KennethT
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Posts posted by KennethT
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5 hours ago, haresfur said:
I've been looking into Arduino recently. A person I know programmed all his father's garden beds with moisture sensors and irrigation control valves.
They're very convenient. Many years ago, you'd have to spend $1000 to get an industrial controller... now you can have most of the functionality for $20, and it's much easier to program than the industrial stuff.
Using sensors and controllers can save a lot of money and water over time - many people needlessly water based on a clock schedule.
I was reading an article about new high tech farming techniques (for outdoor farms, not indoor). Many farms now used enhanced GPS and sensors to be able to robotically drive tractors and deliver fertilizer only where needed. A lot of fertilizer is wasted by mistakenly spraying the same area repeatedly as the tractor makes its rounds, and some areas don't get any at all. The new system winds up using a lot less fertilizer and has a much more even application for healthier crops.
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5 hours ago, haresfur said:
My curry leaf tree. I have to keep it in the car port during winter. It was a nicer shape until an apprentice dropped his ladder on it when he was servicing my evaporative cooler. Luckily he didn't break any pots or I would have left the kid up there.
This is amazing.. now you have me wanting to grow a curry tree!!! How did you start yours? I've heard that you can root a branch pretty easily, but have never tried... How old is this one by now?
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2 minutes ago, TicTac said:
While I agree with you on most points here, especially yields and ability to control the environment - I have to disagree with you on the flavour topic.
There are certain flavours one cannot get without soil. Especially healthy (ideally, 'living') organic soil.
One a separate topic - I am curious as to suggestions of when I should start my seeds for our outdoor garden (first year doing so, we live in Southern Ontario)...
That's why I said "when done right"... many hydro growers optimize for yield, not for flavor. The biggest problem with greenhouse grown hydro crops is the genetics they use. The best heirloom tomatoes would have a relatively low yield in a greenhouse, and would be at high risk for mold, rot and pests. Greenhouse growers have much higher costs than field growers, so they need to have high yields to make it pay. I grew a Goose Creek heirloom tomato plant in my living room - it gave the best tomatoes that I (or anyone else who tried them) had ever tasted... but I lost usually half my crop to blossom end rot, which is not atypical for heirlooms grown indoors. Most greenhouses grow hybrids that compromise flavor for disease, salt and pest resistance.
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Is there a purpose to growing carniverous plants, more than just the fun or novelty of it? I know very little about them, other than the fact that they are carniverous, as the name implies. Do they get all of their nutrients from their digestion, or do they need some from roots as well?
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54 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:
I’ve tried something very similar but still not a go. Sad really, but there you have it....Mommy cooked the heart of BS’s and in those days children weren’t excused from the table until all food was consumed....I have the same hate on for pears. 😕
My parents tried to do that to me... I was prepared to sit all night, they were not.... hehehe
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Once you get the trick, it actually goes pretty fast. I can do enough for 2 people in about 5 min. or so.
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I used to be a renowned BS hater... then, years ago, I took a cooking class with David Bouley and one of the vegetables made was "roasted brussels sprouts leaves" - which is really "sauteed brussels sprouts leaves"... You core the sprout and separate all the leaves... then on high heat, saute with salt and pepper until the leaves wilt slightly and are a bit charred - the high heat gives them a sweetness and they're not vegetal at all. It's the only way I'll eat BS now.
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I haven't been to Keen's in a few years, but I used to go once a year or so. I loved their "mutton" chop, but I was never crazy about the steak there - every time my friends ordered it (they'd usually get the porterhouse for 3), I would try a piece - it was always perfectly cooked, but always seemed a little dry.
But their appetizers and sides are good, and it's not too loud if you sit in one of the smaller rooms upstairs.
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10 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:
I'm TOTALLY lost when it comes to hydroponics!
Yields and flavor are amazing when it's done right... it's not the cheapest (especially as a small home hobby gardener) and especially compared with plunking stuff in the ground, but for me, growing indoors, it's the best - I never worry about soil borne diseases or pests and I have much more control over the health and nutrition of my plants... and you get huge yields (so your cost per harvest weight comes down), mainly due to the plant having everything it needs whenever it needs it, the consistent growing environment and lots of oxygen for the roots.
