Welcome!!!

If you stumbled among this site, "Evelyn’s Twigs, Thyme and Stranger Things Gardens" is a collection of journal entries that I have kept on my computer for years, and have now decided to post. The journal contains my successes and failures with my favorite selections of plants. I'm talking about more than 50 years of caring for and living with green things. Not everything is here. More of it is learned and store in my head. However, here I will share facts about each plants, my research, as well as my personal and gathered tips on their care. I was not planning to post my houseplant and backyard journals online, so editing them for errors was not a priority to me. This being the case, perhaps, one day I will correct all the spelling and grammar errors in both of them. We would not want people to think I did not know better, when I was only being lazy. Again, no apologizes. It is what it is for now.

Sunday, January 25, 2026

How My Indoor Hydroponic Garden is Growing

 I am posting these portions of the journal, because it is easier to see my process in my indoor hydroponic farming.

Sunday, January 25, 2026

 

I could not sleep tonight, so I got up and put my new hydroponic tower together. I was surprised at how easy it was when I had all the part ready for use. The light cage is not perfect, because I cut one of the PVC pipes I am using for center support of the light cage a couple inches too shot but it workable. In fact, it looks great and by doing it by myself I saved more than ½ to ¾ of the cost of one its size that is pre-made and with the entire accessories picture here. 

 

MY 50-POD DIY HYDROPONIC TOWER SYSTEM

California Wonder Peppers and Pak Choy seedlings

 I will transfer these California Wonder Peppers and Pak Choy seedlings into this tower later today, I will also seed some collard greens in the top 20 pods as well. With 50 pod openings I should be able to seed a nice variety of plants, but I will wait and see how well these plants do.

 

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

 

Today, I seeded the two trellis hydroponic systems with the new Bush cucumber seeds. I seeded one seed per plant bowl. I have had two other types of cucumber seeds and tried growing both; however those seeds, while they were vining plants and flowered well, many of the flowers failed produced cucumbers. Those that did have tiny cucumbers got infested with the white flies. Since then, I have gotten rid of all the infested plants and cleansed everything the plants would d come in contact with. I have a vegetable and fruit based insecticide, as well as bottle Neem oil. So far, I have not seen a re-infestation of the flies. Just in case, the flies do try to return, I also have yellow sticky sticks I can put in difference areas of the rooms. They love the color yellow, so they will flow the stick wherever they or placed.

 

I also divided each of the two baby eggplants into a system of their own since they grow very large. I then took put the kale leave from its system, because the seeds did not germinate. I have not decided what seeds to put in their place yet, however, on Sunday I did seed more of the Amaranth seeds after reviewing the video of my one of my resources., and learned, like lettuce and greens Amaranth plants are easy the grow and are  harvested in the same manner.

 

I got my second hydroponic tower, except this one didn’t come with the lights or the air pump. I already have lights for it and will get the aeration air pump when I am ready the seed of vegetables. I am thinking of keeping the mustard greens in my first tower, and using the new tower for the collard greens. It has 50 pod holes, which is 20 more than the other tower, so I will probably seed 30 collard green seeds in the upper 30 pods and the lower 20 pod will be used for smaller, like the Pak Choy, because grow straight like stalks of celery. In fact 1and because it taste, Pak Choy has been said to be a good substitute for celery. Of the five Pak Choy seeds I seeded four have germinated and now have grown their third leaf. I will leave them in the smaller hydroponic system for and will move to the second hydroponic tower once it is completely setup.

 

In order to set the tower up I purchased the following additional items:

 

·         Qty 1 Salvia 10 Pcs White PVC Pipe DIY Projects Sch40 Furniture Grade for Home, Greenhouse, Garden, Farm, Workshop (1/2 Inch,4 Ft)

 

·         Qty 1 BN-LINK 24-Hour Plug-in Mechanical Timer, Heavy Duty Outlet Timer Indoor with 15-Minute Intervals, 3-Prong Plug for Aquariums, Grow Lights, Hydroponics, Indoor Lighting, ETL Listed

 

·         Qty 1 20-Pack 1/2" 4 Way PVC Fittings, Furniture Grade Pipe Fittings 4 Way for SCH40 PVC Pipe, UV Resistant, Pipe Connectors for All DIY Structure and Frames

 

·         Qty 1 Pawfly Aquarium 15-40 GPH Compact Air Pump Quiet Oxygen Aerator Pump with Air Stone/Nano Bio Sponge Filter Airline Tubing and Check Valve Accessories for 3-20 Gallon Buckets and Fish Tanks 

 

·         Qty 4 T8 LED Grow Lights 4FT Seed Starting Full Spectrum Lighting 160W(4 × 40W)

 

Finally, and since it has been nine days, I seeded systems I fed all the new seedlings with the recommended amount A& B nutrients, as well as a 5ml of  FoxFarm Grow Big Hydro Organic Liquid Fertilizer, Plant Food with Micro Nutrients for Hydroponic Systems for an added booster. I have always worked for my plants in the past.

 

Sunday, January 18, 2026

 

I fed and watered all the sunroom plants, including topping off the hydroponic tower tank. I also picked more of the water cress and mustard greens. The greens were then rinsed and frozen in a 2 ½ gallon baggie, and the water cress was added to salads. Picking the mustard greens leaves allowed the collard green seedling to grow more.

