Tootfinder

#Gardening question:
Leaf - blowers: good or bad?
Removing dead leaves from alleyways or lawn: good or bad?
If removing the leaves is good but leaf-blowers are bad: are there good alternatives? 🙏
Edit (hopefully that won't change poll results) - thanks for the votes and comments so far!
People are suggesting using a rake as an alternative, which sounds good but apparently …

And the garden lord said, “And this is my most important commandment. Thou shall not get dust out of one’s eye immediately after harvesting tabasco peppers.” 🌶️👁️🔥😭
#gardening

Armut hasadı
#garden #gardening #garten

Behold the spring onion harvest #gardening

Weeded the front flower beds in the hot sun while listening to the latest Murderbot installment from Martha Wells. Lost a little blood during an engagement with several thornless honeylocusts that had hacked their programming and in fact had plenty of thorns (don’t get me started). #murderbot #books #gardening

My men are working in the garden.
#Grandparenting #Gardening #Canberra

Give your friends a zucchini; give your enemies two.
#AncientGardeningProverbs #gardening

One of my earliest memories is collecting cherry tomatoes in my shirt, then walking around the garden eating them. Never gets old. #tomatoes #gardening

Bu ağacı bahçeme yabani armut (ahlat) diye ektim ama sanırım o değil. Ne olduğunu bilmiyorum. Bilen varsa ve yardımcı olursa bakımını ona göre yapayım
#garden #gardening #garten

The nasturtium's in fine form this morning.
#BloomScrolling #gardening

I’ve been neglecting my duties in the garden and it shows. Had to say bye to two zucchini due to vine borers and another has a bad infestation of squash bugs. That said, the garden is producing nicely. Best harvest tonight of blackberries yet this year.
#gardening #oklahoma

While we were chatting about putting the doors on the shed… two doves flew down for a drink at the #poolpond!
I think they thought we were gone? As soon as we moved too much, they flew away! But we were happy to see them! ❤️ 🐦 🐦 ❤️
#doves #birds #gardening #wildlife

A diurnal firefly on my parsley - #wildlife #gardening

Princess pumpkin watch continues.
#oklahoma #gardening

Exhibit A for the "plant basil around your yard to repel mosquitoes" assertion. #mosquitoes #basil #gardening

Dove #2 was keeping a close eye on us. 😂
#poolpond #doves #birds #gardening #wildlife

Starting to get a little spicy in the garden. Squash bug war is heating back up, but still no plant casualties. 4 adults tonight, but 2 in flagrante delicto.
#gardening #oklahoma

you can cone if you want Rain! i have beaten you!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

I love a huge harvest as much as the next guy, but I really enjoy the variety picks during the seasonal transitions. Finding little surprises hidden around the garden is a such pleasure.
Had some storm damage, may have lost a zucchini, but I never regret rain in Oklahoma.
#gardening #Oklahoma

when a picture is truly worth a thousand words..... or in this case.... screw caps. 😭
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

I recommend getting an #aronia shrub.
• you don't have to do anything about it most of the year
• after a few years it gives enough fruit to add to ice cream the whole year round
• the fruits come in large bunches and have relatively tough skin, so it's easy to collect
• most of people are prejudiced against it, so you have it all to yourself
#gardening

four corners!
getting that first corner myself was....... time-consuming lol.
going pretty quick now, though!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

Visited Burpee's Fordhook Farm yesterday in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. I couldn't stop gazing with envy at the tomatoes. Almost all in the 8-foot range, packed with clusters of huge fruit, and showing zero signs of senescing. I'm assuming the automatic watering system is the secret. #tomatoes #gardening #burpee #doylestown #pennsylvania #seeds

the walls are up! it is (mostly) wind proof now so that's comforting. unfortunately the sun has emerged and it's hot.
taking a break.
Not sure if Ill get the roof on today but we'll give a good college try!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

aaaaaaaaaaaand done!!!
It only took about 10 hours of solid work. 😝
And thats with prior knowledge from assembling one 2 years ago!
@… is happy.
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

back at it this morning after sleeping in a little. got a bit of a sunburn on the neck and back yesterday! But all good today.
weather is perfect. Just a little wind and nice partly cloudy cool day.
the roof is happening! this is the easy part... the most annoying is yet to come, the sliding doors 😂
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

alright, reached my 2:30 time limit.
might have had the roof on but realised the back too support was inverted so had to flip that. Everything is a million screws 😂
Not sure what super humans can put this together in 3 hours. But I will have to come back to it tomorrow morning hopefully befoee the rain!!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

