David Binner

I'd like to dip my toes into the field of photovoltaics (PV).
I'd like to start with a small PV panel that can be folded up and put away when moving; nothing major like replacing a roof or a whole grid that needs to be wired into the power utility's system.

I was thinking about connecting it to a battery and then (controlled by a timer) to a very low-power heater. It would be nice to have the heater in the garage. The patio is above the garage, and there are several plants growing on the patio. IF I could place a small heater directly below these plants, hopefully the rising heat would keep the plants (esp. the roots) a bit warmer through the winter. And being on a timer, I could set the timer to come on during the coldest parts of the nights, say, 3 AM - 6 AM.

Being paranoid about safety, and since nobody would be watching it, it should not come with a risk of fire.

Can anybody here suggest an extremely low power heater, ideally, DC powered?

I'd like to get a better idea how the micro-climates around my home differ from each other, and am thinking about buying three or four max/min thermometers to see how temperatures vary by location.

I'm especially interested in learning how big a difference it makes to place potted plants right up against the house. (Will the warmth of the house keep some of these plants alive through winter?)

If there is a big difference between a thermometer placed right up against the house and one placed at the far side of the backyard, it would also give me an indication that a lot of heat is escaping from the house.

In any case, I'd like to place one thermometer right against the house on the south side.
That would be in direct sunshine, which I've read is a no-no.

So, I am wondering, what is the recommended practice for getting an accurate temperature reading in a location?
Is it simply a matter of putting the thermometer in a cardboard box (to get it out of direct sunshine)?
A styrofoam box? etc.?
Any other factors to consider to ensure accurate readings at each location?

It's good that you've used concrete to try to fill as many access points as possible; that's a permanent solution.

For any other opening (say, for ventilation), put 1/4" galvanized mesh over it.
1/4" mesh is the largest you can use and keep the mice out. If the gaps are larger, mice will get through.
This option also provides ventilation.
(This mesh is also good for putting around trees, to prevent mice from gnawing on the bark and ringing the trees. It needs to be buried a little in the dirt to prevent them from digging underneath.)

Hugo Morvan wrote:
. . .
How do you know it's a Bocking variety?
. . .

I went looking specifically for Bocking 4.
I read that the roots of Bocking 4 go down ten feet and the roots of Bocking 14 go down eight feet. I wanted plants that go down as deep as possible because they were going to be planted along the sides of a creek and they were going to serve as erosion control, like living pilings that hold the ground in place.

The supplier I found said that he only ever had Bocking 4 on his property, nothing else.
Perhaps he lied.
Or he was being honest, but his supplier lied to him.
Or his supplier was being honest, but that supplier's supplier lied.
etc. etc.

Hopefully, everybody along the supply chain was honest.
Otherwise, there would be no way to confirm the genealogy of the plants all the way back to Bocking, England where the variety was developed.

All we can do is trust the people we deal with.

I have a couple Comfrey plants in my back yard (Bocking 4, one of the sterile hybrids).

I've had these plants several years and they have not moved.
Plus, there are a couple plants at my parents' place that have not moved for over 35 years. In fact, they are starting to look kind of anemic, not the strong plants they once were. Bottom line, they haven't spread by seed, so I am confident that they are, indeed, the sterile variety of Comfrey.

However, this afternoon when I was deadheading one of the plants in the back yard, I came across a seed. I thought I was looking at a Borage plant but, nope, it was Comfrey.

So now I am wondering, do the sterile varieties of Comfrey ever produce seeds? Perhaps the odds are extremely low--but not zero.

Alternately, if a sterile Comfrey plant is pollinated by common Comfrey, is there a greater chance that viable seeds will be produced?

Zoltán Korbel wrote: . . .

I've read that Black Locust contains substances that inhibit the growth of other plants. Is this true for dead lumber as well and if so, isn't it a bad choice for a raised bed application?

I've heard just the opposite. Black Locust is a nitrogen-fixer; it absorbs nitrogen from the atmosphere and emits it out its roots, so it actually helps plants around it grow better. It's like it provides a natural fertilizer--for free.

Perhaps you are thinking of Black Walnut, which emits Juglone. It can have a strong effect on some plants, but others are unaffected.

In order to reduce home heating bills, I'm considering putting insulation over some of the windows in my home during the coldest months. ON THE INSIDE OF WINDOWS.

During the winter, windows on the north side don't get a lot of sunlight. They are just sinks for letting a lot of heat escape.

I was browsing the insulation aisle of Home Depot and a few varieties of rigid insulating foam caught my eye. These are not the soft fiberglass pink (or white) insulation used between studs of on external wall; these are stiff pieces of rigid styrofoam, about 1" thick. I was thinking I could cut them to form, and hold them into the window frames. If they are cut in half, to cover just the lower half of a window, or perhaps half of the sliding glass door to the patio, that still cuts the surface area of potential heat loss in half. It's got to be better than nothing, right?

However, keeping in mind these would be inside the house, are there any health concerns? Do these rigid pieces of insulation give off any fibers that might cause health problems? Would they exacerbate asthma or eczema?

Any other recommendations?

It would be nice to have something that clips on in winters, comes off in summers, easy-peasy.

Anybody in these forums use seasonal insulation over windows, or parts of windows, to reduce heat loss?

I have two questions about two different types of peppers.

This Spring, I bought two pepper plants from a local nursery, one Carolina Reaper and one Ghost Pepper.
They were about the same age, I transplanted them into bigger pots, and they've been growing close to each other all summer. See photos.

Q1:
The Carolina Reaper has several peppers that are turning red.
Judging by the photos, are they ready to pick now? (Or should I wait? Do they get any redder?)

Q2:
The Ghost Pepper doesn't have any peppers on it. It's had flowers and the plant, itself, looks healthy.
Why did this plant not produce any peppers?

I've got a two-year old Avocado tree growing in a pot.
Managed to keep it alive indoors over the winter, and with a grow light.

It now has four or five branches coming off it.

I am wondering if I should prune those off and keep the tree to a single stalk with no branches.
Is there a "best practices" in terms of pruning an Avocado tree?

This is a question I've had for a while: Do earthworms work through clay?

I'm working to improve some very poor soil. And what there is does not go deep before hitting a layer of hard clay.

We've added cow and sheep manure for many years, as well as compost, left-over hay, etc. So we are increasing the height of organic material and giving the worms some food.

However, do the worms actually work their way INTO clay?
I assume they dig their way down, take a bite of the clay, say "Phooie!", spit it out, then turn around, and head back up to where the food is better. So they are not actually digging DOWN so deep-rooted plants can go farther down.

Or am I mistaken?
Do worms dig into clay?

If I turn over the soil by shovel and go down four feet, and manually mix the chunks of clay with everything else, will the earthworms, again, work AROUND the clay chunks, or will they break the chunks down?