Direct Sow Test

Been really busy for the last week, hence no recent updates.  I came home from work Today and had that feeling where I just wanted to do something impulsive.  I get like that sometimes and I've learned to give in as occasionally something neat comes from it.  I don't think Today was one of those times because all I did was "grade" my new East -> West bed, grab some seed packets and start sowing.

I think the urge to do this came from the realization that I don't need to start winter crops indoors and deal with the hassle of lighting, watering and hardening off.  As an experiment of sorts I just went for it, sowed some seeds and watered well.  We'll see what happens, I think I'm going to wish I had done this awhile ago.

It dawned on me what a schizo' I am after someone emailed me a question from my other, technology oriented blog: www.pmddirect.com/wp  I must say: I do have varying interests...

What the...

Round 2 Emergence & Sad Seedlings

Decided to let the kids get a little air Today so I popped open my windows and set them out for some AM sun.  I've been hardening them off here and there on the weekends when I'm around, Today was the first time I left them out without being home.  They grow up so fast!...

Came home to another shipment from Johnny's, this one containing my corn, bean, carrot and pepper seeds as well as some larger organic pots and a small harvesting knife.

I checked on my latest round of seedlings and was happy to see that quite a few more have emerged.  It's no doubt that the heat pads have sped things up considerably.  I'm now facing the same problem of light requirements; do I purchase another light fixture or do I move the round 1 seedlings outdoors during the day?  Eeeek...

After moving my seedlings back in from their sunny and breezy perch I noticed my beets were bummed out, just lying there on their sides.  The leaves were perky but their stems don't seem up to the task.  I've noticed this with several of my seedlings, the beets exhibiting the most problems.  It's not from wind, I know that.  The only thing I can think is that they weren't sown deep enough or maybe early on when I watered I disturbed the seeds and/or caused them to "float" up a bit in the soil?  I've asked on GardeWeb.com for some advice.

This is particularly salty for me as I've come to really enjoy beets and beet greens lately.  "Don't you go dying on me!" <- Bonus points for the person that knows that movie (don't use Google!)

Another Bed is Born

Wrapped up my new East -> West bed that will be the home to tall warm season crops (e.g. corn, tomato).  It's a bit lower than I would like but I just didn't have as much soil (or sod really) to work with.  It'll be fine, I can build it up over time.  Like any fine sculptor would, I had the row looking beautiful, straight, level with a perfect radius... that is until my good-for-nothing, lazy-ass-never-help-out dog, Chui walked on it. Bad Dog!

My Mom came over for a couple hours and helped out with some weeding, nice to have someone to chat with and even nicer to have some help.  Thanks Mom!

I continue to be perplexed by the dissimilar growth rate between the organic pots and the plastic cell trays.  A theory came to me Today while flipping my compost piles; I thought just maybe the seedling receives an ALL-STOP message when it's fragile little roots penetrate through the pot and are exposed to the open air.  I think it's plausible and went ahead and sought confirmation on GardenWeb.com

Added all the de-soiled sod chunks to the compost, flipped the right heap to the vacant left heap (hope it heats up!) and added more to the giant temp. heap.  Too much to manage right now and for some reason none of the piles are finishing up!

A Bird In The..

.. Southwest corner of my yard, about 10' up in a tree may see my yard like this:

Processed half of another bed, only did half because the other half is planted and doing well.  Shredded 3 bags of leaves from my parent's house and worked into the two long beds (to feed the worms). Laid out the new trim path for the gravel-grass separating rock border.  Ripped up about 60 sq. ft. of sod for new a new West-East bed.  Vinessa stopped by for a visit and checked out the projects.  Uhmm... that's about it.  Long day, I'm sore.

Starting More Seeds

heat mats are between the cardboard and the trays

My third post of the day.  Seems excessive until I think that the first was around 1am this morning (because I was up working that late), then the second was middle of the day and just a photo and finally this one almost 24 hours after the first.  The pattern seems to be programming for a long period, taking a break for farm stuff, then back to work (repeat).

Anyway, I decided I should start another round of seeds, especially considering how many salads I'm eating these days and I don't want to run out of greens!  Yet another opportunity to use my time lapse skills...  New heat mats also being put to use on this batch.  I've got another Johnny's order on a UPS truck to arrive here Tuesday - that order is mostly warm-weather stuff but there are some things that I'm eager to get in the ground now (carrots!)

