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Re: [Re: Gardening Programs]

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

>Sorry, I don't care for Access much. I do most of my programming in
FileMaker Pro.

>>2)  Killer feature would be a subset database to input plant
characteristics, >as we saw them.  Height, width
(planting row distance)  Dist btwn plants (may
 not apply to sq ft)<chuckle>

>Yup, its got this too.

***Query, since many plants, i.e. carrots, are up to 36 per sq ft... and you
use a 4x4 plot.. what if I divide a 4x4 into 1x1's, put corn in two suqres per
4x4, lewaving 16-2=14 1x1's and do a 1x1 of this herb, 1x1 of that herb, 1x1
companion planting of carrots, etc???

>>4)  Plant yield per each. or per sq ft.. if preferred.
O>kay.

>>5)  I input rain and sun to my database.  Presently I mis-use Excel.

>Tell me more about this. Exactly what data do you keep track of? Every
single day whether it was sunny or how much rain you got?

***I use a wedge rain gauge, accurate at low rain levels, adequate for up to
6".

I track it with a spreadsheet, Microsoft Excel.  I can export that data or a
whole spreadsheet design, to Access, if I wish.  It self designs, then I don't
need to toally design a database, just massage it for appearance/use.  Excel
itself, is quite useful.  And the choice of science oriented folks everywhere.
 It uased to be so difficult, but it would do anything.  Others were easy, but
whenever I said to someone, just [basically] suggest an approach, they would
return an hour later and reply, "Brand" won't do that.  All I could say
was..."Oh."  Others got better.  Excel was better, and remains so, but got
easier.  It meshes with the entire microsoft series.  So why not Access?  Tell
me of FileMaker Pro.  Why this, not DBase, Access, ad nauseum... What are it's
features which make it THE correct one to use for this situation.

Don't take this as an attack.  But a query. It would seem akin to suggesting
Wordperfect.  Wordperfect does a couple things better than Word... and most
things worse.  As my old computer designer said, bill If you want to use OS2
or etc, fine.  But if you want support of your neighbor, the majority of
magazines or computer stores, shareware, or me... use Windows, love it or not.
 (Sort of like diesel having great benefits over gas... until you need to
borrow a cup.)
------------------
I also track, daily, using an $8 Sunbeam 6" outdor thermemeter, with resetable
low and hi temp indicators, hi and low.  (Note:  It is white.  I have it on
the outside frame of the kitchen - South  - window.  I "use" the high reading,
as 'this is how hot a white object will get in the sun' as a good indicator,
in MY mind, how hot I or anything else might get.  On cars, black is the
worst.  All other colors, about 'half' way between black, and white, the
coolest.  I LIKE white, as an indicator.  The thermometer is convenient.  Air
temp is important, sure, but I want to know "solar radiation" more than
daytime air temps.  THIS, is my solar radiation gauge.  So I do not shade it. 
It lets me take the weather forcast, and fine tune it for myself, locally.

And barometric pressure.  Every home gardener should own one.

Sunlight. I admit I estimate, on a linear scale, from 1 to 10.  Most sunny
days have a couple clouds, they are 7-8. Overcast, I go to darkness
quotient... it may be bright and overcast... so that's a 4-6, under four is
dark cloud days, which I have few.  It's a mental avereage, over the course of
the day.  I will eventually get a simple solar cell, and have it run a counter
of some sort, for a cumulative total.  Remember, this is copyrighted, now...
:>)  (I play with hydroponic and microprocessor stuff, pumps, timers,
numbers...)

>>It caused me to reinvent the system, before I knew it existed,
per se.  It was a 5x5 system.

>I currently have it set for 4x4 as per Mel's book, and up to 12 blocks. Are
there other configurations commonly used?

***I have only heard of 4x4 & 1x1. ( Sq Ft)
I used 5x5, because my yard is anything but square, at 45x95x55x90 rhombus. 
But it's easier for me to think of it as 10x10's, Then cut those in
halves/quarters. 4x4, fits cheap/found lumber and powers of 2 expansion.  What
else it does, I can't say.  (I use an 8' $1.29 1x2, marked in ft and half
feet, & in inches for 4 of its length, as a garden aid.)

>Katherine Wendt
DataWiz Solutions
toll-free 1-877-DATAWIZ (328-2949)
703-288-1151
thefolks@datawizsolutions.com

*Bill

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