What did you do in the garden today?

[fuzzi]

Today it was supposed to rain in the morning and then again in the afternoon. We got a few showers early, but then the sun came out...and so did I!

First things first: my female Dominique bantams arrived! I got them settled into the outside brooder before the rain started.

After noon the sun was shining so I decided to get some outside work done.

Planting annuals in containers:

And in front of my Stella d'oro lilies:

 

[gtaus]

My seeds have started to germinate in the net cups. I am moving them from the domed 10X20 tray into other non-covered trays when the leaves shoot up. I put a gentle oscillating fan on the seedlings to toughen them up a bit. I have it set for the lowest speed and the timer on it is set for an hour at a time. I turn it on a couple times each day.

This is my first year trying to start seeds inside the house. So far, my tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers all have sprouted. They are all under LED lights for 16 hours per day, so I hope they don't get leggy and fall over. I am prepared to fail, but I hope that I succeed.

Bought a new-to-me (used) SUV this week. It had a trailer hitch on it, but no wiring harness for trailer lights. I ordered a wire harness kit from Amazon for the SUV and installed it this afternoon. I had to dig my small utility trailer out of the snow to hook up the lights to see if everything worked, and it did. So, I'm off to a good start there.

I pulled the trailer out of the snowbank and parked it in the yard where I can easily hitch it up for use. I will be using that trailer in a few weeks to pick up a load of topsoil for the new raised beds I am planning on building. Almost all the snow has melted from the chicken run, so I will be able to harvest some new compost for mixing with the topsoil. Looking forward to that.

It's been a long winter, and we even have more snow in the forecast for tomorrow and later in the week. Fortunately, snow won't last long this time of year. Always looking forward to the end of winter to start working outside. My to-do list grows faster than my ability to manage it this time of year. But that's a good thing, I guess.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Red raspberries spread by root suckers. Which is what you have. A clone of your plant. Left alone they will make full size canes and form a thicket or patch. You could also move some to increase the size of the patch. FYI at that size they need TLC if moved. Seedlings are possible and I have started some from seed. Seed is hard to start. In my area black raspberries are native and the birds start wild patches. Reds do not naturalize and grow wild here. At my cabin in MN reds are native and grow wild. Blacks will grow there but will not thrive and naturalize.

To your point, some berry seeds (raspberry, blueberry) get scarified through the intestinal tract of birds and animals. Without this process, they won't germinate.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Water line to the garden was put in today! I'm sooooooo excited! They have to come back in the morning to fill in the trench. On Sunday I hope to start laying out the irrigation system.

On a side note, got my cukes and gourd seeds in the ground today. Just in time for rain tomorrow.

 

[chickengr]

as I was late to plant peppers I put 3 varieties in 3 glasses of lukewarm water two days ago. they are germinating so first thing I will do today is to carefully plant them. I need to find my hot pepper seeds.

 

[igorsMistress]

In the original Kratky video, he kept the air gap at a constant 2 inches with a float valve and solution reservoir. I don't know if its true, but I saw a video where this guy was saying when refilling by hand the variance should not be more than an inch or the roots will rot.

Its easier to refill if we have an over flow hole at the level we want to keep constant. I notice that the bigger plants need to be filled daily, but the smaller one not as often.

Also, note the section of this video where he adjust the strength of his solution at different stages.

Yes, but I haven’t topped up at all. Coco coir is a wick. I have my lettuce seedlings in a mixture of 60% coco, 40% perlite with the bottom of the pots just touching the nutrients, but when the roots are long enough I’ll leave a gap and not keep the nutrients that high, they don’t need to be. I’m doing the same with my tomatoes and peppers.

I read a book about hydroponics and it had various systems and their pros/cons listed. Root rot is possible with any hydroponic system, but it was mentioned specifically in the Kratky section. I’m using an inoculant in my nutrient solution for that. Sadly, unless I read books or cannabis growing blogs the info/videos for hydroponics all want to convince us to try it, but avoid the possible problems other than just basics.

 

[Jenbirdee]

I put cardboard and used duck bedding (poopy straw) over the weedy spots in my sunchoke garden area..

 

[fuzzi]

I put cardboard and used duck bedding (poopy straw) over the weedy spots in my sunchoke garden area..

I love cardboard in my gardens. I use it under mulch as a weed barrier.

 

[Sueby]

Much cooler out today. DH has a very long list of my spring chores to complete. Time to put out the carpenter bee trap, they’re already out.

I’m going to try & pull down last years morning glory vines from the fence & let them reseed. & water the lettuce. Probably all I’ve got besides supervising poor DH doing my chores.

 

[jerryse]

To your point, some berry seeds (raspberry, blueberry) get scarified through the intestinal tract of birds and animals. Without this process, they won't germinate.

You are right. Plus they need warm stratification ( summer- fall ) then cold stratification - winter.