Hey Woodsman Mind if I come in?
Man, everything looks good. Boy do I relate to going to get water!!!! With all those plants and only 12 gallon containers = many trips. When you get wealthy selling your pipes, get your self some Brita systems and it will eliminate the trips. Cheap too!.
Your plants look wonderful Buddy. Sounds weird to me, But hope you get some males. yuck!
An old friend came by my journal yesterday. His name is
OldSkoool, don't think you've met him yet. He's one of us old farts and truly a good guy. Got our sense of humor too, maybe worse than us.
He took a bad fall a while back. Slipped on ice and landed on his tail bone and really hurt himself. Poor guy, but he is getting better.
The reason I bring him up is that he carves too. He makes rare wood Fish Hooks. He spends most of his time carving now and is doing great. He should be dropping in once and a while, but no longer has the time to do a journal, which is a bummer for all of us, but good for him.
Takes me a while to get to the point! Your carving might do it for you too! As an owner of one of your pipes, I see no reason you can't do the same thing he did.
I hope you do old Friend! 
lookin good
Holysmokey, OMM, you guys are always welcome, just leave all stash at the door for research and future testing purposes.
I really need several more containers or a few of those big jerrycans. I don't know too much about the 'Brita' system other than I always thought it was not cheap to purchase/operate. I worry about initial cost and more importantly, how long before I'd have to change the filters and how much$ . We have to add water softener in our well water. or everything turns rust colored. It would have been 'brilliant' had the person who built this cabin not run the outdoor hose line first through the softener. We've been watering our plants, grass and yes my plants, not knowing this till it was suggested here that I check out the routing. We have a crawl space under the house that is not so 'user friendly' and I am not the guy who can change this (change water pipes),, That's why I used to buy the gallons at Wally's and now (with 11 plants) drive to the spring instead.
Glad to hear that your friend OldSkoool is back and is on the mend! When you say that my pipe making may 'do it for me' in what sense do you mean, as an income source or for health / healing reasons? I've got some out on eBay now and while they are getting many many 'views' 111 so far, and one watcher since I placed them there yesterday evening, no buyers yet. I need to at least ask what the advertising costs are here on this site. I believe I was told by admin. that someone would contact me. I may have misunderstood and need to contact them myself. It would be a big help if I was an advertiser here!
BlueDog;1113 209 said:
Hi Woodsman, great thread! Your plants are looking awesome and I hope you have great fortune with both them and your new pipe business!
I just got in from moving all my tomato plants into the shade! They're looking totally stressed and it's in the mid-90's here, now they'll get sun until about 1pm I hope that helps them out. It never ceases to amaze me what I learn here lol!
The bugs give me the creeps btw, thanks for giving me something new to worry about
I'm doing a similar grow, outdoors in buckets, but I take them inside to simulate 12/12. It's getting old lugging my 12 plants around, let me tell you! I have to move them a few times a day as well to catch the sun.
I was wondering how much direct sun your plants are getting each day, and about how much and often that you're watering them. If I understand correctly you're going to let them flower naturally outside? Thanks and take care!
Hello Bluedog welcome to my thread and by all means feel right at home!
Thank you for the kind words about my grow and my pipes.
I'm not much of a tomato grower, but like you I've learned a few tips here from the other growers. I would think that your on the right path to recovery by getting them out of the hot sun all day long by placing them in the shade for about half the time. Good luck with that, perhaps one of our resident tomato growers has more tips for you.
I sure would not wish those borers on anyone! they don't come every year though and I think it is related to the huge amounts of rain early spring into summer that we've had. I guess it's the relatively dry years that they don't come around. We've had temps into the 90's but I'd say mid 80's is the norm right now. Problem is the amount of rain lately and the very high humidity accompanying it, most non rain days are over 60-65%! Feels like Florida!
If I had the water easily available, I could water some of the plants every day (smaller pots). As it is now, they are OK for two days, then they start to wilt. In the past I would just water them with the hose and that was it! Now knowing what I know since coming over to this site, I can't do that anymore. I'd get huge salt deposits in the soil.
As far as sunshine goes, in June they were getting about 13 hours of direct sun with an hour and a half in the early morning that they only get indirect light. Now we've lost about an hour of sunlight and this will slowly decline also. And yes they will flower under the Sun all the way. As I've mentioned before, in the past I've had some late finishers that I had to bring in the house and finish in the back window. Problem there is that they get interrupted dark times being in our living room! I can't use the tent anymore, promise to the wife and I better keep that one! Anyway I don't think any of the plants would fit in the old tent by the middle of Oct.! Even the smallest may be too large!
That's quite a job moving twelve pots back and forth to the house every night! I just move mine (like you do) to catch the sun, about a couple feet each max. Hardest thing for me is lifting the ten galon pots up onto the railing to inspect them. I have one very bad knee so it is hard to squat down on the floor to look. having a very arthritic back doesn't help when I lift those suckers up either!
Great to have you good luck with your grow and come back often!
I have to agree with your thinking though. Put something you know is good in that soil. Don't waste a thing! The days are getting shorter already? No!
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Ere' try this Church and you tell me what you think...not cured yet huh but really smooth and mellow compared to Cheese. I also discovered something by pure accident...
