Hydroponics ~ The Homemade Version

I know.. I know..

It’s been FOREVER since I’ve written a blog post. Sooo sorry.

 

We’ve been doing little things here and there, but no real big projects going on.

One reason is that we are saving up money to pay for our youngest’s wedding in the fall.

 

 

 

But, if you know us even just a little bit, you probably know that the hubster can’t sit around doing nothing… so…

Since we’ve been invaded by root nematodes and just about anything we plant in our vegetable garden dies, we have begun the process of setting up some hydroponics.

The hubster if having a BLAST reading, watching videos, and now putting together STAGE 1 of what will eventually become Florida Bungalow Hydroponic Garden.

AGAIN, the hubster amazes me at how handy and quick to learn he with this project.

Stage 1 will have two sets of tomato bucket rows and one tiered section with 3 rows for things like lettuce and some vining vegetables.

We’re at the beginning stages, but here’s what he’s put together so far.

This is the middle Tier.

 

 

With the added j hooks, there’s room to grow, but for now we’re going to start with 3 rows.

 

 

 

 

Here is the tier project again and to the left is the base where the hubster will have the row of 3 gallon buckets for tomato plants.

There’s another base to the right of the tier, but I didn’t get a picture of the whole thing.

 

 

All new electrical plug and wiring so he can hook up the tanks and pumps.

He even repurposed an on old timer we had from another water system!

I tell ya.. he’s a keeper alright..

 

 

 

Well, that’s about it.

As we add more to the project I will definitely add more pics and keep you posted!

Thanks for stopping by!

A ‘Catch You Up’ Post

It’s too hot to be outside working so I thought I’d ‘catch you up’ on what’s happening here at Our Florida Bungalow.

Remember when I told you the hubster was busy working on this..

Well, here’s what it looks like now..

The hubster built us a small greenhouse! Using wood we had around the house (putting some old pallets to good use), he came up with this!

He never ceases to amaze me.

We even started a few plants awhile back and have recently moved them over to the Potager.

Right now we’ve got pole beans & bush beans coming in. Zucchini and Yellow squash plants just starting to bloom, radishes, and even some pumpkins!!

All organic! But that’s not an easy job. Ugh..

With all the afternoon showers we’ve had, I’ve really had to be one the ball with the organic bug spraying. But it’s starting to pay off.

Look here.. this is my VERY FIRST Sweet Potato harvest! Not a whole lot but I was just excited to see I got more than 1!

Lastly.. our most recent project. The ‘guest house’… LOL.

It’s really just a room off the garage. I’m kicking myself because I didn’t take BEFORE pictures, but let’s just say that that this whole area was painted a very strange color pink and had even yuckier color yellow lanoleum on the floor.

The hubster AGAIN has been busy … pulling up the floor, painting, and now tiling. Pretty soon it will be all ready for visitors!

And as Porky Pig always said…

That’s all folks…

No!!! Not My Apple Tree

The other day I walked out to the Potager and saw these ugly looking leaves on one of my apple trees.

BUMMER!!

Can’t figure out what it is? A fungus? Cedar rot? Scab?

Leaves turning brown on the underside, burnt on the edges.. ugh.. so sad.

Any suggestions?

HELP!! What is This Thing??

Ok. I need help. What in the WORLD is this bug?

I was pruning our young grapefruit tree and saw this. I thought it was mold until I touched and than those red things came out. UGH!!!

And it puts off a smell that smells like fresh paint. CRAZY. Any ideas as to what this is? Oh and what's the best way to kill it?

** Update – It’s a Giant Swallowtail Butterfly in it’s catepillar stage. It’s interesting but we will not be keeping it (and the 2 other ones we found).. they are destroying our grapefruit tree **

Caterpillar

The mature caterpillar resembles bird droppings to deter predators, and if that doesn't work they use their red osmeterium.These are 'horns' which they can display and then retract. The coloration is dingy brown and or olive with white patches and small patches of purple. Citrus fruit farmers often call the caterpillars orange dogs or orange puppies because of the devastation they can cause on their crops.

In The Middle of a Bunch…

Yup.. that’s where we’re at..

In the middle of a bunch of projects.. It’s hot here and we really haven’t been doing much around the house beyond the basic..but now we’re starting to pick up some steam on some projects.

Well.. mostly garden stuff… gearing up for the Fall garden.

Man, I LOVE living in Florida for so many reasons, but one of the BIGGEST ones is because I get to garden for such a LONGGGGGGG period of time in the Fall/Winter!!

Here’s some of the garden projects going on..

Planning it all out.. books, seeds, catalogs.. so much fun!

Getting the seeds started..

We’re actually a little behind on this, but we’ll see how it goes..

 

 

And this is something the hubster is building for both of us…

It looks a little rough now, but soon it will be looking pretty good… or at least doing what we need it to do.. LOL.

He’s not building this thing for looks more for it’s purpose..

More on that later…

 

 

And this is my project..

It goes along with a BIGGER project that I took on thinking it wouldn’t be so big…

Ha ha…it was bigger than I thought and the hubster had the ‘I told you so’ look on his face for awhile.. and loving every minute of it.

But, it’s really looking good and I can’t wait to show you all the pic’s once it’s done!!

Till than…

Happy home making and enjoy these last days of summer.

Double Hibiscus Bloom Today

Even on a gray, dreary day..

These beauties were popping out to greet me this morning as I walked by..

Even Mickey & Minnie think their simply BEAUTIFUL!

All the hibiscus plants in our yard have been tenderly grown by my hubby.

I was never a big fan… but when I see these beautiful things.. I’m becoming one.

Cooking the Garden/Potager~Covering for the Summer

Since it’s REALLY hot here and we’re getting rain just about every afternoon.. there really isn’t much gardening going on..

I’ll be planting sweet potatoes this weekend, but for next couple months.. this is what most of the raised beds will look like..

With the help of a big roll of plastic and my handy dandy staple gun, just about all the raised beds will be getting hot housed for the rest of the summer.

This allows the soil to basically COOK.. killing all the bad bugs and fungus stuff and prepping it for the fall garden.

I did this a few times up north and it worked wonders.. can’t wait to see what it does for these beds.

Happy Gardening..