Tomatoes, bones and fires

 

I intentionally did not water or care-for these plants after returning from Miami.

We left for Miami in late-April. I had an appointment with my bone-doctor on May 10 so it was possible that I might be away for as long as two weeks, depending on how quickly packing went and the number of stops we would have to make on the way home.

Leaks!

That second part is not a trivial concern. The truck we rented had a distinct smell of antifreeze when we rented it. When I pointed out that the over-flow was dry, the technician filled it with water...not 50:50. Looking around the engine compartment after we left the U-Haul dealer, I saw AC hoses with fluid on them on the driver's side of the engine compartment.

We left on our journey with two gallons of concentrated antifreeze and a gallon of distilled water because I was very concerned that we had a "leaker".

After traveling many hundreds of miles and looking at the engine compartment a few more times, I deduced that the fluid on the hoses and wiring harnesses was power-steering fluid and the smell of antifreeze was probably from spillage and not leakage.

The truck was a total horse and fully loaded and pulling the Chevy on the flatbed didn't strain it in the least. Only 10 miles-per-gallon, but what a horse!

Getting back to tomatoes

I used 3" tall lasagna pans 2/3 filled with peat-based potting soil. I watered the plants and settled the bottoms of the cells into the soil in the lasagna pans by gently wiggling them. The potting soil was very damp but I added an additional 32 ounces of water to each lasagna pan.

The lights were run 12:12 and the ambient temperature was 60F.

The plants look more nutrient stressed than water stressed at this point. The soil in the cells feels firm but not hard so they are still wicking up water.

I will finish the test today. I will give them a good drink of water with fertilizer and bump the timer on the lights to 15:9 light/dark.

Springtime

Tomatoes are warm-blooded plants. Peppers like it even warmer.

Based on what the weather-guessers project, there is little point in planting the tomatoes before May 21 or planting the peppers before May 29.

Bone Doctor

My Bone-doctor fired me as a patient. "You have our phone number. Call us if something comes up."

That is good news!

Fires

Southern Belle is a "Take names and kick dupa" kind of girl.

She "suggested" that the yard was getting overgrown and that there was too much to mow around to make mowing efficient.

Yesterday was a good day for burning. We had the gentlest of breeze out of the west. The fire worked its way through the pile of brush in a sedate, controlled way.

Three hours later

Once again, the love-birds (Southern Belle and Handsome Hombre) were willing to watch the fire after it got late. We were in the house with Quicksilver who was sleeping. I think SB and HH enjoyed the private time to chat.

Yesterday was a very good day.