#season extension

[jensownzoo]

Just want to show off my cold frames this year as they're working very well so far, though I have pinpointed a major flaw in the construction that I'm going to have to correct eventually.

So this year instead of making one long cold frame on the south-facing porch that left me with very little room to maneuver (resulting in a lot of shimmying and gut-sucking), I instead put in two smaller ones on either side.

Here's the side that faces outwards:

Consisting of a large scavenged single pane window gently but firmly tapped into place (with a rubber mallet and a lot of "please don't breaks") against the railing. They are wedged and will not be removed when the season is over.

And here's the side that faces inward:

The bottom layer are Tidy Cats litter buckets filled 3/4 of the way with water and wrapped in black plastic contractor bags. They provide thermal mass along with the concrete porch floor. Then I have more scavenged windows and some screwed together landscaping beams to hold everything together. Cracks are filled with styrofoam panels, roll foam (the kind that comes with window ac units), and wadded up plastic grocery sacks. There are still enough openings for ventilation, but the warmed air is mostly retained.

Here's what I've got growing in one of the frames:

A small earthbox of mesclun mix, a Tidy Cats bucket of salad spinach, a large earthbox of Swiss chard.

And another Tidy Cats bucket of kale mostly obscured by the small earthbox of green onions.

In the second frame I have more spinach and chard plus some cos-type lettuce.

The big flaw in this design? When I lift the top panels off to access the contents I cannot reach the stuff in the Tidy Cats buckets or large earthboxes! The inner wall is too tall and my arms are too short. What I should have done is put the earthbox on two thermal mass buckets and the planted Tidy Cats buckets on top of a few layers of bricks. I may still do that if we get a run of warmer weather (stamps feet 'cause I don't wanna), but I may be able to swing harvesting using some long scissors and a pair of chopsticks. We'll see. If this design continues to work well then it's definitely something to change next fall.

[cselandscapearchitect]

Book Review: "The New Organic Grower, 3rd Edition: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener" by Eliot Coleman

“The New Organic Grower” by Eliot Coleman is a true gem for anyone interested in gardening, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced green thumb. As a longtime gardener myself, I was captivated by Coleman’s wealth of knowledge and his passion for sustainable and organic practices. The third edition of this book is a comprehensive guide that not only provides practical techniques but also…

[to-be-a-dreamer]

Broke: Lizzie died first because the Canary Curse was transferred to her via Seablings. (Boring) (Cop Out) (Implies women cannot be cringefail enough on their own merit)

Woke: Lizzie spent the entire season being ignored and forgotten to the extent that the universe itself forgot about her and let her die before the canary simply because it didn’t care (tragic!) (interesting!) (makes me want to gnaw on the walls!)

[valtsv]

i don't know why i love characters who cause mass societal and/or ecological damage so much i'm just drawn to bitter stars who poisoned a third the earth's waters when they fell

[ataraxixx]

missing pieces - voxtrot

[shadelorde]

The idea of dark magic creating a void, a darkness inside your soul, paralleled with Aaravos’s star over his heart going hollow after Leola was killed

[piratespencil]

Oooh I saw a lot of posts speculating about where the season would end, but I think ending on "we have to eat Falin" was absolutely the right choice. I remember getting to that bit in the manga and being floored that that was where this story was going. It's shocking and it also makes perfect sense. This is a story about eating. It was always going to turn out like this.

[splatoonusna]

Here's every new Weapon for the upcoming Sizzle Season 2024 put into one post :3

[foursthemagicknumber]

You know I think the fandom is genuinely sleeping on how much of an allegory Rex so obviously (to the point where I don’t even know that much about the topic but can still draw the comparison) is for being intersex. Like-

He had his body permanently altered as a child

It was without his consent

He got very upset over being told he had a small dick

I could probably find other reasons if I keep looking

I’m getting a vibe.

If you have thoughts on this let me know real quick! I want to spread the Intersex Rex Splode agenda!

[jensownzoo]

Got the row covers set up for the front beds this morning. It's going to be beautiful transplanting weather tomorrow for the cool season crops.

Hoops are made from a roll of top line wire used in chain link fences. I've got a double layer of frost blanket held in place with small binder clips on the wire hoops. I'll remove one of the layers once it stops getting so cold at night. This is only one of the rows, the other two are in the new raised bed. Need to scrape back the wood chips to let the soil warm up this afternoon. I've got some black plastic weed barrier leftover from forever ago...might put that down temporarily to help the process.

Some of the things to transplant. They've really taken off after moving them from the inside grow lights into the cold frame to harden off. Can't beat real sun I guess!

But being in the cold frame does slow seedling growth compared to inside on the heat mat. Here's some bok choy and Chinese broccoli that were sowed directly in the cold frame. Took 2-3x as long to germinate and they're not doing a whole lot of growing right now. This next week should help because warm.

Salad spinach ready for a second cutting in the cold frame. I started it in the fall when it was still warm, moved it into the cold frame at the end of November, where it proceeded to survive but not much else. Until last month when we got our first spate of warm weather. Plus probably the more photon-rich sunlight didn't hurt. I'll probably give it a smidge of alfalfa meal after this cutting for a nitrogen boost to make MOAR LEAVES.

