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I am taking a break from yard work and am looking at the growing station I plan to move outdoors. Having time to reflect on last winter's indoor gardening has got me to thinking........ (smell smoke yet?)

The biggest problem I have is water..... steady dependable water to the plants. I have done drip on timers outside in the past with great success but how to do the indoor plants? I am thinking about making an indoor drip watering system using a 5 gallon bucket, a spigot, 1/4" line, and some fittings and emitters. I figure that while it's summer and I am planning to move a growing station (metal shelves) out doors anyway, it would be a good time to make one for evaluation over the summer. This way I can learn a little and not worry about watering the carpet... any thoughts?
 
UrbanHunter said:
I am taking a break from yard work and am looking at the growing station I plan to move outdoors. Having time to reflect on last winter's indoor gardening has got me to thinking........ (smell smoke yet?)

The biggest problem I have is water..... steady dependable water to the plants. I have done drip on timers outside in the past with great success but how to do the indoor plants? I am thinking about making an indoor drip watering system using a 5 gallon bucket, a spigot, 1/4" line, and some fittings and emitters. I figure that while it's summer and I am planning to move a growing station (metal shelves) out doors anyway, it would be a good time to make one for evaluation over the summer. This way I can learn a little and not worry about watering the carpet... any thoughts?
Click to expand...
The difference in elevation between shelves will muck with you.

You could use a cheap harvor freight submersible pump on a timer and a manifold to only do one shelf at a time.

But that gets into multiple solenoid valves . a small PLC could handle it...

When you fifure it out let me know so I can copy your solution.

Ben
 
After mentioning that my Gma always sprouted her beans before sprouting, I went ahead and sprouted the last of the variety of pole beans that I've been struggling to get going outside. I just planted them in the dirt this evening so will see if they do any better. At least I know they are viable.
 
LadyLocust said:
After mentioning that my Gma always sprouted her beans before sprouting, I went ahead and sprouted the last of the variety of pole beans that I've been struggling to get going outside. I just planted them in the dirt this evening so will see if they do any better. At least I know they are viable.
Click to expand...

I have some older seed of the pink-eye purple-hull pea variety. It's been around for maybe 5 or 6 years now and its viability is declining. But we planted some. Only had maybe 1/4 of it come up when just planted straight. So my dear wife decided to soak it for a while. I'm kinda thinking they were soaked way longer than they should have been but she poked them into the ground a couple of days ago and I'm seeing some cracking in many of the places they were planted. Dunno. We'll see.

One seed that's been notorious for being slow to get going around here is okra. Seems to take forever to get that stuff to sprout. I had some planted out early and had a dozen or so holes that were short so decided to try soaking the seeds on top of the water heater to see how that might go. At 36 hours, just about every seed looked to be sprouting. Stuck them in the ground and they were all up in about two days. I had started all those little plants for the rest of 'em in the greenhouse but it's really making me wonder if I'd have been just as well off to have planted by direct seeding after similar soaking of the seed. Sure would save some work. I'm anxious to see how the two plantings compare as they grow.
 
Today I checked the garden and the over-the-winter lettuce has bolted (It will all have to come out)
P_20210525_062852_p.jpg

The new tubs have got new plants coming up
P_20210525_062654_p.jpg

I've got a little lettuce waiting
P_20210525_062725_p.jpg

The tomatoes are now 3' tall and starting to show some blooms
P_20210525_063232_p.jpg

And my flying cucumbers are waking up....
P_20210525_062746_p.jpg

I may not have much space, but I try to squeeze in what I can.. Happy days
 
lilmissy said:
@UrbanHunter did you plant your tomato seeds last year like the lettuce?
look up hoocho on youtube, he does a lot of hydroponics things and this might give you ideas for your water problem
Click to expand...
No, I think I started my tomato seeds indoors on February 15th this year. They sprouted quick and by mid March they were 8" tall, between late March and mid April I got real busy and fell behind on watering, they looked terrible I watered them and they bounced back a little (by now some were close to 2' long. On April 25th I completed my 2 new beds and planted the tomatoes deep (only left about 3" of green showing),
P_20210427_080123_p.jpg
so the plants have grown about 3 feet in a month. Sorry for the long winded answer.
P_20210525_062803_p.jpg
 
