Category: Gardening

Planning the new plant wall

Posted on by Nori

I’ve been working on plans for my plant wall; sourcing materials, working through ideas, thinking through what will work and what won’t.

I’ve got the room reorganized with crafts and knitting shelves moved, my desk and sewing/craft table resituated to maximize wall space for new plant wall. I’m ready. My plans, however, aren’t. There are pesky little things outstanding.

  • I’ve sourced the expanded PVC sheet needed for the back of the plant wall. The manufacturer has a plant mere minutes away from our son’s home. The snag . . . they don’t do will call. They *must* ship. We’re going to have to work through this issue.
  • How are we going to hang the plant wall so the supports don’t provide a potential path to the wall for water wicking.
  • How am I going to get an accurate enough cut of the 6″ pvc pipe to glue the 1/3 circumference pipe frame to the expanded pvc and get an absolutely perfect water tight seal with perfect mitered corners.
  • I still haven’t sourced the variety of stainless steel screws to fasten the pvc sheet to the plywood back and the felt to the expanded pvc back. This is probably the most minor issue we have.

Wadly came up with a brilliant idea for hanging the plant wall. For those of you who haven’t been in my living/bedroom, I’ve got two places where I spend my time, at my desk and in my knitting nest. The knitting nest is a hammock chair suspended from a heavy logging chain which runs from one side of the room to the other. It swivels, it swings, it’s just what I need for extended stretches of knitting. The chain is held up by big eye bolts which go through the wall. It’s plenty heavy duty. In one of the moves it was easier to install a new eye bolt than move one from the previous location. So, I have this beautiful shiny eyebolt sticking out of the wall just to the left of where my plant wall will live. Wadly suggested installing a second eye bolt and run a rod through the pair to hang the plant wall. THIS IS BRILLIANT! It keeps the plant wall off the wall, gives us the ability to move/remove/maintain the wall without having to undo/unscrew anything! Absolutely brilliant! All that’s needed is two standoff legs at the bottom to keep it off the wall. Plan!

Good times!

Posted on by Nori

Tomorrow my desk gets rotated. That’s one more step toward a new and bigger plant wall. The crafting shelving unit with table has been moved, the bookshelf with all the magazines and WIP quilt projects and equipment has been moved, the new area rug is down . . . I’m getting closer!

Good news, despite fears to the contrary the aquarium does not leak. That’s $200 I don’t need to spend which gives me more money to spend on plants . . . and that’s going to be the largest cost of the build. I’m still researching what plants I want to add. I want another ricinifolia immense (Hawaiian begonia), some smaller varieties of philodendrons, ficus, smaller varieties of fern, strawberry and angel wing begonias, a few different antherium . . . The goal is to not have anything that protrudes more than 30″ from the wall. I’m going to try to pin on some of the more vibrant moss growing on the maples beside the deck. I’ve already got a 50L bag of leka (expanded clay pellets) to use for putting the plants into the wall. As I get plants I’ll bare root them and get them going in the leka substrate so they’re ready when I finally get the wall built. That will help ensure I don’t get anything added to the wall that isn’t perfectly healthy.

The area below our property has been logged. While I dislike the fact we’ve lost that buffer of trees, we can now see Mt. St. Helens from our house, assuming the weather is clear. At our request they also logged the trees on our easement (as opposed to them being taken down by the wind as happened with our neighbor last night . . . ouch). With the pulp wood being stacked for firewood and the better logs held to be processed for lumber, that will provide a very little bit of income Lorr can use toward property stuff.

Good times.

Root Trimmin’

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Plant wall, current iteration

It’s been a while since I posted anything about my plant wall. Having the begonia bucket overflow onto the floor is a good time . . . definitely. Root incursions are a thing and today was the day.

All the plants are doing great. Other than the aforementioned need for a very infrequent root trimming to keep the drain system working, it’s completely trouble free. It runs, I ignore it, It grows, I ignore it. Leaves die off, I trim ’em. Not too arduous a job in my opinion.

