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If I'm building a self wicking raised bed and I'm using PVC for my watering conduit, do I need to use any kind of sealant or cement at the joints or just friction fit? If I use a sealant, is there a recommended one that is food grade or otherwise benign?
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Oct 15, 2022 20:45
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| # ? May 31, 2024 07:11 |
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I can't speak to whether you NEED cement, but regular-rear end PVC cement is approved for potable water, and therefore food safe. After curing anyway. Don't drink it.
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Oct 15, 2022 21:34
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I just friction fit those things in gardening solutions because chances are good I’m going to need to adjust/move it at some point and I want to be able to do that when I need to do it without having to cut and redo it with new pipe just because. If you know it’s going in a place as a supply line, then I’d use the adhesive, but once it’s in the bed it’s likely I’ll end up needing it moved around for next year.
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Oct 15, 2022 21:38
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Jhet posted:I just friction fit those things in gardening solutions because chances are good I’m going to need to adjust/move it at some point and I want to be able to do that when I need to do it without having to cut and redo it with new pipe just because. That said, if a segment gets worn enough it wants to come apart (usually in warm weather) then I'll end up cementing the problem joint(s) together, and then just tossing it if/when I need to reconfigure. A meter or two of 1/2" pvc pipe is just a couple bucks so I don't try to overthink it.
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Oct 16, 2022 11:31
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Ok thanks for the confirmation on that. Regarding the overflow hole for the bed, I just want to drill the hole at the highest point of the bed of scoria right? Otherwise all my water is just gonna leak out before it can wick up. It seems dumb to ask when I type it out but I just want to be sure I'm putting the hole in the right spot.
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Oct 16, 2022 21:55
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I bought a basil plant from the grocery store. It was a bit wilted by the time I got home, and figured it was just shock, but a day later, I'm starting to think the soil it's kept in is rubbish and drains too quickly. I watered the plant heavily and let the excess drip and it no longer looks wilted. That being said, there's some weird dark splotches on some of the leaves. I'm going to buy a bigger pot and better soil and transplant it today. Should I prune it as well or wait? I don't know if it really matters or if a basil plant can become too shocked from all the new changes (new location, being transplanted and then being pruned). All I know is, the plant is too spindly and not bushy enough and I want to fix that.
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Oct 22, 2022 09:15
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the grocery store isn't really a place known for taking good care of it's plants so it's probably been poorly watered. if it were mine i'd probably transplant it and prune it at the same time just for convenience sake, at least the leaves with dark spots in case they're infected or something
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Oct 22, 2022 09:30
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Help me, garden goons. I have no green thumb save for weeds. And the oleander tree that will not die on the side of my house despite everything I throw on it. Anyway we filled in our pool a while ago, and I want to plant a tree or some bushes on it. Right now it's just dirt (five feet at the deepest) and some weeds and grass. But here's the two big things: 1. I have a lot of box turtles and tortoises that now have access to what used to be the "pool side." So whatever is planted needs to be safe for them to snack on. 2. Plant needs to be fine with bright Phoenix AZ sun. I was thinking a citrus tree but the jury is out about how safe the fallen leaves are for tortoises.
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Oct 22, 2022 19:32
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Had some luck cutting off the branches of my peppers and ripening the fruit inside. Nice late season harvest.
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Oct 23, 2022 00:36
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Putting in my winter garden today and I got 2 fire ant bites. This happens EVERY SINGLE TIME that I garden. I am now pre-allergic to the drat things and I’m back to carrying an epipen. These better be the most delicious brassicas that I’ve ever tasted.
