Raised Bed Gardening - Cement Blocks > Greenhouse!

DrkAngel said:
Important to go low Nitrogen fertilizer for good tomato blooms!
High Nitrogen promotes green growth but stifles blooming.

Determinate tomatoes stall growth and tend to ripen all at once, restrict Nitrogen at, or before, 1st bloom.
Tomato cage might be adequate.
Indeterminate tomatoes grow continuously for prolonged production - restrict Nitrogen at, or before, 1st bloom, benefit from judicious pruning.
Can grow very large or tall, poles or wrapped twine to overhead frame for proper support.

Calcium is king! Some light foliar sprays of very diluted Calcium Nitrate very early will develop super strong stems.

Ph is vastly over rated and more of chasing ones own tail in my career. Changing and maintaining Ph is an exercise in futility. Better to adapt nutrition to conditions. Biological soil resources can mitigate nutritional issues. Thermophilic composts and vermicomposts, some use of compost teas, are much more effective than trying to shift Ph. At least in my 30 years of being a horticulturalist. Oh and don’t forget the tricoderma and mycorrhiza!
 
.
...
Tomatoes are in!

Planted up 3 beds of Tomatoes ... Beefsteak, Rutgers and Delicious.
And one of the 16' Cement block beds with a variety, in pairs.
Beefsteak
Rutgers
Delicious
Black Pearl cherry
Red Cherry
Purple Cherry
Yellow Pear Cherry
Red Pear Cherry
"Rainbow"
and
Dwarf Yellow Cherry in end block Holes
Kind of a showcase, but won't shine till Tomatoes start ripening in July

... Peppers in Progress!

Other 20' bed receiving a similar treatment with Peppers
(Planted in pairs)
Chili
Jalapeno
Sweet Banana
(Pending)
Scorpion
Small Red Sweet
Small Orange Sweet
Small Yellow Sweet
Large Bell Red Sweet
Large Bell Orange Sweet
Large Bell Yellow Sweet
Large Green Bell ... if room
(Planted closer)
Will Cover one of each pair with opaque gallon jug to promote greater warmth and compare effectiveness.

Holes in both beds planted with staggered:
Onions
Iceberg, Buttercrunch and Romaine Head Lettuce
Marigolds
test holes have strawberries and Forget-me-nots (Strawberries doing fantastic!)
(pending)
Dwarf Dill
Other

All plants collared with top of Styrofoam cup, labeled with black sharpie, and ringed with crushed eggshells.
Need to replenish my eggshell supply so, egg salad sandwiches for lunch this week. Got nice supply of fresh green onions!

Will add pictures ...
 
Long Block Beds being used as a showcase ...


11 types of Tomatoes in left bed. 4 in, will be 12 types of Peppers in right bed.


521.1s.jpg

Plants are labeled

cups labeled.jpg

Rear View

CB backs.jpg

North Lot is provided as Family Plots

North lots.jpg

Family plots are for family care use and harvest

Family plots.jpg
A Token Herb Garden

Herb garden.jpg

South Lot for Pantry harvest and distribution

South Lots.jpg

Mix of Radishes, Green Onions, Yellow Onions, Sweet Onions.
Radishes and green onions harvested out. Border row of sweet onions and center divide of Yellow onions for Fall harvest. Replant open space with Lettuce and 2nd crop Peas.

Combo.jpg

Labeled most everything!

Labled.jpg
 
tomjasz said:
..... vermicomposts, some use of compost teas, are much more effective....

When I was brewing compost teas for my garden I had great results. From tomato plants to lemon trees they all loved it.
I used to use 1 cup of worm castings, 1 cup of un-sulphured molasis, and 1/4 cup shredded sea weed (sushi grade) in 5 gallons of water. I used the type of aquarium filter/pump (with the filter removed) that would draw the water from the bottom and pour it back onto the top. I would brew for 24-36 hours and then would water the plants at the base so not to get the leaves wet. (We have perfect weather for tomato blight around here so keeping the tomato leaves dry is important.) All the plants really responded.

