u/weluckyfew

Went there to pick up a few plants today and in their demonstration gardens I saw a half dozen tomato plants that looked amazing - the first three feet had been pruned of all their branches, just a thick, heavy stem. Then at the top (supported by a cage) these big, beautiful, fat tomatoes and all the branches with leaves.

Saw the same thing with the okra, you could see where numerous branches had been pruned off and the remaining ones were full of big, beautiful, healthy leaves and budding fruit.

I usually prune my a bit but this was something new - probably took off 70% of the tomato branches.

Anyone else do this? Does it work as well for you?

Bought a used chest freezer conversion with a rubber liner, so I'm not sure exactly what type of rubber this is. I have seen some warnings that ozone, unshielded UV, and certain chemicals might damage the lining. Just wondering what other people are using.

I would seal it with JB Water Weld then a few coats of pond liner - add filtration/ozone/Inkbird. Seems like I could have a pretty nice setup for around $500, unless I'm missing something

It's even garage-ready, which will help (in theory) since it will be outside in Texas heat.

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/insignia-14-0-cu-ft-garage-ready-chest-freezer-white/J2FPJKY9X5/sku/6444379?utm_source=feed&extStoreId=&ref=212&loc=MajorAppliances

Very small pond - 30" wide, 6 feet long, 18 inches deep at the deepest parts but a lot of it more like 12".

Are there any small fish that stay small and will also survive our climate? (I have a little pond heater I can put in there if it looks like it will freeze)

I have 9 small goldfish (feeder fish) my friend got me from Petsmart, but doing a little research they only recommend one or two for a pond this small.

Someone here recommended rice fish, but they have only had them a few months so not sure if they can survive our heat. Looks like mosquito fish are native, just not sure where to get some.

I'm guessing a doggy daycare would be the best bet - looks like the only indoor 'dog park' closed?

I was able to find this in my last city, but no one here carries this noodle. It's a long hollow tube, like macaroni that's 10 inches long. It's perfect for soups because the broth gets into the 'tube'.

Trying to find it online but without knowing what to call it I'm not having much luck.

From what I understand Gemma 4 is at least as capable as the best frontier model from only a few years ago. If that becomes a trend (new local-run models get released every year that are as good as the previous frontier models) does that mean a hell of a lot of companies (and almost all individual users) will just use the free local model? Sure, they won't be as good as the very latest frontier model, but won't they be good enough for a large percentage of use cases?

I'd like to learn but I haven't been able to make my schedule click with any of my friends - can a guy show up alone? Are there other single people there that you just pair up with for lessons?

Just noticed my current insurance through Progressive maxes out at $10K of coverage, and I'm about to switch to Allstate which maxes out at $2,500. I don't have health insurance, so if I get in an accident that is ruled my fault I'm screwed?

Wondering if anyone else has had this problem my coworkers is dealing with. The windshield wipers just randomly won't work. But then later or the next day, they work fine.

This started a few weeks ago. I use the old version of Reddit (just like it better) and that little icon in the upper right keeps telling me I have messages/chat, but when I click I have nothing. Sometimes it says one message, sometimes it's 20 or 30 or more. But no messages, no message requests.

Just had this discussion with a friend and thought I'd share. Garden hoses were always my nemesis - they kink, get tangled, etc. Then I switched to stainless steel hoses and never looked back. So easy to deal with they're a game changer.

Also had trouble finding a good rain wand, the first few I tried had way too much pressure and would just batter my plants. This one was perfect, nice and gentle

https://a.co/d/0gRcy4Wf

I also bought a lot of solid brass quick-disconnect so I could change nozzles or attach two hoses together without worrying about tightening them, leaks, etc

Anyone else have go-to water tricks?

EDIT: I tried doing soaker hoses and drop irrigation, but they never worked well for me. I would rather go out in the morning and hand water. Also forces me to keep an eye on all my plants so I catch any issues quicker.

My solar installer (installed 8 years ago) just quoted me three hours of labor - $300 for the initial hour and $150 for each additional.

Does that seem like a lot? In fairness, they did say "Most of the inverters we have been shipped are newer are require a little bit more labor to complete the install. If we end us swapping out the faulty inverter in 1-2 hours we will adjust the invoice", but that would still be $450 for 2 hours.

I'm in Texas.

My big concern is that it will be impossible to get replacement parts, and since there are so few of them only the dealership will know how to repair them (which raises the prospect of repairs taking months like they can with a Tesla)

I would get an older Bolt but the 2022 and 2023s I'm seeing are either high mileage or prices at $22 or $23K (which is too much when I'm seeing new Bolts with full warranties for $25K) and I want to stay away from old models because the batteries will be out of warranty in a few years (I'm checking to see if they have longer warranties due to battery replacement but the ones I'm seeing don't) which I think will tank any resale value.

That might be OK for an under $10K car, but the ones I'm seeing are closer to $15K.