Update: heat pads weren't effective so I removed cell trays from drip trays and that helped.  Taking it further I put a towel over both trays.  Temperature hovering around 80F

You Can Eat This!

... as you can see I already have a few times...

Slug Hunter

It's 1:10am on Friday, I've been programming (that's what I do) for 5.5 hours straight and I needed a break.  Decided to attach a laser pointer to the side of my ammonia canon, grab the Flip Camera and see if I couldn't capture some assassinations on video.

Beautiful Changes

Santa Ana winds are blowing and the air is warm, I'm worried that my winter crops will bolt.  I've been watering regularly hoping that the evaporative cooling will keep them convinced it is indeed still winter.  Had some fun with the camera for a few minutes taking macro shots of the tiny little changes happening.

blueberries covered with new growth

birth of a strawberry

snap pea blossom - I never noticed how similar to a snap dragon the flower is

I wish I could tell you that Chui was tired from all the work that he did to help me Today, I really do...

Seedling Container Comparison

Dot Pot (organic) containers producing weaker seedlings

When I started my seedlings I mentioned that I was curious which of the two styles of containers would perform better.  Well, it's hard to argue that for whatever reason the cell-type flat is producing larger and healthier seedlings.

cell flats producing much healthier seedlings

compost security camera

A New Record

Just when I thought I had reached the pinnacle of Composting High Temperature Glory, I experience a morning like Today.... and totally BREAK MY PREVIOUS RECORD!

Gonna call that a solid 164F

Compostables

Dog hair from Chui's groomer

I'm often asked "So what can I compost? What do you want?"  While there are hundreds of things you can compost they don't all breakdown and behave the same, additional some items (e.g. pine needles) can have a substantial impact on pH and other levels.  I figured the best thing to do would be to compile a list of the materials that I like to compost, these are items that break down at similar rates, don't rot and smell too bad and don't have much impact on chemical composition.

• 100% cotton anything - T-shirts and socks are good, must be ALL cotton
• Any raw fruits (all parts - pits, rind, meat) - no added sugars, chocolate, etc.
• Any raw vegetables - no oils, salad dressings, etc.
• Bread - no butter or sauces, moldy is fine 
• Chicken manure 
• Coffee filters 
• Coffee grinds 
• Corn-based packing peanuts 
• Cow manure
• Dog and cat hair
• Dried leaves
• Egg shells - any animal...
• Flowers
• Goat manure
• Grass cuttings - need to be somewhat fresh, nitrogen converts to ammonia and it clumps together and smells terrible after 24 hours
• Horse manure
• Human hair
• Human urine - yep!
• Most plant trimmings and basic yard waste
• Mushrooms
• Paper based egg cartons
• Rabbit manure
• Saw dust - real wood, NOT treated, particle, etc.
• Shredded or torn up brown grocery bags
• Straw
• Tea bags - no staples, natural bags
• Tissue - non-scented or treated, just basic tissue paper.  Even if you blow your nose with it you can still compost it, no prob!
• Toilet paper and paper towel rolls
• White non-glossy paper  

corn-based packing peanuts

Tips to make my life easier:

• Tear up paper goods (bags, TP rolls, etc) when you throw it into the container.  It's easier for you to do it when it's in your hand and dry then for me to do it after it's soggy and soaked in vegetable and fruit juices.  Paper rolls "unwind" if you start one corner and pull, bags can just be quickly torn up into ~6" pieces
• Take produce labels off produce before adding to container, it saves me from needing to check each piece manually
• Whole banana?  Peel it first as it will break down MUCH quicker and by the time I get my hands on it it will most likely be too ripe (or rotten) to handle.  This goes for all fruit and veggies, if you have the time and don't mind I will appreciate things that are cut up into smaller pieces, but no big deal if you don't want to.
• Keep non-compostable trash out of the container.  Not to sound like a jerk, but if you can't keep it clean (i.e. no trash) then don't bother because it's too much work for me to pick through and take out trash that has become integrated with the organic materials.  If you aren't sure if you can compost it then don't.

