Week 4 Indoor Vegetable Progress and Mods

In a better effort to streamline our weekly clean out process, We made some adjustments.

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A drain valve was added to the 10 gallon tank.

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A 1/2 inch tube was then connected and an on/off valve was added so that when the weekly fertilizer draining and washout takes place, I don’t have to carry the tank across the room to the sump pump.

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On the way to the sump pump another junction was added to the tube in front of the tent itself with another on/off valve connected to the drip pan located under the soil structure itself.

Previously we had been catching the overflow in an aluminum pan and dumping it every night. This way, it will dump into the drip tray and automatically drain out to the sump pump in the same tube.

This new streamline method really helps with the weekly change-outs.

The soil tent seems to be responding well to the fertilizer system that I have been product testing this time.

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The squash are thriving well and have small flower buds.

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The beans are doing exceptionally well and have quite a number of flowers!

We just planted an extra jalapeno pepper plant in the soil tent and it’s slightly stunted; however, this last week it has shown some signs of life by growing a small set of secondary leaves which is great progress as peppers grow relatively slow.

Below is a overall picture of our pepper row, the first and second peppers are both bell peppers which are doing extremely well, the third is the jalapeno (seen above).

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Our tomato plant is doing very well as well, but does not have any flowers as of yet. The stalk of the plant is relatively thick even thought the plant seems slightly small.

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The basil is growing slow. It does have a nice odor and wonderful color but it’s counterpart in the hydroponic tent is probably twice the size of the one in the soil tent which tells me that I have to do a little research and figure out the differences between the two tents at this stage.

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Our radish will be ready to be picked within a week to two weeks! The carrots are growing at a great rate.

Here is the overall picture of the tent for week 4:

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Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis L.)

The Eastern Redbud tree is part of the Fabaceae family. That’s the pea family.

The Redbud tree is beneficial for a number of reasons. It is very hearty in the lower plains and eastern portions of the United States and grows wild as well as domestically.

The tree is very distinct because it has the red/fuchsia flowers that bloom in the early spring. Generally around April here in zone 7.

Beneficial:

The flowers of the tree attract beneficial bugs such as hummingbirds and bees. In our tree we also have praying mantis egg sacs.

Edible:

Flowers: can be eaten raw or fried; although, the base of the flower is bitter, so it’s best to pinch it off and eat the petals. The flowers have a slightly sweet taste. The flowers contain anthocyanins which create the purplish color.

Leaves: can be eaten raw or cooked. Taste like pea pods and are substituted when pea pods are not directly available.

Seed pods: the seed pods develop in the late summer to early fall. The immature pods are flat and green and can be harvested. The pods contain condensed tannins (proanthocyanidin) and essential fatty acids (linolenic, alpha-linolenic, oleic and palmitic acids).

Newly formed branches: can be cut off and used to smoke wild game.

Medicinal:

The branches of the tree are said to be treatments for whooping cough and dysentery.

The roots and inner bark can be used for the treatment of congestion, fevers and vomiting.

References:
Redbud Analysis
Redbud Fact Sheet USDA

Outdoor Garden Progress, Day 18

It’s almost planting day, but not yet… we are anticipating planting on Earth Day (April 22).

So, without further ado, here is our outdoor garden… again. ~18 days after planting (plus the grid, again):

The peppers are a little slow and stout but generally they take longer to germinate, so it’s expected. Most everything in this big planter is up, so it will be ready to plant when the time is right.

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The below seedlings actually went into the tent for germination about a week after the original batch so they are still catching up but still doing quite well.

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The medium sized sunflowers are still having a little trouble, but I let them get a little dry last week, so hopefully they will catch up; however, the 5′-7′ flowers are all up and ready to go.

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Outdoor Garden Progress, Day 5

We have had the sprouts under a T5 fluorescent light for 5 days now. As I thought, the seeds are sprouting wonderfully! Most of the peppers are taking their time, but for the most part, the other plants are up and running!

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Left Side:

Right Side: WIN_20170331_17_06_36_Pro

Winter 2017 Indoor Soil Garden, Day 19

So, Awesome things have been brewing in the indoor garden! Here are my update pictures:

Each of the potters have grown so much. Unfortunately, I am still waiting for my lavender to sprout, but it will soon, I am sure.

The white powder on the top of the potters is diatomaceous earth to keep away the gnats that were in the tent.

The left side is yellow onion, the right side is red onion:

Grand Rapids Lettuce on the left, Radishes on the Right:

Raab Broccoli on the left, Black Opal Basil on the right:

Buttercrunch lettuce:

Turnip on the left, Kohlrabi on the right:

Beets on the left, Carrots on the right:

The Navel Orange has been accruing new growth.

It dropped some of it’s flowers and some of the fruit, but it’s supposed to drop what it does not feel is healthy to flourish.

There are still over a dozen oranges left on the tree.

The potato bucket has flourished! All of the sproutlets have developed very nicely. In a few days I will cover the spoutlets with more soil and wait for them to continue to grow. As the potatoes grow vertically, they will put out more potatoes in the bottom of the bucket horizontally. Within about a month, there will be potatoes to pick and harvest from the bottom of the bucket where I cut the holes.

Winter 2017 Indoor Soil Garden, WHAT THE GNAT!!!

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As much as I love my Orange Tree I have discovered something terrible!

After I put the tree in the tent, it became… comfortable. The temperature was just right and the conditions were very favorable for the eggs from some gnats to hatch that had been previously laid while the tree was at the nursery.

UGH!!! NO GOOD!!!

So, in order to combat the gnats I purchased two products:

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The Gnat Stix are basically Popsicle sticks that attach to a grid that looks and acts like fly paper. The gnats stick to it.

