GardenHacker: not your typical seedy site...

Starting my winter reading early...

Just read "How to Grow World Record Tomatoes" by Charles H. Wilbur, and found it quite informative. Seems he got his inspiration from the redwood trees, and perfected the idea in his home state of Alabama. With 220+ days as it's average growing season, he's got quite a bit of time to grow tomatoes, as opposed to zone 5, where I reside, but his ideas are transferable to anywhere. With the Japanese Tomato Ring, the roots grow up and into the bin, all the way around it, with four plants (confirmed, as I had to break up a lot of clumps that were held well with thick and thin roots from my tomatoes on the biggest tomato ring). With Charles Wilber's method, the roots are growing laterally and wide around a single plant, and the plant is pruned specifically to yield the maximum amount of tomatoes for "Better Boy" variety. As his method has been "proved out" not only with tomatoes, but with watermelon, radish, corn and other crops, I think it will be worth a try on two plants, and a container (one of my manure buckets split, and has become the candidate for experimenting with Mr Wilber's container method). I can hardly wait for spring!

Weekend Update for @007-07-28: Sacrificial Spuds Slimed by Slugs

Despite repeated dunkings, the slugs kept coming and eating my "potatoes in a bag" experiment. With an almost daily rainstorm, most of my concoctions got washed off (though the horseradish spray did work wonders on the beetles). The wet weather is also paradise for the slimy little so-and-so's. Next year, if I grow potatoes: "Sluggo" may be a part of my applications.

 The slugs can't seem to shimmy down the rope holding the inverted tomato plants, though - they're growing like crazy. Wonder how upside-down potato plants would faire... Nahhhh. Thoughts of an extremely raised bed garden, held up with copper pipes does come to mind, though.

 The Japanese Tomato Ring is going great. All have set fruit, and should be ripening soon, as my container variety have started. The Roma tomatoes got so full, they fell over (see picture below) and had to be re-tied to the cage. The tomatoes in containers seem not to be fairing as well, despite constant watering . Will need to move them into the back and see if that helps them. Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes keep growing and fruiting, but none so far are ripening. Figuring they'll all ripen at the same time (all varieties) and we'll have to make a lot of sauce, even though we got early, mid and late varieties.
Thinking that maybe I can set this variety inside the ring and let them cascade over the sides, though they may not be tall enough.

 They pale by comparison to what's going on outside, and actually are doing worse than anything inside planted in soil (ok, mother nature's got a leg up on my dabblings). For my next trick, I'll be planting into some home-made container planters that work similar to the ones sold for $39.95 and see how they do.

Resources Online, Offline, by Electric Light, and Candlelight

I ran across two excellent resources that are related, though distinctly different. The first is the online edition of the "Old Farmer's Almanac" from Yankee Publishing at almanac.com, and "The Farmer's Almanac" from Almanac Publishing Company at farmersalmanac.com.

  The " Old Farmer's Almanac" is the one I remember from years gone by, with it's yellow cover and old-timey illustrations. Chock full of information, this website keeps it's printed material's simplicity, while taking advantage of the web's abilities to serve pertinent information for any given day or period.

  "The Farmers Almanac" is a newer, glossier version, the website has videos, full color pictures, and more. Also full of information, this site has more eye-candy and multimedia resources available, though slightly complicated to navigate through for the first time user.

I like both sites, and plan to get the "off-grid" versions that you can read by candle-light.

Looking at my Lowly Lawn (yawn yawn yawn)...

... a poet I'm not. I'm also not in love with grass. Aside from allergies, I find the chore of lawn mowing a waste of time and a waste of resources. Why do we have this thing, other than to be able to see if snakes are encroaching on "our" territory? Well, a little history:

"... Lawns started out as grazing areas around the manors of the landed gentry. Having a nice lawn around the house was a sign of power as you owned sufficient land to raise sheep and cow.

"As the industrial revolution took hold and animals were less a sign of wealth, the lawn itself became the status symbol. You could indulge yourself in sparing land and time to recreational grounds.

"As people moved to the cities so did the grass, on ever smaller plots. First lawns were cut by hand and later with the mechanical lawnmower, (an automated, resource depleting, pointless cow.) ..." Link

So what are the alternatives? How about a Clover Lawn via About.com? Link

Or how about a Moss Lawn, for those shady areas? Link

There's always a Chamomile Lawn, for something a little more fragrant Link

And the veritable Oregano Lawn: "... There are three of these prostrate or creeping oregano gems: CREEPING OREGANO (Origanum vulgare humile, formerly, Origanum compactum nanum) is a brilliant green; CREEPING GOLDEN MARJORAM, (Origanum vulgare aureum) is a golden green in spring and fall and dark green in summer; and MOUNDING MARJORAM (Origanum marjorana 'Betty Rollins') which is a darker green with a hint of red, a wonderful minty fragrance and a small pink flower stalk. Most exciting is the lack of labor and precision these plants require. Don't feel like mowing this week? Skip it. In fact, they could be left for a once a year shearing. They will not look woody after and the scalped look should disappear in two to three weeks. However, mowing twice a month during the growing season keeps the "lawn look" going and satisfies those who want flat green and neat. ..." Link