The begonia bucket is a small plastic flat backed bucket picked up at the feed store for a few bucks. It’s plumbed with an overflow and seep. The overflow runs into the pipe garden below it. The pipe garden also has an overflow and seep which feeds back into the fish tank. The begonia’s finally gotten so leaf-heavy I’ve got it supported to keep the leaves out of the way. All the plants are adding leaves, runners, off-shoots, branching . . . no blossoms yet on this setup but now that the begonia has grown legs and has produced an off-shoot, I expect by next spring I’ll have blossoms.

I might move the whole setup farther up the wall and add another tube for some of the plants I had before but eschewed when I started this setup, like primrose, peperomia, hoya, strawberry begonia . . . I have the tube and the caps and the drain system . . . I just need Wadly to spray that sucker green.

 

Awesome Chocolate Waffles/Pancakes

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This recipe uses zucchini from my aquaponic bed. I’m getting enough zucchini to be able to eat a whole one a day, sometimes two a day. Woot!

ChocWaffles
Mmmmm.

These are SO awesome!  Fresh zucchini, coconut flour, eggs, cacao powder, medjool dates, butter and baking soda.


2 eggs, 2 medjool dates, 2 tbsp melted butter, 1/2 cup grated fresh zucchini
2 eggs, 2 medjool dates, 2 tbsp melted butter, 1/2 cup grated fresh zucchini

In a pint jar add 1/2 grated fresh zucchini, 2 large organic eggs (warmed in hot tap water before opening), 2 tablespoons melted butter, 2 medjool dates (pit removed).  Spin on the blender attachment and run on lowest setting until everything is chopped and mixed.


After blending
After blending


Cacao powder, coconut flour and baking soda added and blended.
Cacao powder, coconut flour and baking soda added and blended.

Spin the top off and add 1 tbsp coconut flour, 1 tbsp cacao powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda.  Spin the top back on and blend until the powdered ingredients are integrated.

Step4
Cook and serve with butter. Mmmmm.

New media with a twist

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Leaves showing signs of chemical imbalance
Leaves showing signs of chemical imbalance
I noticed some chemical burning on the tomato plant leaves and tested the water.  8.0 ph when I need 7.3.  Ouch.  Burn baby burn.  While all three tomato plants have blossoms, only one is producing fruit and shows no sign of the chem burn.

PH is totally busted. Ouch.
PH is totally busted. Ouch.
I didn’t just test the PH, I tested nitrate, nitrite and ammonia. All were perfect for the system. For those readings, I couldn’t be happier.

PH after 2/3 water change
PH after 2/3 water change
Our well water is 6.0. For the house I “condition” it by running it through oyster shell to bring the PH up to 7.3 naturally. For a quick and very un-permanent fix to the problem I did a 2/3 water change in the fish tank and got what I expected, close to perfect PH. This, however, is a really poor solution. I flushed my nutrients (okay, I lied. I dumped the water in outside planters) and added kelp to compensate for the loss.

The whole point is to have a system I don’t have to think about or fuss
about or test or monitor or . . . you get my point. I cannot keep doing
water changes. I don’t want to have to add anything to the water to
keep the water at 7.3. Which means I’ve got to find a different media.
This media, as suspected, spikes the PH.

The trial

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6" pvc with survey end caps.
6″ pvc with survey end caps.

For a couple years my brother Dan was a maintenance engineer at a produce processing plant. He did a system retrofit and brought me some of the stuff being thrown away. This flood and drain planter is a piece of 6″ schedule 40 pvc pipe. The ends are survey caps purchased at a local plumbing supply warehouse.

The really sick looking plants are the result of neglect on my part . . . pulling one system apart and putting another together with too long a span between stressed the plants. They’re recovering. The tomato plants are purchased and are my test subjects. The tank holds two goldfish, not quite enough to supply this many plants with nutrient.

One of my concerns with media this light is its ability to hold the plants in place as they grow and produce fruit. I will have to run retaining lines between the support ropes.

A question of media

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Ugh, it floats
The failed floaty stuff, the new light clay-like stuff and hydroton.

In planning my next plant wall I’ve been testing hydroponic planting medium.  In the past I’ve used hydroton but there are currently two issues with this media.  Because it’s heavy in iron it eventually trashes the magnetic pump.  I replace pumps about once a year.  At about $50 a pop that’s not horribly expensive but it is inconvenient.  Secondly, it’s no longer available.  That makes the inherent equipment-related problems with the media moot.

