It was gloomy and rainy out today so I didn't put my strawberries out. I didn't want to get the greenhouse all water logged. I instead sat them by a window so that they could get some sun from the light between all the clouds. I set them out on the coffee table in the sun room and watered the cups that felt extremely light. The ones that felt heavier I left as is... And firmed the top on.Then I got ready to go to Easter lunch with my family, checked on my seedling testers and left.
After lunch...
I noticed that some of the strawberries had sprouted new growth, just a few hours, after I'd checked on them. The growth rate is incredible. I sat on the floor and just sort of stared. After a couple of minutes I started to count which ones had made progress and how many hadn't. The results came to 25 of 27 alive and well or progressing. Even the little baby "grindylow", as Mike referred to it, had some green. It was actually really satisfying to know that out of the 27 I received the original 25 I'd ordered were alive.
I opened the greenhouse up and added the sweet potato glasses to the mix. I realized that 1 of the glasses (whole pot) had long roots with tiny roots starting to sprout off of the main root. It was another very satisfying realization. The sweet potatoes were slipping and the strawberries were a-growin'. That is my Easter miracle, especially since the spinach and tester seedlings have done absolutely nothing. Those were the 2 things I expected to see results from first when I didn't I was so depressed. The seedling testers technically still have a day until its DOA but I don't think anything is going to happen there. Seed tape is going to be my next test.
I started making seed tape strips this afternoon and hopefully they'll be the answer to getting the spinach, radishes, and carrots to grow. I haven't tested the carrots but was happy that I choose to make tape for them when I saw how unbelievably tiny the seeds were. I would have never been able to sow them properly with a guide.
Boo on the testers and spinach and YAY for the miracle of some growth! FINALLLY!!!! Happy Easter to me... And all!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
From Nada to Prada
So excited...
I had to show everyone the new greenhouse I made. I jumped out of bed at about 1am with an idea on how to make a small greenhouse for my plants. My last attempt was ugly, slouching, and weird but worked. I wanted something that could hold all of my seedlings, starters, and strawberries and didn't slouch on the job.
One A.M. Build...
So like I was saying I jumped out of bed and grabbed some old styrofoam (protects computers), some plastic wrapped, clear and black tape, and some kabob sticks. I used 3 out of 4 styrofoam protectors as trays and taped them together. I used the last styrofoam piece as the top frame. I cut it into strips. Then I stuck groups of 3 kabob sticks in each corner and in the center between the corners. I attempted putting the frame on the flat end of the sticks but the pieces of foam wouldn't hold so I taped half of a kabob stick pointy end up to the taped groups of 3. Then I added the upper frame and taped some of it down and used kabob sticks to hold tougher pieces down. Then I took squares of 3-4 ply plastic wrap and started wrapping it around the frame, stapling the bottom and securing it with black duct tape then securing the top with clear tape to the upper frame. I taped the seams with ultra clear tape and continued like that all the way around. Finally, it was time to add the top. I had to make the top removable because the trays were built into the greenhouse. It was no longer a cover. So I cut a perfect square of 3-4 ply wrap and placed it on top, because it was thick and the sides were thick it just sort of stuck there holding on to the other plastic. Great!!! I was done... Basically! All I needed to do now was add some cardboard pieces to cover the holes in the styrofoam trays and add the strawberries. I did all this in about 5 minutes and was glad to see that I still had space for about 5 paper seedling cups after adding the strawberries. I picked the entire thing up carefully and placed it in its overnight bed. After admiring it for a minute I made one last adjustment. I grabbed a few dress pins from my sewing kit and lightly secured the top. The pins would allow its easy removable but assure its placement during gusts of wind!!
I am so proud of my little greenhouse it is about a billion times better than my first attempt and it only took me 45 mins to build. I went from a makeshift, but working, slouching plastic heap of a cover to a designer mini greenhouse that will hold around 32 seedling cups! Still amazed at my own work (not in a conceited way more in the wow I didn't know IIII could do thissss, way)!
I had to show everyone the new greenhouse I made. I jumped out of bed at about 1am with an idea on how to make a small greenhouse for my plants. My last attempt was ugly, slouching, and weird but worked. I wanted something that could hold all of my seedlings, starters, and strawberries and didn't slouch on the job.
One A.M. Build...
So like I was saying I jumped out of bed and grabbed some old styrofoam (protects computers), some plastic wrapped, clear and black tape, and some kabob sticks. I used 3 out of 4 styrofoam protectors as trays and taped them together. I used the last styrofoam piece as the top frame. I cut it into strips. Then I stuck groups of 3 kabob sticks in each corner and in the center between the corners. I attempted putting the frame on the flat end of the sticks but the pieces of foam wouldn't hold so I taped half of a kabob stick pointy end up to the taped groups of 3. Then I added the upper frame and taped some of it down and used kabob sticks to hold tougher pieces down. Then I took squares of 3-4 ply plastic wrap and started wrapping it around the frame, stapling the bottom and securing it with black duct tape then securing the top with clear tape to the upper frame. I taped the seams with ultra clear tape and continued like that all the way around. Finally, it was time to add the top. I had to make the top removable because the trays were built into the greenhouse. It was no longer a cover. So I cut a perfect square of 3-4 ply wrap and placed it on top, because it was thick and the sides were thick it just sort of stuck there holding on to the other plastic. Great!!! I was done... Basically! All I needed to do now was add some cardboard pieces to cover the holes in the styrofoam trays and add the strawberries. I did all this in about 5 minutes and was glad to see that I still had space for about 5 paper seedling cups after adding the strawberries. I picked the entire thing up carefully and placed it in its overnight bed. After admiring it for a minute I made one last adjustment. I grabbed a few dress pins from my sewing kit and lightly secured the top. The pins would allow its easy removable but assure its placement during gusts of wind!!
