So... What are YOU doing? - Part 5

[tango]

Among the things I did today:

Play piano like I do everyday. It's been almost exclusively Bach preludes and fugues for a while now, although I do still improvise a bit on original tunes or those of others.

Indoor plants. After all the time I've been doing this, one might think I'm adept at it, but overlooking an important step has meant being satisfied with a mediocre result for a while now. Every time I buy spring onion and leeks, I take an empty glass jar and fill it a very small way with a bit of water, put the plants in them and set them on the window sill or counter top where they get some afternoon sun. Every time the plants grow when I cut them for a little while and then eventually start to wither and die. I figured this is normal due to lack of nutrients after a while since I've only been feeding them water.

Except that the plants where the water has evaporated completely seem to be thriving more than those who have enough.

Stupid me - it's due to root rot. The important step I ignored (and ignored with nearly all my terrariums) is to add a layer of rocks/pebbles with water just high enough that allows the roots to drink from them without completely being soaked in them. Roots need air as well as water.

So that's fixed today for a few of my plants. Now I have to do it with all my terrariums save one that is still thriving for over 11 months now. I must have got the water ratio just right on that one, or that particular plant can tolerate more.

Good point on the air, that's the kind of thing I'd most likely have overlooked in a quest to find the balance of nutrients that was just what they needed, when what they needed was air.

 

[Lamb]

The separation provided by rocks/pebbles is important if no soil, or little soil is used. All my terrariums have soil, but since many of the containers I am using are small, I have not used much. Just a little too much water in setting them up without any barrier can mean roots soaking in water for too long. This depends on the plant, as some plants can thrive in such conditions.

Some of the plants I grow in my kitchen in jars (for example, lettuce, leek, spring onion) -open containers, not closed terrariums - I don't use any soil at all, and up until today, no rocks. These plants cannot tolerate roots soaking for too long in still water. Hence, pebble barrier. Now the roots can drink but a good portion of them and still get air.

The plant that survived 11 months (2 of them, actually) is a type of lettuce plant. This, without any intervention on my part (they are in terrariums). I'm sure it's gone to seed and regrown already, I just haven't been watching it. This plant seems to be different - the soil is filled with roots with no pebble barrier. I must have added the right amount of water and it must be able to tolerate a somewhat wet soil.

As you're learning all plants behave differently. That's why I'm eager to separate my basket of plants because there is one type that doesn't like a lot of water and another that loves more water. I've had both kinds in the past before we moved (unfortunately my daughter lacks my green thumb and they all died) so this basket should really only be temporary. I just can't afford to buy all the planters yet that I need. I'm holding out for the dollar store to get more in stock!!

 

[Imalive]

As you're learning all plants behave differently. That's why I'm eager to separate my basket of plants because there is one type that doesn't like a lot of water and another that loves more water. I've had both kinds in the past before we moved (unfortunately my daughter lacks my green thumb and they all died) so this basket should really only be temporary. I just can't afford to buy all the planters yet that I need. I'm holding out for the dollar store to get more in stock!!

Green thumb? We call it green fingers. My sister has em. I don't. Tried to plant some echinaceas inside. After 6 months they were still one cm. Hurry up. Threw em away.

 

[tango]

As you're learning all plants behave differently. That's why I'm eager to separate my basket of plants because there is one type that doesn't like a lot of water and another that loves more water. I've had both kinds in the past before we moved (unfortunately my daughter lacks my green thumb and they all died) so this basket should really only be temporary. I just can't afford to buy all the planters yet that I need. I'm holding out for the dollar store to get more in stock!!

I'm pretty good with plants. I can frequently turn them into material for a compost heap. My wife does most of the gardening - I mow the lawn and she does the rest. Otherwise our yard might as well be concreted over...

 

[tango]

Taking a day of rest from my renovation work. I have been thinking about spraying some builders foam into the most recent holes I've found but that means changing into my working clothes and probably means taking another shower once I'm done, so they can wait. They are stuffed with fiberglass so the drafts are mostly contained, and tomorrow I can get to the hardware store and get some more cans of foam. I don't really want to start this job and then find I ran out of foam. I could also do with it being a little warmer, the maximum expanding foam really wants a temperature of 60 degrees or higher, while the foam that doesn't expand as much wants 30 degrees or higher. At present the air seeping in is about 25 degrees, so the fiberglass may stay a little longer.

As I rest I'm enjoying listening to the sweet sound of my furnace not running.

 

[Imalive]

I'm pretty good with plants. I can frequently turn them into material for a compost heap. My wife does most of the gardening - I mow the lawn and she does the rest. Otherwise our yard might as well be concreted over...

I once had a garden w only stones and a fake grass thing for the kids to play on. Fabulous.

 

[tango]

I once had a garden w only stones and a fake grass thing for the kids to play on. Fabulous.

I could probably still get the fake grass to die

 

[tango]

I decided to take a quick look at my mortar again, and found a couple of patches that could do with replacing so went ahead and fixed them up. It turned out one of them was just fine but by the time I realised that I'd chiseled a load out so needed to replace it anyway. One of the patches was so thin I barely tapped the chisel and it fell out. I think someone, at some point in the history of the house, just put the most basic skim of mortar to cover over the gaps. It looks like it's filled but it isn't... and when I find them I chisel them out and pack the joint more fully.

