Here's a photo of the tomato plants that I grew from seed. They're sitting on our bedroom windowsill until my veggie planters are built and filled with soil. This photo was taken earlier this week, and they're even bigger now - so hopefully they'll be fruitful this summer! IF I can ever get them planted outside!!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tomatoes!
Here's a photo of the tomato plants that I grew from seed. They're sitting on our bedroom windowsill until my veggie planters are built and filled with soil. This photo was taken earlier this week, and they're even bigger now - so hopefully they'll be fruitful this summer! IF I can ever get them planted outside!!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Pile of dirt
So, this is the pile of organic soil that's sitting in our front yard. The wheelbarrow is the 'not so ergonomically friendly' one that resulted in my achy back. I'm about to get out there and move some more soil.......thank goodness I still have the neighbours 'superbarrow'!!
Irrigation Systems
Thanks to Bill & Shirley (my in-laws), I visited the Lee Valley Tools website on Wednesday evening. I was just in time to notice that they were offering a seminar on low-flow and drip irrigation systems at the Edmonton location. So, I enrolled!
Last night, I went to the seminar and discovered that designing one of these systems isn't all that difficult - perhaps a little time consuming, but worth the initial time investment because of all the time we'll save not having to stand there with a watering hose or set up and move sprinklers! I consider getting a sprinkler in the right position to be a true art.
It's even possible to use this type of system for containers and hanging baskets, but I'm sticking to using it for our perennial beds and vegetable planters since I actually enjoy watering the containers from our rain barrel.
The best part - this type of irrigation system isn't even all that expensive. It's a D-I-Y project that requires a little thought and planning, then we can sit back, drink vino or pivo on the porch, and watch the plants smile.
Part of the seminar was a little practice session, which is what you see in the photo above - my first little length of low-flow irrigation hose! The little end with a spike is called a 'shrubbler' and it emits between 0-10 gallons of water per hour in a two foot diameter.
Next decision: Simple or Sophisticated? A sophisticated system would include a digital timer (or timers), but I've decided to stick with the K.I.S.S. principle - get the basic system working, see how much water is actually necessary, then get the timers on a little later.
I'll keep track of time and costs for this, and expect to be pleasantly surprised by the outcome just as I was by the relative simplicity of system design and setup. Wish me luck!
Last night, I went to the seminar and discovered that designing one of these systems isn't all that difficult - perhaps a little time consuming, but worth the initial time investment because of all the time we'll save not having to stand there with a watering hose or set up and move sprinklers! I consider getting a sprinkler in the right position to be a true art.
It's even possible to use this type of system for containers and hanging baskets, but I'm sticking to using it for our perennial beds and vegetable planters since I actually enjoy watering the containers from our rain barrel.
The best part - this type of irrigation system isn't even all that expensive. It's a D-I-Y project that requires a little thought and planning, then we can sit back, drink vino or pivo on the porch, and watch the plants smile.
Part of the seminar was a little practice session, which is what you see in the photo above - my first little length of low-flow irrigation hose! The little end with a spike is called a 'shrubbler' and it emits between 0-10 gallons of water per hour in a two foot diameter.
Next decision: Simple or Sophisticated? A sophisticated system would include a digital timer (or timers), but I've decided to stick with the K.I.S.S. principle - get the basic system working, see how much water is actually necessary, then get the timers on a little later.
I'll keep track of time and costs for this, and expect to be pleasantly surprised by the outcome just as I was by the relative simplicity of system design and setup. Wish me luck!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Welcome!
Welcome to my yard blog. Perhaps it's a little late to get started on this now, since a lot of the work is already done, but I figured I'd give it a shot after numerous attempts to attach photos and slideshows to webmail......shaw webmail isn't forgiving when you try to add large attachmens - nor does it tell you AHEAD of time that your attachment attempt will fail, so you sit and wait, only to be disappointed.
Anyway, hopefully the blogging thing is a little more user-friendly. Enjoy!
Anyway, hopefully the blogging thing is a little more user-friendly. Enjoy!
Achiness abounds
Today, I feel like one of those little old Croatian ladies, bent from the waist as if searching for lucky pennies. Yesterday morning was boot camp, then six cubic yards of organic soil were delivered and dumped in our front yard. Where I needed the soil was inaccessible by dump truck because of the three willow trees at the front of the house - one smack in the middle of the driveway. Those trees are turning out to be the bane of my existence (some serious pruning yesterday is another reason for my achiness).
The shoveling, wheelbarrow carting, dumping and spreading have taken their toll on my body. Thankfully, one of my neighbours was appalled at the effort required for this and lent me their four-wheeled wheelbarrow with an easy-dump mechanism. Whewsh, can barely imagine what I'd feel like if I'd used our one-wheeled version for the entire day!
Things are coming along nicely. Murray, never again will we buy a brand new house - fully landscaped or bust!!!! Actually, it's kind of nice to be able to have a blank slate, but it would be nice if a lot of the preparation work was done.
The shoveling, wheelbarrow carting, dumping and spreading have taken their toll on my body. Thankfully, one of my neighbours was appalled at the effort required for this and lent me their four-wheeled wheelbarrow with an easy-dump mechanism. Whewsh, can barely imagine what I'd feel like if I'd used our one-wheeled version for the entire day!
Things are coming along nicely. Murray, never again will we buy a brand new house - fully landscaped or bust!!!! Actually, it's kind of nice to be able to have a blank slate, but it would be nice if a lot of the preparation work was done.
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