I had a better yield on my tomato seeds than I expected (they were old so I planted extra), I ended up giving away about 6 trays of plants to anyone who I thought would grow them. I only kept 16 San Marzano, 8 Amish paste, 2 cherry, 4 4th of July, and 2 beefsteak tomato plants.

My indoor tomato plant is very tall (7') and it does produce a few tomatoes. I think I will try to start 3 indoor cherry tomato plants in August for over the winter salads... Watching my tubs outside, I think that 6 tubs on 3 shelves could give a steady supply of salad makings over the winter.

Happy Gardening...
Urban
 
big hail storm this afternoon and then high winds and pouring rain ! between frost 3 days in a row may 13,14,15 and now this on 25th from high heat i be lucky to grow a garden this year...lol..might as well laugh as cry.hope it all straightens back up !
 
Today while watering I saw purple flowers on one of my egg plants, I thought I killed them, but there they are :).

Last night I thought about the fall season.
My squash grows well and then they get over whelmed by vine borers and beetles. I think I will start some new ones in the house to go into the garden in late July. I am also thinking about starting some in August/September for over the winter indoor gardening.

I am trying to think of what I can plant now to take advantage of the mid summer heat... I'm at a blank.
 
Went back to the garden to do the last harvest of my over-winter lettuce, got 5 gallons each of red and green leaf. While at the raised beds I checked on the cabbage I transplanted into the raised bed, although it had big leaves and a head something was eating it, I had been working to control the caterpillars so I figured what the heck and pulled it.... The center had a nest of slugs, it made me sick, but on a bright side the cabbage in the raised containers don't have the problem but their container is too small. I think I should go with 1 cabbage plant per 5 gallon container that is not in direct contact with the ground... I am trying to learn as fast as I can, but it can be difficult...
 
My wife makes a nice layered salad with water chestnuts, carrots, radishes, onions, tomatoes, mayo, eggs, beacon, bell pepper, we can eat off it for 2 days.... We also give away as much as we can... I can only eat 1 salad a day and the lettuce only lasts about a week in the fridge. But I am learning about how much I need to plant to do sustainable gardening to feed us from a minimal space. Getting 10 gallons a week off of 9 sq feet is now a bench mark for me.

After my lunch salad I ran out and harvested my first ever cabbage (I have tried about 5 times without success), it was grown in a small container indoors and then moved outside the last week of April. It's just a hair bigger than a soft ball and very tightly packed... Wife has claimed it for coleslaw.

P_20210526_122842_p.jpg
 
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UrbanHunter said:
My wife makes a nice layered salad with water chestnuts, carrots, radishes, onions, tomatoes, mayo, eggs, beacon, bell pepper, we can eat off it for 2 days.... We also give away as much as we can... I can only eat 1 salad a day and the lettuce only lasts about a week in the fridge. But I am learning about how much I need to plant to do sustainable gardening to feed us from a minimal space. Getting 10 gallons a week off of 9 sq feet is now a bench mark for me.

After my lunch salad I ran out and harvested my first ever cabbage (I have tried about 5 times without success), it was grown in a small container indoors and then moved outside the last week of April. It's just a hair bigger than a soft ball and very tightly packed... Wife has claimed it for coleslaw.

View attachment 67213
Click to expand...
Nice cabbage. I've got 6 almost that size. Can't wait to pull one
 
Neb said:
The difference in elevation between shelves will muck with you.

You could use a cheap harvor freight submersible pump on a timer and a manifold to only do one shelf at a time.

But that gets into multiple solenoid valves . a small PLC could handle it...