If anyone needs a gift for a vegetable gardener, I just love my folding Opinel harvesting knife. It's especially useful when the zucchini plant is crowded with stems, flowers, and fruit. #garden #gardening #allotment #zucchini

frame down. first wall next! pray for calm air! 😝 🙏 #poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

Anyone know what could cause a Japanese maple to suddenly die in the Spring? Leaves are all shriveled but not yet crispy. Not my tree but I'm curious. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. #maple #trees #disease #arborists #garden #gardening

they changed the forecast. no wind and we have a wonderful layer of fog keeping the sun at bay! If this can just last for the next four hours I should be able to get the second shed built!!
wish me luck!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

Backlit corn silk to show off the feathery surface that helps snag falling pollen grains. The stigmatic lobes can grow over an inch per day. #corn #maize #pollen #botany #gardening #allotment #pollination #pollen #stigma

nothing distracts from a #tradewar like digging!
this last extension of the trench is not fun. I am about halfway there! thankfully it is partly cloudy and relatively cool. good trenching weather.
it would be cool if electricity could wire itself... preferably wirelessly. ⚡️
#poolpond #backyardProject #DIY #gardening #solar

THE TRENCH IS DUG
a video
Doing some final measurements to figure out exactly what the lengths are so I can calculate voltage drop for the solar panels.
Good news! The full length is only 97ft! That is a voltage drop of 1.4% for 10/2 wire. Good enough for solar! (2% or under is recommended for micro-inverter based solar installation)
#tradewar #poolpond #backyardProject #DIY #gardening #solar

Stilt roots of maize are really creepy when they are reaching out for soil. #maize #zea #roots #corn #botany #garden #gardening #allotment

Anyone know the name of these tiny chili peppers? A friend brought them back from Sardinia and is curious. I've managed to germinate a few so perhaps flowers in a month or so will help, but maybe their small size and origin is enough for an ID by an expert. #peppers #chili #capsicum #garden #gardening #sardinia #italy #cooking

Had a decent sleep last night after a long day. Got up before 6AM so that I could start the sprinklers on time.
(We are allowed 6-9AM/PM alternating days but I only water in the mornings because watering when it is still 32°C at 8PM is dumb)
While they were going I got going on another dirt-moving session. Over 3 hours! The sun was blocked by clouds for much of it so that helped a lot. Managed to get the space cleared for the 2nd shed. The whole back part of the yard is nearly level. It’s amazing just how much lower one side of the yard was from the other!
Another couple days of moving dirt and leveling and the dirt mountain should be spent!
Lunch and naptime. 2000 calories burned 😝 💪
Started to feel some pains in hands, thumb, back. Body knows… so I stopped :)
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #dirt #portalberni #clay

moving dirt this morning before the sun gets too hot.
It's supposed to be 34°C with a humidex of 36 this afternoon. 🥵
It is only 20°C in the shade right now so time to get a good dent in the pile before I melt.
Current interim goal is to level a space equal to a little bigger than the current grey shed so I can put an identical one beside it either back-to-back or face to face.
The shovel mark in the top of the dirt pile to the left is the width mark that I have to clear to. 😂 We'll see if I get all the way there today! Watch says I have put 73min in so far.
I also need to convince the boy to help move the rocks from around the pond into a central pile. Pile location is TBD tho. 🤔
But it needs to be done so I can shore up a couple of low spots on the edge of the poolpond and in general start landscaping the edge of it.
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #landscaping

made a good dent in 2.25hrs
one more half hour stint and then I'm done for the day. Sun is getting high and hot! 🌞
The goal is to turn the grey shed in the picture 90° so the door is facing to the left, then get an identical shed and place it facing the first shed with a gap in the middle to get things in and out.
AND THEN... because the roof lines will face south, put solar panels on top of both. 😊 ☀️ ⚡️
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #landscaping #solar

