Hello and welcome to The Elpy Dimension! I am your host Elpy.
My garden is located in zone 6a. It is part shade to full sun. I have 9 raised beds, 2 Greenstalks, and a whole bunch of buckets and grow bags. I have some in-ground fruit trees as well as in containers. I grow flowers, fruits, veggies, and herbs. I am a worm farmer with 4 DIY containers indoors. I also make compost outdoors. My goal with this channel is to share what I'm growing and my perspectives on the world around me. I hope to inspire, encourage, and motivate as I share this journey. There's a lot "undone" in my yarden so I've got a lot to do. My personal goal is to take action and have courage despite my workload and anxiety.
I appreciate your time and encourage you to share your thoughts and experiences. While I'm not a teaching channel feel free to ask me questions, if I don't know the answers I'm sure there's someone I can direct you to who might be able to help. I do love my YT gardening community. Take care!
Good for you! It's the simplest thing and yet every time I save seeds I feel so special. 😄 And my goodness, the amount of seeds you can save in one season is astronomical! It's like God wants us to share... 😉💜 Thanks for watching and commenting. 🙋♀️💜
You're so organized! I usually put the seeds in a pocket or a yoghurt container and then promptly forget about them. If I manage to find them in the spring, I can't identify them 😳. It's good that you're out there collecting before the birds and squirrels get them. ~ Sandra
If only you knew!! 😂🤔 I am not very organized but thank you, it is something I aspire to. The reason I am as organized as I appear is to avoid exactly what you described; that comes to me naturally. Ask me how I don't know which garlic is which variety? 🤣 I snatched some dead heads of some plants at a nursery a little while ago and folded them up in paper. I took pictures of the plants on my phone. Those pieces of paper with a little dead flower head are still in my car. Every day that passes I'm one step closer to throwing that paper away! SO it was imperative that I purchase some "coin envelopes" off Amazon instead of cutting and pasting paper like I was. 😂 Plus, these little envelopes make sharing easier. 😉 Thanks so much for watching and sharing! 🙋♀️💜
Yup, a little extra in there! I don't mind it being more on the moist side but standing water, nope not okay. It'll be good though having added that dry paper. Next go round I'll give it all a good stir and add more dry if it's still too wet. Thanks for watching and commenting. 🙋♀️
I don't harvest very refined castings (which I think are beautiful) but when they're extra mucky I make sure to stir/mix them up good and don't cover the side that needs to dry up. When I harvest I do one half or a third at a time. I get an empty bucket and remove the half that is ready to go. I make sure to have new bedding ready to add after harvesting. Another way to do it would be to harvest the dryer stuff that's ready and bring the wet stuff up to the top so it has a chance to dry out. Also I wouldn't add really really wet foods. Lastly, maybe add more dry material, like dry layers of paper (not shiny) to the very bottom. I hope I was clear. Thanks for watching, commenting, and asking. 🙋♀️ In short, you want to bring more air flow, more dry material, and less wet material.
Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? I've yet to try fried green tomatoes. I've been eating my green tomatoes (the Green Zebras) fresh and freezing some. These chilly nights definitely are speaking loud and clear. I'm looking at all my peppers like, come on guys! Lol. Thanks for watching and commenting. 🙋♀️
Keep them coming!!! I love your garden!!! That ground hog trying to rain on your parade, smh!! For some reason I like seeing praying mantis but won't get close. One year one stayed on my window. I was able to observe it the whole day. It left a sticky residue, probably for other bugs. Thanks for sharing!!
Aw thanks so much Hudson, I really appreciate that. Yeah good ole Chuck has sure given me problems but I've managed him, assuming there's only one at this time! I heard someone the other day say they've been bit by a Praying Mantis!!! That might freak me out. Lol. How cool that it stayed on your window, wow that had to be amazing. Thank you for watching and chatting. I appreciate you. 💜🙋♀️
LP so glad you started making more YT videos, remember talking about this with Broke on Diva’s live, I am glad you said the lack of consistent water can interfere with the plant accessing the calcium that could already be in the soil. Saving folks from dropping more fertilizer.
Thank you very much, I really appreciate that. Yes despite it being a common topic a lot of people still believe BER means there's not enough calcium in the soil. I know that's what I first believed. When you know better, you can do better, so I had the hose out! Thanks for stopping by and chatting. 🙋♀️💜
Hello Coach, thank you! I have been very fortunate for my tomato harvests that's for sure. I was also very fortunate that this appears to be the extend of the Blossom End Rot. You can be certain I got to watering them. In fact, I need to again tomorrow. Thanks for watching and commenting. 🙋♀️💜
Hello! Not really a big deal considering that was the only tomato I found with that tiny bit of rot. It was a nice wake up call to get the hose out. I feel fortunate not to have found more. I also feel very blessed to have received the rain we have. Thanks for visiting and commenting. 🙋♀️💜
Hello Charlotte, thank you very much for watching and commenting. I appreciate your input. I am definitely prone to overfeeding however you might be pleasantly surprised to see the results in the latest video which I recorded on Friday, 30 August, nine days after the previous feeding, the one you saw in this video. I know I was! Again, thank you for your time. I hope to see you again. Take care. 🙋♀️
@@MonzGary They are quite hardy little creatures aren't they!? You know I don't exactly know. Perhaps a combination of factors. I would provide large feedings then not check back in for maybe a month. It was never so so dry that I could blame that. There were times it was slightly too wet but not crazy. I have always overfed and I've always had mites. I almost wonder if all factors combined could have given the mites a leg up to outcompete?? For the longest it was a healthy population. Your comment makes me want to go back to old pics and see if I can pick up on something. Thank you for watching, commenting, and asking. 🙋♀️
Greedy groundhog! I didn't know they ate milkweed, why am I not surprised LOL When I had an infestation years ago, I would see them leisurely strolling across my front yard, moseying by on my patio, etc.