 

Fresh Picked Mustard Greens

Toothpicks between the hole are for locating the seeds
 
Five Days After Picking of Mustard Greens

 

Monday, January 12, 2026

 

Yesterday morning I removed all the old tomato plants, and seeded four more, they are two Tiny Tim seeds in one hydroponic system, and in the other are two K2 Golden Cherry tomato seeds, which I got when bought a variety pack of seeds. I was probably getting the mustard seeds in that pack. In any case, I hope the K2 Golden Cherry tomato seeds and as easy to grow and care for as the Tiny Tim seeds.

 

Today, I peeked at the seed pods in the systems that I added the replacement part, and the lettuce and Amaranth seeds have germinated, but the kale in still a no show at this time.

 

In addition, I divided the Amaranth seeds seedling into four pods, instead of the two pods. I also removed the extra seedling in the pal choy pods making it three plants in all. The catnip is coming up as well. The peppers and herbs are a no show; however they take a little longer to germinate.

 

Sunday, January 18, 2026

A Statement on the Retirement of Several of “Widescreen Online Review Plus®” Websites

Hello, Darlings

By now you, my young and old faithful followers know that Widescreen Online Review Plus® Websites was comprised of many sites spanning twenty plus years. However, for me and as time passed, I recognized that my websites had expanded further than I could handle, and that the entertainment industry and those personalities responsible for trusting me to write open and honest reviews on their creative works were no longer out there. Like me, a 75 year old gal, they are either retired or no longer with us.  Understanding this, in 2025, I stop publishing articles on my major websites, and closed them up.

However, it has come to my attention that whenever, I post articles on Seven Ninety Seven "Home Of The Bargain Queen" or its blog, Evelyn’s Twigs, Thyme and Stranger Things Gardens, the privacy setting on the retired sites, My Anime Nook, Widescreen Anime Links, Widescreen Comic Review ( the three favorites of the youths), and Widescreen Online Review will be public for viewing.

As I see it, this in itself is no problem. I put a lot of time and effort onto each page of these websites over the past twenty years, so should you stumble upon them when I am posting on Seven Ninety Seven "Home Of The Bargain Queen" or its blog, Evelyn’s Twigs, Thyme and Stranger Things Gardens, feel free to read to your hearts contend with the understanding that these website will no longer be updated, and because the industry has change many of the links to other websites and videos may not exist any longer. Nevertheless, I will post this message on each of the websites and leave them open for a short period of time for the curious of minds.

 

All this being stated, you might also enjoy my current websites, is more about current events, diets (I have loads of interesting and tasty recipes), from outdoor container gardening, potted houseplants, and the newest trend, indoor hydroponic gardening, which I, and millions of other people find fascinating and rewarding, not just as a hobby but as wonderful way to supplement ones diet with homegrown vegetable and fruit during the entire year.

 

Current websites:

·         Seven Ninety Seven "Home Of The Bargain Queen"

·         Evelyn’s Twigs, Thyme and Stranger Things Gardens

·         A Catholic's Life, Anew, my faith, do not trample upon.

·         La Création De Moi!, me, me and who, me.

·         Tito's Cavern, the love of animals

·         Just Another Anti-Rip-Off Website, crime may not have a face, the evidence remains

·         Widescreen Network News, bad sh_t does happen to good people.

 

Retired websites:

·         The Woman Within, my first, and the grandmother of all my past and present websites

·         Widescreen Anime Links, I still love anime

·         Widescreen Comic Review, I still love the comics

·         Widescreen Online Review, the world is a theater

·         First Look Showcase, latest in film

 

Until next time,

 

     Evelyn, signing off.

Friday, January 9, 2026

How I Reuse My Old Countertop Hydroponic System Boxes

Wait! Don't throw that out!!

Hello, Darlings,

I believe this is s common problem for most countertop hydroponic systems users, so I hope you find the following video useful.

 

Just a few updates! 

 Green Glaze Collards new growth 01.09.2026



The Mustard greens and Watercress are growing big and strong. The Collards are in there too,. They are just too young to be seen at this stage in their growth without the zoom shot above.

 
 Until next time,

  Keep growing, Darlings 

A Widescreen Online Review Plus Article@2026 

 


 

Saturday, January 3, 2026

Hydroponic Tower System after Green Algae Attack update

 Happy Holidays, Everyone!

I'm here today with an update on the Hydroponic Tower System redo I did on 12/23/2025. If you read my previous post, you know that I had to break down and cleanse away the green algae that was growing in the tower due to the strong light entering the openings in the pods. I really debated on what to do about preventing the algae returning, and then I came up with using some "General Hydroponics GH3253 Rapid Rooter Replacement Plugs"

To fill the opening in the pods of the tower, I laid the General Hydroponics GH3253 Rapid Rooter Replacement Plug in the tower pods sideways and created holes for the seeds. After adding the Green Glaze Collards seeds in each available pod (eight in all), I moistened to plugs with nutrients. I then crossed my fingers in the hope that the seeds would sprouts. and they have done so, as you can see in the photo of the two sprouts below. 


The photo below is how the tower looks today. The older greens (mostly mustard) have recovered from being picked and are growing well.

 Finally, I brought in the Monstera plants because the sun outside was too harsh for them and to prevent vandals from further clipping their stems. The Monstera are now acting as sentinels for the two countertop hydroponic systems in the middle. The Monsteras were so large that I had to clip away some of the older stems and repot them. 


Until next time,

  Happy Holidays to All!

A Widescreen Online Review Plus Article@2026