good morning!
did some early-morning ponding on the #pandemicPond this morning.
The water level was unusually low, so I started looking around for leaks or blocks. I have been wanting to cut down the vertical PVC at the top of the bog barrels to make it not stick out so much and blend in a little nicer and also because it would reduce the height for the pump, so increase flow.
Well it turns out that connection, where the black pipe goes into the white PVC in the barrel, was a little loose and some water was leaking out and adding to the evaporation budget.
So that gave me the push to do the small modifications on the top end of the pipe. It was also a good time since turning off the pump meant the top pond would drain into the bottom pond. When the system is full, that would normally cause the bottom pond to over flow, but since it was all low, no extra water was lost.
I cut the inlet down a few inches under the water in the bog barrel to move the T down and then cut another 6in from the top pipe to snug it all up.
Then I also tightened up the connections for the over flow/air valve and added an elbow to keep water from escaping out the valve outlet. Only took about 5 minutes. I have been wanting to do this for months. 😂
Result:
black pipe doesn't curl as high over the barrel ✅
no more leak from the PVC connection ✅
no more water escaping from the air valve ✅
noticeably more flow over the waterfall! ✅
Pump is back on and water is replenished from the rain barrel ✅
the fish are happy! 🐟 and me too. ✅
oh oh! did I tell you we have a new fish! The top pond fish had babies and it looks like one has survived to be big enough not to be cannibalized. 😂 It is very skittish and is still mostly black so I havent got a good picture of it yet.
#pondlife #diy #gardening #portalberni

the hasta is super happy in the bottom pond this summer. It likes that it has not been too hot and it is also getting a lot more shade now that the pussy willow and hydrangea are established and a little bigger #bloomscrolling #pandemicPond #pondlife #diy #gardening #portalberni

work... worth it
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening

branch to the pump in the large pond done!
2 more to go... the sun is starting to break through the morning fog. time is ticking!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening

got some of the intake bay branch done... but also hungry!
time for leftover burrito fixings. the tomato is actually from the plants on our deck!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening

ok. the branch behind the shed is not gonna happen today. It will be a chore... lots going on there. But got started at least and the branch to the intake bay pump is done.
ready for the plumber tomorrow.
ready for a dip in the clear water of the pool pond NOW 😝 🏊
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening

main trench is complete!!
including branches to the south fence, patio area and greenhouse!
now just need to make 2 or 3 final branches. two short ones to the edge of the pond for each pond pump wire and one long one along the back of the shed to the north fence post for wiring into the shed and to the fence!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening

made good progress so far this morning. it is so much easier in the cool of the morning!!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening

taking a breather while the sprinkler does its thing watering both the flower/blueberry garden, and the hazelnut tree, and the poolpond itself!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening

#silentsunday
(end of today's pond thread) 🧵
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening

there. watering fill
#poolpond #gardening #pondlife #diy #backyardProject

achievement unlocked!
just before I got stuck on the curb, I put the trailer back around in the back!
Managed to move and level enough of the dirt to make a spot for the trailer!
Perfect little spot :)
#poolpond #gardening #pondlife #diy #backyardProject

i was just reminded that the city water is..... not warm... 😂 🥶
gonna dip anyway!?
it's nearing full, full enough for both pumps to be operating well, but family members are having a shower so filling has been halted until they're done.
The poor banana plant in the back corner got a little dry in the feet 😆 😬. Hopefully it's ok. The first plants in the pond always have the toughest job.
The others are looking ok. Marsh marigold is maybe a little too exposed. I will move it to be more under the hazelnut tree. The bug eating plant is not enjoying life. It might perish. Will do my best to nurse it back to life.
#poolpond #gardening #pondlife #diy #backyardProject

oopsie doodles!
Came outside to do some dirt moving only to find the #poolpond intake bay very nearly empty!
I have not been topping up the water since I filled it about 9 days ago? It has been cooler but windy and the last little bit of rain we got was a few days ago.
It must have just got below the level of the intake bay in the past hour or two as it was on its way to emptying. Luckily i caught it in time.
Water is being added now. I am also going to use the twirly sprinkler to water the flower and blueberry garden and it will also add to the pond at the same time in a nice aerated way.
Adding from the hose is not ideal as all that chlorine goes in at the same time
Anyways, crisis averted and information gained. It is already coming back up nicely.
hopefully it is full in time to have a dip after dirt moving!
#gardening #pondlife #diy #backyardProject

Thinned the 🍏 apples from the blushing delight today. It is doing really well. The tree is healthy and growing.
The northern spy has had a much rougher spring. It was infested with caterpillars until we safer-soaped it three times and so it just never got a good start. It is also in a more challenging location more exposed to the wind and rain. Only had a few blossoms and now no fruit. But it is still alive. I will try to nurse it through the summer and get it to winter. Hopefully next year it has a better go!
But the Blushing Delight is looking great. We should get over a dozen apples again!
#fruit #apple #home #gardening

back around to the backyard and the #poolpond project. got one pad levelled and cloth down for the greenhouse (8ftx8ft). Now levelling the pad for the patio/sitting area and paellero / bbq spot (10ftx10ft)
#backyardProject #diy #gardening #home

one more!
we have had this tall lilly on our outside deck for 5 or 6 years.
it is also tubors so we split it into 3 clumps.
#pandemicPond #PoolPond #diy #gardening #pondlife

