Overflow level

 I saw several videos on people making new holes on their galvanized tub. I don’t have a metal drill cutter - and really you don’t have to do that. A simple elbow attachment with 3-4” pvc pipe is all you need and this odd tool [ratchet] to remove the plug.

On the Belhen galvanized tubs the drain outlet is 3/4”… wish I would have known that sooner because I had bought everything 1/2” pvc.

For those like me who have 1/2” pipes… replace outlet drain with a 1/2” outlet drain. If you have a 3/4” elbow that screws into the original drain (like I do now for my 2nd tub) you can skip this step.

This is the inside part.

On the outside part, be sure to have an opening that fits a 1/2” pvc pipe or the pipe size you are using.

I couldn’t attach the elbow directly to the top part so I had to cut a 3”pvc pipe to join them. I used 4” black tubing for the top part so I wouldn’t get confused when installing it to the tub.

You can zoom in in this picture and see that the clay pebbles are just slightly above the groove line tub. I cut my black tubing just slightly under an inch from that mark.

I filled the tub to make sure the overflow works and doesn’t leak.

On my 2nd tub I found a 3/4 pvc pipe that screwed right in and found an attachment that goes from 3/4” to 1/2” and with just those 2 pieces it was enough for the overflow to work. I haven’t got 4” flexible irrigation Tubing to make sure it’s at the tight height so I’m not 100% sure on the overflow level. But with those 2 pieces I was able to install it in seconds.

Thankfully I installed it before it rained so I can see the water level and how well it holds it. Once it stops raining, I’ll post an update.

Add the soil, worms, compost and plants

 

We left off part 1 in layering the landscape fabric.  I need to add a tube to fill the water reserve. The fabric has 2 purposes: absorbs water and blocks soil from going into water reserve. The clay pebbles under the fabric also absorb water. These two elements help the soil from rotting while insuring water gets absorbed up.

I made a hole in the fabric. I also cut the pvc pipe on an angle so the water can flow thru and the pipe won’t suction.

I placed my pots to see how many would fit and begin thinking of what to grow in the tub. These empty pots will be filled with worm-loving kitchen scraps. 

We filled the tub with 4” of coir, potting soil and garden soil. Many advise to only use potting soil and coconut brick soil- but that wasn’t within my budget so I had to mix with 1/2 garden soil and potting soil and some coir.

Potting soil and coconut coir are super absorbing materials that will help wicker the water up to the plants. I also lightly misted the soil to help it maintain its moisture. This layer of soil will be like a worm super highway.  They will use this soil to “travel” from pot to pot in search of food.    

Then I added my composting worms with some of their food.  They quickly began to burrow down. I spread them and there food throughout the soil so they could have room to wiggle.

Why 2 pots?  The bottom pot holds composting worms and kitchen scraps that worms like. The top pot holds the plant. The worms travel back and forth from pots to help improve soil with their casting (poop) the liquid and moisture they release help moisten the soil for the top plant. 

When kitchen scraps are about halfway in pot, I cover with an inch of soil and begin adding to a new pot.

 

My plan is to fill the tub with more potting soil and plant in the tub some root vegetables.

Starting Wicking Beds

Part 1: wicking raised bed with composting worms

 Living in a drought state I feel a need to do my part to help the environment- but I also love gardening. How can I water with wasting too much water… and when my plants need me the most during summer. I’m usually out on road trips and forget to water.

In Casa Castillo (aka my parents’ home) I decided to experiment with a wicking raised bed.  I pick tall galvanized tubs so that they don’t need to bed over too much when gardening. The height also gives plenty of room to store about 4-6” of water in a reserve. There’s already a plug hole on the side making it easy to drain out excess over flow water.

How does it work:

(I found this image online, if it’s copyright infringement please let me know and I’ll remove it or if you are the owner of this photo let me know so I can give you credit).

This is something that companies already make if you don’t want to make your own. I bought a few and planted onions, and garlic in them.

With a galvanized tub I save the step of adding a pond liner since the tub is meant to hold water. But if you are using a wine barrel, pallet/wood bed, adding a pond liner is an important step.

Finding a location: this thing is large and will get heavy! Think of the size and where it will stay for the next 5-10years or more. 

After finding the right spot. I had to tweak the plug a little: first I removed the plug. This was 3/4” hole, and I had bought the pvc and elbow at 1/2”, so I replaced it. Later I discovered they sell 3/4” pvc elbows and parts that fit this hole perfectly. So save a step and buy 3/4” attachments.

I also had to buy the tools to remove that drain outlet.

Add the 1/2” pvc parts:

Outside tub

 Inside tube 

Then attached 3” pvc pipe to the elbow the another 4”irrigation rubbing or pvc pipe so the water stays inside tube at a certain level. I didn’t glue it, as I want to move it up or down Incase the tub needs more or less water. Cut the irrigation (black) tubing about an inch lower than the height of water level. This is so soil doesn’t sit in the water and rot. This also helps roots not to grow into water basin.

