Relaxed day: walking, reading, troubleshooting, …. Here I’m troubleshooting a plant watering schedule on a Hubitat home automation hub. I finally set up schedules for a water pump that irrigates the long line of grasses on our balcony. Back in the day, a plug-in mechanical timer would’ve done the job.
Category: City Gardening
Bringing a Prairie Home
It was Dwight’s fourth visit to Gertens this week, my first. Now we have 72 pots of native grasses, plus various herbs and tomato plants. We spent the afternoon putting the grasses in grow bags then placing the grow bags in long planters. When the grasses have recovered from the ordeal, I’ll make the big… Continue reading Bringing a Prairie Home
Prepping for Native Grasses
Today’s theme was irrigation. This morning, I tackled some watering issues with a couple planters on a community deck downstairs. This afternoon, I prepped our balcony for native grasses (in planters, of course) by setting up 48 drippers. One of my goals for this year is to focus on improving soil moisture sensing.
Husband’s Plant Husbandry
Early Sunday mornings, plants take priority in the shower. Here, Dwight is plucking dead bits and checking for pests. Dusty foliage receives a gentle shower from the spray head. There’s a link to his City Gardener blog in the Friends and Family section at the foot of this page.
Rude or Rooty?
On Thursdays we compare notes about our day at our local, Maxwell’s. This photo from Dwight’s day at the university greenhouse caught my eye with its unusual bulbous tuberous stem that looks like it should be covered in polite company. Apparently it’s Sinningia helleri (gloxinia) from South America, which leaves me none the wiser.
Defeating Dreary
On Sunday mornings Dwight does indoor gardening: watering, pruning, cleaning, pest control, adjusting for light, and so on. A 180-degree rotation of this plant rack will ensure even light distribution. Outside, the weather may be dreary, but inside these plants bring warmth and a pop of color.
Plant Parenthood from Afar
Packed bags, checked-in flights for tomorrow, and corralled plants await our departure. Dwight has consolidated the houseplants and hooked them up to the watering system. While he insists on manual control, albeit remotely via the Internet, cameras offer visual and auditory (pumps whirring) assurance of their well-being.
Rolling Green, Smart Scenes
Built a project box for wirelessly controlling lights on our mobile green wall via our Zigbee mesh network and Hubitat hub. Now, these lights seamlessly join lighting scenes controlled by voice, app, or household events.
Dimming Fail
Settled on black gooseneck lights for our climbing plants. As a prototype, ordered one light from IKEA which arrived today. It’s almost perfect, it’s almost invisible, but it’s not dimmable. The bulb can’t be swapped, so back it goes and the search continues.
Catching the Sun
Today’s early morning sun highlighted Dwight’s use of grouping, repetition and height on an industrial wheeled pallet.