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Comment by Jim Troyer on March 18, 2014 at 4:33pm

HI Bob:

I knew where to look for grape advice:

Pruning

The general rule to pruning is to always cut in a location where growth will occur, whether the cut is next to a bud or another branch. Cutting a branch beyond where growth will occur effectively kills all portions of that branch back to the closest branch, bud, or dormant bud clusters, leaving a stub of dead wood. The withered stub will eventually rot away and fall off. Prior to that, however, it will prevent the plant from forming a callus over the cut surface, which will in turn invite insects and infection. All cuts should be relatively smooth since this will aid in healing.

Also, the pruning cut should not be too large when compared to the growing point. For instance, a large cut on a 20 cm trunk down to a 15 cm branch should be fine, but the same cut to the trunk down to a 1 cm twig or bud is considerably less ideal and should be avoided if possible.

Pruning to bud

A correct pruning cut will allow for quick healing and promote vigorous growth from the closest bud to the cut. The cut should be close enough to the bud to reduce the size of the stub of dead wood that will form from the cut, but far enough away to prevent the bud from being adversely affected by the cut though desiccation. Cutting too close to the bud (under-cutting) sometimes results in the death of the bud, which results in a scenario similar to cutting too far away from the bud (over-cutting). In general, a correct cut should be angled at a moderate 35-45 degree slant such that its lowest point is situated on the same level as the tip of the growth bud. This technique is usually applied when pinching or when cutting-back.

Pruning to a main branch

The pruning cut should occur slightly away from and follow the branch collar. When cutting away branches growing directly from the roots, the cut should be flush and level to the ground. This technique is usually applied when thinning or to remove larger dead or damaged branches.

When using pruning shears or loppers to remove a branch back to a main branch, the "hook" portion of the shears should always face away from the main branch. This ensures that the blade will not leave a protruding stub and the hook will not damage the branch collar or parts of the main branch.

Large heavy branches Depending on the weight of the branch, the first cut should be a notch on the underside of the branch about a third to half of the way through. The bulk of the branch should then be removed with a follow-through cut slightly above the first cut, thus leaving a limb stub. The purpose of this is to stop the weight of the branch from tearing the bark of the tree from the underside, which would normally occur if the removal was done with one cut. The limb stub ensures that any cracking of the wood resulting from the branch separation is limited to the portion of the wood to be removed. The branch collar should then be located, and can be identified by the strip of rough bark running down from the topside of the branch at its junction with the stem. The cut for removing the limb stub should be just outside the branch collar, leaving a small bump. The bump and the branch collar should not be removed since this action can reduce healing time, which could result in a major infection.

Comment by Robert Rowe on March 18, 2014 at 1:23pm

Welcome back Sheri

I have a concord grape growing in a media bed, and it is loaded with clusters.

? Do you have a rule of thumb as to how many to remove, to maximize fruit size?

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on March 18, 2014 at 12:00pm

Greetings, Everyone! Long time, no "see."  I wanted to pop in and say Hi...I've missed everyone. I've pulled back from all my forums over the last few months because Bob and I are spending all our time getting the house paid off. After that..no debt! The first real step toward a sustainable life. :)

Anyway, we're not doing much - no planting this spring, just living off the volunteers in the soil garden. No new projects. Just work.

I'll be teaching the Intro to Aquaponics class for Valley Permaculture a week from Saturday, so please pass the word around!

Kim, chickens love roaches! And they can be very nutritious. There's even one kind that is grown intentionally just like people grow mealworms. If you have a roach problem where the chickens can't get to them, set up a smooth, straight-sided dish (a dog food dish can work well) with a ramp, then put some food in it - damp chicken food works really well. Overnight the roaches will enter in swarms but they can't get out. Take them to your birdies and they will have a heyday!

Good luck!

Comment by John Malone on March 18, 2014 at 11:02am

Radial Flow Filter modification

The RFF works well, but my initial construction was too low to make cleaning and maintenance easy.  This was intentional, because I was concerned about raising the water level too high and increasing the head height that the pump had to overcome.

Good friend Jacque encouraged me to lift it up, so I did!

The filter works better than before because the outflow line is more direct. Also emptying the filter is a dream; just pop a 5 gallon bucket underneath and fill-er-up!

However, I did experience problems with the flow rate through the filter due to the increased height.  This resulted in the bell siphon on the growbed not starting like it should and entering in to the dreaded 'equilibrium flow' condition where the siphon doesn't kick on and the water stays at the same height.   I think I lost a crop of radishes to this while I figured it out.

As it turns out a simple tweak of one of my line valves to force more water through the filter was all that was required.  So simple.

Comment by John Malone on March 18, 2014 at 10:54am

I am loving Spring!   I tried to jump-start the garden this year by growing seedlings inside during winter.  I'm very glad I did because the garden is delightful right now.

DWC bed : lettuce and peas

Romaine Lettuce from DWC

Comment by Jim Troyer on March 17, 2014 at 1:42am

 keeping the water moving is paramount;

yes, yes and yes, stupid chickens...

Comment by Kim Romen on March 14, 2014 at 5:11pm

I ended up going to Harbor Freight after being guided by Jim (thx Jim!!).  I found the same model pump that I had and got that to make things fast and easy.  Was $30 after the 25% off coupon.  sad thing is, after checking the wrong switch to see if why the pump stopped was due to tripping the gfci, I may have broken the pump by taking it apart.

Matt, what's the 24 hr max?  can fish live that long without a pump?  In the dead of summer, too? 

i was planning on getting some aerators for a backup.  any tips on what to get anyone?  i saw one for a pond for $35 on amazon or there are small ones for small fish tanks.  would that due if need be?  r the fish smart enough to swim up to an aerator if that's all the air that is in the tank?  my chickens wouldn't be smart enough!  i have 2 things to worry about when i'm on vacay or gone for the day: 1. pump going out 2. gfci tripping, which will shut off the aerator, too (unless there r some that run without electric?).

thx!

Comment by Jeff S on March 13, 2014 at 8:11pm

Pumps aren't a particularly big investment. I keep a couple of extras around for various projects I might start up from time to time. Never hurts to have a spare.

Comment by Matt Miskinnis on March 13, 2014 at 6:43pm

I wouldn't go longer than a 24 hour period max myself, the ammonia will start building up and the plants will start to go into shock after not having nutrient water.  I got my pumps from home depot, cheap and easy and have lasted a long time.

Comment by Kim Romen on March 13, 2014 at 3:10pm

fish pump just stopped working.  darnit.  the guy who sold it to me promised me the warrantee but when we went to pick up the AP system he didn't have the receipt.  i have a sump and a full tote for a FT.  any tips on what i need to pick up at the store?   a pump or 2 and some aerators?  if i wasn't here and it were the heat of summer it'd be a big prob.  not sure how long it's been shut off, maybe a couple of hrs.  i know i had it running at 9am.  thx!

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