Leftmost is the floaty stuff, middle is the light slippery-clay feeling media. Rightmost is hydroton.
Leftmost is the floaty stuff, middle is the light slippery-clay feeling media. Rightmost is hydroton.

I bought two bags of a product that was supposed to be a replacement for hydroton.  It felt like sandpaper, very garnet/scratchy expanded glass feeling.  The pieces were quite large for hydroponic media, didn’t break when whacked with a hammer and very light.  Other than the roughness and overly large size, I thought it would work fine.  Wrong.  The stuff floats.  Using it in a flood and drain system allows all the plantings to shift every watering cycle.  When working with seeds, the media used to hold the seeds vanishes into the mix.  Ugh.  When planting cuttings they sink a bit into the mix every cycle eventually drowning.  Double ugh.

Light with a slippery-clay feel
Light with a slippery-clay feel

I reported the failure to the excellent staff at our local hydroponic shop and got a sample of another product to try. It had a light silky clay feel, sank when dropped into water and could be crushed.  The product is a little big, roughly 2-3 times the size of the hydroton beads.

PH is one of the most important items to monitor in a hydroponic system.  I’m not a fan of chemicals and like to handle this as naturally as possible which makes the ph of the media very important.  With that in mind I crushed a piece of the new media and tested the ph.  It tested lower than I expected at 6.0 which means it’s not inert.  Because our water has a very low ph which I moderate with oyster shell, I’m keeping an eye on my test system. Time will tell.

Moving on

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I’m the type of person who continually tweaks and adjusts.  Some of the stuff I try is a bust and some is inspired.  I have a rack hanging over the back of my kitchen sink with a drip tray under it where dishes are set to dry.  It keeps my counter space clear and allows all the drips to fall into the sink.  Brilliant.  And I’ve done other things with far less stellar outcomes, they’ve inevitably led to ideas about other things so it’s all good.

Here's the plant wall winter 2013
Here’s the plant wall winter 2013

There are a lot things I like about my current plant wall, and few things I don’t care for. Because the plant wall surface isn’t covered with plastic ala P. Blanc, the rate of evaporation is significant.  Wadly adds roughly 6 gallons of water twice a week.  I’d like to reduce the evaporation.

Dying foliage allows pathways for water to drip onto the floor.  A change to prevent that in future is a must.

Slow growing smaller plants get crowded out by the bigger, faster growing plants.  They just can’t compete.  I’d like something that nutures both the big and bushy and the smaller, more delicate plants.

As this plant wall is a single piece, it’s heavy and difficult to move.  Repositioning plants and editing is difficult.  I’d like something a little more modular that takes up less vertical space for the same number of plants that allows the fish to be as much of a focal point.  At this point I can’t tell you what’s in the tank, other than healthy reproducing guppies and at least one fresh water shrimp.  I’m sure there are algae eaters and plecko in there as well but I haven’t seen them in . . . a really long time.

So, on to the new plan, something modular with less exposed surface area that will allow for planting a few seasonal edibles and allow us to see the fish.

The monster rises

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Gunnera, up and looking threatening
Gunnera, up and looking threatening

The gunnera was obviously warm enough to get a head start on the season.  Maybe a horse blanket, folded poly tarp, spare tire cover and bathroom rug was a layer or two too many.  I removed the protective layers today.  The hump of growing stalks was just a little too obvious.

We should have enough overcast weather to get the foliage acclimated so it doesn’t burn.

Supervising the grooming of the flock and errata

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Grooming in progress
Grooming in progress

13-03BogFilter
Post winter depression with promise of spring.

 

The tire holds my gunnera which, at our elevation, will only winter over if mulched and covered. It’s still a bit soon to uncover it . . . maybe in a couple weeks. I want to make sure it isn’t frost bitten. We had hail a couple days ago.

I got the bog filter trimmed up a bit and all last year’s triangular reed foliage trimmed away.

As of yesterday the pump has been cleaned and water is circulating. Having both bog filters full of hydroton takes much less water out of the main tank when the pump starts running.

I haven’t pulled out last year’s hyacinths as the roots are doing funny things and I want to see what happens.

I have no idea if the penny royal in the upper filter survived. I can’t see anything on the surface.

The water beans are growing and the stems are getting thicker each year. Go beans! I’m hoping to get some winter hardy water irises in the big filter this year.

What fish?

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Aquarium obscured by Ricinifolia Immense, strawberry begonia and creeping philodendron.

The wall has really grown this summer.  I mean REALLY grown.  It’s now a struggle to see the fish.  Somebody remind me . . . wasn’t this project for the fish?  That’s a 50 gallon aquarium hiding back there!

Begonia invasion

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Begonia as far as the eye can see . . .

Here’s what the wall looks like today. The begonias are taking over . . . and still no new gutter.

There’s a philodendron crawling across the floor . . . and the palm at the top is doing okay.  The spider plans are barely holding their own, the dieffenbachia is also doing well as are all the various dumb cane varieties.

The hoya is doing nothing . . . still.  It does occasionally get sneaky and route water off the wall onto the floor so I’m keeping an eye on it.

Bog filter 2012

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Upper tank in August sunshine

Penny royal in small tank.

Hyacinth, bean and fairy moss.

Blooming reed

The larger of the upper biofilter tanks is doing really well, though the water hyacinth has not bloomed this year and I’m holding no hope that it will.  The triangular water reed has nearly tripled in size even after removing half the original plant last spring to give to Mindy.  Jill?  Can I restock you when I cut this back in the fall?

This year this larger filter tank is loaded with hydroton which provides shelter for the roots.  The water bean, hyacinths and reeds are mega happy, sans blooming.

The smaller tank is also filled with hydroton and has last year’s penny royal which amazingly enough, wintered over due in part to the tank being made of closed cell foam (insulative), containing hydroton (insulative) and filled with standing water (insulative).

Because the maple tree and the triangular reed are sheltering the smaller biofilter tank from the sun the penny royal is growing much more slowly, which is a plus.  Last year it was horribly root bound it grew so fast.  I cut out most of it and thew it away, then took the remaining bit and cut it in half to give to Mindy.

I like the fairy moss as a fill-in between the larger plants.  It helps keep the mosquito population down.  Having marigolds growing in a pot on the back frame helps as well.  I don’t worry about mosquitoes in the big tank – fish food!

The reed is blooming, though it hasn’t yet peaked to produce the mass of feathery tendrils that will be the end product.

Bloomin’ Bean

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Blooming water bean

The bean I got from JMH last year is blooming.  I have two blossoms, this one and another in the middle of the tank.

I picked up Fairy Moss and water Hyacinths today.  The upper tank’s looking pretty good.

Upper and middle tanks

This is what the upper two tanks look like right now.  The penny royal is growing, the season triangular reed is coming up.  The water hyacinth and fairy moss is spread in the middle tank.

So far, so good!

Flood and drain versus drip

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The begonia in the gutter has more flower stalks and bigger leaves even though the plant is the wall is older and has more leaves.

My plant wall has two systems.  The wall itself is a drip system.  The nutrients drip down the roots.  The gutter, however, is a flood and drain system.

This morning I was catching up on posts on WindowFarms and read a post by Ed where he has modified the bottle window farm into a flood and drain system.  Brilliant!  His post caused me to look at my wall and evaluate its health/growth in comparison to the plants in the gutter.

The begonia in the gutter is faster growing with more flower stalks and bigger leaves.  That’s pretty definite as far as supporting evidence goes.

So the moral here is, if it’s food you’re interested in growing, flood and drain is going to be more efficient/effective.

Snail killer

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Yoyo loach

The loaches have done a wonderful job of snail removal.  It’s been over a week since I’ve seen a snail.  Prior to that, I’ve only seen two and they’ve been at the top out of the water and where the loaches couldn’t reach them.  <squish>  Wadly doesn’t like the loaches but I think they’re darn fun to watch.  He likes his slow and mild guppies.

Hawaiian begonia blossoming!

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Blossoms for the first time in over a decade.

One of the begonias in the wall has masses of blossoms. The light, the warm water temps and the consistent nutrition are really pumping out the flowers. Now the Ricinifolia Immense is joining the gang. It’s put out a blossom stalk for the first time in over a decade.