The Simple Okie Drip System

I've planted 4 tomatoes plants (Pink Brandy Wine, Sunrise Bumble Bee, Amish Paste, and Yellow Pear), in one of my raised garden beds with approximately 15 to 20 seedlings to plant somewhere else in the garden or in pots. 

This planting season, I've decided to install a simple Okie drip system (I decided on the name of the drip system) to help the tomato plants in the raised bed as a test; to see how well they do with this system. 

You heard right, a simple Okie drip system……here’s how it’s done. You’ll need plastic bottles like water bottles or soda bottles (recycled ones).  A sharp knife, drill, drill bit (small size), and something sharp to cut and drill on…..I used a kitchen cutting board. 

The first thing you want to do is cut the bottom off of each bottle like this.

Next you want to take each lid and drill holes in them.  These holes will allow the water to flow through to the roots of each plant.  If you drill a couple of holes (2 to 4), the water will drip slowly and if you drill 6 to 8 holes in each lid, the water will drip faster to the roots of each plant. 

Secure the lids on each bottle.

Dig a hole next to your tomato plant and place the bottle lid first in the hole.  Make sure your soil is around the bottle like this.

Fill the bottle with water daily, the roots of the plant will take the water when needed. 

This process will be used as a test only in the one raised bed with the tomatoes to see how it works.  The rest of my garden will be watered with the rain barrel and sprinkler system.

Speaking of rain, are you getting some in your location?  Or are you getting snow still?  I know one person who’s getting snow, Mama Pea. She resides up North, where it gets pretty cold, and snows in May.  Check out her blog.  She loves to garden, enjoys quilting, and has a great sense of humor.  When you drop by her blog, tell her I sent you, and let her know I said it’s snowing here in OklahomaJ.

Garden Time, & Soup's On

We are gradually increasing the size of our garden.  Evidence of the expansion started with moving the fence out an additional 10 feet in one direction, and 37 feet in another (shown in my previous post).   

At the northern end of the expansion, I placed several tires off the side; specifically for planting Yukon Gold (small) potatoes.  Instead of digging into the ground, I just laid out brown paper, lined up my tires, placed soil, mixed with compost and peat, inside the tire rim, then took my potato slips and placed them randomly throughout the piled soil in each tire, covered each slip with soil, and then threw some straw on the top to help shade the soil.

This morning, while checking the garden to make sure everything was okay from last night’s thunderstorm, I noticed several potato vines already popping out from under the straw.  It was time to layer a little more straw to protect the vines from too much heat.  

Bulldog Man built me another 4X8 foot above ground garden box, and setup two feedlot panels for a quick and easy trellis.  I believe I’ll be planting one of several different types of green beans in this box.  

 

 

Instead of taking our old fence to the dump, we decided to recycle it by creating cylinder type planters lined with bamboo.  By my next post, we should have those cylinders made and in place to take a picture. 

Fencing is sharp after cutting it, Bulldog Man was nicked.

Here’s an updated picture on my onions planted in one of the larger garden boxes.  Also at the end of this box are several asparagus growing.

The lettuce is also taking off; I’m contemplating adding spinach in between my lettuce rows.

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My Phal schilleriana orchid, also known as the “Pink Butterfly” has flowers blooming on it.  This is my first orchid; I’ve had it for several years, and haven’t yet killed it.  

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The last time I roasted off a ham, and made my own lunch meat, I kept the end pieces, and threw them in the freezer to use in a soup or maybe even potatoes a gratin.    Today, I pulled those ends out of the freezer and homemade Navy Bean soup in my crock pot.  Here’s the recipe if you’re interested:

Navy Bean Soup (Made in Crock Pot)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves

½ onion chopped

4 celery stalks chopped

2 large carrots chopped

1 pound bag navy beans

¾ cup of diced ham

6 cups of water

1 teaspoon rosemary

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

Salt to Taste

Pepper to Taste

 Directions

Pour olive oil in crock pot. Throw in garlic cloves whole, chopped onions, celery, carrots, ham, rosemary, paprika, thyme, rosemary bay leaf, and navy beans (after cleaning your beans and removing sticks, and rocks). Add 6 cups of water, salt, and pepper to taste.

Cook for 4 hours on high. Remove the bay leaf. Then take a spoon or potato masher and mash ½ cup to 1 cup of soup depending on how thick you want your broth.  Then serve up!!!