JAP69's Blog

Done a fair amount of snooping around sniffing out ways to get sunlight to the veggies and other sun loving plants. A lot of methods out there from mirrors to reflective material to make mirrors. I also seen where you can buy reflective material in fair size sheets to redirect the sun.

Looks like problem solved once I got to thinking about it.

While I was looking around I remembered an article I read some years ago about where they pull sunlight into a tube and down into the building from the roof top or where they need to put it to gather the sunlight. I think it was in Japan where they did it. Brightens the whole room. The tube was fitted on the inside with directional reflective material some how.

Maybe if I do a search for sun tube I may be able to find it.

I have numerous trees in my backyard which is not very large to begin with. The patio deck area only gets sunlight in the morning for a few hours during the summer months. Now that it is fall the leaves are dropping but the growing season is about over for summer warm weather crops.

I have been thinking about this problem and thought about putting up convex mirrors in the yard to direct sunlight on the plants. Just done a search on using mirrors for directing sunlight on plants and found that it is done by gardeners. I only read one article this morning on using mirrors for the garden which was not too lengthy.

Looks like I may purchase some convex mirrors for directing sunlight on the plants. Done a search on convex mirrors and found they are expensive. Something like $40.00 and up.

Will need to find out about UV rays requirements for plants and whether mirrors redirect UV rays or they take away the UV rays. Also will need to find out if mirrors strengthen UV rays or not.

One of the pansy's had stem rot at the soil line again. Was reading this morning and some were saying that these nurseries pump them up with felizer to make them look good for a sale. They were saying they started their own from seed and did not have this problem.

Gave the tomato and pepper plants a shot of bone meal yesterday afternoon.

Have not done much this week in the garden. Installed new screening in a screen frame for one of the windows Monday. Used the 36 inch screening I purchased as the frame I did was about 30 inches wide. A screen I did not plan on doing but found a quarter size hole in the screening. Still have the bigger screen frame to do when I get screening. Going to need to straighten the screen rail on one side.

Got one of those internal probe thermometers at the market this morning. Soil temperature is at 62 to 65 degrees. Will use thermometer to monitor temperature especially during hot summer days.

Thinking of using light gray stone for mulch on top of the containers and wrap white cloth around the containers.

I came to the conclusion a container garden is totally different when it comes to the growing medium you use and how the ferlizer is added for plant growth.

They are two totally different worlds.

I was thinking there must be an easier way to sterilize the potting mix by other means than using an oven. All it needs is to be heated. I snooped around this morning sniffing out other methods. Came across other methods and I like this one as I can do a larger amount at once. Just buy a large metal garbage can, do what the instructions say and be done with it. I could set the can on concrete blocks and start a fire underneath using charcoal as a heat source. Charcoal would not create a lot of smoke either.  All you need to do is get the water boiling and maintain boiling temperature the required length of time. I like this metal barrel steaming method.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/homemade-soil-sterilizers-37986.html

Metal Barrel Steaming
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Sure would be easier than building an oven. getting an adequate heat source, dealing with temperature control. I was even thinking of buying a used electric stove with an oven. Seen one last night for $75.00. Where would I store it? Look like he!! sitting covered in the back yard. No room in the garage.

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See comment for another heat source.

Had about 5 seeds in the bunching onion tray that are up about 1/4 inch. Have about 4 seeds in a foot basin tray I got at the dollar store that have just sprouted overnight. I direct seeded them outside in the potting mix with sifted potting mix on top.

The ones in the foot basin bin should grow up as there is about 4 or 5 inches of potting mix in the tray. Have enough room in the tray for two more rows which I will plant the seed rows at intervals.

Might have some Lettuce for salad.

May just as well start the bunching onion seed outside in the squash box that has vermiculite in it rather than in the back room in little seed starting containers.

I mentioned that I threw away the 4 1/2" pot that had mold growing in the seed starting episode. I took a washed out soup can and started some more bunching onions in seed starting mix I had sifted from the potting mix and added vermiculite plus a pinch of bone meal. Water soaked that down and planted my seeds. That was a couple days ago. I go out this morning and it looks like mold growing again. Where the he!! did that come from. I thought for awhile and was thinking it comes from the water. I have two cups generally in the back room when I chew. One coffee and one water drinking from both. I figure I must be contaminating the water with the coffee when I drink from it. Coffee, sugar and milk tainting the water which is causing the mold to grow. I have been using the water cup to water the seed starting mix with.

