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Post by steev on Oct 20, 2014 21:47:20 GMT -5
I won't willingly do without my Mantis; there are just some jobs that Sukie is too robust to handle: tilling a single planting furrow, or breaking soil in a narrow trench, for instance.
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Post by littleminnie on Oct 23, 2014 21:05:48 GMT -5
I put fresh fuel in and started it right up. It quits easily though and then will not restart until it cools. Also its tailpipe seems to have fallen off. I did get the garlic beds all tilled nicely. Also my weed torch had problems lately too. It was leaking gas from the pressure valve so I attempted to replace it in town, long story short I got something that fits but seems to take off too much pressure now the flame is pathetic. I tried to torch my tomato cages and nothing happened. So I may need to buy a new weed torch. There was one in town but I didn't catch the price.
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Post by steev on Oct 23, 2014 22:08:38 GMT -5
Tools with moving parts are a pain; the smaller the tool, the more pain. Though I grow increasingly too old to be Manuel Labor, at least when a hand-tool breaks, I can see what's wrong. I'm not good with non-living systems; just my orientation.
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Post by RpR on Oct 25, 2014 0:29:28 GMT -5
Every year I end up not using my tiller for two months or more and then want to use it at this time of year and it won't start. I'm never certain the last time in July or August will be the last time or I would run out the fuel. Is there anything I can do to get it running? this is the kindWhen was the last time you changed the spark plug. I keep a can of carb. cleaner on hand for cleaning the carb. but also sometimes if I have an engines that will not fire I squirt some into the carb. or pull the plug and squirt some in there. Never had that fail yet but it is best to keep your plug fresh and carb. clean. |
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Post by littleminnie on Oct 25, 2014 20:08:01 GMT -5
DH just changed the spark plug before I tried the fresh fuel.
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Post by RpR on Oct 26, 2014 20:11:03 GMT -5
DH just changed the spark plug before I tried the fresh fuel. Is it two-stroke or four-stroke? Pull the carb. off and clean it was well as possible plus check your gaskets. I did it with my Murray lawn mower this year and it fixed a serious running problems. |
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Post by littleminnie on Nov 5, 2014 21:48:08 GMT -5
No idea. I can make great pie though.  Been making tunnels. Better than last year but still uneven.  Also been planting garlic and shallots.  Previously I thought Cinderella pumpkins were a guaranteed sale but I was wrong. 3 are so big I can hardly lift them and there is no interest in them. Pumpkins in front are obviously MDP x butternut.  |
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Post by littleminnie on Dec 18, 2014 16:35:29 GMT -5
Things have been slow and wintry here in MN since a very early heavy snowfall in November. We then had Seattle weather for several days lately and the lakes became dangerous to go out on and the fog was horrendous. Now it is cold again. I have had 2 November and 1 December indoor markets which were disappointing but give me something to do. Yesterday I organized my seeds and mostly finished organizing the seed starting area. I cut open and saved seed from cucumbers and summer squash. Now my next job is inventorying all the seeds. I saved way more seeds than ever before so it is a big job. I also have 4 more CSA shares in the next week. Then I will start canning. I like to make jams from frozen fruit and chutneys and stuff after going to the Asian supermarket. First November market  second November market  December market  |
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Post by flowerweaver on Dec 18, 2014 16:57:38 GMT -5
That's too bad about your Cinderella pumpkins, they sure are pretty. They fly off the shelves at the super markets down here, but they are ready by Halloween. If you don't get one by then there won't be any left. I would imagine you aren't able to harvest that early in the north though.
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Post by littleminnie on Dec 18, 2014 18:30:22 GMT -5
Heck yeah. It is frosty by then and sometimes snowy. I just didn't get good sales in October this year.
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Post by steev on Dec 18, 2014 19:09:32 GMT -5
You made a great showing in those markets; too bad it wasn't wildly profitable.
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Post by RpR on Dec 21, 2014 1:37:20 GMT -5
No idea. I can make great pie though. Previously I thought Cinderella pumpkins were a guaranteed sale but I was wrong. 3 are so big I can hardly lift them and there is no interest in them. Pumpkins in front are obviously MDP x butternut. Walmart in the fall sells very, very large squash and pumkins before Halloween so that is probably competition. I have not checked price lately but five or so years ago, I bought a half-dozen for display and they were fairly cheap. |
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Post by littleminnie on Jan 16, 2015 20:25:49 GMT -5
I went to a high tunnel conference this week. Here are my notes:
• Don’t make hoophouses out of PVC; if you use any, get the gray kind that is UV stable
• Don’t tie tomatoes to the tunnel roof because the wind movement makes the tomato plant break
• Lots of up high ventilation but fans can mess up the air pressure flow created by the temp difference
• 25 feet between tunnels
• Get 6 mil film, anti-drip; 4 foot spacing of hoops; 6x6 columns on ends for support
• Drip tape: drill fittings into PVC for less leaks vs. punching holes into tubing, get 8” emitters, 10-15 mils but throw out every year; unscrew filter and wash often; put one filter before and one filter after fertigation tube; bury drip tape a few inches so it doesn’t heat up and swell/shrink; get some pressure gauges for before and after the pressure lessener
• Use soil water monitors; do not let the soil get dry!
