Zenbaas's Gardening Thread (Picture "heavy" Thread)

[Donnyboy]

"The corrugated sheeting actually isn't all that sharp at all but I decided to do it this way in any case. I first looked at dedicated rubber edge trim but it ultimately costs way too much whereas the garden hose worked out much cheaper."

I've used garden hose with a slit on one side on sharp edges as a cut preventer and/or a reinforcement on weak edges. I use polyurethane spray foam insulation in a can to fill the hose as I slip it onto the edge. The foam glues the hose to the the edge and becomes hard and rigid when cured. Normal caulking applied with a caulking gun will help stick the hose to the edge if reinforcement isn't needed.

I had thought of that but assumed it would be crazy messy. Perhaps I will revisit this idea under your recommendation.

It can be messy, but I wear gloves and I apply the hose to the edge quickly. I used the hose/foam method to repair a heavy duty wheel barrow which could no longer be used because the sides of the barrow had been used as a fulcrum to shovel many different things from the barrow. The sides had broken and collapsed. I measured the outer circumference of the barrow and cut a rubber hose to that length. I didn't slit the hose, but filled the hose with spray foam from both ends and applied it to the outer edge of the barrow. I used a lot of C clamps and furniture clamps to force the hose into the outer lip of the barrow. I'm still using the barrow without any additional breaks. My SIL once drove my one ton pickup truck into a tree. It knocked a large piece of my rear, fiberglass, fender out. I filled the fender with enough foam to support the broken piece in it's former position and then treated the entire piece as a fiber glass crack. After painting the fender, it looked brand new and still looked new when I traded it four years later for a new pickup.

[Zenbaas]

I've tried to fix some of the image problems so I hope they display better now.

We've been busy the last few weeks But only being able to work on weekends gets a bit tiresome. In any case. I decided we needed to move our rainwater harvesting tanks to a better location which came with some challenges. I had to connect the previous two pipes into one and then dig a trench to the new spot. We also ended up mixing about 1m3 of concrete for the new foundations. Lots of fun..!

IMG-20210618-WA0022.jpg

IMG_20210627_095001.jpg

IMG_20210627_134027.jpg

IMG_20210627_174432.jpg

IMG_20210620_150639.jpg

Then next up was some compost. Arranged for 18m3 to be delivered outside and then in one single day three of us we moved it all into the raised beds. There was about 3m3 left which we just put inside (Bargain as the lawn will benedit from it greatly when the first summer rains fall)

IMG_20210702_164437.jpg

IMG_20210702_164505.jpg

IMG_20210703_170404.jpg

[Growing Coastal]

Moving the water tanks looks like it was a major engineering feat! The raised beds look great.

[Zenbaas]

Moving the water tanks looks like it was a major engineering feat! The raised beds look great.

Thanks.

Yes the tanks were oddly positioned to begin with but probably because the side that looks so baron now was insanely overgrown and took us ages to clean up. Will hopefully be able to plant some fruit trees in that space but we still need to break up and get rid of the previous foundations.

I will be keeping a bit of it though as flooring as I want to make a small greenhouse for starting my seedlings.

[Amateurinawe]

It's all coming together [mention]Zenbaas[/mention] , can't wait to see what you grow in those raised beds.

[Zenbaas]

It's all coming together @Zenbaas , can't wait to see what you grow in those raised beds.

I feel like I might not survive all this to get that far....!

On that note some small updates. Managed to replace some of the valves on the tanks that wee leaking. Tried to climb in them and clean them out a bit. Also put the rainwater tanks in their new spots which came out pretty good I think.

Next week I'll be removing the old concrete slabs where the tanks used to be. The previous owner poured the slabs 30-40cm thick (12 inches at least) which according to my calculations is 3.6m3 of concrete I have to remove

IMG_20210708_172904.jpg

IMG_20210708_172901.jpg

And then lastly started planting some poles for our grape vines. There are 4 more poles but they'll be planted somewhere else (I've changed my mind about this a few times).

IMG_20210711_150839.jpg

IMG_20210711_150809.jpg

[Amateurinawe]

[mention]Zenbaas[/mention] With a careful bit of planning, and keeping things neat and tidy, I reckon, that I could fit the entire contents of my front garden in just two of your raised beds ...

[Zenbaas]

So bit of an update. Irrigation is just about done for the beds and everyhting is at a stage where it can be automated. Decided on drip irrigation and each line has a valve so I have maximum control.

IMG_20210828_150001.jpg

I have planted some cabbage and and "spinach" so long while I wait for everything else to germinate.

IMG_20210913_174317.jpg

A lot of my time has been spent building a little "hothouse" for my seedling and a general gardening shed of sorts.

