Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
AeroGarden Hydroponic Updates. Classic 6 #1 Day 6: All 6/6 of the Basil have sprouted. Bounty #1 Day 6: All 9/9 of the Bok Choi have sprouted. Bounty #2 Day 6: 2/2 of the Rouge d’Hiver and 2/2 of the Black Seed Simpson have sprouted. The other lettuce varieties have not sprouted. Classic 6 #2 Day 6: Only the Celosia flower has sprouted. Farm 9R Seed Starting Tray, Day 5: A few more of the poppy seeds have started to germinate. Some fungus is growing on the sponges.
AeroGarden Classic-6 #1. Day 6. Genovese Basil (4/4). Thai Basil (2/2). Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)AAeroGarden Bounty #1. Day 6. Bok Choi (9/9). Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)AeroGarden Bounty #2. Day 6. Red Sails (0/2); Rouge d’Hiver (2/2), Paris Island (0/1), Deer Tongue (0/1), Marvel of 4 Seasons (0/1), Black Seeded Simpson (2/2). Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)AeroGarden Classic-6 #2. Day 6. Dill (0/1), Italian Parsley (0/1), Chives (0/1), Orange Gazania (0/1), Phlox Mix (0/1), Celosia (1/1). Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)AeroGarden Farm 9R Seed Sprouting Tray. Day 5. Row A: California Poppy (American Meadows, 2018) 1/8; Row B: Oriental Poppy (American Meadows, 2019) 0/10; Row C: Lauren Grape Poppy Seeds (Marde Ross & Company, 2020) 1/11; Row D: Hungarian Breadseed Poppy Seeds (Plant Good Seed, 2020) 10/10; Row E: Red Poppy Seeds (American Meadows, 2019) 8/8; Row F: Turkish Tulip Poppy Seeds (Waterfall Seeds, 2020) 9/10; Row G: Somniferum Blend Poppy Seeds (Seed Needs, 2020) 10/11; Row H: Red Poppy Seeds (American Meadows, 2019) 9/9; Row I: Mixed Red Poppy Seeds (American Meadows, 2019) 8/8. Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)
Daily Electric Energy Used (120.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (38.7 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Very cold out, supplemental resistance heating required to keep the house warm. Also running six humidifers and five AeroGarden hydroponic gardens. Deficit of 81.5 kWh.
Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
AeroGarden Hydroponic Updates. Bounty #1: All 9/9 of the Bok Choi have sprouted. Farm 9R Seed Starting Tray: Many of the poppy seeds have started to germinate. Some fungus is growing on the sponges.
AeroGarden Bounty #1. Day 5. Bok Choi (9/9). Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. Note, removed all but one or two plants in each position. (David J Mathre)AeroGarden Farm 9R Seed Sprouting Tray. Day 4. Row A: California Poppy (American Meadows, 2018) 0/8; Row B: Oriental Poppy (American Meadows, 2019) 0/10; Row C: Lauren Grape Poppy Seeds (Marde Ross & Company, 2020) 0/11; Row D: Hungarian Breadseed Poppy Seeds (Plant Good Seed, 2020) 9/10; Row E: Red Poppy Seeds (American Meadows, 2019) 6/8; Row F: Turkish Tulip Poppy Seeds (Waterfall Seeds, 2020) 6/10; Row G: Somniferum Blend Poppy Seeds (Seed Needs, 2020) 5/11; Row H: Red Poppy Seeds (American Meadows, 2019) 6/9; Row I: Mixed Red Poppy Seeds (American Meadows, 2019) 2/8. Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. Note fungus growing on some of the sponges. (David J Mathre)
Daily Electric Energy Used (125.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (31.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Very cold out, supplemental resistance heating required to keep the house warm. Deficit of 93.4 kWh.
Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard on a snowy then rainy day: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal. As soon as it snows, the Northern Cardinals show up. They are a lot more tolerant feeding with other birds around. Unlike the Blue Jays and Red-bellied Woodpecker.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
AeroGarden Hydroponic Updates. Classic-6 #1: Some of the Basil is starting to germinate. Bounty #1: 8/9 of the Bok Choi have sprouted. Bounty #2: Only a couple of lettuce varieties have sprouted. Classic-6 #2. Not much activity. Farm 9R Seed Starting Tray: Not much activity.
AeroGarden Classic-6 #1. Day 4. Genovese Basil (3/4). Thai Basil (0/2). Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)AeroGarden Bounty #1. Day 4. Bok Choi (8/9). Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)AeroGarden Bounty #2. Day 4. Red Sails (0/2); Rouge d’Hiver (1/2), Paris Island (0/1), Deer Tongue (0/1), Marvel of 4 Seasons (0/1), Black Seeded Simpson (1/2). Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)AeroGarden Classic-6 #2. Day 4. Dill (0/1), Italian Parsley (0/1), Chives (0/1), Orange Gazania (0/1), Phlox Mix (0/1), Celosia (0/1). Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)AeroGarden Farm 9R Seed Sprouting Tray. Day 3. Row A: California Poppy (American Meadows, 2018) 0/8; Row B: Oriental Poppy (American Meadows, 2019) 0/10; Row C: Lauren Grape Poppy Seeds (Marde Ross & Company, 2020) 0/11; Row D: Hungarian Breadseed Poppy Seeds (Plant Good Seed, 2020) 0/10; Row E: Red Poppy Seeds (American Meadows, 2019) 0/8; Row F: Turkish Tulip Poppy Seeds (Waterfall Seeds, 2020) 0/10; Row G: Somniferum Blend Poppy Seeds (Seed Needs, 2020) 0/11; Row H: Red Poppy Seeds (American Meadows, 2019) 0/9; Row I: Mixed Red Poppy Seeds (American Meadows, 2019) 0/8. Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)
Daily Electric Energy Used (87.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (6.5 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. The sun returned after a day of rain then snow. Deficit of 80.7 kWh.
Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Time-lapse videos: Day 3 of the Bok Choi seeds sprouting. Both videos are of images taken every 1 minute for 5 hours 45 minutes then displayed at 12 frames/second. I cut some of the paper retaining ring to get better visibility of the seedlings growing. During the second video, an invasive Asian Ladybeetle (Harmonia axyridis) and an invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) were caught crawling by the Bok Choi seedling.
Invasive Asian Ladybeetle (Harmonia axyridis) investigating the Bok Choi seedlings. Image taken with a Leica SL2s camera and Laowa 24 mm f/14 macro probe lens. (David J Mathre)Invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) investigating the Bok Choi seedlings. Image taken with a Leica SL2s camera and Laowa 24 mm f/14 macro probe lens. (David J Mathre)
Daily Electric Energy Used (92.0 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (34.5 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. The sun returned after a day of rain then snow. Deficit of 57.5 kWh.
Although many of the plants started in January (or last fall) in the AeroGarden Farms are nearing the end of their lifecycle, I am still harvesting tomatoes and strawberries. The strawberry plants will be transplanted outside into a Grow Tower system. This will be an experiment since some of these plants came from the outdoor Grow Towers last fall. I’m still waiting to see if the Hot Peppers and Ground Cherries will ripen indoors. They are being slow. I am not sure if this is a temperature or amount of light issue.
Strawberries grown in my indoor hydroponic farm. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 60 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 500, 60 mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)Yellow and Red Cherry Tomatoes grown in my indoor hydroponic farm. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 60 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 500, 60 mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (51.6 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (8.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of rain and clouds. A deficit of 43.5 kWh.
Weekly Electric Energy Used (403 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and meter readings. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (310 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A deficit of 93 kWh. I hoped to go net positive this week, but too many cloudy and rainy days. Numbers corrected by meter readings for the time that the Sense monitor was offline.