When you fifure it out let me know so I can copy your solution.

Ben
Click to expand...
Put a tiny pump on the floor in a tank and pump to the top tray. Set each shelf / tray to drain in to the next lower one. Finally whatever is left drains back in the holding tank. Amazon sells some tiny low volume low power 12 volt pumps that could just be left on to keep cycling. They do 1 gallon per minute at less than 1 amp 12 volts IIRC and come with a wall wart. Of course you could run it on a very small harbor freight panel too.
 
Biggkidd said:
Put a tiny pump on the floor in a tank and pump to the top tray. Set each shelf / tray to drain in to the next lower one. Finally whatever is left drains back in the holding tank. Amazon sells some tiny low volume low power 12 volt pumps that could just be left on to keep cycling. They do 1 gallon per minute at less than 1 amp 12 volts IIRC and come with a wall wart. Of course you could run it on a very small harbor freight panel too.
Click to expand...
$11 from harbor freight

https://www.harborfreight.com/158-gph-submersible-fountain-pump-63315.html
120 v AC

Plugs right into a timer.

The challenge I had was getting drip irigation flow even for different elevation. Even different height pots gave different flow rates.

Ben
 
LadyLocust said:
After mentioning that my Gma always sprouted her beans before sprouting, I went ahead and sprouted the last of the variety of pole beans that I've been struggling to get going outside. I just planted them in the dirt this evening so will see if they do any better. At least I know they are viable.
Click to expand...

Did the tomato seeds sprout?
 
Neb said:
$11 from harbor freight

https://www.harborfreight.com/158-gph-submersible-fountain-pump-63315.html
120 v AC

Plugs right into a timer.

The challenge I had was getting drip irigation flow even for different elevation. Even different height pots gave different flow rates.

Ben
Click to expand...

Hey Ben, I saw this pressure regulator with 9 1/4" ports, with variable flow control to each port (1-20 gph), add that to your pump and a little fiddling and I think you could have a winning combination.

https://www.dripdepot.com/product/h...re-regulating-drip-manifold-with-flow-control
 
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UrbanHunter said:
Hey Ben, I saw this pressure regulator with 9 1/4" ports, with variable flow control to each port (1-20 gph), add that to your pump and a little fiddling and I thing you could have a winning combination.

https://www.dripdepot.com/product/h...re-regulating-drip-manifold-with-flow-control
Click to expand...
That looks like you can adjust each outlet individually which may the part I was missing.

The multiple outlets eliminates the need to build up a manifold from parts.

20210526_161925.jpg


See attatched image.

Let us know what you come up with. If I ever get around to setting up my rain barrels it may help with feeding my gardens which are a steep hillside with the top boxes being about 8 feet above the bottom boxes.

Ben
 
We got rain tonight so no water tomorrow. As I posted on what's everyone doing thread earlier, the wife and I talked a lot about the garden and strategies to get just what we need and not have any waste or need to give food away. Based on that I think that if I use only 4'X24" shelving units on rollers I can limit our indoor garden to 50 square feet. That would give me 8 shelves and several plants in my high bay (it did work well this year).

Because we are just now harvesting stuff that was started on February 15th, I figure that I need to be planting seeds this weekend to start this year's indoor winter garden.

After I pulled the over-winter lettuce from the raised beds I planted bush beans for the nitrogen. The rain will give them a good start. I pulled out my seeds and started trying to figure out what I want to start now...

Did you know some people think I'm a Prepper? I guess it's because I am always looking ahead, preparing for things that haven't happened yet...
 
I would think you were a prepper. Ha.
The twins and I worked all day on the garden. I am wiped out, but it is now fully planted. Talked to our son today about a specialized (for me) greenhouse build. He's drawing up plans. I'd like to grow in ground year round. Hopefully when his stuff calms down in the fall, I can get him and his Laotian friend to come out on the train and get it going.
 
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