot drainage hole so even though my broken pots directed the heat nicely I thought, I’ll try the internalized/contained heat method next time.

I think more significant issues are related to better insulating the Sunflower House, and eliminating gaps and drafts …I also haven’t double layered the roof yet.

Also, I only noticed faint but not overwhelming plastic smell on opening up, and being inside with door closed (but auto door vent was open) didn’t bother me, so these candles will work.

—— Aspabroc sprouting broccoli are starting to make tiny heads. One of the community garden youtube videos mentioned that those first heads should harvested earlier — about nickel size — to encourage additional side shoots to develop right away.

imafan26
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I read on another channel that the reason high tunnels can withstand the wind and snow is not because of the plastic but because of the straps over the plastic that are anchoring the tunnel to the ground preventing the plastic from flapping.

Usually, I only have 50% shade cloth over my benches and that is at most 48 inches high. The air goes through the holes in the shade cloth so there isn't much lift. The problem I have is when things like the neighbors wines and plants fall on my pvc shade house and shake it apart.

I think your heater is innovative. I am also glad that I don't have to worry about anything freezing.

P.S. I just bought another venus fly trap yesterday. I have never been able to keep it alive. I'll see how long this one lasts.

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applestar
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You’re right about those straps. I got a roll of heavy duty strap for the purpose, but I have to get the 2nd poly roof secured first. I also needed the 12 inch U pins I had been using inside the SFH mulch (that was supposed to be temporary but never got around to replacing with the shorter pins I obtained later.)

You and I have opposite problems for keeping VFT alive. It freezes too cold here (as low as negative single digit ~ 0°F) and you don’t get any. My understanding is they need a short period of near freeze — preferably no lower than mid to upper 20’s but at least lower 30’s. Some people force them into bareroot dormancy by putting them in the meat bin of the refrigerator, with roots wrapped in moist peat moss/sand mix.

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applestar
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Weather forecast for today had a serious storm passing through with wind gusts up to 40mph. Yesterday morning before going to relative’s, DD1 helped me put up the 2nd layer roof poly on the Sunflower House. It extends from the wigglewire track at the bottom of the front (W) gable above the doorway, over the entire roof (held down to both side full length wiggle wire tracks N and S), and then down the back gable (E) held down to the wigglewire track along the base of the gable and all the way to the ground where I took up the concrete stepping stones and set them back onto the 1ft+ excess for tight fit to the ground.

We then installed the first zigzag run of the caterpillar house strapping before we had to get ready. ( good thing I wasn’t responsible to bring anything to the gathering this year or I probably wouldn’t have been able to do this).

As it turned out, the storm has been downgraded to up to 30mph winds, but I’m glad we managed to add another layer to the roof, gables, and the back covering and was finally able to strap the structure down.

…I need to get the 2nd zigzag run installed before the ground completely freezes and I can’t pound in the tent pegs and extra long U pins any more, but this much should hold up against most non-extreme weather. I also need to work on snow-load support measures.
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applestar
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Yesterday, I was going to take down the VGC (Vegetable Gardenbed C) temporary season extension, salvage the eggplants and peppers to overwinter if they were still viable, and put up a multilayered low tunnel over the one bed of seedlings I had started.

However, when I peeled up the direct-cover fleece protecting them inside the structure, I saw that most of the seedlings had been decimated. Maybe the two BIG slugs I found at the base of the eggplants under their plastic mulch… or possibly and likely the vole I had seen running around and have not been able to catch :evil:

Anyway, there weren’t enough healthy seedlings to warrant keeping the bed going so I took everything down.
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The peppers and eggplants had been individually covered/protected with clear plastic bags (held up with their support stakes) inside the structure. Even so, I think I might have been too late for some of the peppers, although maybe 3 of them appear to be green and solid near the bottom. The bigger eggplant still had lower new shoots that were growing, and the smaller one had grow a new shoot from the base, so these may still come back.

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applestar
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applestar wrote:
Tue Nov 30, 2021 5:04 pm
I was going to do a little here a little there and be willing to give it up if it got too cold or too hard this year.

But this video is making me greedy/ ambitious…. (MUST prioritize — structural snow accumulation bracing/support and internal low tunnels first!)
How Our Winter Garden Survived -23°F (-31°C) With No Heat - YouTube

…I have most of the components for the next part of the project waiting for me out there…
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applestar
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I went out in the garden hoping to do three things, but I only managed to advance the work inside the Sunflower House—
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  • Added a clear plastic to the Aspabroc-Chinese Cabbage row — I’ll pull down the fleece like this when above freezing, and only cover with the 2nd (under) layer of fleece when expecting freezing temps. This way, the plants will get more light during the day.
  • Built a low tunnel covered with vented plastic so I can plant in the raised South bed. I had to move the candle heater assembly, and will have to come up with where and how to set it up next time
  • Added weatherstripping (trampoline bumper) to work in conjunction with the bubble wrap and water filled cartons, to block drafts from around the door and under the front wall
  • Planning to build another low tunnel for the back bed, now that I figured out how to build one — it took longer than anticipated to come up with best way to attach the hoops to the frame
2…I had also wanted to turn the compost pile
3…and at least build the framework for a PET Bottle House working hut, which hopefully will be transformed/built-up into a bottle house garden shed over the next year.