Other Tips:

• No Meat
• No Dairy
• No Dog or Cat feces, only the manures listed above

Full day of work

All done and ready for planting

Another full day of work, started early and had the second large bed complete by 2:45pm.  After a cold bud I moved on to running some more material through the shredder and finally wrapped up with a little compost work.  Of course I had the camera out and was taking time lapse of everything, videos included below.

It hit 86 degrees Today and I'm sunburned - only in southern California.  Too bad the people and politics suck so bad...

Seedlings doing well, first true leaves starting to pop out which means it's almost time for fertilizer.  I'm also realizing that I will need to transplant these guys up to something a little larger if I'm going to keep them indoors for another 4-5 weeks.  I should also start another round of sowing in preparation of succession plantings.

I need a garden plan quick.

Another time lapse - I CAN'T figure out why the camera is moving, it was securely mounted

Gorillapod clenching (very!) rigid piece of maple (tightly!) clamped to wall cap -
this camera was NOT moving, so WHY are my pictures moving?

HOLY CRAP, this is a lot of work

Once again... seriously under estimated the amount of work to complete a job.  I've been moaning on about the need to correct the bed soil, to remove the clods and mesh, blah blah blah.  Today was my day, I woke up early, coffee to the brain and got to work.  Oh, and of course I setup my camera for some time lapse goodness.

Including minor distractions by Kevin stopping by to get tools and BS and my super awesome Mom coming over to help cleanup the farm - I spent EIGHT HOURS on a single row.  If I was an employee I would be fired I think.  Actually no, I worked my butt off, it's just a lot more work than I thought.

BEFORE - Chunks of sod held together by plastic mesh

I was encouraged to see so many worms in the soil and I'm sure the decomposing sod attracted them.  I did my best to kill as few as possible but it's tough, and good worms did die Today.  It was so rewarding to see the result of all that work; this beautiful, fluffy dark soil teeming with fat worms.  While I was at it I dumped 5 bags of amendment and sprinkled a bit of green sand.

AFTER - fluffy, rich soil packed with worms!
(photo doesn't do it justice...)

My Mom came over because she wanted to help out, she's worried that I'm working too hard and maybe she thinks I've bit off more than I can (or care to) chew.  Maybe she's right?  Either way, she showed up, jumped into action and cleaned up the leaves, plucked grass seedlings from my already-growing beds, moved a half bale of hay, helped me move my 3 large clay pots packed with wet soil and blueberry bushes, picked some weeds from planters, trimmed my geraniums by my back door and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting.  She enjoyed it and I always enjoy having her around, she's cool, we BS and drink together.  I'm fortunate, thanks Mom!

Note to Steve: MS movie maker appears to have a 2GB size limit on clips - your (brilliant!) solution was to render out sections to keep the file size down.  Also, no, you can't change clip duration, need to change options then re-add to timeline.  Movie maker is lame.

Making good soil better

I ordered ~2 yards of "Bumper Crop"(lame website) soil amendment for my beds.  I'm concerned that after I remove all the sod pieces and associated soil that I'll be robbing my beds of substantial nutrients.  To offset this I purchased enough of this highly rated amendment to add 4" to all my beds.

24 2cu. ft. bags delivered at no charge by Flowerdale nursery.  I paid $9.99 a bag and they throw in an extra bag for every 5 you buy.  This works out to $8.33 a bag or $4.17 a foot!  OR... $112.39 a yard.  Compared to the material yard compost at $20-30 a yard this seems expensive, if you consider that the cheap stuff contains god-knows-what then I think it's worth it.  I don't want compost created from sod from a closed golf course that received Roundup treatments for 3 months before being removed.  Organic ain't easy and it ain't cheap.

Bumper crop contains composted:

• Forest Humus
• Chicken Manure
• Worm Castings
• Bat Guano
• Kelp Meal
• Oyster Shell
• Dolomite Lime

As I screen the clods and sod mesh from the beds I'll be tossing in copious amounts of amendment.  I've got 2-3 yards of homemade compost in the pipeline and expect finished product in 4-5 weeks which I'll top everything off with.

I'm becoming more and more interested in the French intensive methods of gardening and considering slicing off a small area in the yard to experiment with this more.  I may do a bit of interning over at Flowerdale nursery where Carlos is using the French intensive method exclusively; his beds look awesome, much more aesthetically appealing than traditional row methods.

