What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

I think you've got it!

These 1000 tomato starts actually get 2 exemptions.
1. They are not YOUR houseplants. They belong to others!
2. They go outside. They are only inside temporarily.

Simple math.

TECHNICALLY, the seed shed is part of the garage...therefor....

 

[WthrLady]

It's 27 degrees out and it feels like a friggen sauna!
I just spent two hours plowing drifts, but now the wind is from the south, so all the stuff I moved last week, is not blowing back the other direction.

BUT if it means getting it all clear so the above freezing daytime temps can work on the roads and service areas, it's worth it. I'm just so burned out.

I'm treating myself to a clean bunnysuit and just put all my winter gear in the washer with extra downy How's that for a warped treat?

I plowed a 100 yard path through the 4 feet of snow to the barn, another around the henhouse, and another behind the greenhouse through only a foot of snow for the gator to haul feed this week.

Then I moved 13 cubic yards of snow by hand clearing out the overhang on the barn so the alpacas could go outside, be under a roof, and eat or sleep or whatever. That whole drift was 28 inches high. It was neither light, nor fluffy. All the stalls have now been cleaned by DH, and I put fresh straw outside for them to stand and sit on.

I AM BEAT.
VERY glad I started the ham and bean soup BEFORE I went outside.

 

[NanaK]

I just read that you can do a controlled stratification of columbine seeds in the refrigerator. There are a few different methods. The one I'm going to try is planting the seeds in seed starter cells filled with seed starting mix, then keeping the cells in the fridge for 4 to 6 weeks. They're taken outside for germination when the weather is right. Sounds easy enough.

I winter sowed them.
2 liter pop bottle, milk or juice jug. Cut in half, drainage holes drilled in bottom, throw away the top. 4 inches of potting mix, seeds sprinkled on top, watered in. Top of bottle fits inside bottom to make a mini greenhouse. Did several. Sit outside in Jan/Feb so they can not blow over. Temps up and down rest of winter. No birds or insects can eat your seeds! They sprout when their ready. Remove top when weather warms. Plant out in the ground when they are a few inches tall. Works pretty good for most perennials and tree seeds and some annuals.

Your way can work too.

 

[Smokerbill]

I winter sowed them.
2 liter pop bottle, milk or juice jug. Cut in half, drainage holes drilled in bottom, throw away the top. 4 inches of potting mix, seeds sprinkled on top, watered in. Top of bottle fits inside bottom to make a mini greenhouse. Did several. Sit outside in Jan/Feb so they can not blow over. Temps up and down rest of winter. No birds or insects can eat your seeds! They sprout when their ready. Remove top when weather warms. Plant out in the ground when they are a few inches tall. Works pretty good for most perennials and tree seeds and some annuals.

Your way can work too.

Great idea!

 

[NanaK]

Great idea!

Not my idea, I learned it elsewhere. Just passing it along.

 

[gtaus]

I was thinking about this [Industrial totes for growing food] but what about plastic leaching into the soil?

I cannot find any recycle markings on the Performax 40-gallon Industrial Totes that would indicate what type of plastic they use in the making of their totes. I looked online for a MSDS on those totes, and that lead back to the retail page of Menards, which does not provide any manufacturing information.

But, I did find in the description information of the product...

"The rugged design and large 40-gallon capacity make this Performax® industrial storage tote the perfect choice for campers, contractors, and sports enthusiasts. The padlock access holes molded along the edge may be used with tie-downs to secure the tote to a trailer or roof, or with padlocks to lock the lid to the base. This tote is stackable to maximize the use of your storage space. It is constructed of polypropylene and specially designed to perform well in garage, workshop, and household storage areas."

So, I looked up Polypropylene (PP) and found this...

That leads me to believe the Performax Industrial totes made from Polypropylene are safe for growing food. But I'm not an expert and maybe someone else can confirm or deny my assumptions based on what information I was able to find.

I'll have to look for some recycle markings in the light of day in an empty tote, but I could not find any markings on the outside of the tote, on the bottom, where I expected to find it. Could be it is just black markings on black plastic and my old eyes could not see or read any markings.

For me, using these Performax industrial totes for growing food is not an issue of concern. If anyone knows something different, please let us know. Thanks.

 

[WthrLady]

Sterling plans on eating all the snow I shoveled.

 

[TJAnonymous]

As someone just said, this is very like chicken math. It's plant math, and some of us get it BAD in the spring!

Plant it where you want it. Sounds obvious, but once it's there, it. is. there.

I have had a spot where it didn't get enough of a start, and didn't grow. I had another that I dug up for a friend, and last I saw, one teeny-tiny little leaf was trying to make a comeback. And that was when I really was trying to get the entire root.

I have two other comfrey "areas." One is near the driving path up the hill, and I think the roots get disturbed enough that it's not ever going to grow as well as the other area. The other one has tripled in size.

I've been told it can become quite invasive... That's why I'm trying to figure out where I want to put it. I have a corner right next to the road which technically belongs to the medical clinic next door but is overgrown with weeds and scrub. It butts up against the corner of my lot. I've thought about clearing out those weeds and tossing some wildflower seeds and comfrey over there.... So that's one spot...

There's a few other places around my property where I might toss some seeds... Just gotta make sure the horses and goats can't get to it. That's the hardest part that limits a lot of options.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I went up to the green house today. The kale sprouts are all dead. The single spinach sprout is a little bigger.

We had some sunshine today, and it was 54 degrees in there. Under the tote, it was 75.

I looked at my plants in the hoop house a few days ago. The single, giant cauliflower I had planted last spring finally kicked the bucket in the polar vortex. Quite sad because it had somewhere around 8 - 10 mini-heads it was growing.

My lettuce sprouts all looked dead too...

Parsley looked wilted but may bounce back when we warm up this week. It was covered, as was my oregano and thyme. I didn't check those though...

Lastly I had some onions and carrots that I forgot to check too. I covered the carrots with straw. Wasn't sure if that would smother them or not since the green tops couldn't see sunlight. The onion tops looked wilted, brown, and slimy but I didn't dig down to check the bulbs.

 

[CNJ]

I was thinking about this but what about plastic leaching into the soil?

I've been eating tomatoes grown in those totes and it doesn't taste like plastic.
My tomatoes are drinking a little more than a gallon of water a day, so I have been filling it with 4 gallons of water every 3 days.

My totes are double stacked with a 2 x 4 wood spacer screwed onto two sides. It's important to follow the earth box design when drilling out the wicking holes for your net cups. The earth box has two wicking holes on the same back side and the two tomato plants are planted right above the wicking holes with the 1.50lbs top fertilizer line spread in the front.

I really can't explain how the plants find the 1.50lbs of fertilizer on the top front, but it does. Also, the earth box uses an inert peat base/perlite potting mix in which a cup of lime is added to it. Promix is the ideal mix for the earth box in my opinion. The Miracle Grow potting mix has 3 month's supply of synthetic fertilizer, so it will be too hot to follow the earth box fertilization plan.

The plant on the right has Miracle Grow potting mix in it and it did not set fruit on the bottom. It set fruit on the top when it has already reached its determinate height.

In comparison, the plant with the insect net and Promix set tomatoes from the bottom up. https://earthbox.com/learning-center/recommended-growing-media