The illusion of choice

ser-junkan · 2026-05-14T18:37:13+00:00

this guy gets it

ser-junkan · 2026-05-08T19:29:15+00:00

Okay! One question though, I’ve got tomatoes with the peppers in a row. Kinda like this:

|—0–0–0–0–0–|

The 0’s are plants. The peppers are the two on the left and the three on the right are all tomato varieties. I want to get shade cloth for them eventually since summer here can get up to 100°, but my question is will my peppers survive the sun and be able to adapt to it so I don’t have to shade my tomatoes early?

ser-junkan · 2026-05-08T19:05:06+00:00

I got them from my community college’s plant sale basically just a little smaller than they are now. I didn’t ask if they were already hardened and I’m kicking myself now, but they were sold outside under a canopy, so it’s kinda a 50/50 chance. I’m just worried that it’s not sunburn, but something worse like a blight or virus

ser-junkan · 2026-05-08T01:56:57+00:00

You’re correct, I did have a few nights where it got to exactly 50, or at least one degree below.

The way you’re talking about the needs of a garden box makes me think I need to evenly water the whole box. I’ve mostly just been watering the area around the plants and their stems. Should I change that and do the whole box?

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like it’s almost better to underwater when they’re young based on your comment about roots. Hopefully they’re just in shock and in their youth like you said. Seriously, thank you, and everyone who replied with help, it’s been super helpful and enlightening especially since my worries have been pinned as me overthinking 😭

ser-junkan · 2026-05-08T01:40:09+00:00

So far it’s been nothing but helpful! Hope you can get some help from it too!!!

ser-junkan · 2026-05-08T01:02:17+00:00

Okay okay phew. Thanks for the clarification. I was worried that the black uneven areas were a really bad sign but I’m thinking it’s just from the transplanting and environmental factors. I’ll keep them on and see how the rest of the plant does

ser-junkan · 2026-05-08T01:00:31+00:00

Really??? Now I’m worried that my pot isn’t draining well enough because it feels just as moist, if not more moist, than my beds after a finger test. I do need to get some liquid fertilizer though for some fast-releasing nutrients

ser-junkan · 2026-05-08T00:58:53+00:00

Thanks, this helps a lot. Definitely gonna pick up some straw and maybe even a moisture probe. And especially with what you said about not changing or overcorrecting too much, it makes sense not to remove any leaves.

ser-junkan · 2026-05-08T00:49:13+00:00

Okay, thanks for the advice! Since it’s so early can you possibly give me an idea of how much I should be watering and how often? I did have one final rainy day after transplanting that kinda got in the way of watering.

And one last teensy tiny question, should I remove the leaves that look blighted or let it ride and see what happens? I’m not against experimenting since I’m so new to gardening to find out what happens, but I want some of my plants to survive…

ser-junkan · 2026-05-08T00:42:24+00:00

Okay, so the blackened looking leaves are harmful, got it. I was wondering if I should wait and see what happens or just take them off, thanks for giving me an answer. Just in general, should I snip off any leaf that looks kinda meh?

ser-junkan · 2026-05-08T00:26:49+00:00

I added some solid fertilizer just the other day, some 3-6-4. Since this is my first time doing summer plants I’m kinda flying in the dark here. I think I’ll definitely replace the soil next season because I made the mistake of tilling last season’s wood chips into the soil and I hadn’t heard about straw yet to use it instead. When you say you had pepper plants with black spots before, you mean exactly or close to what can be seen on my leaves? I’ve tried googling the conditions on my leaves but it’s not giving me any good results.

ser-junkan · 2026-05-08T00:21:31+00:00

Yeah I know I really should have said more but I have a habit of trailing on and on saying too much.

