Water is this week’s header challenge theme. Not exactly in short supply around here this time of the year, falling or seeping out of the sky at a steady rate. But there are just a few places it needs to be delivered to. Like my flats in the Hippy Hot Hut.
When I had the hanging pots and big stuff in the Hippy Hot Hut, I drug the hose in and used my water breaker doing everyone up quite nicely. But even the water breaker is a bit much for seed flats.
So I went back to my low-tech approach from the laundry house days and made myself a water sprinkler out of a grape juice container. Ta-da. It works great and when I’m done, I just toss it into the water barrel and it miraculously refills itself for the next time.
Except the next time I think I will water with my chamomile tea for preventing dampening off. When I give the “waterer” a little pressure it sprays out quite nicely and covers a good bit of area quickly.
The rest of my time this morning in the Hippy Hot Hut was spent trimming all the growing geraniums and setting the trimmings to root. While I was at that tedious chore, I noticed a few white flies and aphids. So I got out the spray bottle and soaked everything with a leaf. Bioneem. I also took some time to do the brug cuttings, they don’t seem to be getting on with life so I may bring them down to the kitchen for a little bit. More even temperature.
There you have it, a gloomy wet day outside and a bright wet day inside, using water. Gotta love water eh.
Speaking of water, I’ve been looking around for a solution to our annual dilemma, I may have solved it. The problem: The water line from the barn out to the Market Garden is too far to keep up water pressure. I have found that the garden doesn’t need a great deal of water but when it does I would prefer not to deliver it my the hand dribble method. And my favorite way of fertilizing is foliar and for that I need pressure. Water pressure. So I found an in-line pump. Supposedly it is made for boosting line pressure.
Hopefully Dirt will approve and shake loose a little money. Money shouldn’t have the nickname bread, it should have the nickname water, water is far harder to hold onto than bread. Doncha think?
Go see what the others have for “Water” today: Dave, Fishing_Guy, Mac, and Gail’s Man.
Sure right about the name for money, it really runs thru the fingers Lanny.
Right nice write up and story of your watering and pumping it.
Good idea for the bottle sprinkler too and cheap.
Your seeds seem that they are sprouting well, look forward to seeing them full grown.
I like seeing your seedlings and that’s a great header photo! Best wishes with the pump. We are still snowed in – can’t make it out of the icy driveway! Hope you, Dirt and EBet have a wonderful night.
Hi Lanny..Your water container seems to work well..I always used to use a half full watering can with very fine holes in the watering head. Half full still did in my shoulder after ten years. Anyway..if you water the seedlings that like to damp off early in the morning you will have better luck avoiding it in the seedling trays. Sometimes some air movement helps too.. Celosia was a bad one for me..it could be fine one day and laying down the next day..I think I even tried bottom watering it one year. I am sure your tea will take care of it!
It is fun to see the seedling flats.
An inline pump or a pressure tank may give you the water pressure you need..maybe you need an old Fire Truck ( Mobile and lots of pressure)
Lanny: Your 3H Hut is so neat and I enjoyed your watering technique. Neat way to recycle the bottle.
Great header shot Lanny. I bet you had fun taking that one with one arm fully extended watering whilst the other holds the camera, well done.
I like your handy-dandy homemade water sprinkler, Lanny. 😀 I hope you can get the pressure problem worked out. Sounds like you have a good plan.
Good idea for the low pressure. A booster pump should do the job.