Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the middle of a Wisconsin winter

[21hens-incharge]

The funny thing is my peat pots are the only things that did not wilt down. BUT then the other plastic is a seed starting tray with tiny pockets. I am thinking it was the size of the pots and the size of the seedlings that made mine dry out so fast.

I am not liking the peat pots a whole bunch as I know I will have to rip them off the delicate roots when I do plant things out. It was all the garden center had in stock when I went early in the season. Live and learn for sure with the little plants.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Gotcha, that makes sense. I just immediately insulted the peat pots because I don't like them. It was the tiny plastic ones. I saturate my potting soil initially when I start my seeds so the pots don't need watering for a couple of weeks sometimes. I got to stop assuming everyone does as I do.

The peat pot instructions say just plant in the ground, but I have dug stuff up in the fall and the pots are still there and haven't broken down like they claim. They would make things easier if they worked.

 

[lazy gardener]

Oh peat pots, those are Satan's planting containers, they never worked for me as they were suppose to. That would explain why they dried out so quickly. I use plastic which sometimes can get over watered, but can go longer between watering.

My peppers still haven't germinated, they do take longer than most seeds. Tomatoes come up pretty quick and grow just as quick. I start most stuff in 4 inch pots than transplant. My tomatoes I start in 4-8 inch deep pots, 3 seeds than thin and don't transplant.

Agreed. Peat pots are evil. They foster mold, damping off, dry out too quickly, and IMO, cause root bound. Not to mention, I truly hate them. Don't like them, either! One of my favorite planting containers is the good old styrofoam cup. IMO they work so well because they insulate the soil.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Lots of times I have purchased plants that are in peat pots and found that they do not break down. Even in my compost bin they are still in chunks that are recognizable a year later.
I have tried soaking them in water and letting them sit in a warm window just to see if they begin to break apart as an experiment. I found that they hold together far to well.

Maybe I should try the good ole red solo cups lol. My grandma always used those with great success.

 

[politicalcenter]

I have hundreds and hundreds of plants started now so watering is a constant chore. I use a humidity dome turned upside down and when I pot up my plants in four inch pots I let them sit in water until I get my next bunch potted The water wicks up and saturates the soil. I then mist the tops of the pots and put them up. I use plastic pots and mix my own soil.

 

[politicalcenter]

PS.I hate peat pots too.

 

[lazy gardener]

Perhaps we need a "I HATE PEAT POTS" club.

 

[limited25]

I have hundreds and hundreds of plants started now so watering is a constant chore. I use a humidity dome turned upside down and when I pot up my plants in four inch pots I let them sit in water until I get my next bunch potted The water wicks up and saturates the soil. I then mist the tops of the pots and put them up. I use plastic pots and mix my own soil.

Hi, How do you mix your own soil? I'm in Oklahoma with very sandy soil, but seems like over the years we get way too much rain in the spring (hasn't happened yet this year). We have gophers that you just can't get rid of and they tunnel everywhere. The rain hits the gopher hole and causes lots of erosion (even to the point of showing all the roots of 15+ year old crepe myrtles planted along the side of our property) and we have to have several truckloads of dirt brought in to repair. So, there is probably a lot of different pH, levels, etc.

Tried composting but have mostly blackjack trees (a scraggly oak tree) and they just never composted. After 5 years these leaves were not broken down and I was starting to think they were going to petrify someday. Kept reading composting articles and doing what they said but it just didn't work. After 5 years I found an article some guy wrote that said if you have these kind of leaves, that you probably didn't believe composting worked (but it also didn't have any suggestions of what to do with those leaves). Get quite a bit of grass over a year mowing (have one acre) but not a lot of stuff to mix with it to break it down. I do have 5 chickens, so have some wood shavings, and some chicken poo.

Last year I decided to try some organic soil to grow some vegetables and bought 5 or 6 bags. Corn grew about a foot tall, tomatoes plants grew huge but didn't give hardly any tomatoes, lettuce grew, got chard, and I guess the green peppers did the best. Somebody told me my tomatoes didn't grow because of too much nitrogen and not enough phosphorous .... but if that was organic soil, why couldn't I trust that it had the correct amounts of "whatever" in it? To be fair, it did rain like crazy and I had to put whatever was in pots in a wagon and kept taking it to the patio when it got too much rain. I did buy some stuff that you mix to the soil, and planted onions to that garden and got the biggest and nicest onions I have ever grown. Did write down what I used, but right now don't know where it is.

Anyway, if I had to buy my stuff to make my own soil, what would you recommend? Want to grow vegetables in pots and in raised beds.

 

[politicalcenter]

It is real simple. I buy bulk peat moss in the big bails and put it in my wheelbarrow. I then add some course sand for drainage. It comes to about a shovel full of sand or so per batch. Just use enough for drainage. I then add about a cup of lime and if I have it some dry manure or compost. Mix it well before you add water. If you don't have manure or compost mix some miracle grow ..,.very weak...with your water. Here is the trick....add some cheap dish washing detergent to your water so the peat moss will wet. Pour the water over the mix in the wheelbarrow and let it sit a few minutes before mixing. Mix like brick mortar and add more soapy water as needed. You want the mix to drain ....in a pot I like the water to go out the bottom just about as fast as you pour it in. The soap doesn,t hurt anything.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If you receive too much rain during the growing season it can wash out nutrients, especially for tomatoes.

I put grass clippings in a light layer over my garden as a mulch and worm food during the growing season.

The leaves get mowed over than put on the garden in the fall, it takes half the growing season for them to be broken down, it's done mostly by worms, so if you till your soil there won't be much life in it.

I am not familiar with those trees.

Hot composting can be a bit of work and science, I cold compost and am not in a hurry to have it get done anyways.