This and That

Got started this morning about 11:00 hours.
Last night I was thinking about that nice shiny new gray aluminum screening I purchased. Then a thought hit me. Why don't I take the new screening and replace the screening in some windows that have bug holes in them. I took one window screen that is about 35 inches by about 60 inches tall and removed the screen which had a couple holes in it about the size of a dime. Used that to line the box. I will need to take back the 36 inch by 80 inch roll for exchange for a roll of screen 40 inches by 25 feet. Thirty inches is a little narrow to grab the edges when rolling in the neoprene rope that holds it in the track. I already have the tool for window screening.

When I got the container done I had another thought. I use a hand cart to haul stuff around with that has a support plate about 16 inches wide and about 8 inches deep. Always had trouble keeping stuff on the SOAB. I had a piece of leftover plywood in the garage about 2 feet by 3 feet. I cut that down to about 2 feet by 2 feet. Then I notched it to go around the two upright pipe that goes to the top of the cart. The steel base plate stuck back about one inch from the uprights. Put the plywood on the top and got my trusty c-clamp out and tightened it down. Go my drill out and drilled one hole through the plate and plywood. Run a bolt through it and put a wing nut on it. WaaLaa works like a charm. Did not even need to bungy cord the box to hold in in place. Wheeled that SOAB around to the back without any cussing.

Then I set the box in place, filled the bottom portion, put in the charcoal layer that was mixed in with the potting mix. Took the mud pan and put in about 2 1/2 gallons of my potting mix for the top portion. Read the instructions on the mushroom compost which said 4 inches compost worked into 2 inches of soil. That is a high percentage I thought. Cut open the bag and came to the WTF moment. That stuff is about the consistency of the dirt I took out to begin with and dumped on the lawn. Welll I said, I am not mixing that ratio. So I put in 2 gallons of mushroom compost with the 2 1/2 gallons of potting mix. Then I added 1 gallon of vermiculite. added the ironite and mixed it all together. Texture did not feel to bad after I mixed it all together. Put it in the container and added about 2 quarts of potting mix as I was a bit short from the level I wanted. Mixed those two quarts with the rest in the box. Transplanted a squash in it. That was it for the day. Did not get to the flowers yet.

Tomorrow I am going to take some of the top mix and put it in a clear bottle, add some water, shake it up and let it settle. See what the percentage ratio of this and that is in the mix I made up. May need to readjust for less mushroom compost after the plant is done. Not pulling that SOAB of a plant up again after all this work.

Probably plant the flowers also.