2nd #poolpond pump is back up and running!
Spliced in a new (old) extension cord.
But I actually think the previous one was OK as well and I had just misconfigured the controller and didn't know how to reset it because of the --shall we say-- less than English instruction manual 😂
all good.
Onward!!
Main job now: Finish levelling the whole backyard dirt pile and start landscaping!
#diy #backyardProject #gardening #pondlife

finally, we had a small hasta underneath the rhododendron that needed a new home as it was being out competed by two others.
So I removed the whole thing but was surprised to find that it was essentially only growing on top of the fabric! Amazing it was doing as well as it was.
I left behind I little baby it must have just propagated this year and split the rest of the tubar up into 3 to plant in the bog filter. 2 are visible in the picture in the orevious post, this is the third, beside the tall plant and with a new hasta we bought this year.
#pandemicPond #PoolPond #diy #gardening #pondlife

it's a #pandemicPond and #PoolPond crossover day!
I am splitting some of the established plants from the small pandemic ponds to give some love to the backyard!
First up, I broke off a giant chunk of the milfoil (the low spiny/finger looking plant floating on the water). the picture is *after* i removed more than half of the original plant.
I split that chunk into four and planted it in a few little mounds of gravel along the edge of the poolpond.
the water in both ponds is murky because of my shenanigans. Itll takea few hours after I finish messing with things before it clears up again.
#diy #gardening #pondlife

next up I moved over a chunk of the marsh marigold that grows in the bog barrels.
One thing we have learned after planting these guys there... marsh marigolds LOVE full shade. Really any sun and heat at all and they start to wither.
So I am also moving the little new marigold we bought this year for the poolpond from its initial spot near the edge of the backyard bog pond to a spot under the hazelnut tree.
It's the little guy on the left of the -also new- small hasta. The big round-leafed plant beside the hasta is the big marigold from the barrel.
barrel picture again taken after I split the plant. Crazy how big!!
#pandemicPond #PoolPond #diy #gardening #pondlife

The progression of the #poolpond #backyardproject over the past 2 years. I started it on Labour Day of 2024.
The first picture is August 3, 2024 as the last true “before times” picture. We started by demolishing the old shed… but the pond work itself didn’t start until Labour Day that year!
We’re getting there! It is almost starting to look like a backyard again :)
A few important things remain from the original yard. The fence, which was mostly just renewed and heightened for bylaw, not changed. The hazelnut tree, which has dealt wi5 all the earthly disturbances surprisingly well. It is full of nuts again this year. The rhubarb, which is impossible to kill if we wanted to and is as big as ever, and the chicken coop and run, which has been moved around but will find a spot eventually.
#diy #patience #gardening #landscaping

back into the trenches, literally. I'm continuing to get the trenching done for electrical, internet, and plumbing out to the shed.
If anyone sees this who has experience with home fiber networks I would be interested in their advice. Our home is mostly wired with CAT5 but there are increasingly heavy bandwidth loads over the past few years.
We have 10Gb fibre to the house from Telus. I would like to gradually add a few ports of fibre to key points but it is out of my day to day networking experience.
First question would be, can I bury fibre with the electrical?
suggestions welcome.
here are some pics. I have dug this trench before, almost 20 years ago.. when we first put solar and power to the old shed. 110 and 220V circuits.
different route this time arohnd the ponds, and also more connection points for both 220 solar and 110 home. Only want to do this once every 20 years at most, so now is the time to do it all. 😝
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #networking #fibre #cat5 #gardening #home

foaming!
I cleaned out the waterfall of gunk and most of the small stones and gravel leaving only the large rocks placed as strategically as I could to leave small gaps for foaming.
1.5 cans worth of landscape foam (DAP). I think I got all of it, but water always finds a way so its probably more like 75% if I'm lucky.
Ill let it cure for 24hrs then Ill trim some of the excess and reactivate the waterfall tomorrow to see what it looks like. It should make a big difference no matter what.
#poolpond #backyardproject #diy #gardening #portalberni

impress the neighbours.
use a big level.
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #ants #anthill

ran out of steam but good progress!
the area in front of the sheds is pretty much level and I got the dirt pile down to level up to the edge of the sheds. I think another 5 or 6 loads cart loads of dirt will finish off the pile and bring then dirt up around the back of the pond!
my back was starting to complain and the sun came out so I stopped and ate black berries poking through the fence!
then I went for a swim. It felt sooo good.
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #ants #anthill