• Get a humidity/dew point and temp gauge with data logger, place at plant canopy if possible
• Soil test every year with ALL the tests, including salt; flush salt at the end of the season
• Really prep that soil! High tunnel growing uses way more nutrients in a season. The CEC will tell you how much or how little fertilizer can be done at one time vs. over the season. Fertigation gradually over the season is very recommended
• We talked about growing degree days for tomatoes 1400 -2000 is average. Very early varieties can ripen with 1200
• He showed recent experiments on using solar air tubes placed under a high tunnel for heating the soil for winter growing. So far the results were not practicable but he is still experimenting
• We saw nutrient amounts before and after one crop to show how much they actually use. High tunnel growing with high demands of production per plant require huge fertilizer use
• He recommends composted dairy manure as dairy farmers are fussier about feed and less use of ‘ditch hay’ which so often has herbicides
• Fertilizer extraction zones are more narrow in the high tunnel so manures/composts can be applied just to the bed (plant roots don’t go as far as outside)
• Use plastic deer netting for critters once sides are rolled up, and/or melons can be grown to spill out once sides are rolled up
• Tomatoes are the most profitable tunnel crop but price falls off during the outside season. Cherry tomatoes do not yield as much $ per plant as slicers; heirlooms yield more $ despite even 30% culling, if you have a market for them
• Recommended fertilizer for tomatoes 1-1-1 up to flowering; 2-1-2 after flowering; 1-1-4 after harvest, also with micro nutrients; calcium can be applied foliarly
• Second to tomatoes for most grown is cucumbers, parthenocarpic English style, peppers are not very profitable but the plants show a great difference over growing outside
• Berries are becoming difficult die to spotted wing drosophila which only hits in tunnels or near tunnels, high temps in July ruin late season day neutral strawberry production, blackberries have no profit here due to lack of production per foot even though they cannot be grown outside here at all
• Disease section: if herbicide is suspected in compost, sprout some peas in it and see what they look like; plant with plenty of space for air movement, use fungicides to prevent disease, rotate crops, send in diseased plant samples, scout plants and rogue, use tools only for tunnel, soap and water! No smoking, wash hands; release moist evening air before closing up for the night. Manage weeds especially of the crop’s family such as nightshade or wild mustards. Start with healthy plants and clean seeds, resistant varieties.
• Insect section: learn the good bugs and attract them or purchase and release
•
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Post by littleminnie on Apr 8, 2015 18:11:09 GMT -5
I am oddly on perfect 'best case scenario' planting schedule this year. I seeded some peas, spinach and radish last Wednesday, none of which is up yet. It has rained well too, happily.  Then today I seeded the rest of the peas, some carrots, baby brassica greens, and more spinach. There has been some cold weather in the last week so my greenhouse isn't up and running yet, but it needs to be done now so I can start transplanting peppers and tomatoes and stuff into individual cells. Also my last bit of paperwork is getting done this week for my NRCS high tunnel. My landlords were a little hard to get ahold of but so nice about it! There has to be a signed 4 year lease you know to get the high tunnel.
So my only bad thing this month was last Tuesday I gathered most of my row cover into trash bags, labeled as to size. They were heavy and I ended up leaving them on the lee side of my fishhouse shed. Then Wednesday I was there in the morning but the afternoon was very windy. When I returned Saturday the trash bags could be seen in the field to the east of me and the row cover was wrapped around stuff all over my field. I only have myself to blame. None of it was new but it definitely wasn't in good shape after all that. Plus I need to reorganize it by size and type again. It had all sorts of debris stuck to it all and tons of midges that day. Ugh. |
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Post by littleminnie on Apr 9, 2015 19:21:44 GMT -5
I got almost approved for a high tunnel today through NRCS. I had to have a 4 year lease from my landlords and proof of their LLC set up. Now I still have to hear if they absolutely approve me and give me the money. They want to know the size before they approve you and tell you the money you will get. So I get to start shopping.
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Then today I seeded the rest of the peas, some carrots, baby brassica greens, and more spinach. There has been some cold weather in the last week so my greenhouse isn't up and running yet, but it needs to be done now so I can start transplanting peppers and tomatoes and stuff into individual cells. Also my last bit of paperwork is getting done this week for my NRCS high tunnel. My landlords were a little hard to get ahold of but so nice about it! There has to be a signed 4 year lease you know to get the high tunnel.