I mixed up the special soil blend for my new blueberry bushes.  I'm planting the blueberries in containers for easy control of pH and other soil properties; apparently blueberries require a low (4.5 - 5.5 pH) and also benefit from a soil with actively decomposing organic materials.  It's much easier to create conditions like that in a container that in the ground.  I found a recipe online somewhere that called for the following:

• 1/3 small bark (1/4")
• 1/3 Acidic potting mix (like the kind for azaleas)
• 1/3 sphagnum peat moss
• handful of soil sulfur (drops the pH even further)

More on the blueberries later, in the meantime I made another time lapse!

Note to Steve: MS Movie Maker crashes when making time lapse movies.  Use PhotoLapse to generate uncompressed AVI (HUGE file) then import than into moviemk for titling and final render.

TL350 Picture Size Aspect Table

My new TL350 has several picture size settings and I wanted to know which had a traditional 35mm aspect ratio.  I plugged the dimensions into a quick spreadsheet to plot it out for my reference.  It doesn't feel right to leave it cranked up to the 10mp setting because I just don't need that much detail, I'm thinking the 5mp is the sweet spot.

This post exists solely for my reference purposes, if you read this far I'm wondering what's the matter with you.

Hey! You're a Nitrogen Factory

What?!...

Creepy title but I'm gonna leave it.  I've been wanting to write about this for awhile but have been putting it off because I wasn't sure if it was "too weird".  I've decided (after a bottle of wine) that it's not that weird, that people are just too uptight!

Urine!  It's amazing stuff and we are constantly creating and disposing of it.  We pee and flush it away, using several liters of water in the process.  Turns out that pee has some excellent uses in the garden and compost pile.  Urine is created by our kidneys, it's a byproduct of regular body functions and is the primary vehicle by which our body will evacuate toxins and surplus nutrients from the blood stream.  Nitrogen can be quite toxic and our body is constantly trying to get rid of it.... by sending it out in urine!  Did you hear the N word (Nitrogen) in there?  Right, the same "N-P-K" nitrogen that we purchase as 1 of 3 components in most fertilizer.



In a nutshell, if you can get over yourself enough to use urine as a fertilizer you can enjoy:

• saving water from flushing the toilet
• saving money by not buying fertilizer
• Utilizing an organic nitrogen source in your garden and compost

I go through phases when I do and don't use urine as a fertilizer.  It's a difficult habit to maintain, righteous and confident as I may try to sound in this post I am susceptible to the social stigma that "using your own urine as a fertilizer" carries; I don't exactly brag about this to everyone that walks in my front door.  But then here I am blogging about it, it's like I'm coming out as a urine-as-a-fertilizer user and proponent!

Turns out now is one of those using-urine phases, it was triggered by one of my compost piles that went totally cold and was neglected for some time.  I knew that a gallon or so of good old, urea based nitrogen would get it cooking in no time.  I also knew that I would be planting blueberries and I read that blueberries CANNOT have nitrate based Nitrogen, bur rather they need Urea based Nitrogen - pee to the rescue!

A couple of quick notes:

• Urinary tract infection? - don't use your urine, it may contain bacteria
• Older than 24 hours? Don't use as fertilizer, use in compost instead
• As a fertilizer you will want to dilute heavily with water  (10:1)
• If you are dating someone kind of new, you may want to wait awhile before letting this cat out of the bag...
• This article has some nice info and echos some of what I said above 

New Camera for Shooting Time Lapse

I've wanted a camera that would allow me to take shots at a set interval to later combine into a time lapse video. After research and a whole bunch of hassles I got my hands on a new Samsung TL350.  This is a great little point and shoot with full HD, F2.4, 24mm wide angle, interval shooting as well as several other features that set it apart.

My first time lapse test was supposed to be a 10 hour duration of my seedlings that have just emerged.  The battery pooped out after 499 shots which works out to ~8 hours.  It's quite boring, I expected to see them growing a bit more and in fact it's made me think about giving some additional attention or nutrients to the seedlings!

