California - What are you doing this month?

I recently read that California's 3-year drought is worse than the Oklahoma Dust Bowl. That's depressing    We bought a 1/2 ton of playground pine wood chips last spring and I'm almost out. I think wood chips make the most heat efficient, insulating mulch.

California seems to almost always be in drought. And when it's not, they still try to raise the price of water on you.

Turned the Berkeley compost for the 3rd time. It had reached 170*F for about 30 hours before I could get to it. I didn't install the venting PVC pipes like I did the 1st time because I wasn't expecting the temps to get above 165*F max. I was wrong    So I installed them tonight just in case. They are capped right now and all I have to do is remove the cap or even pull out the pipes altogether to vent if it starts to get above 165*F. I think it's the alfalfa hay that is making it so hot. However, the material is starting to look like crumbly compost so I'm hopeful that this one (#5) will be my best. The bad thing is that the heat has killed a beautiful and rather expensive rose plant next to it Oh, crud.

Sanderson - I can't believe you are able to get your piles so hot.  I got one pile to 160* one time but it did not stay there for long.  Usually my heat only rises to 130-140*.  Nice going.

Yolos, I'm still learning about composting, but I think the amount of greens and moisture influences the heat. I turned the pile last night and it has reached 168*F in less than 24 hours. I don't think that's normal. I even made sure that each pitch fork full (horse manure type) was well aired and pulled apart.

Yikes!     It's 180*F!  I'm going to have to take it all out to air and cool it off.  I won't even worry this time about "rotating" inside material to outside position, and visa versa.

My goodness that's a hottie! Because my browns are generally wood chips since I have a large pile of them, my piles never get that hot. I get up to 160 the first few days then 130 to 140 from then on.

I need to restart my pile. I need more greens than I have and it's too hot to go shovel horse apples out in the field, LOL! It's a lot of work to gather raw manure out in a field rather than in a stall.

I don't think you want to be a Hottie like me! The temps are unhealthy high. Even after removing all of the material, tossing pitch forks around in the air, and then lightly tossing everything back in last night, it reached 180*F again this morning. The pile after rebuilding was 100*F after an hour so I know I cooled it off by tossing. thank goodness it's dropped to 168* tonight.

My husband built a worm box out of some scrap 2 x 4s. It's about 16" x 18" x 10 1/2" high with a plywood top. It's open bottom so they can go where they need. I had thrown the survivors of a 25 count tub of fishing worms in the old 3' round compost cage with about 6-8" of C+ compost left over from last fall They survived and multiplied like crazy. I carefully removed the dry stuff from the top until I got down to an area they inhabited, about 4 gallons of material filled with worms. I put 2 1/2 gallons of fleshy peach pits in one corner to see if they will strip them. Photo tomorrow.

DH is going to build the 2nd TT tomorrow. It will be 4' x 2 1/2' and form an 'L' with the 2' x 8'. Then all that's left is the 3' x 3'.

Very cool about your wormery. I like the open bottom deal. Why are you particularly interested in whether they will strip the peach pits?

Why, indeed. When I was a preteen, I had a garden. The back half of the property had a separate orchard with one of every kind. The peaches that fell to the ground were too yucky to eat so I buried a whole bunch (about 4-5 gallons). The next year, the soil was black and all I could find were the pits. Just wanted to see if I could repeat this memory but with red wigglers instead of large earthworms.

It's not even 9AM and it's too hot to work outside.  Only 83*F but the humidity is 51% with wind of only 2 MPH.  The new TT is ready to set in place, but after that, I'm diving back inside. Expected to be 108*F today.

It HAS to be higher than 51% humidity up here.  I don't have a way to gauge it.  Interesting though, my shade cover we had custom made for our greenhouse is amazing.  It's the same temps in there generally as outside instead of about 30 degrees hotter and there's total light but the intensity of the sun is much reduced so the plants in there are thriving.  

I'm harvesting tomatoes left and right  in addition to onions and hot peppers - so we're making salsa as fast as they ripen.  Our "slow bolt" cilantro isn't as advertised for the central valley (is anything?!)  so I'm having to use dehydrated from last summer while I start a new crop.

We're also dehydrating cherry toms for use in pastas next winter.  They have a lovely tangy flavor when dehydrated and we mix them with frozen basil (chopped and frozen in olive oil) and with garlic and it's mmmmmmmmmmmm good!

My Honeydew Melons are getting close, probably another week or so.  The second batch of potatoes are about a month out.  Lots of winter squash ripening.

Other than the blasted heat, I love this time of year, LOL!

I'm glad you are having some nice successes despite the heat.  And, that your green house cover is working so well instead of acting like a dehydrator.   

Second TT in place.  2 1/2' x 4' Everything set up to make the MM tonight. The 3rd TT will be 3x3' and will be set in the 4th corner, forming a small maze. That wilted transplanted tomato is one of the volunteers from last year's compost in various pots. I'm using old cardboard as mulch until I make the irrigation system. cut the tulle bases and cover with wood chips.

Those TT's look real nice.  Your husband has done a good job.  You have got a lot of square footage into that yard.  Bet you can't wait to get the MM made and in the beds and ready to plant.