Sadly, I can't brew at my garden anymore because the people in charge are worried about mosquitoes. I tell them the water is not standing and mosquitoes cannot bread in 24 hours, but they spazz out about "standing water" even though the water isn't standing. :roll:

Calcium huh? I add crushed egg shells when planting my tomato seedlings, and we have plenty of nitrogen in our compost, I have added banana peels for potassium, (plus the worms love to munch on them) now I think that I need to add ground pumpkin seed for phosphate....

Any thoughts on that combination?

:D
 
e-beach said:
Calcium huh? I add crushed egg shells when planting my tomato seedlings, and we have plenty of nitrogen in our compost, I have added banana peels for potassium, (plus the worms love to munch on them) now I think that I need to add ground pumpkin seed for phosphate....

Any thoughts on that combination?

:D

As long as there's sufficient activity and soil biology both will provide the nutrients you are looking for. Compost rules!

This is old, but in my career I took a garden that had been hammered with 100's of thousands of dollars in pesticides and converted to completely organic. AND eliminated the problems and diseases that were actually exacerbated by the fertilizers and chemicals used. I apologize for the over zealousness of my youth. This is close to 20 years old. The compost tea machine was 500 gal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiAFrSEryek
 
"Compost Tea" sounds interesting.
Have lots of seasoned horse manure and fairly decayed vegetable mater.
Interested in trying a small 12V air pump with my old 2 sq ft solar panel! ... ?

Will also try blending egg shells ... in blender, with water and Epsom salts. Stirring frequently while applying.

Any advice on re-washing used coffee grounds before applying, to further reduce acidity?
or
Will original brewing be sufficient?
 
Been starting and growing under homemade grow lights.
Some peppers and tomatoes suffered from inadequate "hardinessing" in true-direct sunlight.
So will transport remainder to east side of building for restricted sunlight period, 6 hour direct and 6 hour indirect.

Broke 1 6" Scorpion pepper at roots, trimmed most leaves, prepared and root hormoned, placed in wet good soil ... looks perky this morning.
Rooting peppers from cutting has been problematic for me in the past, will monitor closely and hope for the best. ... ?
 
DrkAngel said:
"Compost Tea" sounds interesting.
Have lots of seasoned horse manure and fairly decayed vegetable mater.
Interested in trying a small 12V air pump with my old 2 sq ft solar panel! ... ?

Will also try blending egg shells ... in blender, with water and Epsom salts. Stirring frequently while applying.

Any advice on re-washing used coffee grounds before applying, to further reduce acidity?
or
Will original brewing be sufficient?

Keep it simple. The idea is to grow out more bacteria and fungi. Adding protozoa is also helpful. A few days of straw smoking in water will grow them out. Use NO nutrients in tea except a small amount of fish fertilizer to feed the herd. A very small amount of molasses and liquid or powdered seaweed are also good.

Here's a fairly decent primer, but I used compost AND very compost for maximum diversity. I did tens of thousands of dollars in testing tea and testing results. I'm impressed.



http://www.yelmworms.com/compost-tea/page3.htm

Ingredients:

4-8 cups Barefoot Soil Organic Earthworm Castings

¼ cup sulfur free molasses

1 Tbsp water soluble sea plant extract

2 Tbsp soluble fish powder or liquid fish

4+ gallons Chlorine free water



(Note: If you have chlorinated water, fill your pail and let it sit overnight uncovered, and the chlorine will evaporate. Alternatively, accelerate the process by putting the water in your brewer and turning the bubbler on. You will know the chlorine is gone when you cannot smell the chlorine anymore – probably in as short a time as 20-30 minutes. You can verify the absence of chlorine by purchasing a simple chlorine test kit from a local pool supplier.)

Tea Brewer components:

Min. 5 gallon plastic pail, bucket or barrel

Air pump with air stone or some other air dispersal device (remember: small bubbles are superior).

Sieve (a 5 gal. paint bucket filter works well)

Elastic band or a twist-tie to close the Sieve

Directions:

First, ensure that all components are clean and there are no buildups or areas of your brewer that will prevent the circulation of air and water. (If the stone builds up residue just soak it overnight in pure white vinegar).

