Devonviolet Acres

[baymule]

Hope the tornados skipped past you. On the non-stop news weather coverage, the tornado cells looked like they went to the east of you. One touched down just a couple of miles from us, but there was no damage reported. I hope you captured a lot of water!

 

[seedcorn]

If you want to clean the totes, use a little nitrogen. IF anything in plastic, it will pull it out. Although if only liquid fertilizer in it before, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[bobm]

Since those totes are white it is slightly transparent and will admit light to it's interior, so algae will start to grow on their interior walls. I had a white plastic 55 galon drum thad did just that. It would be a good idea to also put in a little copper sulfate in to retard the growth and / or cover them with black plastic or spray paint the outside with black paint.

 

[Devonviolet]

Hope the tornados skipped past you. On the non-stop news weather coverage, the tornado cells looked like they went to the east of you. One touched down just a couple of miles from us, but there was no damage reported. I hope you captured a lot of water!

No tornados here. We actually had it fairly easy. As I watched the radar maps, on WeatherBug, on my phone, it seemed like the worst of the storm cells were going on either side, of us, as they headed Northeast. We didn't even seem to have much for wind.

We ended up getting (what looks like, from the house) 1.1" of rain, in the rain gauge.

The rain gutter, that was hooked to the first tote, had some leaks. DH, was working under time & low light pressure, and rather cobbled the setup together. Unbeknownst to me, DH didn't plug the other end of the gutter, on the front of the house. So, I'm pretty sure a lot of the water, on the roof still went down the downspout on that side.

This is going to take some tweeking.

 

[Devonviolet]

Since those totes are white it is slightly transparent and will admit light to it's interior, so algae will start to grow on their interior walls. I had a white plastic 55 gallon drum thad did just that. It would be a good idea to also put in a little copper sulfate in to retard the growth and / or cover them with black plastic or spray paint the outside with black paint.

DH & I were just talking about that this morning.

We have seen how algae grows in the white totes, and were planning to put some kind of cover on the totes, to minimize algae growth. Copper sulfate is not a good option, because we are also planning to use this water, for the animals & eventually to raise fish.

We have access to very reasonably priced galvanized sheet metal siding. We can also get a variety of colors. A local metal siding company sells remnants, in 8 foot lengths, for $1.60/foot.

This is the West side of the building, which gets lots of hot sun, during the summer. Black absorbs heat & the last thing we need is to make the water hot. Not good for the garden.

We are planning to screw wood strips to the metal framework & then screw white metal siding to the wood. The white color would reflect the sun, to keep the water cooler, yet not give the algae light, so it couldn't flourish. The wood strips would hold the metal away from the tote, to allow cooling airflow. Win, win!

A friend has a tote, that he raises goldfish in, for aquaponics. He use canvas painter's dropcloth, for a type of curtain, to block sunlight. The problem I saw with that, is that mold is now growing in the fabric.

 

[Devonviolet]

Hope the tornados skipped past you. On the non-stop news weather coverage, the tornado cells looked like they went to the east of you. One touched down just a couple of miles from us, but there was no damage reported. I hope you captured a lot of water!

No tornados here. We actually had it fairly easy. As I watched the radar maps, on WeatherBug, on my phone, it seemed like the worst of the storm cells were going on either side, of us, as they headed Northeast. We didn't even seem to have much for wind.

We ended up getting (what looks like, from the house) 1.1" of rain, in the rain gauge.

The rain gutter, that was hooked to the first tote, had some leaks. DH, was working under time & low light pressure, and rather cobbled the setup together. Unbeknownst to me, DH didn't plug the other end of the gutter, on the front of the house. So, I'm pretty sure a lot of the water, on the roof still went down the downspout on that side.

 

[Devonviolet]

This is when DH is the most happy - scavenging parts from a dead lawnmower motor. He loses track of time, when he is tinkering with motors, like he did, as a boy, with his Dad, who taught Farm Mechanics, at the local Vo-Tech.

His advise was, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" However, they spent many happy Saturdays fixing things that weren't broke!

Man, do I love that man!

 

[Nyboy]

Before my grandfather would throw any thing away he had to remove any thiing he could

 

[Devonviolet]

I think that's how DH & his Dad got started.


When we left PA, to come to TX, DH donated FIVE 5 gallon buckets full of scavenged parts. They must have weighed 25 - 30 pounds each.

It's killing him now that we are on the farm. Every time he goes to fix something, he says, "I sure wish I kept those buckets of parts!"

 

[Nyboy]

I am not organized, if I do save something. when time comes I need it I can't find it, and have to buy a new one.