@@keyphabenyisrael3219 I didn't either but sure enough they seem to love it. Nor did I know they would pull down my 6ft Okra plants to eat the leaves. Apparently they eat seasonally. 😕 You had an infestation? 🫣 This big one (probably two) is crawling up, over, and into more than it used to. Darn near getting stuck in beds surrounded with hardware cloth. 🤦♀️ I didn't realize Groundhogs headbutt as a method of escape. I have childish moments where I take their attack on my garden quite personally. 😅😭🤔 Thanks for watching, supporting, and chatting. 🙋♀️
@@theelpydimension This is my 1st year growing okra, I so wish I had started growing it years ago! Next year okra will take it's place with peppers, onions, tomatoes, Swiss chard, green beans, & peas/cowpeas in my top tier (goal: produce so many you can't eat them all) category LOL. Yes, the groundhogs were really bad here in 2022. I waged war on them for 2 years. in 2024 I haven't seen one (or evidence of one), but now it's my dad's turn to go into Elmer Fudd mode, & he lives walking distance from me.
I understand your feelings towards okra. The first year I grew one plant in a grow bag. It only ever produced one pod at a time. I believed I'd have to grow many plants to get a practical harvest. Last year I grew a couple of plants in a raised bed and discovered just how they actually can grow. Even then this year I've seen them take off and I know I haven't really witnessed how magnificent they can grow and produce. I hope to actually pickle some next year. 🤞 For two years you waged war? Geez. I bet it feels good not to have them around this year except that you know they're down the street with your father. I am grateful for the years I had without these (cute) disrespectful creatures. But you're proof that we can win! Lol. Thanks for sharing. 🙋♀️
It's been many decades since I've seen a walking stick in my yard, & it's probably been almost 20 years since I've seen a praying mantis. I would be as thrilled as you were to see one! I'm tempted to check online to see if anyone is selling the egg sacks so I can introduce them into my garden!
@@keyphabenyisrael3219 So you know exactly how I feel! Ironically I just saw one somewhere else the day before. It's been a very long time since I've seen one though maybe not as long as it's been for you. Now you have me wondering when last I saw a Walking Stick 🤔. Might be a good idea to see if you can get some egg sacs. I hope this becomes a regular (yearly at least) sighting. Thanks!
Happy to share! Thanks for being interested. It can be a fun little adventure checking in to the worm bins. This population is doing well so that makes it even more fun to check in and feed more. Thanks for watching and commenting. 🙋♀️💜
Hi FrugalMama, thank you very much. They're Sloggers. I've had another pair for the last year that land below the ankle and I love them. I got these for my birthday and love them too! It's nice they have more coverage. Hopefully you don't find any of these in your space but they are making their way around the country. I love that you too see their beauty despite their negative impact on the environment. Worms are beautiful in their own right. 😉 Thank you for watching and commenting, I appreciate you very much. 💜🙋♀️
Wild eh? It's so crazy how they slither across the ground like they do. I've heard they can "jump", spring up quite high though I've yet to see any impressive Olympics. Always seems like their best moves happen off camera. 😂🤔 Thanks for watching and commenting. 💜🙋♀️
Cool right? Little baby snake-like non-snake snake worms! 🤣🤣 If you live anywhere they're invasive (in all the US that I'm aware) then catch and kill! Thanks a lot for watching and commenting. 🙋♀️
I know you love some pepper varieties! They're slow growing but I'm grateful to have any. Go figure I (not some disrespectful creature) broke a healthy branch (with fruits) off one of my Jimmy Nardellos. 🤦♀️😣 I will do an updated video sooner than later as some of the Jelly Bean peppers are starting to ripen, oh and some Lunchbox. 😄 Thanks so much for watching and commenting, I appreciate you. 🤦♀️💜
I can't help myself, there's so many options out there! I didn't know how big the world of peppers is until 2-3 years ago. Since learning more I've wanted to increase my tolerance at least a little bit so I can try more. But as a gardener, I'm sure you know well the feeling. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. 🙋♀️💜
I thought I had a sufficient number of sweet pepper varieties to keep me happy, but I don't think I'll be able to resist getting lipstick & lesya (& corbaci?!) varieties to see how they compare to the Jimmy Nardello that is producing like crazy for us this year, as they did last year. I made the executive decision last year to increase the # of Jimmy Nardello plants from 3 to 6, +1 I put in the new BACK back yard garden as part of my expansion project/experiment this year just to see what it would do. It isn't happy, it has just now started ripening one of the few fruits it's set on while the other plants have been cranking out dozens of peppers for months now. I think I crowded too many okra. onions & ground cherries into the kiddie pool I put it in.