We have somewhat warmer temp days for a few days but snow is in the forecast for Tuesday night to Wed. Must hurry. :bouncey:

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applestar
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Forgot to mention — there were two slugs and one cutworm on two of the cabbages :evil:

There were also a bunch of aphids, so I sprayed them down with a neem oil and soap solution with a bit of added potassium bicarbonate (humidity has been extra high since I tightened up the extra layers), etc. although I’m not seeing fungal outbreak so far (more reason to spray now)
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applestar
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I started assembling the BOTTLE HOUSE PROJECT, which was another back burner idea that I had been noodling and collecting supplies for.

- I managed to frame out the structure with bamboo poles and CPVC hoops, etc
- It turned out that the 2L soda bottles I had saved up to date — about 4 large trash bags worth — were only enough for as much as shown.
… I’m starting with bunnies, etc. excluding low wall. One done, 2nd low wall has been started. 3rd wall along the pass thru may be designed differently.
- I covered the upper part of two of the walls, with hardware plastic for the time being, and temporarily made a roof out of a thin painter’s drop cloth plastic film.
- I think I might ultimately reuse an old 6mil greenhouse film for the roof.
- The structure is approximately 6 ft wide x 6 ft + 3 ft pass thru walkway/doorway.
- The plan is to cut through the wire fencing to the Side Yard Garden (SYG) area after the structure is completely secure with a door on the open side. The cut wire fencing will be framed into the door on that side.
- Once completed sometime over the winter~in spring, this Bottle House Shed (currently more like a SHACK :oops: ) will become the main entry to the SYG area, with a roofed “shed” vestibule/staging area for keeping tools and possibly benches for seedlings that are being acclimated for planting
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applestar
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I tinkered with the support structure of my “hut” some more since we are expecting the remnant of the system that spawned those terrible tornadoes — abrupt shifts to 20~30mph winds with sudden gusts of up to 50mph, according to the scary weather alert.

Before that, hubby and I went to pick up my car after having the brakes repaired — “master cylinder and rusted brake lines” — yeah, explains why the brake pedal had no resistance and I had to floor it to get the car to stop.

After I secured my hut to my satisfaction — though the real test will be if it survives the night (I hear the rains starting — it’s here :shock: ) — I washed my car. It’s been a while … very dirty … I used a soft sponge mop and a bucket of baking soda fortified biodegradable liquid soap … and a downgraded bottle/glass washing kitchen brush for details. What a difference! Well, hopefully, the car will survive this downpour, too … I’m picturing all kinds of splashed up dirt and stuff as well as whatever the wind plasters onto it….

imafan26
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You know, it is a curious thing. A lot of people here also like to wash their car when it rains. I can't figure out why?

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applestar
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Hmm… I’ve always washed my car when rain is expected….

Let’s see…
  • #1 reason I guess is I can’t during summer drought water restrictions, so more likely during rainy season
  • you don’t want soap suds to dry out, or it’s harder to rinse — leaves streaks — so better on overcast (not sunny), with higher humidity days
  • saves water if rain will help to rinse off — this is sometimes wishful thinking —if you don’t do a good job, then it won’t rain…. :roll:

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applestar
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Another almost 1 hour to sunrise, and there’s only the crepuscular twilight, but it looks like a part of the roof plastic became detached off of the hut structure… one of the roof support bamboo might have come apart.

Will be able to see better soon.

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applestar
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The upper bamboo pole support for the front passway wall had snapped, causing the structure to skew, aged hardware plastic wall to whip around and rip, and that corner of the roof plastic to become detached. The caterpillar tunnel style tie-downs were the only thing keeping the roof plastic from unsnapping all of the various clamps and pinches and flying off altogether.
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  • I replaced it with a new, sturdier pole, and in addition to the cross-bracing for the roof I had added yesterday, added a cross-bracing for the back wall.
  • These three poles, secured with proper hardware, were able to correct the massively tilted and skewed framework.
  • I replaced the hardware plastic wall with another one found in the shed — although this one being another re-used material, doesn’t look sturdy enough to last the winter (I guess I DO have to dig out the new roll from the garage next time :? )
  • Replaced the fishing net around the sides to help keep the wall plastic from flapping around,
  • and re-secured the tie-down strings staked down with tent pegs to brace and hold down the roof plastic in a tighter pattern. << THIS IS A CRITICAL STRUCTURAL ELEMENT FOR WITHSTANDING HIGH WINDS AND MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE
  • I also found a place to use the two re-claimed narrow screen windows. I just have to come up with a clear center panel that will double duty to hold them in place.
  • Noodled some more about how to build the entry door…. :idea:)
…I know… it looks rather sad and unfinished, but it was still somewhat windy and COLD! I reached my limit and had to go inside and warm up — hot soup, tea, etc.

