Sunday, August 17, 2014

Portsmouth Virginia

Believe it or not I am interested in more things than gardening and building hydroponic grow systems. I am also interested in the beautiful and unbelievable architecture in building churches and the steeples that are part of them, that reach up into the heavens, bringing glory to God. The other day I had the opportunity to see some in the town of Portsmouth Va. I had to go to the Naval Hospital there to get a nuclear stress test. That's a story of it's own. I was headed there and noticed a huge steeple above the other buildings. I made it a point to go there when I was finished with the test.Here is what I was seeing: St. Paul's Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church located in Portsmouth, Virginia. It is a compact Gothic Revival style, cruciform plan church. It is constructed of load-bearing masonry walls clad in quarry-faced granite. The church was designed by John Peebles (1876-1934) in 1897, and dedicated in 1905. (source: Wikipedia). So here you go, a nice picture of it.







Sunday, August 10, 2014

Where have You Been?

Man, I didn't mean to be gone so long.I have been very busy lately taking care of some personal business. I think I have it under control now and can spend a little more time doing some of the things I enjoy. This new found entertainment is one of those things. I will try to devote a little bit more time to it. 

I can sense the seasonal change that's about to take place and I for one don't particularly care for cold weather. I do however like the fall season. But the leaves can have it, really hate that part.

Here is a picture of some Bhut Jolokia, better known as Ghost Peppers. I have them in a colander having been washed before I put them in a dehydrator. I love the color contrast.

In 2007, Guinness World Records certified that the ghost pepper was the world's hottest chili pepper, 401.5 times hotter than Tabasco sauce; the ghost chilli is rated at more than 1 million Scoville heat units (SHUs). Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 SHUs. However, as of 2012, it was superseded by the Trinidad moruga scorpion

On December 26, 2013, the Guinness World Records rated the "Carolina Reaper" the world's hottest pepper, moving the ghost chili to third place. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhut_Jolokia

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Japanese Cucumber

This is a Japanese variety cucumber. I put the seedling in the dutch bucket about 6 weeks ago. As you recall I planted some outside and inside. The ones outside did grow faster than these and i was pretty impressed. however these have caught up with the ones outside and eventho the ones outside are producing Cukes they are not as big as these. Also the environment for the ones outside are extreme as in the temperature, sun, rain, insects. On the other hand these inside are better controlled. The water schedule is much more constant. My vote is going to have to lean toward Hydroponic Dutch Buckets inside the greenhouse.

I will be using this one to make some of the cucumber and tomato salad as shown below by Rachel Ray.



Cucumber Salad

This is a recipe for Cucumber Salad. I got it from The Food Network and Rachael Ray posted it. I subscribe to it and they send me recipes ever so often. I keep the ones I think I can manage and can the rest. I try to keep them simple if you know what I mean. I grow the cucumbers and tomatoes so i might as well make this every once in a while. Sometimes I make it and take it to work for the rest of the crew to munch on.



Credit- Rachael Ray

5 medium plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
1/4 red onion, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
1 Kirby cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
A generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
2 splashes red wine vinegar
Coarse salt and black pepper

Directions
Dress the tomatoes, onions, and cucumber with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Let stand while you prepare dinner, about 20 minutes. Re-toss and serve salad with crusty bread for mopping up juices and oil.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Tomato Stalk

I took these this afternoon as I was finishing up for the day. After the picture was taken I harvested about 8 of them and put them in a salad we had with our dinner. They were very sweet. These are the last of the tomatoes this growing cycle in the Hydroponic NFT system. I plan on taking the channels out of the system this week and give them a good cleaning and prepare them for the next growing cycle. Have a good week everyone.



Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Scorpion Pepper

You will have to agree on this one for sure. This is about the most beautiful looking piece of fruit I have ever seen and it has a powerful punch. This is a Trinidad Scorpion Pepper. For those of you who know about the Scoville Unit it measures over 2 million. I have seen videos of people eating one of these as you see it now. It is amazing to watch them struggle as the heat builds up in their mouth and throats. Sometimes I take a small piece about the size of a pencil eraser and chew it up and swallow it. I'm here to tell you that it's very very hot and I cannot see how they do it. Bravo for them I say.



Monday, July 7, 2014

Mailbox Garden, Curb Appeal

Sorry I haven't posted in a little while. I have been so busy with my summer projects I can't find the time to get everything done, there is so much to do. Of course most of it is not a must be done project. I just put it on myself. No worries though, Sooner or later I'll get to it. I have made the time to add some to my curb appeal project by planting some flowers inside the mailbox garden project. So far so good.


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Mail Box Garden

I've been thinking about this for a while now and am finally taking some action on it. When I first moved in it had some dreadful looking bushes around it with parts of it dying out. That lasted about 6 months and I hated it. So like any good bush hater I ripped them out. It remained bare for about 3 years until last weekend.. I hope I am picking out the right bushes for this. I plan on placing some flowers and a Clematis vine around the mail box post. I'm excited about how it will look in a few years.


