Thursday, August 13, 2009

So how are those SIP doo dads doing???

So here are some posted photos of the grow boxes over the past several months.  So far, so good.  I have a list of things I'd do differently if I go for this again next year....mainly around watering, (as in, gotta get automated with it...it's not that I'm lazy, but I feel that the hand watering is not good on a save water level.  Has to be a better way.) and pipe location, as well as lime and added fertilization needs. These are from roughly May/Early June.




And the same boxes/buckets currently as they stand:



Pretty cool, actually, although I'm dealing with a lot of frustrating blossom end rot right now.  I have been adding hydrated lime to the boxes via the tubes, and it seems to have helped.  I think our weather this summer in Nor. Cal. has been off, ergo, it's a late summer of veggies.  In general, I'd say this has been the most successful garden experiment I've undertaken so far....each box or bucket has produced many tomatoes already (or cucumbers or eggplant) and I'm already planning next year's assault on the yard.
I will say: It is a pain to water these, and if I am going to do it again, I will absolutely stick these twerps on a drip system.