What did you do in the garden today?

[gtaus]

The marker fades but can still make it out.

Well, my sharpie marker on the popsicle stick faded to the point out in the sun and rain where I could not read it. I don't care if I have to make new labels every year, but I would like my plant labels to last the entire growing season at a minimum.

 

[gtaus]

Try paint pens. Find them in the craft area.

I will check into that. Thanks.

 

[gtaus]

The problem with that is: map made, stuff in garden. Late frost takes out a bunch of stuff, here and there. Replant with purchased plants that are NOT the same variety. I had to redo the map, and instead of having all the Ace 55 in a row, I had some Supersteak interspersed. Yeah, it got confusing.

I have made garden maps in the past. My challenge, however, is when a plant dies and I recplace it with something else in that spot - usually not the same type of plant at that point. Then I forget what I planted. For example, all pepper plants look the same to me. Well, at least many varieties look the same but taste different. I had plant markers on my pepper plants, but the marker ink faded and late this summer I could not tell my mild sweet banana peppers from the hot and spicy peppers that look the same on the plant, but boy do they make a difference in a food dish.

Yes. You can plant them now, if you're close to frost. They need to be in the ground before it freezes. They get roots started, "get used to their home," so to speak. 2-3" deep, and then cover the bed with 3" of mulch. I did that the first year, and when they started to sprout in the spring, I pulled the mulch (compacted by the snow over winter) away from the leaves poking up.

Yes, 1 per sf is about right. The first year, it may look a little sparse, but my EWO bed is jammed full, and has been since the second year.

OK, I'll go with that on year one. Also, plan on growing one or two plants inside the house this winter just to see what happens. Thanks for the info.

 

[saysfaa]

I tried packing tape over paper for the seed trays, sealed as carefully as I could. It didn't work, wasn't water proof enough. It might do better with a stiffer label, not buried, or outside.

 

[gtaus]

I tried packing tape over paper for the seed trays, sealed as carefully as I could. It didn't work, wasn't water proof enough. It might do better with a stiffer label, not buried, or outside.

Yeah, that's what I would think.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Did you use regular packing tape? I have rolls of that wide packing tape I could use.

Yes I use that or clear household tape.

 

[gtaus]

Yes I use that or clear household tape.

OK. I might try that with using some P-Touch labels on wooden sticks, and wrapping the label with tape so it sticks better to the wood. The P-Touch labels are supposed to be UV resistant and last a long time. I just could not get them to adhere to the wood very well.

EDIT: I just put a P-Touch label on a popsicle stick, then wrapped it in packing tape, and put it in the kitchen window in full sun. I will leave it there as a test to see if the ink fades, or not. I also ran some water over it to see if the tape is somewhat waterproof. So far, the water did not smudge the ink on the P-Touch label, but this is only Day 1 of my experiment.

 

[CNJ]

I also failed, but I used small test batches, so I can try something different tomorrow.

In the morning after I rinsed the raw chicken pieces sitting in the seasoning and papaya pulp, it looks like it lost weight. In other words, it would disappear and turn to mush if I left it in the ice box for another day. The chicken in papaya pulp must be cooked after 3 to 4 hours and the texture of a year-old chicken won't be like a young 3-month-old chicken. However, it does make the meat soft or chewable faster.
In conclusion, a slow cooked year-old chicken without the papaya tenderizer taste better, in my opinion.

 

[CNJ]

Hearing about currant tomatoes makes me want to try some out myself. Are they like the tiny toms? Amazing to think of a tomato even smaller than the cherry varieties.

I thought the same thing, but it's kind of a pain to pick and taste is not as good as Sun Gold or Brad's Atomic Grape in my opinion. I'd rather use the space for something else.

 

[WthrLady]

@gtaus There are different sharpies, not all are created equal.
You need the oil based ones for the garden. They aren't the commonly found ones that are cheap-cheap. These usually run about $4 each.
THEY DO last all summer.

Still working outside, in the dust, and pollen, with even MORE wood and blue paint- lol.