We always think we're set until we see something new. Lol. I can't tell you how many times I've said, okay that's it, no more seeds. Then my eyes were opened to the pepper world and I was amazed. I've heard of Lipstick but not lesya or corbaci but if they're comparable to Jimmy Nardello I'm definitely interested! It makes sense to grow more of those because they are very sweet and delicious. I always get myself into trouble wanting to "try something new" but there's only so much space. Funny, I have a back, back yard garden too. 😄 That was my first expansion. I'm so impressed with your pepper production, dozens for months now?! 😳 I believe you told me before you start your peppers in March. Remind me please, when do you plant out? Do you actually wait for your last frost or tempt fate? Sounds like a worthy experiment to have learned how they fare in the back-back. I over-crowded my Okra as well. I resisted recording a video today of what happened to my two almost 6ft (I'm guessing) Okra plants. Hint: groundhogs pull stuff down. It was suggested to me that my Okra have blight due to over-crowding. I believe that's true. But other than those two issues, they were about to take off. 😭😭 I'm very curious about this kiddie pool you have though with okra, onions, and ground cherries. Are they producing much? What signs of over-crowding are you seeing? Thanks so much for watching and having lengthy chats with me, i do appreciate it. 🙋♀️
@@theelpydimension I put in 6 okra plants, 4 pepper plants, & 2 ground cherry plants in the kiddie pool. 3 okra plants are full sized & productive, 1 is a bit smaller & less productive, 1 is smaller & less productive still, & 1 is totally stunted, probably only produced 1 pod & now looks like it may be dying. The Jimmy Nardello pepper plant is stunted & only has 2-3 fruit on it, 1 is finally starting to ripen, it's shaded out. Of the 3 bell types 2 are somewhat small yet produtive, 1 is totally stunted. The ground cherry plants have grown long almost vine like & flopped over but they are very healthy, producing a lot of those nasty little things. Apparently the critters don't agree with my assessment of the fruit, because as soon as they fall off with the brown husk something is taking them LOL. I purchased 5 Funsicle® 59" Children's Pools from Menards, they're on clearance for $9.99 right now at Tractor Supply, but they are hard to find in stock. I paid about $16 each for mine back in Spring.
Wow that's impressive number of plants for that space though like you say they're not all performing great. It's still a great experiment in my eyes. I likely would have packed them in as well. I see the pool is only a little deeper than 11". And you had to tell me where they're on sale. 🤣🤔😳😂 It's tempting... How neat that the Bells are productive. I've only tried to grow Bells a couple of times with limited success, meaning I didn't get A LOT of fruit from them. Do you think the Nardello doesn't like the depth or more so the issue of shading? Thanks so much for sharing! I'll let you know if I head over to TSC!!! 😄🙋♀️
They're on their way that's for sure! This video is from two weeks ago so actually things are a little farther along at this point. I couldn't resist the urge to upload this despite it being older.😂🤔 So things are a little farther along now. I really need to feed more. Lol. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. I hope you're recovering well from your surgery. 🙋♀️💜
Yes you should! It's a very interesting and satisfying hobby (?), method of composting. Plus, you get to harvest your own soil amendments! Thanks for watching and commenting.🙋♀️
Wow. This reminds me of my grandfather's worms. He used deep freezers instead of bins. I would go and play with the worms until he had enough of me messing with them 😂. Keep up the great work LP.
@@TheEducatedNatural That sounds like an awesome visit to Grandpa's house! 🤩 I've seen people (online) use old bathtubs and freezers and whatever works. How cool! And how fun to play with ALL THOSE worms! Thanks for sharing that memory. And thank you kindly for the visit. 🙋♀️💜
They have a mind of their own no doubt! 😄 I hope you do grow them. Their vines are so dainty and fragile looking but once they get going they're gone! The fruits have a nice crunch to them. They taste like cucumber but with a little bitter or sour to them, like a little bit of lemon. I will definitely continue to grow them. While they grow wild like cucurbits like you know, they're so small that even two plants doesn't overwhelm like one cucumber with much bigger leaves. I can't wait to taste the ones I have pickling in the refrigerator. If I like them that's just one more reason to grow them and maybe 3 next year. Thanks for watching and chatting. 🙋♀️💜
Awesome! Aren't they cute plants? The baby fruits are so adorable. 😄I look forward to hearing (seeing a video 😉) what you think about them. They're fun. Thanks for watching and commenting. 🙋♀️💜