Yolos,  Thank you.  I actually just finished making the MM and filling the bed in the dark.  First, I installed the all-purpose 1" PVC holders using plumber's tape as straps.  Then the weed fabric.  Then mix and dump, mix and dump.

Sounds like you two are both making good headway! I love how productive your garden sounds, Audrey.

sanderson, how many square feet will you have now? And is this it for you guys, or will you build even more? I seem to recall you saying your space was fairly limited.

Marc, Yes, the back yard is small. I'll take photos when I get things cleaned up.

These TTs sit on the lawn where the Fescue grass died. When my husband casually, or defeatedly, said I might as well put boxes there, I jumped on it. 36 more SQ feet added to the existing 70 something SF. But some of those original boxes are getting shaded by the neighbors' trees, in just this last year. The 2 to the south are evergreen podacarpus and bay laurel growing taller. There goes my winter sun. The one to the west looses it's leaves in the winter, but it got really ticked off when we pruned it from our side and grew another 5 feet and got bushier. That's hurting the vertical squash and cantaloupe. Remember those 1 foot square little boxes made from 3/4" fence boards. Well, they are fine for kale, etc., in the spring, but dry out too fast in the summer. Back to the drawing board on them.

If only you could sink their bottoms into the ground to keep them cooler ...

Sorry to hear they're tough to use in summer. Still, even if you only grow fall and spring crops in them, that's still two seasons' worth a year to enjoy them.

Yep.

I can't sink the bottoms in soil because it's by the foundation. You know, wet wood, termites and house, they don't go well together. I'm thinking of having DH make a frame to enclose them together. that way they will be a little more insulated. Then they will be good for 3 seasons. If I do a good job protecting them with tulle against the white butterfly.   

sanderson wrote:Yolos,  Thank you.  I actually just finished making the MM and filling the bed in the dark.  First, I installed the all-purpose 1" PVC holders using plumber's tape as straps.  Then the weed fabric.  Then mix and dump, mix and dump.

I like the way he extended two sides out past the other sides to attach to the post.  I have not seen that done in any of the previous discussions of TT's.  Looks like it would be sturdier. 

My question is the bottom plywood.  Is this marine grade plywood or any special kind.  Last year when I asked Boffer about the bottom plywood he said Marine grade.  But they don't sell this in the big box stores.  So I am curious.

Also, are his legs 4 x 4 or two 2 x 4 's.  One under the sides of the box supporting the box from the bottom and a taller leg that the sides of the box are attached to.


I have found that I don't like bending and stretching over to harvest low growing  plants like strawberries in a 4 x 8.  I actually left my strawberries to the chipmunk this year because it is just too much bending/kneeling/squatting.  I plan on building a TT for the strawberries.  I have seen one TT with a rain gutter with soil in it attached to the outside to catch the baby runners.  Which can then be replanted elsewhere after rooting in the rain gutter.

Are the 1" PVC holders made so you can bend 3/4" PVC to form hoops?

Mazzy

Yolos,  I design, DH builds.  None of my on-ground or TT boxes are wider than 2 1/2 feet!  There will be a 3 x 3 1/2 but it will be for corn where there is no micro-tending to the plants.  DH made a rolling mini-TT to hold a small cement skreet pan for my strawberries.  The idea came from Jennifer's Table Tops.  Audrey has rain gutters attached to a TT of strawberries.

The plywood is common plywood from HD with 2 x 4s underneath as cross braces.  I'll just have to wait and see how long it holds up.   

The posts are treated 4 x 4 that he notched to hold the bolted long side 2 x 4s.  The short 2 x 4s are just screwed to both the post and the long boards.

Mazzy, I don't bend PVC into hoops.  I use various PVC fittings, some of which I have to order online, to make frames.  I don't glue to fitting so I can make them as tall or short as needed.

We have some old "risers" from our church remodel that we've been offered.  They are 4 x 8 plywood with 2x6s sides that we've been offered.  I'm looking at how to utilize them for some more table tops.  For us space isn't an issue at all.

I have only seen them plywood side up so I have to see what the under structure is.  If it's every 16 inches I suppose we could simply adjust our planting format.  We would add another outside layer of 2x4s for height and drill holes in the plywood.  I was thinking on merely raising them up on cinder blocks.

sanderson wrote:Yep.

I can't sink the bottoms in soil because it's by the foundation. You know, wet wood, termites and house, they don't go well together. I'm thinking of having DH make a frame to enclose them together. that way they will be a little more insulated. Then they will be good for 3 seasons. If I do a good job protecting them with tulle against the white butterfly.   

Do you think wrapping them with aluminum foil, shiny side out, to reflect a lot of the sun right back off the pots, would help?

Audrey, Are you going to keep them as 4 x 8 tables? You can put 2 of them together, plywood sides facing. remove the 2 x 6 centers in the top "bed" so you have the whole area to plant as square feet. Put cinder block pillars as needed under the bottom 2 x 6s. Drill drainage holes through the 2 layers of plywood and add weed fabric to keep the MM from draining out. Totally jealous of your big space.

Marc, I think using foil would be the straw that broke the camel's back as far as my husband is concerned! I thought abut wrapping with formica, etc., and decided to stay with the wood look.