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Oct 23, 2022 02:41
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Joburg posted:Putting in my winter garden today and I got 2 fire ant bites. This happens EVERY SINGLE TIME that I garden. I am now pre-allergic to the drat things and I’m back to carrying an epipen. they're an invasive species, kill them all 
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Oct 23, 2022 08:00
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I always thought when planting something in crappy soil, dig down deeper than the root ball and amend the underneath with higher quality soil, generally I throw the displaced clay somewhere else hidden on my property. I'm reading now that's not really good or necessary. This thread agree? This link describes it but I've read it other places too. https://laidbackgardener.blog/2021/05/23/no-need-to-dig-a-deep-planting-hole/
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Oct 25, 2022 15:04
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Comb Your Beard posted:I always thought when planting something in crappy soil, dig down deeper than the root ball and amend the underneath with higher quality soil, generally I throw the displaced clay somewhere else hidden on my property. I'm reading now that's not really good or necessary. This thread agree? This link describes it but I've read it other places too. But a shallow bowl surrounded by clay also sounds like a wet, bad idea that just punching a few holes with a garden fork doesn't seem like it would solve... Honestly don't know which received wisdom to trust. I do know that my carefully amended area for blueberry bushes this year went to poo poo, but I don't know whether to attribute that to soil that wasn't acidic enough, how big the amended area was or whether they just got whacked by a pathogen.
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Oct 25, 2022 15:28
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dig out the hole deeper and a bit wider than you need and then mix it up with a good dose of organic material and some gravel if the drainage is crappy and use that mix to for your layer of soil. the excess can go where ever it seems useful. wont 100% keep the native soil structure intact but it doesnt create a boundary zone because a portion of the microbial life survives and the drainage/ nutrient content/ general structure changes over a gradient rather than a sudden band. The advice on mulch is generally good in that article though. Takes a bit of chopping and stirriing with a shovel to get it well mixed if theres a lot of clay though.
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Oct 26, 2022 10:28
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What I'm reading is even if you leave the lower clay in place, in break it up some and what you put on the side of the plant is important too, not just under it.
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Oct 26, 2022 17:04
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The current advice is to not amend the soil much. If you create a bowl of nice soil surrounded by clay, the roots will want to stay in the bowl rather than adapting to the overall surrounding soil. Water also reacts poorly to this bowl situation. Amend your soil gradually from the top with organic matter like compost and mulch. With clay, don't plant while the soil is wet; you'll form clods and walls around the planting hole.
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Oct 26, 2022 17:19
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Comb Your Beard posted:I always thought when planting something in crappy soil, dig down deeper than the root ball and amend the underneath with higher quality soil, generally I throw the displaced clay somewhere else hidden on my property. I'm reading now that's not really good or necessary. This thread agree? This link describes it but I've read it other places too.
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Oct 26, 2022 17:49
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If I have super sandy soil is the advice the same?
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Oct 26, 2022 18:47
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Sandy soil needs the introduction of organic matter even more than clay soil. I don't remember the advice being different though. You still build the best soil over time by adding organic matter to the surface.
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Oct 26, 2022 19:17
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For trees, remember stuff like this happens in nature: Don't worry too much.
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Oct 27, 2022 00:13
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DrBouvenstein posted:Bought a couple mushroom spore kits in the spring, a yellow oyster and wine cap. Quoting myself to see if anyone has an idea on the best way to over-winter these. A bunch of the straw is missing, I suspect animals took it for bedding because I didn't have enough mushroom fruitings to eat THAT much straw that fast. My plan was to put more straw in them to fill them back up, and then being them inside to my basement that stays in the upper 40's during the winter. I just don't want to leave them outside and have the hard cold kill the mycellium, since they're in a container and not imbedded deep into soil/wood like actual wild mushrooms.
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Oct 27, 2022 18:07
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I've had mushrooms come back from being outside all winter but im in the somewhat temperate PNW. If you basement them you might want to water them like once or twice a month, and be careful about bringing pests inside that may be hiding in the substrate but other than that I think you should be fine. You can probably get them to fruit indoors even if you put them in a plastic tote and manage their humidity and air access
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Oct 27, 2022 18:16
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Anybody have success using pea gravel for in between raised beds? I've used wood chips the last couple years, but the weeds just kind of laughed at it this year. (I was distracted by the birth of my daughter, granted, so I didn't put up much of a fight.) Curious if gravel is any better at suppressing weeds or if there are some downsides I'm not seeing. Was also thinking about replacing all my prefab metal frames with more wooden beds made with cedar. Then I remembered what cedar boards cost... perhaps just one new bed this year, but with a fancy trellis. Chad Sexington fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Oct 30, 2022 |
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Oct 30, 2022 04:04
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Chad Sexington posted:Anybody have success using pea gravel for in between raised beds? I've used wood chips the last couple years, but the weeds just kind of laughed at it this year. (I was distracted by the birth of my daughter, granted, so I didn't put up much of a fight.) Curious if gravel is any better at suppressing weeds or if there are some downsides I'm not seeing. pea gravel is the worst for everything. It won't suppress weeds at all and it'll just end up getting kicked around and you'll have little rocks everywhere. Put cardboard (or a couple layers of craft paper) down there, throw some more wood chips on top of it, and you'll be good for a year or two.
