Gardening!

[upstatemom]

Feb 5, 2011 7:35:53 GMT -5 @vl said:

Current estimates on INFLATION clock grown produce at 2-3 times current prices. That is... IF they will be available. Quality... not so good.
The average wage for foreign cultivators is even lower than assemblers. Growing your own in a backyard garden not only improves your finances, but it's life-enriching in more ways than can be counted.

First of March, I start some of my crops in cut-away milk cartons. Gives them about the same head start as commercially purchased ones, only you nurtured them from seedlings and know what was in the water and fertilizer.

Do you keep the seedlings in direct sunlight from windows or use lights?
I just reminding my husband about the raised beds he needs to make for me this spring.

[vl]

Indirect sunlight. The northern side of my house has several skylights. Southern would be best but I have giant trees and awnings obscuring much of it.
The most important thing... once you've started your plants indoors, you can't just expect them to adjust to outdoors in the the spring. You need to transition them. If your husband will be making raised beds, try this:
Save your plastic milk jugs for growing seedlings in. Cut away plastic so that you have the whole handle and about 2/3 of the rest of the jug. Poke holes in the bottom sides for drainage. That becomes your "planter". Save some 2 liter plastic pop bottles with caps and have him spray them black. When the days are hitting 70 and nights are more than 45, take your jugs out to one of the beds and set them side by side. Fill the spray painted pop bottles with water and put them in-between the jugs so that a bottle touches a milk jug. Cover the bed with plastic at night, take it off during the day.

Why? Those black water-filled bottles are passive solar heaters. They absorb sunlight all day and stop quick-cold effects all night. The clear plastic over the bed traps the heat. Removing it during the day stops sweating/rot/fungi and choke-off. In less that two weeks, you should see your indoor sprouts transform into hearty outdoor early-starts with the vigor for replanting.

A similar technique allows spinach to grow year-round now- north of Ohio.

[vl]

Spray your dandelions or... eat them? We spend a lot of money on weed control and we spend a lot of money on-- salad. "Spring Mix" often contains dandelion leaves! Dandelion flowers can be cultivated as an herb or used in making wine or beer. Controlling them isn't all that hard... just quarantine them to one area or better yet, bury an old bucket (make holes in the bottom for drainage) and grow them contained. Attend to them by nipping the flower before it turns into a seed ball. Harvest the leaves, leave the root and stem stump to regrow some more. It costs you-- nothing, provides a great salad component and eliminates the need for chemical assault on your lawn. Stop a lot of other unwanted plants by actually attending to them. The thistle is a pistol to pull when small (I get skin rash). Water it, watch it shoot up, cuss your neighbor for letting his go to seed and land on your lawn. Whether it's 2 inches or 2 feet, the root is about the same length. The longer stalk is easier to grasp and use to pull it out. Grab a thistle low and slide your gloved hand up a little to thwart the thorns from poking.
Anything that grows prickly, grow between your tomato plants will keep birds from pecking the fruit before you can pick it. The most important thing you will buy to attend to your garden is a great pair of leather gloves that fit well. Just about anything else can be reconstituted from waste and throw away items in and around your home.

[upstatemom]

Feb 6, 2011 7:20:11 GMT -5 @vl said:

Indirect sunlight. The northern side of my house has several skylights. Southern would be best but I have giant trees and awnings obscuring much of it.
The most important thing... once you've started your plants indoors, you can't just expect them to adjust to outdoors in the the spring. You need to transition them. If your husband will be making raised beds, try this:
Save your plastic milk jugs for growing seedlings in. Cut away plastic so that you have the whole handle and about 2/3 of the rest of the jug. Poke holes in the bottom sides for drainage. That becomes your "planter". Save some 2 liter plastic pop bottles with caps and have him spray them black. When the days are hitting 70 and nights are more than 45, take your jugs out to one of the beds and set them side by side. Fill the spray painted pop bottles with water and put them in-between the jugs so that a bottle touches a milk jug. Cover the bed with plastic at night, take it off during the day.

Why? Those black water-filled bottles are passive solar heaters. They absorb sunlight all day and stop quick-cold effects all night. The clear plastic over the bed traps the heat. Removing it during the day stops sweating/rot/fungi and choke-off. In less that two weeks, you should see your indoor sprouts transform into hearty outdoor early-starts with the vigor for replanting.

A similar technique allows spinach to grow year-round now- north of Ohio.

Thanks, I had never heard of that technique.
I would love to have homegrown spinach year round, is that kept indoors?

Just one more thing, your avatar is cool but it makes me motion sick

[vl]

I would love to have homegrown spinach year round, is that kept indoors?



Read more: notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=healthyliving&action=display&thread=1819&page=2#ixzz1DN8054el

It's grown outdoors. My understanding is that kale and spinach are fairly resistant to the cold and our milder overall winters has helped it to sustain longer.

[upstatemom]

Pat: that is a big plot, how much time do you spend a week maintaining the plot? Mine is about a quarter of that and I get overwhelmed with the weeds. I do not use any weed killer, I do not want chemicals on my garden food. I think having my husband build some raised beds might make it easier for me to maintain and it will be closer to a water supply
Our large garden plot is in the far corner of our 2 acre yard and I have to manually haul water to it

[upstatemom]

Pat- thanks, Good for you being retired and still enjoying the garden. I work part time but need to be better to schedule time to work in the garden before the weeds get too much. Last year our vacation was in mid July and thats when the garden weeks took over. THis year our vacation is later in the summer, so hopefully I will win the battle of the garden and enjoy the results.

[kadee]

I plan to plant in March, when the danger of freeze is past.

Nancy, where you live you can garden nearly year round! It only takes a little cover over things when a frost or freeze is predicted.
I know a gal near Orlando that gardens year round in raised beds.

For those of you having weed problems....MULCH...cardboard, newspapers (no colored, shiny pages), grass clippings, chopped up leaves, spent plants (shredded), pine needles. You will be adding organic matter to your soil which is a very good thing with any of those.
Once you seeds are up, mulch!

I would also plant much closer...I realize that you planted that far so you could run the tiller down it. Every time you are running the tiller you are compacting the soil and you are disturbing the mico organizisms in the soil.
Check with your local county extension agent.