Some notes about the tools and settings used, for my own reference more than anything:

• Shots taken and 1080p resolution
• PhotoLapse used to combine @ 15fps saving with H.264 compression - file size: 8,941Kb
• Strange motion is inexplicable, I don't think the tripod moved because it later reverts back to the original orientation.  It's almost like the camera is making some strange adjustment
• Shooting at a wider interval than 1 minute would be a good idea and increase battery life.  For example, I could have shot at a 6 minute interval and maybe achieved 150-180% increase in battery life.  Combined at 5FPS the video would play at the same speed although be a bit more rough

Scramblin'!

Oh god, you should see what those
strings are attached to!

Checked my seedling trays this morning and was surprised to see that ~40% have sprouted and are reaching for the light already.  I really didn't expect this to happen so fast, especially considering my temperature had been running on the low side of about 76°  I already have the heat pads ordered and they should arrive in a couple days.  I ran over to Home Depot and picked up a double 48" fluorescent fixture and rigged it up in my extra bathroom, later (maybe this weekend) I will set it all up in my potting shed out back.

Was disapointed to see that the compost in the tumbler is not heating up after I added additional greens.  It's just moist enough, plenty of air available... I don't get it.  The only thing to try is even more nitrogen; I may need to generate a little home made nitrogen booster.

Poor guys, just trying to get a little light

Soil Cleanup Project: FAIL!

A few days ago I decided that I needed to correct the soil being used in my beds before I transplant or sow.  Turned out to be a blessing that none of my friends responded to my call for help because my plan failed big time!

I set everything up as I had envisioned and was feeling pretty good about it until I had the first shovel load in the screen - way too wet and sticky.  The organic materials from the sod, the green mesh backing and the dirt all clumped together like adobe.

After about 1.5 hours I had processed 3 loads and decided to call it quits for the day.  The only way I was able to make it work was to beat individual clumps against the mesh to loosen them up, then I would kneel and smack the underside of the screen which would send the clods bouncing around and as they came down again they would shed a bit of their attached soil.  Stupid, totally and completely stupid.

A few Budweisers set me down the path to a potential solution, I pre-dug the bed (as seen to the right of the horse) to expose it to sunlight and hopefully let it dry out a bit.  I'm hoping that if it's a bit more dry it will work as originally planned.  If I can't get this done by the end of this weekend I will dig it all out and replace with purchased soil and amendments - I hope it doesn't come to that.

As always Chui did nothing.

Too much compost?

Took a serious swing at the huge pile of tree trimmings that's been aging in the yard, the plan was to have the tree trimmers leave it all behind, I would then chip and shred it into compost gold!  It was slow going but nice relaxing work to do with the iPod on.  I chipped and shredded for about 6 hours straight and reduced the trimming pile by only ~30%.

Had to rearrange my composting center to facilitate an additional pile or two, I didn't plan this out so well and as such didn't have the necessary pallets to create bins.  I ended up cleaning up the whole area, relocating about a ton (that's a total bullshit estimate, I have no idea what it weighted) of gravel and dirt to the side of the potting shed.  Then I was able to drag the Compost Tumbler over to the West wall to free the North wall for additional piles.

I don't much care for the hay as a pathway mulch not to mention it's SPROUTING all over the place!  I'll be composting it to dispose of the remaining 1.5 bales as well as the material already in use in the paths.  It makes a good carbon source and the hollow structure of the straw is conducive to air flow.  It's hard to tell from the picture but the footprint is probably 7' x 4'  When I'm finished shredding the tree trimmings I expect the footprint to grow by another 50% and the height to end up at 5'  This would bring the volume to 315 cubic feet which is just ridiculous and unmanageable.  ;0)

Seeds Have Arrived

I came home to a package from Johnny's Selected Seeds sitting on my porch!  Now that my order has arrived I need to get some of these seeds sown ASAP.  First some additional materials were needed, off to the farm supply for:

• green sand
• compost - believe it or not I don't have any mature compost right now
• potting trays and lids
• fish emulsion
• Fish & Kelp fertilizer

I ended up purchasing a bag of seed starting mix rather than make my own.  I didn't really have a choice because I couldn't find any acceptable compost to make my own mix.  After a bit of shopping I decided on "Light Warrior Seed Starter" if for no other reason than the name and graphics are so ridiculous (actually the ingredients seemed more than sufficient).  Hey, they have a website!!

