Archive for June, 2011

7 results.

Napanee Food Bank Garden Week 1

Jun30
by kevin on June 30, 2011 at 06:14 and modified on May 24, 2013. at 13:27
Posted In: gardening, napanee food bank garden

This was our 1st week in 2011 since we were assigned rows 6,7 and 26 to look after in the Napanee Food Bank Garden. This is the Garden’s 2nd year and all in all last year went very well.

These images are from our week 1 visit (on Wednesday June 29th) and we plan to take image each week and post them here as a historic record accessible to all.


Comments Off on Napanee Food Bank Garden Week 1

garlic harvest is nearing

Jun27
by kevin on June 27, 2011 at 14:59 and modified on June 29, 2011. at 11:42
Posted In: gardening, garlic

Another 4 weeks or so to the garlic harvest. Here is an image from this morning showing the 37 types of garlic and maybe 350-400 plants in total.

The tomatos are coming along. We have tried a new system to tie them up this year. It involves two posts stuck in at either end and sisal string/rope running from end to end and around name stakes, one on either side, supporting the plants. so far we have two courses of two strings each and they seem to be working.

We may need to add one more layer of string in a couple of weeks.

1 Comment

rain barrels

Jun27
by kevin on June 27, 2011 at 14:49 and modified on June 29, 2011. at 11:40
Posted In: gardening

We haven’t been using our rain barrel system as much as we’d like with the soaker hoses, in part because of the low water pressure they would have even when full. So the other weekend we put together a test stand to see how much it would help.
This stand is made from a single 4″x4″ x8′ post, cut into equal 24″ sections and two 2″x4″x8′ wood, two 24″ sections used as headers and five used for the platform itself (which is 24″x24″).
So the bottom of the barrel now stands at least 24″ + 1.75″ higher than it used to, closer to 26″ as there are rocks/boards under the feet of the stand to keep it a little drier.
Water pressure is given as roughly 1’=0.43 psi gives us about 0.93 psi, with minimal water in the barrel.

It seems to work well. In the past the soaker hoses could take up to 24 hours to empty the barrel. Now it is on the order of a few hours.

This barrel is hooked up to two others and now we must raise them to the same height to get the most out of the system. The other two have eaves feeding them from approx 80 ft^2 of roof/rain collecting area each, so they fill 600 litres pretty fast.

Some design notes.
The 4×4 legs were notched to accept an upright 2×4 so that the top is level and loadbearing. We’ve tried attaching 2×4’s to 4×4’s in the past with two #8×3″ screws but under the heavy load of the rainbarrel, they just sheared right off.
The top platform has two outside 2×4’s x24″ with two screws, one into the 4×4 and the other into the recently attached 2×4 crossbeam. Three more 2×4’s were added with a small, even gap between them all to form the platform.
Lastly, a 1×2 cross brace was added on two sides, helping to stabilize the whole assembly.

It is loosely tied to the chainlink fence for those times that the barrel is empty and the high winds come around, potentially blowing the barrel off the stand.

Comments Off on rain barrels

Updates on the gardens

Jun11
by kim hay on June 11, 2011 at 07:01 and modified on June 22, 2011. at 06:08
Posted In: gardening

After work last night, we came home and looked at the gardens, and low and behold the bugs are now in force. We picked off potato bugs on the tomatoes, yes they are of the same family, and found eggs and a new generation of them. In the bucket they go.

Looking at the brocolli, the leaves were being eaten, and behold there were some cabbage catipillars, ranging in size from 2.5 cm down, they are now toast.

The smaller weeds are starting to come up, a little hoeing will take care of them.

The peas have not started to flower yet, getting late, and the radishes, golden beets, cabbage, spinach and parsnip are starting to go to flower, and so is the green onions. Most of these were from over wintering, so this is the natural cycle, more seeds for next year.

Potatoes are mostly up, a few stragglers, onions are coming along nicely, and the garlic has been heavily infested with leek moth larvea and catipillars. We sprayed them a few nights ago with BTK an organic bug killer. I do not like doing this, but if I want any type of scape this year, we need to save the garlic.

The King of the Garden Lima beans, did not come up in the fibre pots, they went mushy. This was suggested as they are an older year seed. I have two left they are going direct in the garden.

I need to replant the cucumber, and the pumpkin seed, that was accidently hoed over. Also another squash seed, as only one has come up. Beans were very sporadic in coming up as well, so they will get replanted.

It will be a day of replanting, checking, hoeing and weeding before the rain this afternoon……..the cycle of gardening is never done.

Comments Off on Updates on the gardens

VLF SRT repairs

Jun09
by kevin on June 9, 2011 at 11:53 and modified on June 14, 2011. at 11:59
Posted In: astronomy, tech

The 40khz Solar Radio Telescope has been showing a flatline of data for the last few days. Last night we spotted the problem… the main antenna lead was hanging lose. We blame the squirrel that has taken up residence in the house. It was reconnected and should be giving good data again within another 24 hours.

Comments Off on VLF SRT repairs

What can you do in two weeks?

Jun06
by kevin on June 6, 2011 at 15:00 and modified on June 22, 2011. at 05:59
Posted In: gardening

Day One:
Prep, weed, add soil and plant potatos in Veg#1 (3’x56′ bed)
Prep, weed, add soil and plant potatos in Veg#2 (3’x28′ bed)
Prep, weed, add soil and plant potatos in Veg#7 (3’x8′ bed)

Day Two:
build new veg bed #6 (10’x6′), add 1-2 yards of soil
build new veg bed #8 (3’x8′), add 1-2 yards of soil

Day Three:
Clean out two corner flower beds, edge
Clean out grape beds

Day Four:
Clear out Veg beds #4d, 4e, 5. Add a yard to each of 4d, 4e

Day Five:
Clear out and expand Veg5, start adding first of 7+ yards of soil

Day Six:
Finish Clearing out veg5, add last of 7+ yards of soil.
Add another 1 yard of soil to veg6

Day Seven:
Various veg plantings
More flower bed edging

Day Eight:
more veg plantings, build 100′ deer fence perimeter supports around veg5

Day Nine:
Veg plantings of bush beans, parsnips, turnips, squash

Day Ten:
Transplant all tomatos from greenhouse to Veg5

Day Eleven:
Veg5 Deer fence goes up, start work on gates.

Day Twelve:
More flower bed edging
Finished pouring concrete posts of gate, huge wind storm blows down deer fence, work on post supports.

Day Thirteen:
Done moving all soil for now (14-15 yards moved), done all flower bed edging (waiting for rain to start pulling grass).
Cleaned our four rain barrels and replumbed into Lee Valley’s Downspout Converters

Day Fourteen:
built new deer fence around grape beds

Comments Off on What can you do in two weeks?

done as done can be

Jun03
by kevin on June 3, 2011 at 10:35 and modified on June 22, 2011. at 05:49
Posted In: gardening

After almost two weeks of work, we are as done as done can be.
All of the vegetable beds were built, soiled, cleaned, cleared, setup and planted.
All of the flower beds were edged. All of the plants in the greenhouse are in the ground… mostly.
The rabbits are out of the gardens, 5 chipmunks have been captured alive, interrogated and relocated. We have posted “no squirrels!” signs at the property boundaries.
The new deer fence is up as well as the new gates and wire protection where the posts meet the gate. They shall not get in!

The garlic is showing leek moth signs. We did not get them covered in time with row cover cloth this year… there’s always next year!

The 17 yards of soil pile has been reduced to about 3 or 4.. waiting for the potatos to grow enough to start hilling them.

We are exhausted. And still yet is the shed cleanout and all of the grass and weed pulling from the flower beds… but that will have to wait a little longer.

Comments Off on done as done can be