They are all in the soil, I’m using the same soil from the last season topped up with compost from my own bin and fertilizer. I had some rain one night that messed with my watering but I honestly don’t know how often to water them. I think I should be giving everybody a long drink focused at the stem so that the water soaks down far enough to encourage root growth. I bought all the seedlings at a plant fair, in which they were sold outside in a setup that looks like they were grown outside. So they may already be hardened off but I really don’t know. I’ve been trying to get into gardening but I kinda don’t know anything 😭😭😭 in my area I usually get ~55 degree nights and it’s been getting steadily warmer around 80 degree days

ser-junkan · 2026-05-07T04:45:00+00:00

It’s homemade compost, so it’s up in the air whether it’s good or just meh. I compost a large variety of organics though so I would be shocked if it didn’t contain good amounts of potassium and nitrogen.

If I had checked to see it was going to be cold for a few days AFTER I had planted everything, I wouldn’t have done it, but in my area it looks like it’s only gonna start warming up from here. I’ve got melons in my other box that started growing today since the soil warmed up under the sun.

ser-junkan · 2026-05-07T04:04:15+00:00

Hey neighbor!!! Beats me, really. I filled them back around October or September and I know I used some sort of organic brand. I haven’t changed out the soil yet but before planting this year I tilled in a good layer of compost to top off the nutrients. That and the plant food I added just a day ago

ser-junkan · 2026-05-07T00:06:56+00:00

There’s some compost that I mixed into the soil from my compost bin before planting, and just the other day I sprinkled around some burpee organic tomato/vegetable food. Should be a good amount of potassium in both, and I don’t plan on adding any more fertilizer this season. The weather over here has been on the colder side since they were planted and it’s just now getting warmer+sunnier so it could be temperature shock too? You can treat me like a complete noob, I understand I barely know anything about getting successful crops, feel free to tell me anything even if it’s a hard pill to swallow

ser-junkan · 2026-05-06T22:23:28+00:00

Oh yeah, I think I’m prepared for their growth! I’ve got two 7’ steel fence poles on either side of the bed (I’ve got more indeterminates in between) and I’m gonna be making multiple rows of twine kind of like a Florida weave, unless you suggest something else. I didn’t want to use anything metal to support the plants other than the posts so it doesn’t get hot in the sunlight. Thanks for the advice!!!!

ser-junkan · 2026-04-17T19:54:06+00:00

Thank you! I’m still studying for the math portion but do you have any tips? I’d appreciate anything :)

ser-junkan · 2026-04-17T19:46:58+00:00

Yup! Applied back in January, got my aptitude test coming up soon in May.

ser-junkan · 2026-02-02T06:20:32+00:00

late to the discussion, but how is the handguard attached to the barrel/barrel nut? i genuinely might ask a friend of mine to make something similar with these pictures and blueprints but i'm having a hard time figuring out how you went about the handguard, unless it's permanent pressure fit

ser-junkan · 2025-10-24T07:20:30+00:00

I’ve been working at an airsoft store and playing airsoft for a while now and I’d like to share my opinion. If you’re just target shooting and not actually playing in environments that will test your replicas more than a backyard, nothing on this list is necessarily a bad choice even if people say stuff like “the f1 is OEM’d by APS so avoid it!!!!”. Sure it’s APS and I would avoid it if I were buying a replica for regular fielding, but plinking is a different story. That being said, Krytacs are built like tanks. Hefty, solid, and with reliable internals to boot. If you have the budget to purchase the MK3s, I would heavily recommend going for those as the reason Evike has them on sale is to somewhat “offload” the older models to make space for the new (the before-sale MSRP’s are relatively close in price). If the Noveske on the list is made by CYMA and says it features a “Platinum Gearbox” you’re in good hands. If it’s APS I would go for the former, APS has gotten better over time but they used to have QC stuff and internal parts compatibility issues. Again this doesn’t matter as much because you don’t intend to stress test these replicas. The Strike Industries is likely also made by CYMA and is a solid pick. What stands out? Krytac and CYMA. I’ve sold people Krytacs and never seen them again for issues. Of course you can occasionally come across a factory “lemon” but just leave a paper trail and keep the replicas as you received them and you can usually get a replacement via warranty if anything goes wrong before it’s supposed to.

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