In a 5 gallon pail, fill with 4 gallons or so of warm water with the molasses, seaweed extract, and liquid fish. Turn on the pump with the hose and stone attached before placing the stone into the solution. Leave the pump running when removing the stone from the brew to keep water from entering the stone.

Place the air-stone or other bubbler at the bottom of the pail. For best results, use the ‘open brew’ approach by placing the Barefoot Soil Organic Earthworm Castings directly into the water. (You can always strain the castings later if you are going to use a sprayer for the Teas’ application.) Alternatively, put the BFS Organic Earthworm Castings into the sieve and place it into the pail over the bubbler.

Brew until a noticeable frothy slime (“bio-slime”) develops on the surface of the water and the smell of the ingredients is very weak or no longer present. The absence of noticeable fish and molasses odor indicates that the microorganisms have consumed the ingredients! Once the food is gone the populations will begin to decrease. On warm summer days, you can begin a brew in the evening, and the tea will be ready for application the next morning. We find brewing is complete in as little as 12 hours if the brew is kept warm. Hence, brew times are heavily dependent on the water temperature. With every 10 degree F drop in temperature, brew times increase by 12 hours.

Be sure to keep the tea aerobic by leaving the bubbler on until you use the tea since cutting off the oxygen supply will down spike the population and diversity.

While brewing, the population of beneficial microorganisms will be doubling in as little as every 20 minutes. By the end of the brew, your solution can contain over one billion little critters per teaspoon of tea!

Apply the tea when the populations of microorganisms are at their highest number and diversity. Spray the tea onto foliage, stems, roots and surrounding soil, or simply pour it onto you plants and vegetation. Remember, Castings Tea Everything! Spray early morning or in the evening or in the shade, not in the sunshine.

When you are finished, use the left over castings for your soil amendment needs. Do not discard them! These castings should have higher population densities than what you started with, because remember, you brewed an exceedingly large population, and they will adhere to the castings!
 
nicobie said:
Tomjasz

You did the Mirage lobby? :shock: :shock: :shock:

When we visit LV we always check out the lobby. Even though it doesn't seem as lush as in the past, it's still damn impressive.


Yes, I used to travel and visit collectors and collections of rarer flowering plants for the atrium. Most of what we did is gone since budgets were slashed in first decade of 2000. Wynn would have fired us for today’s look, but it is still lush. Missing quite a few large trees and palms now. But there is a good director, just no budget.
 
At the food pantry, we try to use rainwater collected from the main building for all watering needs. Ofttimes. storage comes up short and we have to rely on city water, (with that chlorine stink). Emergency solution is adding Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) then filling barrel with city water. Normally I add 1000mg per 20 gallon of chlorinated water.
55ga barrels are located at 3, of 4, water downspouts. Future plans call for a 250 gallon collection tank and possibly a sump pump to hose water and, eventually, feed a redesigned watering system. Previous spray and drip systems deteriorated and used city water.


When forced to bathe in city water, I crush up and throw 1000mg into bath a few minutes before hopping in. Showering is dangerous for me. sometimes the chlorine stink is strong and feels like it is burning my skin ... I have to rinse off with a sprinkler can of vitamin C water.
 
DrkAngel said:
At the food pantry, we try to use rainwater collected from the main building for all watering needs. Ofttimes. storage comes up short and we have to rely on city water, (with that chlorine stink). Emergency solution is adding Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) then filling barrel with city water. Normally I add 1000mg per 20 gallon of chlorinated water.
55ga barrels are located at 3, of 4, water downspouts. Future plans call for a 250 gallon collection tank and possibly a sump pump to hose water and, eventually, feed a redesigned watering system. Previous spray and drip systems deteriorated and used city water.


When forced to bathe in city water, I crush up and throw 1000mg into bath a few minutes before hopping in. Showering is dangerous for me. sometimes the chlorine stink is strong and feels like it is burning my skin ... I have to rinse off with a sprinkler can of vitamin C water.
I buy 1 kilo bags of Ascorbic Acid on eBay. A great way to treat water. Vita C Chor web site has a calculator for treating chlorinated water. I ALWAY dechlor CompostTea water.
 