Here's a few more possibilities to ponder as I head out and try to find my soudproof earphones, my oil and my gas can... for now... Link

Homefront Update 2007-04-29

They're still growing, and all similar in size. Makes me wonder if there is any difference between red and blue, and if the white encompasses all of what's needed to suppliment every day lighting. More controlled experiments should yield more conclusive results, but I'm ok with what I've got so far, esp. since they're using approximately 3 watts of energy, vs probably 13W using a small CFL for the same area.

We're trying an upside down tomato planter that cost $0 out of pocket, as I had all the materials here. The plastic coffee can was originally planted upside down (as seen in this post), and once the material settled and enough was added to bring it close to the top, was seeded and sprouted with no problems so far. Now hanging upside down, it hasn't whithered, and is fighting gravity.

This is the start of a "Japanese Tomato Ring" which has been documented in a number of places. Mine (have 2 so far, going for 3 or more) are smaller than the ones written about (instructions on the internet are for four ft diameter and three ft diameter, mine are 29" and 22", while the third will be only 12"). Other differences are the materials used are composted horse manure and wood shavings (animal bedding) instead of leaves. The rest will be the same.
Link to Japanese Tomato Ring
Link to Another Desc. of Japanese Tomato Ring
Another Link dedicated to tomatoes, citing the above links - with plenty more information and links to wile away a wet afternoon.

Planning is Everything

Planning is essential for all hacks. Seems counter-hack, doesn't it? Hacks are often off-the-cuff quick little things you do to get things done in the shortest amount of time, but planning can take only a short while, giving you a roadmap to implement several hacks that save you lots of time. Unhacking a hack is a counter-hack, I guess... Well, anyway:

• From the Oregon State University Extension Service, a great overview with this great oversight: "... Air Drainage: Air drainage is very important and often overlooked. Because cold air is colder and denser than warm air, it flows like water down gullies and valleys. This cold air dams up behind obstacles and settles in low spots. ..." Full PDF
• Rutgers University has a nice capsule for planning your garden, with a lot of basic information, including the real estate basic - location location location, and "...Once you've decided where the garden will go, it's time to choose which vegetables to grow. First, make a list of those vegetables you like. Next, put a plan down on paper. This will help you make the best use of space and will save time when planting by showing you exactly where to place your seeds and transplants. The plan should include the following information: garden size, space between rows and within rows, crops and varieties, planting dates, seeded crops, and transplanted crops. ..." PDF available as well in the upper left hand corner. Link to "Planning a Vegetable Garden"
• From GardenWeb.com, an easy assessment of soil conditions, and what to do with them "...The three main constituents of soil are sand, silt and clay. Sand has the largest particles and clay has the smallest, which is why it packs so tightly together. Silt particles are of intermediate size. An ideal garden soil, or loam, would be about 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay. The easiest way to see what type of soil you have is to dig a few holes and take some samples. There are a number of simple tests you can do to determine the composition of soil. One method is to take a fistful of soil and squeeze it into a ball. If it is unable to hold its shape, your soil is probably too loose, or sandy. Now try to break the ball apart by pressing on it with your thumb. A good soil will break apart readily; if not, you probably have too much clay in your soil. Another method is to take a couple of cups of soil and put them in a half-gallon jar half filled with water. Agitate the mixture until all the soil is in suspension and then let it settle overnight. The next day you will see that three distinct layers have formed: sand at the bottom, then the silt and at the top a layer of clay. ..." Link to "Preparing a New Garden"

The Closet Gardener

Don't want to reveal your softer side to your hunting buddies? Did an overwatering accident kill your office plants (and your computer, and printer), and ruin your chances of ever growing anything green in your office again? Like the clean lines and look of putty-colored cabinets, but your partner wants to "go green"? Fear not, for in the land of opporknockety we're in tune with you (at least once). Sunlight sheds have "turn-key" cabinets that look oh-so-drab, yet locked inside is your little garden of eden. Several sizes to choose from, and they're now offering Fungus growing kits to go with that venison... Full disclosure here...

LED Grow Light Roundup

Prices are coming down s-l-o-w-l-y. They've been between $200 - $300 per. Now others are coming into the fray. The first one I remember that has been noted regularly is the LED Grow Master for approximately $170 - $210. The Next one highly noted and priced is the XB Series from growwithleds.com. These start at $300 and go up appreciably from there. The new(er) kids on the block are ledtronics.com with their "GrowMaster" like LED bars at $160, and enluxled.com for the Do-It-Yourselfer with screw in flood lights (red and blue being the choice colors) starting at $90.00 each.