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Oct 30, 2022 06:09
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The people who used to own my house put down pea gravel on the paths and it migrated everywhere and now i just randomly end up sifting pea gravel out of everything and as commonshore said - it absolutely mitigates nothing. cursed substrate.
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Oct 30, 2022 06:50
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if you ever want to move stuff gravel will be very regretful if you ever need to mow that area again. plants love to grow between it too. cardboard+woodchips is cheap, fast, and easy.
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Oct 30, 2022 08:29
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silicone thrills posted:The people who used to own my house put down pea gravel on the paths and it migrated everywhere and now i just randomly end up sifting pea gravel out of everything and as commonshore said - it absolutely mitigates nothing. At my old house the next-door neighbours did pea gravel on their front driveway and I was picking that poo poo out of my back yard garden somehow. Oh and it was really lovely for traction in their driveway too. Pea gravel is good for nothing other than maybe aquariums. It's the glitter of landscaping. It's useless. Total dogshit aggregate.
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Oct 30, 2022 16:28
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Glad I asked!
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Oct 30, 2022 23:20
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Chad Sexington posted:Anybody have success using pea gravel for in between raised beds? I've used wood chips the last couple years, but the weeds just kind of laughed at it this year. (I was distracted by the birth of my daughter, granted, so I didn't put up much of a fight.) Curious if gravel is any better at suppressing weeds or if there are some downsides I'm not seeing. Pea gravel does pretty well as a top layer in potted plants. It looks good and it does discourage weeds. I used to use it as a base layer for drainage in raised beds, and it does help keep the soil level higher in the bed than it would otherwise be, but it's overkill and I don't bother anymore. I just put a mix of tree limbs and broken up pots, etc. in the base of raised beds now and I also don't build them as high as I used to. I wouldn't put pea gravel on the ground for the reasons everybody else mentioned. Those little rocks hurt when they hit your ankle at the speed a lawnmower can throw them. On the raised bed topic, I would keep using your metal frames if possible. You may have a better experience depending on how you put them together, but the screws rotted out of the cedar boards in 3 to 5 years on mine; would have meant disaster had I not lined the bottom half with landscape fabric, which oddly has mostly held up. I also put a big trellis between two 3' x 6' beds that I placed about 3 feet apart so that I could grow beans/cucumbers/squash. It worked for a couple of years but eventually the 2"x2" posts I used as the main supports (at the corners of each bed) failed under the weight of the bean vines and because I live in a swampy hellscape and didn't used treated wood. I could probably have gotten a couple more years out of the whole apparatus if I'd used some sort of connector rather than just screwing the thing together, but now I'm holding it together with string and bracing-sticks until the weather finally gets cold enough that I feel ok taking most of the plants out entirely and rebuilding it. When I do, I'm planning on using something that won't rot but that I can salvage or buy inexpensively. If I make any more raised beds I'm probably just going to use cinder blocks. A question for those of you who were discussing soil preparation: I inherited a tiller from my mother in law last year, but haven't gotten around to using it. If I do, should I try to add soil to areas that have a heavy clay content? I'm guessing the tiller will really only chop up the top six inches at most; is it worth it to add something like "topsoil" or should I just throw a bunch of leaves in and call it a day? I have a relatively small front lawn and I would like it to put some beds in part of it, but the grass is so well-established that it's hard as hell to even get a spade through it. My thought was to run the tiller and make a 2 foot x 5-6 foot bed, then dig out some more and line it with newspaper and/or cardboard to prevent the grass from coming up under the bed. I just hope the tiller, which is electric, has the power to get through the grass in the first place.
