The Domestic Terraforming Thread (aka Gardening for Geeks)

[dmention7]

Nice. We've got a half-barrel planter on our back patio that looks just like that, but it's seen better days.

Do you have any problems with squirrels or bunnies bogarting your veggies, what with everything being planted at ground level and without a fence?

 

[DrWebster]

Problems with animals eating your plants can be easily resolved by the use of chicken wire connected to the end of a plugged-in extension cord.

 

[YSOSLO]

Our backyard is fully fenced because of the pool, and I have a pellet gun that takes care of any offenders that can't take the hint. Rabbits are rough, but they tend to avoid scents that make them nervous, so we've used dog hair or human hair clippings around the edges of the garden if they get too inquisitive. We've honestly really never had an issue with them in the backyard though....they've chewed the shit out of the foliage on some of the plants in our front and side yard, but not the back.

 

[dmention7]

I've heard marigolds are great at keeping the bunnies away.

 

[YSOSLO]

I don't know about bunnies, but I've definitely heard they keep away some types of insects. There's some good info here.

 

[dmention7]

Got my hippie geek on tonight. The overflow hose is probably too small but oh well. Our house is pretty small, so I don't even know if it will ever get near overflowing.




Going to get started on a compost tumbler next, I think.

 

[AJ]

Where did you get a drum like that, we have a corner in the back yard I think something like this would be very fitting in.

 

[dmention7]

If you do a little googling or look on CL, you can find them all over the place for $30 or so. Make sure it's a food-grade container, not something that held nasty chemicals. I got mine off ebay for $50 shipped because there was no way one was going to fit in my car.

 

[YSOSLO]

That barrel looks great Jay! Really goes well with the color of your house. I think you'll be surprised at how quickly the barrel will fill up though. A light sprinkle for 10 minutes and ours is full, although we've got a pretty large amount of roof draining into that downspout.

 

[AJ]

Can you get them at local stores like Lowes, HD, Mynards, or even an ACE?

 

[DrWebster]

My dad built one of these for the garden, he just used a Rubbermaid garbage can.

 

[dmention7]

My dad used Rubbermaid garbage cans for a couple of his too. However, they are not designed to hold up to having hundreds of gallons of water inside for extended periods. And the really large/durable trash cans cost more than a plastic 55 gal drum.

To answer AJ, no I haven't seen these at retail stores. Generally they only carry pre-built rain barrels that cost upwards of $120, but the drums you can buy are usually industrial food grade drums.

 

[Picklz]

Another thing to check out, a lot of times you can get used brine buckets for water softeners from places like culligan, commers, etc for cheap or free when they get rid of them, good rinse with some bleach and they would be great for holding water.

 

[AJ]

So we actually founds 2 options at the HD in Maple Grove tonight. I've thought one of these would look nice in the corner of the back of the house where the mud room and kitchen meet. It's got some pipes and the hose attachment and it just so blah looking. We went up to HD tonight and saw two rain bucket options with built in tap/spout. One was $60 and the other $90 I think, one just bigger than the other. We have had blocks, dirt, and mulch for a while already (year +) and now we can use it. We picked up the mesh weed guard shit for that area and the project begins. We will finish the area with mulch, a potted plant, and maybe a smaller raised garden of smaller items that might not need much sun. Otherwise we also want to use the collected water for her small 10x10 garden already out back. I uess we will see how this works out.

 

[Big Nate]

Call some local car wash suppliers. I got a barrel just like the one Jay has for free from them. Can't remember the name right now but I will get it.

And Jay stop being a wussy the barrel can contain whatever just as long as you rinse it out shit will be fine. I mean have you ever tested the chemical comp of rain?????shit is nasty.


HHHHMMMMM chemical engineer should test the chemical comp of rain and inform us all.

 

[dmention7]

Heh, trust me... some of the stuff that comes in these barrels, you do NOT want anywhere near your plants, especially if you plan on eating them.

But you are right. Rain in many areas of the country has tested at alarmingly high levels of dihydrogen monoxide. I have not personally tested the rain coming off my roof, but I suspect it may also contain DHMO. Check out this website for some scary info: http://www.dhmo.org/

 

[YSOSLO]

...great...something ELSE to be afraid of. Gotta love the U.S.A....aka fear everything you don' t have direct control over.

 

[dmention7]

So the drain hose is apparently fine the kind of volume that comes out of that downspout.


I've got a question though. I've noticed this year that a bunch of our plants are shooting up, blooming intensely, and then a few days later the entire plant starts to droop over. Almost like the flowering stems shot up too fast and then the plant can't sustain them? The only thing I can think of is that our soil is kind of dense and clayish, so maybe the roots aren't able to penetrate deep/wide enough to support the kind of growth the plant is doing...

Oh, and google is not my friend on this one. When I search "drooping plants", the only hits I get are threads from places like forums.marijuana.org and grassworld.com =/

 

[YSOSLO]

What kind of plants are you talking about Jay? If you're referring to tomato plants, it might be that they need support (i.e. tomato cages) to hold the weight of the growth. Different types of veggies have different needs, so it's hard to generalize. Sorry. Details please.

 

[dmention7]

Oh sorry, these are not veggies. I'm not sure of the exact type of plant... just some various flowering perennials in our backyard, though I've also noticed it on some daylillies in our front yard. The previous owners planted a whole crapton of plants, so I'm not sure all what's there, but I can take a few pics if that helps.