41\u00a0 bar steady\u00a0 29.96\u00a0 0mph ESE dewpoint 24\u00a0 Spring<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Last Quarter Moon of Growing<\/p>\n
Spent a good part of the afternoon on mechanical and electronic stuff.\u00a0 It was time for the first changing out of the nutrient reservoirs in the hydroponics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I first tried the way the setup suggested, that is, drain the reservoirs onto the plastic shelf on which they both sit.\u00a0 This is not as crazy as it may sound since the shelf has grooves pressed in to carry used nutrient mix and water toward a drain plug at the end of the shelf.\u00a0 So, I hooked up some plastic tubing by cutting a small hole in the end of the cap and opened the taps.\u00a0 This is slow.\u00a0 The drain hose is not too big.\u00a0 It’s also messy since the hole in end of the plug allowed a bit of the liquid to drain around the tubing and drip on the lights (electric!) and the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hmmm.\u00a0 Had to be a better way.\u00a0 Then I thought of all those car thieves hard at work stealing gas.\u00a0 Siphon!\u00a0 By chance I had one hundred feet of plastic tubing and it fit inside the drain tubing quite neatly.\u00a0 I pushed this tube through the hole in the drain cap, sucked on it a bit and voila!\u00a0 Both of them drained all by themselves.\u00a0 Still took a while, but it is a handsoff operation.<\/p>\n
As I read somewhere, I took the used nutrient mix out and poured on the garlic, garlic is a heavy feeder and impervious to the cold weather we’ve had.\u00a0 That’s important because you can’t encourage growth in most plants when the temperature can still go below freezing.\u00a0 That possibility exists here until May 15th.\u00a0 I also poured it on some daffodils about to bloom.<\/p>\n
Then I made 9 gallons of fresh nutrient mix and poured it back into the reservoirs through the pots holding the lettuce, tomato plants, three kinds of beet and\u00a0morning glories.\u00a0 A tip I read in the hydroponic bible (according to the folks at Interior Gardens) suggested swapping out the nutrient every three rather than four.\u00a0 So, I did.\u00a0 This is fun.<\/p>\n
The treadmill still has some hiccups.\u00a0 I had to rewire it again this afternoon.\u00a0 Landice apparently thinks they may have sent me a bad rheostat.\u00a0 If so, that means I swapped a bad one for a bad one rather than a good one for a good one.\u00a0 More work ahead there.<\/p>\n
I also put away all the material from the Weber tours and the bronze tour I have a month or so ago.\u00a0 The library is neat. (in a manner of speaking.\u00a0 That is, my manner.)\u00a0 I have a file to read for the three hour bronze session I have for Family Day on the 11th.\u00a0 I also have a number of articles and objects to use as reference while I write something about Urania visiting the MIA.<\/p>\n
Kate called today, too.\u00a0 Ruthie ran out of the kitchen yesterday, into the dining room and tripped, falling on the corner of the coffee table.\u00a0 Big cut.\u00a0 Lots of angst.\u00a0 But super grandma was there to be calm.\u00a0 She and Jon took Ruthie to urgent care for stitches.\u00a0 This is a busman’s holiday for urgent care doc, Kate Olson, but it gave her a feel for the other side of the examining table.\u00a0 As she often does, she felt guilty.\u00a0 Not her fault.\u00a0 Ruth is a puppy, running and playing and trying out the world.\u00a0 There are hazards in that learning process and none of us escape.<\/p>\n
She comes home tomorrow and I’m glad.\u00a0 The bris has been delayed because Gabriel still has not decided to eat enough and he’s still on some oxygen.\u00a0 Until he can eat and breathe on his own, he’ll remain in the level 2 nursery.<\/p>\n
And.\u00a0 No snow!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
41\u00a0 bar steady\u00a0 29.96\u00a0 0mph ESE dewpoint 24\u00a0 Spring \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Last Quarter Moon of Growing Spent a good part of the afternoon on mechanical and electronic stuff.\u00a0 It was time for the first changing out of the nutrient reservoirs in the hydroponics.\u00a0 I first tried the way the setup suggested, that is, drain the reservoirs … Continue reading Hazards in the Learning Process<\/span>