If you're interested, there's tons of info on the web... some great, some not so good...
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Been doing some experimenting with some new equipment as I get ready to try some new crops....
Capacitive moisture sensor
Buried in some soaked and drained coco coir.
You would think that it would have an extremely high moisture content - but coir has an amazing air holding capacity... The moisture content is just over 30%.
ETA: Whoops!!!! I made a major math error in the coding of my controller which is providing those readouts.... Turns out that the humidity was more like 33% and the moisture was more like 82% - which is still good air holding capacity considering that it was completely saturated.
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@Norm Matthews Nice sandwich press!
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17 minutes ago, MelissaH said:
I'm not sure which is easier: you taking a 6h flight, or me making a 6+h overland trek to NYC.
But the recipe here has flavors that seem close to what we remember eating at Xi'an Famous Foods. (We prefer the noodle version rather than the soup version, which is what this recipe is.) We use the chile oil in other things, too.
I usually get the dry version (not in soup), but I wanted something really warming last night.
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Walking 5 blocks each way in 15 degrees? Totally worth it..
Spicy cumin lamb noodles in lamb broth at Xian Famous Foods....
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I like the rooted stem for all tomato plants - I learned this when I got some starts from Laurel's Heirloom tomatoes - she recommended doing that and it created a nice big root system.
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Spindly wimpy plants has nothing to do with staying indoors, it's mainly due to a lack of light. So, it's because of staying indoors with inadequate lighting. This may have been true 20 years ago, but with today's lighting, not necessarily so.
Personally, I would never sprout seeds in soil, I don't care how "sterilized" it claims to be. I either start in paper towels or a 1.5" cube of rockwool. If possible, adjust the pH of the soaking liquid for either the paper towel or rockwool to about 5.5
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I don't know about that... I've grown genovese basil many times hydroponically indoors and it has always been extremely flavorful... I think it is more genetics dependent..
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Thai Chicken stir fry with one of my favorite herbs, grachai.
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Pea plants are climbers... They usually need some kind of trellis in the wild... indoors too...
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2 hours ago, gfweb said:
How will you assay the THC? That would be a bigger hurdle than the heating
If this was for a business, I'd say that the sample should be sent to a lab for testing. Expensive, yes, but also necessary to pass state regulations and also so you can provide accurate dosing info.
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According to the MagicalButter machine site, they recommend decarboxylating in the oven prior to using the MB machine. Evidently, that machine grinds (with an immersion blender) and steeps the butter at a set temperature for a given time.
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1 hour ago, Duvel said:
McDonalds in HK runs it’s line of “prosperity” burgers again, as a Chinese New Year-themed short term addition to their menu.
I had to bite the bullet, or better the prosperity chicken hash brown burger. It’s as bad as it sounds. Really. A sweet black pepper sauce coating a fried chicken “leg”, deboned of course. The beef version had the same sauce, yet no other ingredients. Party & sauce. No veggies, pickles, nothing ... Not to be repeated until CNY 2020 !
(I also had to augment the coke with a generous splash of Maker’s Mark. Worked ...)
Interesting - the only kind of chicken you will see in fast food other than in whole fried pieces a la KFC or Popeyes is white meat - you'd never see deboned leg meat on a sandwich.
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Chicken parang curry...
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1 hour ago, TicTac said:
Have not heard about Fluence....will have to check them out.
They were relatively recently bought out by Osram, but it seems like their product is still made and supported in the USA - their service is fantastic, as is their build quality... but, unfortunately, you get what you pay for!!!
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4 minutes ago, dcarch said:
By the time I finish making my 4 LED lights, I will have a total of 300W x 4 = 1,200 watts of light.
Looking forward to nice seedlings for the coming season.
dcarch
I hope that's for a LOT of seedlings!
A short travelblog: Spending CNY in Kyoto
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
I'll echo those thoughts - I appreciate the time spent in posting this!!! Thank you!