Along the way I noticed a gap in the outer surface of the wall (it's slightly disconcerting to see daylight when looking at a wall, even if it is just a tiny little sliver of light). When it's warmer I need to get out there and fix a load more of the gaps in the outside. I just don't fancy fighting with mortar when it's so cold I can't feel my hands.

 

[NewCreation435]

Just got done watching the Carolina Panthers lose their playoff game. I'm not a fan of that team so it didn't matter much to me.

 

[Lamb]

My daughter is going to turn some dead plants into an art piece. There are a lot of people offering to give her their dead plants! LOL

 

[tango]

Fixed up some more mortar today, including a couple of exterior parts given it warmed up a little. I had planned to fix the nasty draft I previously unearthed but it turned out the problem isn't what I thought it was, so I need to rethink that. I'm going to have to take out a load of stuff to get at it, so it will have to wait until some other stuff is finished. For now the gaps are stuffed with fiberglass which is at least mostly holding the cold out.

Then ran some errands, and finally just went through to check on the area I've been working. It was really nice to see the termperature slightly higher than the thermostat set point. It means heat from the primary circuit is still drifting through and warming the other areas, but more crucially it means that heat isn't leaking right back out again. It might only be one degree but it's confirmation that what I've been doing is yielding results already. Once I get insulation panels into place it should be better still. Here's hoping next winter isn't as expensive to keep out!

 

[Stravinsk]

Planting, cutting and baking.

I got a nice surprise today, one of my terrariums I set up nearly a year ago failed, or so I thought. The seed I planted didn't take so I figured it was a dud. I haven't messed with it, at least, if I have, I didn't change the original label, and left it for nearly a year. Today I noticed life in the jar, all the way up to the top. So I took a few cuttings for future plants. I also planted some lettuce in cups using a different system.

Cutting down a tree - by hand - with a hand saw and an axe. It's going to take a few days. Tree is getting invasive and I fear the roots are working their way into areas they shouldn't. Seemingly by coincidence, I came across a video on removing the tree stump with Epsom salts by drilling holes into the stump and putting the Epsom salt in there. It's supposed to rot after some weeks. Worth a try over paying someone to remove it.

Baking bread. I've had such bad luck with my bread maker I'm beginning to wonder if it's faulty. Sometimes loaves come out perfect but often they don't rise or only half rise. It's frustrating. Today's bread is a mix of oat flour and potato starch.

 

[Lamb]

Strav, is it humid where you live? Humidity will play a factor in the rising.

Heading out this morning for an appointment!

 

[Imalive]

I bought poison that kills quick. Sorry hear, but I gave that mouse (wonder if he made a nest behind my refrigerator) 2 weeks to go in my mouse friendly catch things, but he doesnt and I don't really like it that he goes in my bedroom now at night cause it's warmer there. I tried a bucket w salami and hay. I tried pizza. I tried cheese. I tried peanut butter. I'm a cruel monster, but if I catch the whole family in a month and put em out the neighbours will kill em or the cats.

 

[NewCreation435]

The schools here are on a 3 hour delay this morning due to icy conditions on the roads. Later this week it is suppose to be in the 60's for a day or two.

 

[tango]

It warmed up a little more today so I took the chance to take my growing stack of bags of rubble to the landfill. I had expected it to be about 700 pounds but the final tally was 580 pounds. Still felt like a lot to be hauling into the car and then hauling back out of the car again. It's surprising to see that having dumped all the bags out it doesn't actually look like a whole load of trash. It certainly feels like less trash looking at the pile of it, than it does carrying it.

Now I feel really gross, having had to carry so many bags of dusty rubble. My shower will feel good today.

As another bonus, now all that space that was blocked off with heavy bags is now clear, it will be easier to get my piles of laths out of the house ready to burn. It's also much easier to work in there, since I don't have to keep working around a load of bags.

This brings my total tally to something north of a ton of mostly plaster rubble and pieces of drywall. It should be a while before I end up with considerable amounts of rubble from the next stage of my renovation, but by the time it's all said and done I'm going to have at least another ton to take away.

 

[Albion]

Or, now that all that space that was blocked off is now clear, there's room for new bags of rubble (or something similar)??

 

[tango]

Or, now that all that space that was blocked off is now clear, there's room for new bags of rubble (or something similar)??

That has been the normal course of events over the last few months - I clear out all the bags to make room for more bags. Now I'm at a stage where most of the rubble I'm going to be creating has already been created, so there's probably only maybe 3-4 bags worth of extra rubble before I start creating other kinds of mess. Once I've done some rebuilding and move on to the next area, then it's time for more rubble to be created. Four rooms and a stairwell created somewhere over a ton of trash, and I've got another seven rooms and another stairwell to go. So there's probably another couple of tons of trash to create.

When it's warmer I also need to pull down at least one ceiling, which could be interesting. I'm not doing it until it's warmer because it's a ceiling between a bedroom and the attic, and if I pull it down now there will be no insulation between that part of the house and the attic. The attic has no insulation to speak of, so I'd lose heat at a terrifying rate if I created a big hole in the ceiling. Once the ceiling is down I can put a new ceiling up with drywall sheets, and put my nice new fiberglass rolls over the top of it. I can also address the elderly wiring that feeds the room while I'm at it.

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

Such fun! Got back from a meeting of regional providers for youth programs. I was asked to go and present about the group program that our agency runs. I had assumed that "present" meant give some information during their round-table program updates. Nope. "Present" = on the official agenda! :scared:

 

[Imalive]

Talking to the guy who used to go through walls on the Dutch forum about demons. Cosy.