IMG_20210809_114630.jpg

IMG_20210821_171834.jpg

IMG_20210903_184421.jpg

IMG_20210903_122623.jpg

I have used 4 Geyser trays which are all connected to the little Green tank in the front to collect the excess water. There is a pump also connected to the tank which uses that same water. It is set on a timer to water at daily intervals but for now I'm doing it manually. Once I've done the electrical work and finished I'll probably also be putting in a few adjustable "grow lights" which I've found work very well in the past.

[Amateurinawe]

@Zenbaas looks like all are working hard and also having fun there! All coming on great by the looks of it.

[MissS]

Wow you sure have been busy and you have done a wonderful job! That's a lot of gardening space. You will be able to feed many.

[Zenbaas]

IMG_20211212_104817.jpg

IMG_20211212_104830.jpg

IMG_20211212_104839.jpg

IMG_20211212_104852.jpg

IMG_20211212_104915.jpg

IMG_20211212_104930.jpg

IMG_20211212_104946.jpg

IMG_20211212_105109.jpg

IMG_20211212_105114.jpg

Bit of an update. We've had rainy weather for about 3 weeks. Things are growing well but pests are starting to try their luck. Had some major issues with cutworm which set things back a lot.

So far out of all varieties OR117 and Russian 117 are by far the most vigorous Growers. Midnight sun and Taiga look propetually unhappy like the are plotting to die at any moment. The rain may be taking its toll by I'll continue to monitor them.

Brad's atomic grape is also growing very well.

It's taking a lot of time every day to check for pests and early blight etc but it's therapeutic so no complaints.

[worth1]

As to the cut worms.
Is there a light nearby that is on at night.

[Zenbaas]

As to the cut worms.
Is there a light nearby that is on at night.

Yes I have a solar light that goes on at night in the "greenhouse". It's not crazy bright but it does light things up a bit.


I ended up spraying a pesticide once as much as I didn't want to but they were really causing a massive amount of damage. It seems to have sorted the problem out and I haven't seen them since.

And seeing as it's you commenting. The OR117's have started setting fruit and I'm genuinely super excited. First heard of the variety reading through some of your old posts on TV waaaaay back when

IMG_20211215_183038.jpg

IMG_20211215_182833.jpg

[Zenbaas]

IMG_20211228_161603.jpg

Love in a Mist flower. Just love how "wild" it looks.

IMG_20211229_165136.jpg

A Grappoli D'Inverno Tomato. Just love how compact these look. It's like a little tree.

IMG_20211229_165154.jpg

IMG_20211229_165334.jpg

IMG_20211229_165443.jpg

OR117

IMG_20211229_165519.jpg

Russian 117

IMG_20211229_165638.jpg

Decided to pluck a bunch of suckers and see if they'll stay alive. If they do then I can give away some of the plants to family and friends.

[Mark_Thompson]

What a beautiful setup, I’m so jealous

[Zenbaas]

What a beautiful setup, I’m so jealous

Thanks. Yes I spend a lot of time in there especially in the mornings before work and after.

It's great seeing everything starting to grow and bear fruit

[MissS]

Are those young plants from cuttings or are they seedlings? I'm asking because the stems on those plants are fantastic.

[Zenbaas]

Are those young plants from cuttings or are they seedlings? I'm asking because the stems on those plants are fantastic.

Cuttings.

Only time I've had stems like that on seedlings was with Dwarf varieties under a very strong growlight.

That said looks like they've all survived thus far which just speaks to tomatoes weed like survivability

I've been giving all the plants a regular feeding with a Guano based "organic" fertilizer and I must say they look larger every day.


Also When I started planting the seedlings I put a handfull of worms in every "worm tower" and I'm happy to report I can find them now pretty much everywhere I dig. There is an insane amount of "bugs" in the beds which is due to the hugelkultur method obviously. Not everything is beneficial obviously but it will take time for things to stabilize and I expect the soil to be better and better as time goes.

[Zenbaas]

Nice difference a few months make.

IMG_20210708_172904-COLLAGE.jpg

IMG_20210711_150809-COLLAGE.jpg

IMG_20210620_150639-COLLAGE.jpg

IMG_20210703_170404-COLLAGE.jpg

[Zenbaas]

Decided to write down all the varieties I'm growing out this season. It's mostly 3 plants per variety except for OR117 which has 2/3 more.

OR117
Russian 117
Midnight Sun
Taiga
Bill's Oxheart
Brad's Black Heart
Pink Ponderosa
Vera Paradiser
Kozula 134
La Vie en Rose
Paul Robeson
Marizol Purple
Amana Orange
German Red Strawberry
Black Beauty
White Tomesol
Brad's Atomic Grape
Pineapple
Aunt Ginnys Purple
GGWT
Stump Of The World
Black Krim
Carbon
A Grappoli D'Iverno
Sgt Pepper
Orange Strawberry
Kelloggs Breakfast
KBX
Orange Favourite
Berkeley Tie Die Green
Pink Oxheart
Dagma's Perfection
Azoychka
Super Nova.