Sunday, June 15, 2014

Grown Up Clones

Hey, remember these? These are the grown up clones from the small ones in one of the posts near the bottom of this. I think it's pretty neat that I took some suckers off the plants in the greenhouse and cloned them. This way I know where the fruit will be coming from instead of wondering where the starter plants one would buy from Home Depot or Lowe's garden center. I also know that these are chemical free because they are growing right under my nose. Not like the ones at the store or farmers market. Grow your own tastes so good. Don't you agree?








Thursday, June 12, 2014

Well, What do you know!

Well, What do you know. I entered the tab Dutch Buckets in a contest called Gardening and Homesteading sponsored by Instructables.com. There were 271 entries and I managed to win the Grand Prize for Gardening. What a surprise. The prize was a Samsung tablet. Yeah!


Picture of Dutch Bucket Hydroponic System

Monday, June 9, 2014

She Said "They are Wonderful"

I can't wait to pop one of these jewels in my mouth. Maybe in a couple of days. Over the weekend I planted some more cucumbers. They have been in the seeding trays and it was past time to put them in their new home. I put about 8 of them in the Buckets and the other 8 in the soil inside Mother's garden. I'm going to do a comparison of the two from planting to harvest. I already know what the outcome will be but I want to analyze it just the same. I think i will do a photo essay. Any input is appreciated

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Hot Tamales

No they are not tamales. I'm just kidding you. Take a look at these. They are growing on Rachael's side and they look great. Don't you agree. I love giving them away. If you get up this way stop by and get yourself one. They won't last long.

Saturday, May 31, 2014

*** Cucumbers Keep Raining on My Head ***

Cucumbers keep raining on my head, but that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red. Crying's not for me. Cause I ain't gonna stop the cucumbers raining by complaining. Because I'm free, Nothing's bothering me.
Here's a couple of Cukes hanging from the roof and I'm just goofing around with that old song "Raindrops keep falling on my head" by B J Thomas. Remember that song? Anyway, I thought this would be a good addition to my blog. There are more up there hanging out. Tomorrow I'm going to make a pickled cucumber, onion, hot pepper flakes, and brown sugar recipe. It tastes awesome. 


Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Cool as a Cucumber

I was telling you earlier that the cucumbers were growing in the roof and there were cucumbers hanging from it. Here's one of them I picked today. Pretty cool huh? There are more of them that will be ready in about a week with more on the way.
Last weekend I planted more cucumber seeds in a grow tray with a dome on it. It was placed on a heating matt. today I removed them from under the dome and put them under a grow light because they have already sprouted. I hope my timing is right so I can take out the old plants and put these in their place.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Dutch Bucket System

I've just completed the tab on Dutch Bucket Hydroponic System. This system has exceeded my expectations. It has turned out to be very rewarding as I have already started harvesting the cucumbers in about 6 weeks. It is three times faster the the garden outside. I will try to keep it current so you can see.


Sunday, May 18, 2014

NO NUKES - JUST CUKES

This is a picture of one of my cucumber plants inside my Greenhouse. This will be part of the tab I am working on now. The Dutch Bucket Hydroponic System. This is a little hard for me to believe so I can imagine what you are thinking. Especially when I tell you this has only been in the bucket for less than 30 days. This is what happens when you use the fertilizers described in the video I posted. Or maybe it's the Angel force field that's surrounding it. So, seeing is believing. Now they are sprawling out across the roof with cukes hanging down from the ceiling, really freaky. Have a Nice Week.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Rachael's Roses

This rose bush was given to us about two weeks after Rachael's passing 4-1-12.  My church gave them to us on our doorstep and they were about one foot tall. I think they are in a great spot being placed at the entry to her door. Don't tell anyone this secret but the reason they are so healthy looking and growing so well is because I dug a hole two feet deep and wide and put in a very good potting soil mixed with some of the soil that came out of the hole. This allows the rooting to get a good foothold and really latch themselves in.  





Sunday, May 11, 2014

Nice Yard Buddy

Ah, What a Beautiful day is was in Williamsburg.
The flowers are everywhere and in their Glory. The rain we had yesterday was just enough to clean the air, wash the pollen off the cars and give the yards a good soaking. After church today I paid attention to the landscaping on the property. My front yard is becoming more beautiful every week. Green, thick and almost free of weeds. When I moved in here four years ago the yard was mostly weeds with scattered grass and a lot of bald spots. I had remained like until just this year. Last June I had a gentleman ring the doorbell and talked me into hiring Scott's lawn service to spray for weeds and fertilize every month. I was determined to have a beautiful landscaped front yard. With their recommendation last fall to run a plug machine and overseed it has turned out to be a success. Thanks Scotts lawn service.  

Friday, May 9, 2014

Digital Timer

Happy Friday everyone, It's been a busy week for me and I'm glad it's Friday for sure. Looking forward to working around the Greenhouse and other nature things this weekend.

As you can see this is an Indoor Digital Timer. This is the one I selected to use on my Dutch Bucket System. So far it is working well for me. I have the timer programed to come on three times a day. It comes on at   6 to 6:30 am, 1200 to 1230 pm and 6 to 6:30 pm. It starts the water pump so that the buckets are flooded for 30 min at a time. The instructions confused me at first but that easy to do. I finally figured it out and am pleased with it.