That sounds like a great idea, slightly acidifying the water with abscorbic. But used carefully any cheaper acid works the same, like muriatic. You only want a very mildly acidic water, not clean the pool strong. To dechlor water, just let it sit a few hours.

Frees up the nitrogen mostly, other nutrients don't bind to the clay like the nitrogen does. The chlorine is not going to harm plants in any way, but if the water is hard, the calcium in it will latch on to your nitrogen almost as much as clay does. That might be the real benefit you are seeing from the treatment you are doing. For sure, any plant has one limiting factor, the quality of its water. Its important.

Give those tomatoes higher nitrogen fertilizer in the first 4 weeks, while they need to grow leaves and roots. Then switch to bloom food once you see the first flower. I look for 10-10-10 that is cheap in big bags, rather than go with high cost miracle grow tomato formula.

If you think the plants need the micro micro nutrients, like if you are making hydroponic solution, dissolve a few multivitamins in the water. Its just like the compost tea, has incredibly small amounts of vital minerals.

Compost tea is the way to go if you are doing it fully organic. Even if you are using chemical fertilizer, make tea with it. Don't sprinkle and burn the roots, make real weak solutions that fertilize very often. When you compost, absolutely catch that tea, or at least compost where the tea runoff does you some good. The resulting compost is great stuff, but letting that tea with all the nutrients run away is wasting 90% of what compost is good for.

Ideally, do your composting by tilling all that collected material into the soil in the fall, assuming its not loaded with weed seeds.

FWIW, I have a horticulture degree, right now my tomatoes are 7 feet tall. So this is a subject I do know my shit.
 
Watering away the beneficials by over watering the compost around here is sometimes a problem. When we are filling a bin or shredding horse manure somebody is put on hose duty to moisten the pile while others shovel in the hundreds of pounds of plant waist or manure (depending on what we are doing). However because the hose duty is light duty, sometimes they don't want to stop it and pick up a shovel. Nothing like trying to get a lazy hard-head off the hose while all the good stuff is washing away down the walkway. :roll:

As for organically sterilizing our plots of weeds some of us do this:

We pull all the plants that have produced and are dying. Bury them as expressed by Dogman. Add a layer of compost or horse manure. Water it daily to keep it moist. (Unless you have rain which is even better.) Then wait to see what sprouts. When things start start to sprout, we simply hoe then up. A few hours of work over a few weeks and beds are free of unwanted growth. Then we plant for the winter.
(we are blessed with a 365 day growing season around here.) https://www.oceanviewfarms.net/

As for the weeds, I was told by a farmer at http://www.jrorganicsfarm.com/ that the weeds have deep roots that pull up a lot of beneficial nutrients from deeper soil so the weeds are great for composting. Just make sure the compost pile gets hot enough.

:D
 
Built 1 more 8' x 4' cement block beds.

Pantry got a pallet of growing onions, greens and fresh roots. Hate to waste, so I Filled the holes in new bed and bordered a couple more beds. Some were large, must make sure I harvest while they still fit out the block holes.

Trying hot caps on many of the heat preferred plants. Watermelons show remarkable improvement!
Using gallon milk-water jugs.
I cut around bottom line, 3 sides plus curved corners, then fold bottom around.
I seat cut portion firmly into soil and brick on folded bottom secures in place.
Traps-amplifies heat and moisture and excludes snails-slugs, just make sure none present before placing.
 
dogman dan said:
That sounds like a great idea, slightly acidifying the water with abscorbic. But used carefully any cheaper acid works the same, like muriatic. You only want a very mildly acidic water, not clean the pool strong. To dechlor water, just let it sit a few hours.
Muriatic does not work the same. and the tiny amounts of ascorbic used don't have any effect of Ph. Ascorbic is used to dechlor. Sometime letting water stand isn't very efficient to dechlor and Ascorbic is very inexpensive. When large volumes are need and I don't wan to manage a holding tank, ascorbic makes quick work of blowing off chlorine.