Hard to tell but the slightly greenish-brown lacy foliage at the base of the dried stems is bronze fennel waking up from its winter nap. I think this year I'm going to let the fennel and spearmint duke it out in this bed and move the strawberries somewhere more hospitable. I have a raised bed in the back that needs something low-growing to allow for cage door clearance...strawberries would be perfect. I'll probably move them tomorrow when transplanting seedlings.

I'm pretty sure this is volunteer candytuft. Which is nice. I've got several clumps coming back where I had it last year (as perennials tend to do lol), but I'd love for it to spread. It's a nice early flower for the bees.

I also noted several clumps of what I believe to be crimson clover and if I can get that to vigorously reseed itself as well I will be ecstatic. I was thoroughly disappointed in the germination of the 1/4lb of seed I dispersed last year (in the fall as instructed). Only one plant came up. But I took care of it and it produced a fair amount of flowers which I left to produce seed, so hopefully that strategy worked. Especially since I effectively killed all the white Dutch clover I had encouraged in my small patch of grass by dumping 12" of fresh wood chips on top of it. On one hand, no more mowing. On the other hand, no more bee food from the clover. Plus I loved the smell of sun-warmed clover blossoms. Oh well. Maybe I can get it to grow in the flower beds instead.

Anyway. Busy, busy, busy as the season ramps up. I've got some germinated tomato seed to pot up this afternoon and tetris in under my grow light.

[arttsuka]

ford and stan as catdog

You unlocked memories I didn't know I had

[djarin]

one of the main reasons i love ofmd is the unapologetic queer joy they show us. there's not a single moment where the drama revolves around a character's "coming out" moment. there's no need to accept or reject anyone for what they identify as. like, for fuck's sake, there have been so many moments in the show where they explicitly tell us, "hey, this is us, take it or leave it." no explanations, no justifications—just pure, unfiltered representation. it truly drives in the point that at the end of the day, queer people are also just simply people.

as much as i appreciate the abundance of queer representation we're getting now, i cannot emphasize how much a show like ofmd means to me. i am begging more companies to do what ofmd is doing and just show queer people living as boring old fucking people instead of as victims. take us beyond existing as an educational tool or a plot device. show queer people being people, and we'll stop being victims.

"kill me. kill us all. our spirit will last throughout your entire fսckin' empire because... we're good." you know what this show teaches us? that queer people are resilient as fuck, and that whatever we may have been told, shown, and made to believe about our queerness is wrong. we're good. we continue to be good despite the hardships we face. despite all the shit our elders and trailblazers have gone through from the beginning. despite the political landscapes of today that continue to try to strip us of our dignity and rights. we still exist and we will continue to exist—as people first, and victims last.

[helenafreakgan]

"helly and helena aren't the same person" WRONG and by trying to separate them you're eliminating a crucial part of their characters

[cementcornfield]

I want the triple crown, I ain't gonna lie.

- Ja'Marr Chase | The Pivot Podcast | 2022

[sticcmann]

Jinx and Orianna designs for a Sinco au where everything basically plays out the same except silco and singed have been together for 13 years as of season 1 act 3

Jinx is raised by both of them. She assisted Singed until she was 16 when she got her own lab and started working mainly for Silco. Singed is a man of medicine, so he actually gave Jinx antipsychotics regularly, and she recovered and stopped taking them 3 (more research pending?) years before act 2

The events of the show are mostly the same — Jinx has a psychotic relapse after she finds out her sister isn’t dead and does the shit she does, except Singed, when he got his hands on exploded Jinx, doesn't just let her walk out of there, and so no dinner party :DDD everyone lives. Silco and Jinx fire the rocket together after a heart to heart about Jaycies deal and the war between Piltover and Zaun starts. Mel, Ekko and Jayce still disappear, since those circumstances are not connected. Jinx is on the frontlines, Vi joins the firelights. Caitlyn and Ambessa are trying to navigate martial law

Singed still makes Warwick (feels immense guilt for it in relation to Silco, but its ultimately for his daughter) and he is used in the frontlines (kind of what ambessa wanted to do lmao). Silco finds out he is Vander eventually, and Singed has to show him the Orianna room! He visits herald Viktor (because he might be the key to reviving ori) but then Viktor gets killed by saviour Jaycie and Singed brings Warwick to save him. Then he takes some of Viktor’s newly formed cocoon fluid and injects it into Oriannas tube (like in og arcane in that one scene). Orianna is resurrected and Jinx must learn to live with a new little sister. Meanwhile war is still going on.

I have not thought of the evil mage Viktor situation for this AU yet since that is a big part of arcane season 2 but after the war is won and idk how long it takes silco and singed get married!!1!1!

Orianna in this au is also raised by silco and singed. She’s attending private ballet classes and learning mechanics (after the war lmao)

[theborzoiarebackintown]

We did some coursing practice this weekend to prepare for the coursing season and Kram ran with another dog for the first time! He followed the other dog for the first half of the course, and then went back on the lure for the rest which is very promising! He also really turned on the speed and power running with another dog which was awesome to see.