The Diatomaceous Earth basically stops the gnats from reproducing and since gnats have a short life span it works pretty well. Its a white powder that just gets sprinkled over top of the soil. It kind of reminds me of using talc powder, only the plant version.

SPRING IS COMING!

It’s that time of year again! Time to prep for the outdoor garden. Our seedlings need to get in the planter so that they can germinate for the upcoming season.

This is this year’s line-up:

Phase 1:

Phase 2:

There are still a few other things that still need to be planted but, this is the bulk of the garden and will be the starter of the garden in a few weeks.

The Winter 2017 Indoor Soil Garden’s Genesis

I began my soil garden on March 11.

It was completely on a whim. I was in HTG Supply picking up some stuff for the garden and decided, well, rooted vegetables sound like a great idea.

The thought was as simple as that.

At this point it is too cold to start the outdoor garden so, it made sense.

The soil tent started to take shape and the first seeds were planted on March 11th. While I was at it, I also purchased a navel orange tree. I wanted to see how it would do in the tent along with the other items. The soil I used was the MiracleGro plant soil.

I used regular tap water to water the plants.

This is the final set up of the tent on March 12th.

Baby Dragon Homesteading

Learning New Things Each and Every Day

Garden

Week 4 Indoor Vegetable Progress and Mods

Here is the overall picture of the tent for week 4:

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis L.)

References:
Redbud Analysis
Redbud Fact Sheet USDA

Outdoor Garden Progress, Day 18

Outdoor Garden Progress, Day 5

We have had the sprouts under a T5 fluorescent light for 5 days now. As I thought, the seeds are sprouting wonderfully! Most of the peppers are taking their time, but for the most part, the other plants are up and running!

Winter 2017 Indoor Soil Garden, Day 19

So, Awesome things have been brewing in the indoor garden! Here are my update pictures:

Each of the potters have grown so much. Unfortunately, I am still waiting for my lavender to sprout, but it will soon, I am sure.

The white powder on the top of the potters is diatomaceous earth to keep away the gnats that were in the tent.

The left side is yellow onion, the right side is red onion:

Grand Rapids Lettuce on the left, Radishes on the Right:

Raab Broccoli on the left, Black Opal Basil on the right:

Buttercrunch lettuce:

Turnip on the left, Kohlrabi on the right:

Beets on the left, Carrots on the right:

The Navel Orange has been accruing new growth.

It dropped some of it’s flowers and some of the fruit, but it’s supposed to drop what it does not feel is healthy to flourish.

There are still over a dozen oranges left on the tree.

Winter 2017 Indoor Soil Garden, WHAT THE GNAT!!!

As much as I love my Orange Tree I have discovered something terrible!

After I put the tree in the tent, it became… comfortable. The temperature was just right and the conditions were very favorable for the eggs from some gnats to hatch that had been previously laid while the tree was at the nursery.

UGH!!! NO GOOD!!!

So, in order to combat the gnats I purchased two products:

The Gnat Stix are basically Popsicle sticks that attach to a grid that looks and acts like fly paper. The gnats stick to it.

The Diatomaceous Earth basically stops the gnats from reproducing and since gnats have a short life span it works pretty well. Its a white powder that just gets sprinkled over top of the soil. It kind of reminds me of using talc powder, only the plant version.

SPRING IS COMING!

It’s that time of year again! Time to prep for the outdoor garden. Our seedlings need to get in the planter so that they can germinate for the upcoming season.

This is this year’s line-up:

Phase 1:

Phase 2:

There are still a few other things that still need to be planted but, this is the bulk of the garden and will be the starter of the garden in a few weeks.

The Winter 2017 Indoor Soil Garden’s Genesis

Here is the overall picture of the tent for week 4:

References: Redbud Analysis Redbud Fact Sheet USDA

We have had the sprouts under a T5 fluorescent light for 5 days now. As I thought, the seeds are sprouting wonderfully! Most of the peppers are taking their time, but for the most part, the other plants are up and running!

So, Awesome things have been brewing in the indoor garden! Here are my update pictures:

Each of the potters have grown so much. Unfortunately, I am still waiting for my lavender to sprout, but it will soon, I am sure.

The white powder on the top of the potters is diatomaceous earth to keep away the gnats that were in the tent.

The left side is yellow onion, the right side is red onion:

Grand Rapids Lettuce on the left, Radishes on the Right:

Raab Broccoli on the left, Black Opal Basil on the right:

Buttercrunch lettuce:

Turnip on the left, Kohlrabi on the right:

Beets on the left, Carrots on the right:

The Navel Orange has been accruing new growth.

It dropped some of it’s flowers and some of the fruit, but it’s supposed to drop what it does not feel is healthy to flourish.

There are still over a dozen oranges left on the tree.

As much as I love my Orange Tree I have discovered something terrible!

After I put the tree in the tent, it became… comfortable. The temperature was just right and the conditions were very favorable for the eggs from some gnats to hatch that had been previously laid while the tree was at the nursery.

UGH!!! NO GOOD!!!

So, in order to combat the gnats I purchased two products:

The Gnat Stix are basically Popsicle sticks that attach to a grid that looks and acts like fly paper. The gnats stick to it.

The Diatomaceous Earth basically stops the gnats from reproducing and since gnats have a short life span it works pretty well. Its a white powder that just gets sprinkled over top of the soil. It kind of reminds me of using talc powder, only the plant version.

It’s that time of year again! Time to prep for the outdoor garden. Our seedlings need to get in the planter so that they can germinate for the upcoming season.

This is this year’s line-up:

Phase 1:

Phase 2:

There are still a few other things that still need to be planted but, this is the bulk of the garden and will be the starter of the garden in a few weeks.

References:
Redbud Analysis
Redbud Fact Sheet USDA