Reducing soil Ph requires massive inputs and in the end the shift is either very small or unsustainable. Better to understand how to get the nutrients with the existing Ph. Another function of Compost Tea critters and mycorrhizae. Increase plants access to nutrients in PLANT available forms.

dogman dan said:
Frees up the nitrogen mostly, other nutrients don't bind to the clay like the nitrogen does. The chlorine is not going to harm plants in any way, but if the water is hard, the calcium in it will latch on to your nitrogen almost as much as clay does. That might be the real benefit you are seeing from the treatment you are doing. For sure, any plant has one limiting factor, the quality of its water. Its important.
Chlorine is very detrimental to making compost tea. It's also damaging to the critters in compost. Irrigation sprayers that create smaller droplets do almost eliminate all chlorine in the air before hitting the soil. Again a simple microscope look at soil before wetted with chlorinated water will prove this out

dogman dan said:
Give those tomatoes higher nitrogen fertilizer in the first 4 weeks, while they need to grow leaves and roots. Then switch to bloom food once you see the first flower. I look for 10-10-10 that is cheap in big bags, rather than go with high cost miracle grow tomato formula.

Typically Calcium nitrate is a better stem builder. Just a teaspoon of two in a 1L sprayer, and a light mist every few days. No need for 10 10 10. 10 10 10 is perhaps one of the most misused fertilizers. Foliar nitrogenous much more effective. Best to have a simple soil test every few years and target the soil nutrition scientifically.



dogman dan said:
If you think the plants need the micro micro nutrients, like if you are making hydroponic solution, dissolve a few multivitamins in the water. Its just like the compost tea, has incredibly small amounts of vital minerals.

There is no comparison. Vitamins are nothing like well made diverse commit tea. !0 seconds with a microscope or simple lab analysis can prove this a misnomer.



dogman dan said:
Compost tea is the way to go if you are doing it fully organic. Even if you are using chemical fertilizer, make tea with it. Don't sprinkle and burn the roots, make real weak solutions that fertilize very often. When you compost, absolutely catch that tea, or at least compost where the tea runoff does you some good. The resulting compost is great stuff, but letting that tea with all the nutrients run away is wasting 90% of what compost is good for.

Ideally, do your composting by tilling all that collected material into the soil in the fall, assuming its not loaded with weed seeds.

FWIW, I have a horticulture degree, right now my tomatoes are 7 feet tall. So this is a subject I do know my shit.
I taught horticulture students, lectured and traveled doing lectures on compost tea. Tea can be used in any garden. I NEVER till in compost. Rather use it like a natural forest. Treat the soil with tea, layer good thermophilic compost, sometimes followed by some oat straw for cover and the microscopic critter, bacteria, fungi, worms , Soil Microarthropods, and other insects will develop a healthy aerated incredibly diverse soil. Runoff from a compost pile is NOT compost tea. It can be and often is putrified water, unless it's a thermophilic pile that has gone through several heat cycles. Again can be seen with a microscope, and anaerobic(less desirable) bacteria dominate.
 
DrkAngel said:
Built 1 more 8' x 4' cement block beds.

Pantry got a pallet of growing onions, greens and fresh roots. Hate to waste, so I Filled the holes in new bed and bordered a couple more beds. Some were large, must make sure I harvest while they still fit out the block holes.

Trying hot caps on many of the heat preferred plants. Watermelons show remarkable improvement!
Using gallon milk-water jugs.
I cut around bottom line, 3 sides plus curved corners, then fold bottom around.
I seat cut portion firmly into soil and brick on folded bottom secures in place.
Traps-amplifies heat and moisture and excludes snails-slugs, just make sure none present before placing.

Impressive project! I'd like to see more and more neighborhood gardens. Something we've lost in the last 50 years. Every kid should be able to sneasout of the house and swipe a few tomatoes under the dark night. A right of passage! Like a stomach ache on swiped green apples. None will ever taste as good. Oh to be 12 for a night...
 
e-beach said:
Watering away the beneficials by over watering the compost around here is sometimes a problem. When we are filling a bin or shredding horse manure somebody is put on hose duty to moisten the pile while others shovel in the hundreds of pounds of plant waist or manure (depending on what we are doing). However because the hose duty is light duty, sometimes they don't want to stop it and pick up a shovel. Nothing like trying to get a lazy hard-head off the hose while all the good stuff is washing away down the walkway. :roll:

Just make sure the compost pile gets hot enough.

