The jugs were brown glass—chemical reagent bottles that contained ethyl or iso-propyl alcohol. The lids had teflon gaskets. I wish I still had a source. It would be a pretty unusual plastic jug that could handle that vacuum.
4 Likes
You mean cheap source. I found a 4 liter brown glass bottle with a teflon lid for 61 dollars. 
I had a thicker walled clear plastic 1 gallon jug from something maybe vinegar that could probably take quite a bit of vacuum. It might have been non-consumer vinegar like the 10% stuff.
1 Like
This is pretty scary. Something is going on with watermelons and it’s global. What other foods are being manipulated, altered, adulterated?
2 Likes
"“This is probably due to the heat. The fruit, if slightly damaged, can begin fermenting. If enough fermentation occurs, which produces gas, enough internal pressure may build up for the watermelon to crack or pop,” Schneider says. “”
global warming is the closest conspiracy…
1 Like
Patiently waiting.
Well, waiting, anyway 
9 Likes
Still trying to work though the tomatoes and Peppers Kent. Also trying to get nettles, plantain and goldenrod gathered and dried while it’s available. Potatoes don’t mind hanging out underground for a while and I really don’t like digging them up. Going back to containers next year, but I plan to get to at least some of them this week.
6 Likes
What do you do with goldenrod? Just teas?
5 Likes
Not trying to add pressure, just a good-natured reminder of interest. With the warm spring followed by late frosts, we never got as far as potatoes this year, except possibly for volunteers (which is one place no-till really shines ). Since we live in “Famous Potatoes” land, we can buy a boat load and follow your method as time allows. And I will temporarily suspend critical thinking regarding commercial growing methods 
.
6 Likes
Yes, just as a tea to keep the kidneys flushed out Sean. Nettle tea for prostate health. I have not gotten into tinctures so far but plan to do more research this fall. Just gathering up stuff while it’s available…
I’m glad you are interested Kent. Took me some trial and error to get where I could dry them and never suffer the black plague. I agree about the potatoes. I know people in Montana and Idaho that can get 50 lb sacks of seconds for a couple of bucks. I guess the only reason to grow them at those prices is knowing for sure they are not contaminated and maintaining some seed stock in case it wasn’t available. I feel the same way about carrots. PITA for me to grow and I can buy seconds for 50 cents a pound but I still try and grow some anyway in the greenhouse.
7 Likes
We planted the hydroponic strawberries in dirt today so the cucumber we also planted in the same pipe earlier in the season because it was struggling in dirt in the other greenhouse had to move to it’s own kratky bucket.
This is the rootsystem coming out of the net cup sticking down in the solution that we had to break off to get it out of the hole.
Quite impressive I think 
It is looking a little sad now replanted in the new bucket. We’ll see if it survives but it had to be done. If it dies then so be it.
13 Likes
It’s starting to look like Brussels sprouts.
I wonder if these would need to have less light, if it is the light that starts the cabbage formation?
The plant I measured is about 160cm (64") and the one further into the jungle is even longer, weird.
11 Likes
Many plants to reproduce-fruits set best need to be stressed to force into reproduce-before-you-die. Grapes. Tomatoes.
Always previously in old ground soil my wife Brussel sprouts have fruited well.
This year in new deep rich growers soil in the new raised bed they look like yours.
S.U.
9 Likes
Ok, where she had the Brussels sprouts before was there shade from the trees?
I’m wondering if the length of the night matters, just like for Chinese cabbage, that they need darkness to develop?
3 Likes
Harvested potatoes a week and a half ago and put it in the root cellar a couple of days back, pretty good harvest. A little over 600kg (1300 lbs) and quite a few damaged/small/green (second pic) mostly because of a homemade tryout to get the potatoes to land in a row to make it easier to pick in combination with too much speed… Need I say that it didn’t go well 
If you guys remember I did a test when planting and it was about 1/3 3 week sprouted potatoes and 2/3 potatoes straight from the root cellar to see if there was any point to sprouting them.
Well, they flowered with only a week’s difference and a month before harvest it seemed they were neck in neck but when we harvested the pre sprouted ones had fewer but much bigger potatoes, baking size, and the other ones had more potatoes but smaller. Weight wise potatoes per plant the winner is pregrown. I guess pregrowing it is and it was expected too as I doubt generations before me have been doing the extra work and hassle for fun.
18 Likes
Finished harvesting my potatoes today Johan. Nothing like your haul. I got 161 pounds out of 30 pounds of seed potatoes so only about 5.5 pounds from a pound of seed. I do at least that well in buckets with a lot less work. I didn’t see a lot of worms as I was digging them out of my beds, so I’m guessing I needed more organic matter in those beds. I won’t be growing in ground next year. Congratulations on your bountiful harvest, 
11 Likes
mnemonic reply
6 Likes
Thank you Tom, it is much since we planted much, this is both for our family and my dad. The plan in spring was to also keep three or four more families in the village with potatoes for a year.
Your harvest is also a good one, almost 1:5,5, that is pretty much what we got (I either forgot to weigh or I forgot what it weighed in spring so it’s an estimate of volume 
)
10 Likes
Samma, samma! You can finally start to gain weight Johan
I had a lot of scab and worm holes in mine this year. We’ll be down to bread crumbs and water before Christmas.
8 Likes
You are more correct than you know JO, eating lunch as I write. I usually work through the day only having coffee for breakfast and then not eat until dinner but now my wife is making me take better care of myself eating at least three meals a day. Good on her to want me to stick around as long as possible
Btw, we also had some holes in our potatoes from worms, i guess we can say that we have our own personal wormholes at home
12 Likes
I had a fair number of potatoes gnawed under ground by some critter. I don’t know what. The damage scabs over and if it’s not too bad I just cut off the chewed part and use the rest anyway. Growing them, at least for me, is just to much damned work to let anything go to waste. Another reason I’m going back to containers next year.
I haven’t been amending these beds for a few years because I have been more interested in container and hydro, but this coming year is going to be a shit show and I wanted to get as much stored as possible. That is one explanation for my sub par results. I always considered 8 pound yield per pound of seed about normal. I have gotten 10 to 1 at times but that was in well prepped beds.
7 Likes