Anything can be used to hold water. Some people use flexible drain pipes, flower pots, cinder blocks- I used 4” plastic fruit boxes. Since the holes were too big, I layered garden netting over it so the clay pebbles fill around and over it. 

We then filled the sides and about 2inches on top with clay pebbles.

To prevent the soil sinking down into the water, we place a layer of lawn fabric over the pebbles.

We filled the tube with water so clay pebbles can absorb water and to check for leaks.

The next step will be to add soil, composting worms and plants.

From Scraps to Plants (part 1)

              Most of us throw away the inedible parts of our fruits and vegetables in the trash or compost bin.  Up until recently, I did the same thing, until I heard Lorena, a garden friend, say that she grows her own pineapples and she never bought seeds.  In fact, she didn’t even buy the pineapple.  She was purchasing a fruit salad from a street vender and she noticed he was setting aside the pineapple leaves with the top part attached.  After chatting it up with him, Lorena asked why he setting aside the pineapples.  He said he grew his own and that he also sold pineapple plants to friends and neighbors.  He explained the process to her and she passes the word to me.  Now, here I am sharing my excitement with you.

                It takes about two years for the first pineapple to emerge, but from that point on, it’s good eats!  I wasn’t as lucky as my friend to get free pineapples; I purchased my fruit from a store.  Fortunately pineapples are in season this November and December and are super sweet and cheap. I also haven’t eaten the fruits of work yet, but I have already grown roots and even planted one.  I didn’t want to wait two years write this blog, instead I wanted to do updates and share the milestones of my pineapples.

Begin with a whole pineapple:

Cut off the top part off with about an inch of the fruit still attached:

There are two ways to do this next part and get the same result. 1. Hold the leaves part and twist the fruit part until they split apart. 2. Or, trim the fruit part off until you get to the core area.

Peel all the lower leave off until you get a base of about 2 inches. Some of the fruit might already have roots.

Place in a jar with water and fill just below the leaves start.  Change the water every few days and watch as the roots begin to emerge.  

Once the roots are formed, some of the leave may turn brown.  You can now plant and water when soil begins to dry.

I'm excited to see how these continue to grow and change in the following months. 

Jar Plants

Science is was of my most favorite subjects, mostly because it has a lot of opportunities for hands on projects.  I love tossing mentos in Coke a Cola and watching it KABOOSH!!!  But learning all the definitions, vocabulary words and remembering what they mean is challenging for me, unless I see it and can be able to explain it.

Dicot and Monocots is an example of that.  On paper they look almost alike and you can't really see the difference.  So we searched out examples of monocot and dicot seeds. We had them in our kitchen: for monocot we used a popcorn seed (the kind you would toss into a whirly-pop or stove top) and for dicot we used a bean.  In less the a day the seeds swelled up and began to open.  Unfortunately, we added a too much water and they didn't grow. We placed another seed in the jar and by the next day we saw roots.  Within a week we saw leaves and full on seedlings.  We are now condsidering on planting them just to see how they do.

This is such a great experiment because the seed slightly presses against the jar and as the roots and parts; you can really see them, almost like a giant magnifying glass!  Just add a few drops of water if the paper towel begins to dry out.

The supplies:

-Paper towel (slightly damp)

-Clear Jar (glass or plastic)

-bean and popcorn seed

Time duration: 1 Week

The seeds after a few hours in the jar.

The Dicot or Bean Seed begins to sprout leaves.

After a day or two, both seeds have a root system growing.

While both seeds have a root system growing, the seed is in different parts of the seedling.

The leaves and roots sprout differently from each seed.

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BAJA NEWS: Since 2007: Seeds of Hope thanks to "El Campo en Nuestras Man...:   "I'd rather garden than be the emperor of the world," and while this famous quote comes from the first president of the Unit...

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I can't believe how many years have gone by since I last posted in my gardening blog!  We've undergone several moves and my original garden is now but a distant memory of the blog posts. Luckily I have somewhat started a new garden and will start posting as it begins to develop.  I'm also blogging for Baja News and wanted to share my most current blog post on sustainable gardening.

So well bee behaved...

I recieved an email from a bee guy name Bao indicating he need to find new locations for his bee boxes. As many of my fellow friends now, I have been wanting to do the "bee thing" for a few years; but never got around to actually doing it until today... Bao will contine taking care of his bees and the bees in turn will pollinate my edibles and in turn I can slowly learn about bees and how to care for them. Bao took my bee box to help catch me a hive so that in the future, I can have my own bees. To learn more about bees check out the OC Bees Beekeepers. The bees seem very calm and friendly.