:D

YES on heat! I like horse and cow manure that has been fed to red wigglers (worms Eisenia fetida) The vermicompost is some of the most diverse we ever tested.
 
tomjasz said:
I like horse and cow manure that has been fed to red wigglers (worms Eisenia fetida) The vermicompost is some of the most diverse we ever tested.

That's what one of my friends up at my garden was doing with great results. We get hundred of pounds of horse manure each Tuesday from the city. Some of it gets shredded and composted. Some of it goes into a big bin where it sits for a while. I finally bought a $10.00 batch of Eisenia fetida worms a few weeks ago. I am (hopefully) making them happy enough so they will do their little wormy wiggle and make more worms. They are living in a plastic Tupperware container under my bathroom sink at the moment. Sometime in the late summer or fall they will get a new house in my garden full of composted horse manure to munch to their content.

:D
 
5 Cement Block Beds
Likely all for this year


CBbeds.jpg

Onions planted 3 days ago!


Onion explosion.jpg

Newest 8' bed with big onion sets!


8 foot bed.jpg

Ornamentals on the corners (Pansies)


Pansy.jpg

Ornamentals on the corners (Marigolds)


Marigold.jpg

2 Watermelon hills transplanted at same time:

#1 uncovered


WMNC.jpg

#2 Covered with gallon jug "hotcap"


WMHH.jpg

The additional heat and humidity seem to provide a definite advantage!
 
e-beach said:
tomjasz said:
I like horse and cow manure that has been fed to red wigglers (worms Eisenia fetida) The vermicompost is some of the most diverse we ever tested.

That's what one of my friends up at my garden was doing with great results. We get hundred of pounds of horse manure each Tuesday from the city. Some of it gets shredded and composted. Some of it goes into a big bin where it sits for a while. I finally bought a $10.00 batch of Eisenia fetida worms a few weeks ago. I am (hopefully) making them happy enough so they will do their little wormy wiggle and make more worms. They are living in a plastic Tupperware container under my bathroom sink at the moment. Sometime in the late summer or fall they will get a new house in my garden full of composted horse manure to munch to their content.

:D

When I used to travel and lecture, I always quipped, whether you are are creationist or or believe in evolution, the lowliest of critters, worms, define th3 biological success of a garden. Rock on, you are a good gardener.
 
DrkAngel said:
5 Cement Block Beds
Likely all for this year


CBbeds.jpg

Onions planted 3 days ago!


Onion explosion.jpg

Newest 8' bed with big onion sets!


8 foot bed.jpg

Ornamentals on the corners (Pansies)


Pansy.jpg

Ornamentals on the corners (Marigolds)


Marigold.jpg

2 Watermelon hills transplanted at same time:

#1 uncovered


WMNC.jpg

#2 Covered with gallon jug "hotcap"


WMHH.jpg

The additional heat and humidity seem to provide a definite advantage!

Very nice!
 
Final approval!
Pantry just received grant for 36' x21' "high tunnel" greenhouse.
2 layered plastic canopy, for insulation. Some type of pressurization ... ?
Unsure if we will heat for year round use, but will extend our 5-6 month growing season to possibly 9-10 months. (upstate NY)

Powers that be seeking grant for solar panels to run greenhouse.
 
DrkAngel said:
Final approval! Pantry just received grant for 36' x21' "high tunnel" greenhouse.......

Sound like good news!

My friends at Archi's Acres in Escondido CA run a heated greenhouse. They grow a lot of basil for local organic markets. Whole Foods and the like. They run a organic hydroponic farm that turns crops at 2.5 times faster then dirt farming on at least 80% less water. They have a proprietary fertilizer that they brew on site that is based on worm casting, molasses and some other natural ingredients they don't discuss unless one wants go through their 6 week training. They train a lot of veterans how to farm their way. A really great program from some really nice people.

http://archisinstitute.com/

:D
 
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