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Nov 1, 2022 18:42
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We had a large, completely encased, section of our yard that the previous owners had planted bamboo in for some privacy. The fire department came around a few weeks ago saying it’s a fire hazard and that we need to get rid of it. Town we live in said it would start enforcing these demands sooner than later. The good news is that the containment held and it has somehow not managed to spread anywhere else. We’re hiring a crew to come out and remove the bamboo, but having had bamboo at our old house I know how… persistent… bamboo can be. Our yard guy said he would normally dump roundup on the entire section, but since we’re not fans of that we opted not to. Aside from roundup or completely removing all of the dirt, how can we manage this going forward? I’m also looking for some recommendations on what to replace it with. Ideally it would be tall (10-12 feet minimum), bushy, and something that wouldn’t need to get ripped out in 5 years as our earth keeps warming turning every plant into a fire hazard. Edit: I should mention the bamboo covered a large area - the enclosure is at least 3 feet deep by 45 feet wide. George Wright fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Nov 5, 2022 |
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Nov 5, 2022 23:15
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George Wright posted:Our yard guy said he would normally dump roundup on the entire section, but since we’re not fans of that we opted not to. To give you other suggestions you'll have to explain why you're "not a fan". It's effective and safe when used properly. If you've decided that all things that aren't marketed as "organic" are bad (as my mother has) then there's not a lot to say other than burning a bunch of diesel to dig it up deep and bring in new topsoil. Or fight with trying to solarize it for several years (this will fail). Glyphosate or similar is literally the most ecologically friendly choice in situations like this.
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Nov 5, 2022 23:25
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George Wright posted:We had a large, completely encased, section of our yard that the previous owners had planted bamboo in for some privacy. It is essentially impossible to kill bamboo without bringing in a backhoe and removing everything. It's like trying to kill ivy that's growing through a brick wall. It just won't die. Unless you use roundup like your yard guy said. There are worse things out there for the environment, and if you do it after your pollinators are gone for the day, it will be dry before they come back in the morning and would be inert. Just don't use it when it's going to rain. You can even plant things within 2 days without any issues with a normal application, but you'll want to give it a week before starting to dig out all the bamboo. If you want to minimize all risk to yourself, wear a respirator too while applying. I use it in a spray bottle or with a paint brush for spot applications like killing ivy and... nope, just killing ivy.
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Nov 5, 2022 23:33
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You can apply glyphosate directly to just-cut stumps and minimize how much of it contacts the soil. I've done it lots with bamboo. It's probably going to take more than an application of herbicide though - either follow-up applications or some mechanical removal.
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Nov 6, 2022 00:52
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George Wright posted:We had a large, completely encased, section of our yard that the previous owners had planted bamboo in for some privacy. Herbicides are your least bad option.
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Nov 6, 2022 01:46
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We were avoiding herbicides in an attempt to be nice to our bee friends, but it sounds like herbicide is the only real way to go if we want to have any hope of getting rid of the bamboo. Thank you for the feedback!
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Nov 6, 2022 02:54
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control it with something that outcompetes it, like kudzu
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Nov 6, 2022 02:56
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Get some pandas
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Nov 6, 2022 04:34
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George Wright posted:We were avoiding herbicides in an attempt to be nice to our bee friends, but it sounds like herbicide is the only real way to go if we want to have any hope of getting rid of the bamboo. Thank you for the feedback! Bees aren't attracted to cut down bamboo. Why would the bees ever touch this herbicide in the literally hour or two it remains wet after application? It's 100% harmless once dry and will be inert even to other plants above the soil line inside of the day if its sunny. It's important to understand the method of action of these things and when/how they are harmful. Not only to know how to most effectively use them but to be able to have a rational and informed opinion about when or when not to. There are plenty of herbicides that are a big issue for pollinators when applied incorrectly. This is not one of them.
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Nov 6, 2022 12:32
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There are some studies showing harm to bees; however, they're about spraying bees directly and have more to do with the not-glyphosate parts of the spray. There's also probably an argument about the secondary effects of using glyphosate around biodiversity. But, as Motronic said, if you understand the herbicide and use it appropriately, it doesn't pose a risk to pollinators.
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Nov 6, 2022 14:10
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Stupid question, but is bamboo a particularly bad fire hazard? Would you be getting the same grief if it was some other sort of plant in the same area?
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Nov 8, 2022 03:32
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