It’s Fun to Soil, But Fun Has To End

We concluded our indoor tents bot the hydroponic and the soil tent. The soil tent did very well for it’s inception but there are a few things that I will need to change when I move forward for next year’s tent. In my tent we planted squash, basil, cherry tomatoes, radish, carrot, beans, and some peppers.

Again, the fun thing, for me personally, is just to see the difference in the season. Our all organic approach worked well but it kept clogging up the emitters because of the worm castings.

From this————————-To this:

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Over the course of the time the tent was up, we pulled whatever vegetables and fruits we needed but there are some things definitely worth mentioning that were fun.

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The squash seemed to do well in the soil and we harvested on the plant several times but over time, because of the footprint of the squash, it started to take up lots of space so… we decided to see if the squash would go vertical. We added a soft netting for it to climb and amazingly, it didn’t argue much with the process and kept giving off more flowers which we fertilized and harvested when we were able to do so.

Overall, there are a few things that I will need to improve and do differently but the tent was a success because we were able to harvest vegetables, herbs and fruit from it during the indoor season. That’s the bottom line.

Here are some bragging pictures:

End of the season update!

One of my favorite things about gardening in general is the progress that can be seen from week to week.

We are at the end of our growing season which we extended a bit by using water flushes intermittently throughout the fertilizer cycle.

It’s pretty amazing to think that in only a few weeks/months that a garden can go from this:

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to this:

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Over the course of the growing season we have made more notes and developed a new game plan for the 2018/2019 growing season which will be discussed in the reflections page.

We had one real good harvest for the lettuce this year but it seemed as if once they were cut once for the initial harvest, the rest of the crop bolted, but at least we were able to get one good harvest:

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Surprisingly squash grow well; however, because of the real estate one plant takes up in the tent we will probably not do the squash again but it was good for an experiment for sure. We were able to get quite a number of squash from this indoor season; although, some were not viable as they seemed to become waterlogged. I have deduced that their condition may be due to the hydroponic tent as the squash from the soil tent did not seem to have the same problem:

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The peas grew and grew and grew and grew but for some reason they did not throw any pods until almost the end of the fertilizer cycle. The plants were very very happy just like last year but not as fruitful. The same thing happened with the cucumbers.

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The cucumbers did well insofar as growing vines; however, the plant kept throwing off only male flowers. There were very few female flowers and the ones that did bloom seemed to fall off very quickly when fertilized and the small growth would wilt and die which, when trying to harvest fruit does not work too well.

When we needed veggies or fruits we would just pick them from the vines or plants so here are some pictures of our season long bounty from the gardens:

Week 5 Oh My, Squash!

Over the last week, a lot has happened in the soil tent.

The fertilizer regimen has a boost in some of the reagents that includes quite a bit of calcium and magnesium which has given a great boost to most of the plants, but most notably the squash which now have small squash and more flowers.

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We had to “rope up” the squash because they were taking over quite a bit of room and the peppers were not getting the light that they require, especially my poor little jalapeno that is already quite small and was planted late.

The bush beans are doing well and growing and because of this, I had to string up both of the plants in order to expand the plant. Hopefully they will fill out, continue to grow more foliage and keep sprouting beans.

The Early Girl tomato seems a little more wilty than I like, but the base of the plant is thick and strong and over the course of the last week has developed some flowers, so that is a positive thing.

I did prune a little bit off of the bottom of the plant so I hope that helps over the next week.

The bell peppers are doing well. The small jalapeno pepper is still hanging in there so as long as it seems to want to grow, I will just let it be until it no longer wants to stick around. Hopefully it will take off at some point.

The basil in the soil tent is not doing as well as it is in the hydroponic tent insofar as the height and girth of the stem; however, it’s much more aromatic in the soil tent than it is in the hydroponic tent.

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To be honest, I am not sure if the carrots are really doing that well or not, but I will just let them keep going and see how they do. The radish are all done growing at this point so It’s time to either plant something in their place or to plant more radish (which is what I will most likely do at this point given that they did well this last run).

Comparing Weeks 3 and 4 Progress

Over the course of week 3 and 4, a foliar mist has been added to the overall regimen.

There have been quite a few growth changes over the course of the few weeks.

Peas week 3

peas week 4

The snap peas are climbing the trellis rapidly so we have had to re-direct them several times. The direct comparison is very apparent between the two pictures:

With respect to the bush rojas beans, over the course of weeks 3 and 4, there are several beans which have sprouted and the plant has almost doubled in size:

Bean week 3

Bean week 4

Sweet Banana comparison between weeks 3 and 4. By week 4 the leaves are now above the pot.

Sweet banana pepper week 3

Sweet banana pepper week 4

The habaneros are slow going, but seem to be regardless of whether they are indoors or outdoors. Last year, the peppers were very small in the hydroponic tent but they seemed to be super spicy, moreso than the peppers that we were used to harvesting from the outdoor garden.

Habanero week 3

Habanero week 4

The jalapenos have doubled in size over the last week.

Jalapeno week 3

Jalapeno week 4

The Brussels sprouts are bushing out very well.

Brussels sprouts week 3

Brussels sprouts week 4

The cucumbers have finally started to develop feelers of their own and have also started to grow some flowers. Once they get bigger and have more flowers, I will be able to add a section on flowers and indoor plant pollination which gets really tricky with some plants such as the cucumbers and the tomatoes.

Cucumbers week 3

Cucumbers week 4

We have two types of bell peppers in the garden. Monster bell and giant bell. Both of which are showing about the same amount of growth during the two weeks, seen below…

Giant Bell week 3

Monster Bell week 3

Monster Bell week 4

Giant Bell Week 4

The squash plant that was a volunteer that we threw in the tent just to see what would happen is definitely flourishing!

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There are two type of tomato in the garden. We have noticed, with respect to the tomato plants, that the tomatoes that are to produce larger tomatoes, they seem to not do quite as well as the cherry tomatoes. This is the same problem that we had last year when trying to grow tomatoes as well.

Porterhouse tomato week 3

Porterhouse tomato week 4

Cherry tomato week 3

Cherry tomato week 4

The Cherry tomato have flowers on them; however, as wonderful as it is, I had to prune some of those branches off of the plant because they were sucking energy from the plant without any benefit as they were lower branches. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Opal Basil has grown faster in the hydroponic tent than in the soil tent but does not seem to be as aromatic as in the soil tent.

Basil week 3

Basil week 4

Last but not least, the lettuce box. I harvested the lettuce from it because it was beginning to bolt. We will see if any of them grow back and if not, I will plant more. They grow really fast.

Lettuce Box week 3

Lettuce box week 4

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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The Peppers Are In! Week 2

Patience is a virtue.

When it comes to plants, being patience pays off.

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The peppers have sprouted!

They look great and so very healthy.

Most of them were root-bound which is great for replanting!

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The rubric has changed… again.

We added squash to our hydro-tent as an experiment. We just wanted to see how it would do, plus it was an extra that grew and it wouldn’t be right to just put it out in the cold, plus we had some duds so we had the room.

A new look at the plants and how they have grown for week 2 (don’t be alarmed about the white powder on top of the baskets. It’s Diatomaceous Earth which is used simply as a precautionary preemptive measure)…

Tags are from Left to right, as the plants get bigger it will be easier to distinguish one from another:

*Brussels Sprouts / Anaheim Pepper / Cucumber
*(barely visible but they are there!)

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Jalapeno Peppers / Habanero Peppers / Sweet Banana Peppers

Snap Peas / Anaheim Peppers / **Bush Bean
**(it was an extra from the soil tent)

Porterhouse Tomato / Summer Squash / Giant Bell Pepper

Opal Basil / ***Place Holder / Monster Bell Pepper
***(this place holder is to give the squash room to grow)

Cherry Tomato / Multiple types of Lettuce Box

Week 2 Indoor Soil Tent Progress

I followed the first week schedule for the Roots Organics feeding system and found that the worm castings in the Buddha Grow product settled in the bottom of our reservoir. The worm casting sludge is not a big deal, but does make for a messy cleanup from week to week when I change out the water and re-fertilize the plants for the next week. Overall, I will have to make sure to check the water feed lines well just in case they get clogged with the worm castings during their daily watering. Midway through the week I found that I had to add water to my reservoir, which I find to be serendipitous as I had planned to water down the reservoir halfway through the week in order to start flushing for the new additives by the time the fertilizer change out is to occur regardless. Currently, the timers are set to water once per day.

The light timers are currently set for 16 hours per day during the vegetative cycle. We could leave the lights on for a 24 hour cycle, but the lights are set for 16 hour cycles so that the plants are not too freaked out when the change over to a 12 hour light cycle happens during the bloom cycle.

The plants seem to be thriving well, so without further ado, here are some wonderful bragging pictures from the top of the soil structure to bottom:

Squash(s)

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Beans

Early Girl Tomato

Bell Peppers, both Monster Bell and Green Bell

Opal Basil

Radishes

Carrots!!!

(they just decided to come up so while they are teeny tiny in the picture, they are actually pretty big for only having been up a few days)

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

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.

Baby Dragon Homesteading

Learning New Things Each and Every Day

squash

It’s Fun to Soil, But Fun Has To End

From this————————-To this:

End of the season update!

Week 5 Oh My, Squash!

Comparing Weeks 3 and 4 Progress

Week 4 Indoor Vegetable Progress and Mods

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

The Peppers Are In! Week 2

Patience is a virtue.

When it comes to plants, being patience pays off.

Week 2 Indoor Soil Tent Progress

Squash(s)

Beans

Early Girl Tomato

Bell Peppers, both Monster Bell and Green Bell

Opal Basil

Radishes

Carrots!!!

(they just decided to come up so while they are teeny tiny in the picture, they are actually pretty big for only having been up a few days)

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!

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.