Looks like I will trash that can of seeds started and start over using fresh tap water this time.

All the stuff growing on the patio deck garden are still alive. Until cold weather knocks out the summer crops with the nip in the air. The tomatoes grew up but did not leaf out too well or flower. Squash are stunted in growth from cool weather.

Took the bag of lumber scraps and a few other items to the recycling center this morning. Picked up today's number for mid and eve [971]. Got back and relaxed for awhile after checking what is growing and pruned some dead flower stems off of one plant. watered what needed water. Just stick a finger in the pot mix to test it. Relaxed some more.

Then I went out and put up the Halloween scarem stuff. Two big spider webs about four feet across with spiders on them. Full skeleton about three feet long. Made a grave cross and stuck that in the ground. Hung up a straw hat on the porch post. Stuck a broom in the flag support on a post and draped an old colored sheet over it to blow in the wind.

Maybe I will have the space alien "I" greet the trick or treaters at the door.

Planted some bunching onion seeds. Anyone ever read the ingredients on seed starting mix. Pretty much just peat, vermiculite and some ferlizer to give the wee little sproutings a jolt to get a move on and do their growing up act. I just sifted out the potting mix and added about 20% vermculite to the sifting.

Anyone know where I can find potato chip plant seeds?  Probably would take a high salt content soil to grow potato chips.  Been looking in the seed racks and can not find them at all.

Went out this morning and dead headed the pansies and pruned back the spent flowering stems. Chill in the air this morning.

Have a little more to do on the two containers I am assembling. Need to put in the vertical board for the octagon corners and cap them off. I will not be filling those boxes until about February. Then I will sort out the scrap box for any savers and take rest to the recycling center along with other items that need to go.

I may start some more bunching onion seeds today. The first bunch is pretty good size now and will need a crop following those.

Radishes and turnips were a total failure and they will be a no grow item. Might better just grow some herbs in that space.

Went out just now and the air temperature was chilly and the potting mix temperature has dropped considerably.

I already knew there would not be enough time for those plants to produce any vegetables getting into colder temperatures. As I mentioned I think earlier it was just a learning experience to gain better knowledge of what to do for a better season next year with those vegetable plants.
I will leave those plants in for awhile longer and think about using the containers for cool weather crops until I get the oven built to sanitize the potting mix for next year.

I was thinking about the compost juice bin I was going to do using the left over mushroom mix and black cow. I might better sanitize those two with the oven as well. Put it in like it is now could contaminate the compost juice with fungus. I would just be re contaminating the potting mix with the compost juice.

Still have the bunching onions doing well and I planted some lettuce seed yesterday.

Have the fall flowers to tend to also.

May go in the garage today and assemble the final two containers I have pre-cut. Take them out back to set on the deck to get them out of the garage,

I have been thinking about what to use for mulch for the top of the container. I was thinking about that wood mulch that takes a long time to decompose. 

I have been fascinated with lava rock recently. I was sitting in the back room a few days ago and seen a bucket that contained some lava rock from the grill we used when it was gas. I picked one up and found it to be light weight and porous. Of course they are good sized. I did not know they sold this stuff at garden centers in different sizes from lava sand up to lava stone. Shows you how much I have been in garden centers over the past years.

I think I will go with this for potting mix cover around the plants. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Vigoro-0-5-cu-ft-Decorative-Stone-Red-Lava-Rock-440897/100427379

I had transplanted the Siberian tomato into a five gallon bucket today. While I was out there today I picked up the sealed container that had the left over coffee grounds in it. Looked inside at the grounds and it had the same mold growing on it as the seed starting container I threw out. Remember I mentioned that I put coffee grounds in it.

After supper I was looking up what that mold was on the coffee grounds and came across this very informative article. Obviously nothing to be concerned about with the mold on the coffee grounds.

https://permies.com/t/45126/Coffee-Grounds

The vegetables are still alive. Put some high phosphate ferlizer [bone meal] on the peppers yesterday with a pinch on the tomatoes and squash between the rain showers.

A couple days ago I had filled one of the 4 1/2" pots with potting mix i had sifted and started some lettuce seeds in it. Looked at it yesterday and it had fungus mold growing on top. The saved pots could have been contaminated so I threw all the saved pots and the one I had started the seed in into the trash bin.