success!
checked on the pandemic pond this morning and even though it was hot yesterday it is still nearly full!
Very little evaporation loss! Looks like that woody debris on the edge of the water was the culprit.
Woot! IT troubleshooting skills for the win. 😝
#poolpond #pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting

i think the reason I have enjoyed building and maintaining the ponds so much is because they are kind of like a computer system.
Most of the time they work fine, and when they have issues, which generally manifests as "I'm losing water", it is for a clear reason.
But like computers, getting to and identifying that reason, and fixing it, is the challenge.
Over the past few days, the #pandemicpond has been losing water at an accelerated rate. In the summer, it should be able to go at least 2 or 3 days before needing a top up due to evaporation.
But these past few days it has been very low after just a day.
There has to be a leak/escape of water somewhere.
I also recently (about 2 weeks ago) changed the inlet at the top of the bog barrel to shorten the pipe and make it not stick up as tall and ugly.
Like computers... "have you changed anything recently" is a top contender for the root of the issue.
Shortening and dropping the height of the pipe increased the flow without having to increase the pump power. But that could have also caused a minor overflow on the waterfall, or raised the level of the top pond to where it might be overtopping somewhere non-obvious.
I suspect this increased flow is the main issue.
However, like all IT issues, you should cover the easy stuff first. I checked all the piping from the barrels to the waterfall to make sure there were no joints leaking or drips down the pipes.
All seems fine there. I also did a check around the perimeter of the pond to look for overtopping. Nothing there at low levels, but I have to check again when the system is full.
I wanted to cut the hose down further anyway, so I have done that. Was able to remove over 4 feet of pipe. The height hasn't changed though so the impact on flow should not be large.
Then I checked the pump itself, cleaned out its filter bag, strained the skimmer box and put it all back. Nothing untoward there either. Basically just regular maintenance.
A thought occured to me though, the main overflow for the pond is behind the skimmer. If it rains a lot or I overfill the system, it overflows there into some rocks and drains out under the garden to the sidewalk.
I wonder if when the new posts and gate were installed, the level of the overflow dropped slightly. This would give less leeway (freeboard) for the pond before it gets too low. 🤔
Re-raising the overflow would be tricky. And best done after the rains return in fall. But it is something Ill have to consider if today's investigations don't fix the issue.
I just finished refilling the pond (overfull oops... typing too much)
Time to check for overflows and seeps around the edges.
#pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting

ooo. I have a new top candidate for cause of accelerated water loss. Cedar chips.
I checked the whole perimeter of the top pond after the system filled and all was good there. But then I did a check of the bottom pond, which is steeper on the edges and harder to do, so I do it less lol.
Right away I found a problem. The flat stones had slipped slightly into the water (likely due to animal visitors over the winter). Edit: just saw a black (invasive) squirrel on the sidewalk near our house! First time. I wonder if he is the messer of flat stones and stealer of fish from the bottom pond!!
Once I reposistioned them, I realized there were a lot of cedar wood chips that had also slipped down, particularly near the skimmer box and were --- HALF IN AND HALF OUT --- of the water.
They were waterlogged.
This is bad.
Dry wood chips outside the water is obviously fine.
Wood chips floating on or sunk under the water is fine.
Any mass of woody material chips, sticks, logs, or even small gravel on the edge of the water, will act as a siphon. They suck up the water and then give lots of surface area for it to quickly evaporate. It has been a rainy July so the woody debris may have already been wet and not evaporating much, but it has been dry for a few days now, and hot the past two. Any siphoning/evaporatoon action would be supercharged.
In the case of gravel, the surface tension between the rocks can cause the edge of the water to creep uphill and also reach the top of the gravel, enhancing evaporation.
Today I found a whole mass of cedar and dirt along the edge of the pond under the flat stones on top of the liner. It was near the skimmer, likely from the gate work.
Bad news.
So I scooped it all out and up onto dry land, and to make sure woody debris can't get to the waters edge under the flat stones, I added some drainage rock along the edge. This should keep the dry and wet zones better separated!
That was just the near side edge of the bottom pond. I haven't checked the far side by the fence.
I might do that tomorrow, but there has been a lot less disturbance there over the past year, so I doubt it will need much help.
I am pretty confident I found the biggest culprit. If my hunch is right, Ill know later today and tomorrow if the water remains relatively stable. It will be hot today so there will be evaporation, but it should not need an emergency fill tomorrow.
Fingers crossed!
Bonus #poolpond content lol. The milfoil is looking very hapoy. It has settled in and the leafy fingers are vertical poking out of the water which is a good sign that they are continuing on happily in their new location. yay!
#pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting