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Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... (Read 5825 times)

Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #25 - May 18^th, 2017 at 12:21am	Print Post
	YAY!!!


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #26 - Jan 9^th, 2018 at 6:06am	Print Post
	Moonie and I have decided to double down on the whole garden thing. I got a book on composting today and I've been looking at "tumbling" compost bins which are a lot easier to use than the "traditional" kind which involves much turning of heavy composting material with shovels which does not appeal to either of us. So spring will probably see us getting a tumbling bin and getting serious about creating compost.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #27 - Jan 10^th, 2018 at 12:30am	Print Post
	Anndddddd.... I ordered a book on seed saving today. I figured I might as well since Moonie has two plates of pumpkin seeds drying on top of the microwave. I have no idea if they'll germinate but I figure that if she's going to do it, she should do it right!


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #28 - Oct 2^nd, 2018 at 1:06am	Print Post
	In the last month, I've purchased two huge packages of non-GMO, heirloom seeds and will be getting more to fill out the selections in the packages. More and more the news from the farming and weather sectors has me worried. Florence has pretty much wiped out North Carolina's sweet potato crop and snow is coming early -- before harvest -- in Canada where most of the world's wheat is grown. I'm currently researching "cold weather" farming, both in terms of temperature and short growing seasons. The current "Solar Minimum" appears well underway -- although no one on the mainstream news is talking about it -- which means that anyone who can should get serious about growing their own food. I know that Moonie and I are. Moonie loves gardening which is good 'cause my legs aren't capable doing the bending and such that gardening requires.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #29 - Oct 4^th, 2018 at 6:22pm	Print Post
	I received a book on cold weather gardening a couple of days ago and I just ordered another one. I'm convinced that the weather is going to get colder (research "Solar Minimum" for the reasons why) so I'm trying to get a head start on what I'm going to need to know. I just hope we have enough time to get ready.


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MoonCat Global Moderator Offline Evil Woman in Training Ghostbuster Posts: 228 Location: Being hassled by cats Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #30 - Dec 31^st, 2018 at 5:11am	Print Post
	I'm seriously thinking of preparing the garden come spring.

	Cleaning house with the Dustbuster2!
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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #31 - Jan 3^rd, 2019 at 5:38am	Print Post
	There's a lot to do. The tomato bed needs serious work if we're going to get anything out of it next year.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #32 - Feb 5^th, 2019 at 7:05pm	Print Post
	A new book on aquaponics arrived today. I have a feeling that we will need it sooner or later -- probably sooner.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #33 - Feb 5^th, 2019 at 9:20pm	Print Post
	Ordered another book on the subject.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #34 - Feb 9^th, 2019 at 5:24am	Print Post
	Penthesilea wrote on Feb 5^th, 2019 at 7:05pm: A new book on aquaponics arrived today. I have a feeling that we will need it sooner or later -- probably sooner. Reading the book and doing a little "side research" tonight. We don't normally eat fish so growing food in an aquaponic system -- which requires the presence of fish -- presents a bit of a problem. The book I'm reading said that goldfish could be used and after a little googling, I've discovered that minnows will work as well. As a bonus, if we ever decided to add a carnivorous species of fish to the system, they could eat the minnows. We'd have to keep a steady supply of them on hand in a separate tank but that wouldn't be that big of a problem.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #35 - Feb 16^th, 2019 at 5:58am	Print Post
	I've been doing more aquaponics research tonight. My brain is tired and my eyes are fried but I know more than I did.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #36 - Apr 20^th, 2019 at 3:38am	Print Post
	Deep in aquaponics research. I'm nowhere near ready to start but I'm learning a lot -- and will need to learn a lot more.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #37 - Apr 29^th, 2019 at 5:02pm	Print Post
	Still researching aquaponics. I've about decided what type of system I want. I'm also going to need a "wicking bed" since Spirit will NOT eat canned or dehydrated potatoes. They must be fresh or in the case of french fries, frozen or she won't eat them. You can grow potatoes in an aquaponic or hydroponic system but they do best growing in the ground, hence the wicking bed. In other news, Moonie is working on starting plants from seed -- a useful skill to have. Our only south facing window is full of little seedling pots....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #38 - May 8^th, 2019 at 4:46am	Print Post
	I've spent the evening tracking down the brand of tank used by one aquaponic blogger. Unfortunately, the blog hasn't been active since 2014 and since the author mentioned having been sick for an extended period and the blog ended abruptly, I'm afraid that she has died. Since I couldn't ask, I had to do some detective work. There was no mention of the brand of stock tank but in one of the photos, the name was embossed on the side of the tank and I was able to read it -- Behlen Country. A little more poking around confirmed that those were the tanks she used. I priced them and the total is a bit higher than I'd hoped to pay but quality costs. I'm a long ways from putting together a full sized operation so I'll have time to save money and experiment with a smaller set up. I'm still in "research mode" and even the learning curve with the "book learning" is pretty steep -- mountain range steep.
	« Last Edit: May 8^th, 2019 at 6:30am by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #39 - May 10^th, 2019 at 1:38am	Print Post
	Still reading/looking up stuff. I wish that the learning curve wasn't so steep or that I'd known to start studying sooner!
	« Last Edit: May 26^th, 2019 at 9:37pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #40 - May 26^th, 2019 at 9:45pm	Print Post
	My aquaponics file is getting bigger. I'm roughing out a budget and seeing what I already have that I can use. I have lots of ¾ in. PVC pipe on hand and fittings so I should only need a piece of 6 inch PVC and some odds and ends for the plumbing part of the project. I'll need a submersible pump (I'll have to figure out the size), tanks -- which will be the major expense -- and lights -- another major expense. I also need to figure out how to arrange them. I want to take advantage of "gravity" so some tanks will need to be higher -- or lower depending on what direction you're looking from -- in order to take advantage of that.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #41 - Jun 3^rd, 2019 at 7:14pm	Print Post
	I am indecently pleased. I was having a hard time finding a part I want to use for the bell siphons and after hitting every building supply store in the area and searching the internet relentlessly, I finally found it -- at less than half the price that a vendor on Amazon wanted. I ordered more than I currently need 'cause the shipping would be the same regardless. The knuckleheads who've made up the parts lists have not, as seems to be the usual thing now, put everything one needs on it. So I'm going to make my own lists with EVERY DAMNED THING I USE on them!


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #42 - Jun 4^th, 2019 at 11:16pm	Print Post
	The parts arrived today as promised and I moved on to the next small part. Research completed, I ordered it from Amazon.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #43 - Jun 24^th, 2019 at 12:25am	Print Post
	Picked up more odds and ends of PVC connectors today. I have only a rough idea of how many and of what kind I'll need so I get a few whenever I'm in Rural King or anywhere that sells PVC. I'm currently looking into what kind of lights are needed since I'll be setting up in the basement since I don't have an extensive, all season, heated greenhouse to grow things in.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #44 - Aug 26^th, 2019 at 1:39am	Print Post
	Having gotten most of my ducks in a row, I've been explaining aquaponics to Skywise, specifically what will be involved in setting up the system and how much it is likely to cost. What really impressed him is that once the system is up and running with all the kinks out and they've learned how, the girls could run it themselves with no help from us.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #45 - Nov 21^st, 2019 at 10:32pm	Print Post
	I've been sidetracked, first by our vacation and secondly by revelations about my health. Both situations are "mostly" under control now so it's time to get back to work. The news on the agricultural front is not good and there may be less time to get things set up than I'd hoped......


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #46 - Jan 15^th, 2020 at 8:09pm	Print Post
	I've been researching greenhouses and DIY plans for them last night and this afternoon. We've no plans to build immediately but there's no way to know what might be necessary in the future so..... research and copying to word documents!


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #47 - Feb 1^st, 2020 at 2:06am	Print Post
	I've been putting together a MASSIVE word document on the subject of gardening. My sources are homesteading and "survival" blogs. I have gardening books on various aspects of it but practical, hands on experience is valuable too. Mom had a garden throughout my childhood and I helped but that was a long, LONG time ago. I can't predict what things will be like in five years. Hell, I can't predict what's going to happen this year, so I'm gathering as much information as I can and organizing it so I can find it when I want it. Sometimes, having a "reference binder" with a table of contents is better than having a book.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #48 - Feb 27^th, 2020 at 2:26am	Print Post
	I spent a couple of hours printing out the above mentioned word document. It's 783 pages and I'm not even to the halfway point yet. And yes, there will be a Table of Contents!


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Penthesilea's Adventures in Vegetable Gardening... Reply #49 - Aug 5^th, 2021 at 6:52pm	Print Post
	Reactivating this thread. I've been looking at greenhouse kits. If the weather gets as "unstable" as some people -- like me -- are expecting due to the Grand Solar Minimum currently underway, we're going to need to grow as much food as we can in as many different ways as we can. That means "traditional" gardening in raised beds, aquaponics and greenhouses. I was filling Skywise in on my idea to protect a greenhouse from hail and he's onboard with it. It will need electricity since we'll need grow lights and a propane heater to extend our growing season. This will dictate where we put it. So... probably next year, maybe this year, we'll be getting a greenhouse set up.


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