…In case you are wondering… that branch-chopped trunk of a small tree is a volunteer ornamental pear. If all goes as planned, I’m going to attempt grafting scion-woods from all three varieties of pears that I have in an attempt to make a 3-in-1 tree later this winter. The trunk will be shortened at that time.

imafan26
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Having all that plastic and humidity and the fact that the garden pests are going to love being somewhere warmer. It must be a feast for them in the tunnels. A very ambitious project you are piecing together. Do you think you might actually build a hoop house in the future?

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applestar
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@imafan, I can understand why you might think that, and to some extent it’s true that some of the pests have lingered inside the protected space, but at this location, my scrabbled together structures are merely delaying the inevitable DEEP FREEZE — our winter lows can and do typically get as low as 0°F ~ -5°F and have gone down as low as double negative digits — like -11°F, -15°F.

Unless my carpentry and general construction skills VASTLY improve, nothing I make will protect from those temperatures. Even the “warmest winter ever” got down to something like teens and low 20’s °F.

I think (45°F), 35~32°F, 25°F, 15°F and 5~0°F are the main demarcation temperatures. There are plants and critters that fail to thrive and DIE when temps reach or get lower.

I have the Sunflower House (polyfilm/insect mesh) “high tunnel hoop house” and now this Bottle House (to be roofed and possibly insect mesh screened) “cabana/hut/shed”. If they successfully survive this winter. these will keep me occupied and provide the season extension and general gardening support I’ll need for a while.

…Also, I generally don’t use Any pest control products except maybe sluggo and Bt is very limited and restricted spread. But these structures that limit general entry into the internal biosphere will allow me to be more aggressive towards controlling pests and then, as needed, re-introducing beneficial organisms and microbes that will have the resources they need to thrive.

I was considering trying something in the Vegetable Garden Area on the other side of the house, but the distance between my house to the neighbors is closer there, and combined with the HUGE white pine trees they planted at the south end of our property line border, the entire area is heavily shadowed all winter.

BUT, it does get a good amount of earliest morning to almost noon sunlight after Spring Solstice, before the trees behind/southeast of our property leafs out, so it’s a good location for early spring planting, and I’m going to gear up to prep those beds until then. I will likely use low tunnels, etc to extend the early spring front-end of the season there.

Big construction project for next season in the Vegetable Gardenbeds will be repairing or rebuilding the Pallet-Sided Raised Beds that are falling apart, and reviewing and reducing the overgrown blackberry patch…. :bouncey:

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applestar
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In addition to my DIY Side Yard Garden “Sunflower House”
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There is also the Kitchen Garden Patio Hoop House, which is currently being used as my “ready-set-go staging area” a.k.a. “stuff anything that can’t get wet but can withstand the freeze until I can get organized” space.

This area also is more or less completely shaded and shadowed during the winter months, so I’m trying to decide whether I want to fortify it enough to see if it can survive the winter with possible snow load — not confident— or actually clean everything out of it and PUT IT AWAY until early spring seed starting time…. (Currently a massive project in and of itself, but I think I no longer need the hoophouse components and at least some of the tools and supplies that had been stored/ready-to-use in there).

I do still have the ingredients and supplies for blending up a last batch of bokashi for slow culturing over the cold winter months but be ready to be activated in one of the protected spaces as early as feasible in spring, as well as the supplies needed for the Bottle House Shed and any additional protection as far as light weight and winter weight fleece fabrics, vented and non-vented plastic and greenhouse poly sheets, hoops and clamps, earth staples, etc.

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applestar
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Just making a note that I made a pot of Roasted “Pumpkin” and Carrot soup with one of the fall-harvested Greek Sweet Red C.moschata squash today 😋
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applestar
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We still had some 2021 harvested popcorn kernels left :D

— I made candied/caramel popcorn (sunflower oil, vanilla infused cane sugar, butter, sea salt) in a stew pot. Didn’t have plain peanuts, so tossed in a handful of Planters nuts and chocolate trail mix. Turned out yummy 😋
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