My loose plan is to start many of the crops indoors, as many as possible as I still have substantial work to do on my outside beds.  I'm looking forward to the experience of starting (and growing) seedlings indoors and the knowledge that I will take away.

I'm going through a mini experiment trying organic individual pots as well as a cell-tray to find out which one I like the best, or maybe which one the seedlings like best.  I pretty much split all plantings 50/50 between the Dot Pots and the cell tray.

I used my seed starting log that I printed off the web and entered each item that I planted.  The idea is that I will reference this log to determine when to start hardening the seedlings off and finally when to transplant.  I don't know, this is all really new and although I'm going through the steps I don't quite understand everything I'm doing yet.  This is how I learn everything though...

Tatsoi planted 1/6/11, Johnny's
ID: 515.1, thin to 1 plant,
sown in pot

I marked each set of plantings using popcicle sticks and developed my own layout format with the information that I wanted:

• date sown
• plant name
• seed supplier ID
• pot or cell sown
• thinning info if applicable

I also created a legend in my log book so I can remember what the abbreviations are and the layout of the info - this is how standards are born!

To be honest I'm totally overwhelmed right now, I feel this immense pressure to have a garden plan complete with rotation schedules and succession planting schedule, etc.  I haven't worked out my irrigation solution yet and I really don't even know when exactly I should be direct sowing into my beds!  I like a challenge but I'm concerned that I may be striving for a level of expertise and efficiency that can only come with time.  Tonight should have been enjoyable but I was actually feeling melancholy the whole time worrying if I was doing everything correctly.  The feeling continues as I fuss about watering, temperature and light requirements for my (soon to be) seedlings.  Gotta stick with it though, it can't be that hard...

As I type this up my two flats of sown seeds are sitting on top of my refrigerator where I hope they will benefit from the slightly higher temperature radiated from the fridge.  I've got to come up with a solution to the impending light requirements as well as managing the various post-emergence requirements for my new seedlings.  For example, the tomatoes need to be transplanted and introduced to a cooler environment once their true leaves emerge.

I need to remind myself how great it will be to have a full, thriving garden that I can harvest fresh food from each day.  To have people over for dinner and eat in the yard and invite them to pull their own veggies.  To give away great tasting, home grown organic veggies and enlighten friends and family on the virtues of growing your own food and controlling what goes into it.

It's worth it, I'm just freaking out a little.  ;0)

Slug Death

3 - 1 up top and 2 down low!

The slug traps work (i.e. slugs are attracted to, enter and die) but I don't know if they are effective (i.e. keeping my plants from being chomped nightly).  I do feel that I'm seeing a bit less on my nightly patrols, but I can't be certain.  I suppose once the traps stop claiming victims I can claim victory.

I wish slugs could scream...

Boxelder Orgy

Allll-righhhht...

The Battle Rages On!

These [slug] bastards don't quit!  I'm averaging 1-2 a night in the traps, but there are still plenty up near the plants.  I've deployed the ammonia cannon and have been sniping slugs the past few evenings... I just know when I walk away 10 more slide their disgusting little shell-less mollusk bodies up the bed to eat my plants.

I hate slugs, in fact slugs are now on my (very short) list of things that will be unconditionally killed on sight:
(in order)

1. Japanese Beetle Larvae
2. Silverfish
3. Slugs
4. Snails
5. Flies
6. Mosquitoes
7. Japanese Beetles (good for Beetle Ball)
8. Rats

New Year Project

not my photo (or my hand!)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I created my raised beds from a combination of sod, excavated dirt and compost.  I still think the plan could have succeeded if I had more time, but the break down of the sod chunks is taking too long.  I've read over and over that carrots and potatoes want a loose soil to spread freely and the plastic sod backing mesh is going to create a problem for that.  The only solution that I can think of is to manually screen the soil in the beds and break up the sod chunks while also removing the plastic mesh.  Lots of work, not hard work, but lots of it.  I've got an email out to friends and family requesting help next weekend, we'll see... ;0)

The plan will be to set the screen on saw horses over the row, shovel the dirt and sod onto the screen and let it fall right back down into place.  I'm going to lose some volume so I may purchase some additional dirt to offset the loss.  Sod and it's roots will be tossed into the compost pile of course.  More on this later including before and after photos.