I am so proud of my little greenhouse it is about a billion times better than my first attempt and it only took me 45 mins to build. I went from a makeshift, but working, slouching plastic heap of a cover to a designer mini greenhouse that will hold around 32 seedling cups! Still amazed at my own work (not in a conceited way more in the wow I didn't know IIII could do thissss, way)!
Strawberry Fields Forever
Day 1...
As you know, I received my Burpee.com order of 25 barefoot or bare-root strawberry plants in the Seascape variety. Seascapes are a day neutral variety that produce fruit in about 90 days. I planted them all in little seedling cups and put them on trays. Last night it was a bit cold in the sun room so I moved them to the basement opened the curtain and wrapped a towel around the trays. When I woke up I noticed the a few plants had the roots showing so I carried them upstairs back into the sun room and started adding a little extra potting mix. It was sunny and warm out so I placed the trays outside in the sunniest spot in the yard and watered them a little bit just to moisten the dirt I'd added. At this point I had noticed a little green poking out of most of the crowns that used to be all brown. So that was good... I could tell most had survived the trip from PA.
I headed back down into the basement to work on a makeshift green house to protect the plants from the afternoon wind pick up. Every afternoon the wind really has been picking up and if the sun is out it seems to take over and make it chillier by at least 10 degrees. So I wanted to get the greenhouse cover structure over the strawberries before that happened so that the sun could warm the interior sufficiently before the wind picked up.
It was a lot harder to get this thing together then I thought it would be. I used a bunch of leftover vacuum seal type bags, cut up a plastic bag that used to hold a mattress cover (that thick very glass-like plastic), and used a white garbage bag for the top. For the frame I cut up strips of cardboard and used wooden paint mixers. To hold everything together I used a stapler, black tape, and clear tape. The sides of the structure held up pretty well it was the top I had trouble with because I didn't put a frame around it. Once I had completed the greenhouse cover I carried it outside and placed it over the two strawberry trays. It worked well enough! I took a look inside and noticed that about 15 out of the 27 plants (Burpee sent 2 extra) had grown over the last few hours in the sun. A few had a 1 inch stem and leaf, some of the growth was just poking out of the crowns, and some had a miraculous 2 inch steam and a full size leaf. It was pretty, pretty, pretty good! Now I knew that, at least, 15 made the trip alive. Yesterday I had no clue whether one of them had made it to me alive. They just looked so sad and pathetic. Seeing that growth renewed my confidence in my garden. Even though the seedlings I planted still haven't shown any real progress and the sweet potatoes are just growing in a few long but very thin roots seeing those strawberries bloom basically overnight made it all worth it. The strawberries are the plant I'd been looking most forward too.
I just stood there and stared for a few minutes. Although I was excited to see the growth I wasn't surprised. I'd Google search "growing barefoot/root strawberries" last night and saw a few videos that made it clear that the plants should show growth in the first 24-48 hours because strawberry plants grow quickly. That is the exact reason I was so renewed by the growth... because I was expecting it. I needed them to work out because almost everything else hasn't so far. I'm very excited to see that at least 1/2 of the plants are alive and sprouting. I hope that all 27 will have new growth by tomorrow afternoon but if they don't I'll contact Burpee and ask them to send me 10 new plants. I'm happy either way . I'm happy with the growth and without because I have the time to try again and don't have to pay for the second attempt.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Barefoot Berries
Shipment Arrives...
My strawberry plants came in the mail today. They were shipped out yesterday and I received an email from Burpee telling me to expect them the next day. I had plans out for the day so I made sure that Mike was checking for them every hour. I didn't want them sitting out in the cold. It wasn't very cold this afternoon but I knew it would get colder as the day went on. Mike texted me around 2pm to let me know that they had arrived. A few hours later, around 5pm, I arrived at home and grabbed the package.
The first thing I said was "Wow this is really small. This is 25 plants?" Mike replied "I don't know. I didn't know what it was suppose to be." So, I opened the package and inside is a plastic bag knotted at the top with what seems like a ton of roots in it. I opened the bag and realized that the roots had crowns but no stems. This was not at all what I was expecting. I knew they were supposed to come barefoot (without soil) but I didn't expect them to have no stems or leaves. I still have no idea if any of them are actually alive and didn't then so I was a little disappointed.
Planting Begins...
I read the insert it came with and made a decision I would plant them like the Bonnie plants in seed starting pots (in my case paper cups) and let them get rooted so that I could transfer them to the Topsy Turvy in a few weeks. The other option was to wrap the roots in damp paper towels and store them in a shaded place for 1 to 2 weeks which wouldn't give me any real time or not the time I needed. The last frost date is April 16 2013 and even though these are day neutral, able to withstand temperatures between 55-90, the weather outside has been jumping from high 50's and 60's to the high 40's. I can't take the chance of putting them out yet.
Once I decided what I was going to do I grabbed 2 cardboard trays, 25 paper cups, a pair of kitchen scissors, a needle, and a kabob stick. I grabbed the the Vigoro Organic potting mix too. I lined the cups up on the cardboard trays upside down and started poking holes in the bottoms for drainage. Once, I was done with that I filled each cup with dirt except for 1. I put the barefooted plants into another cardboard tray and took them outside to trim the roots down to three inches. For this task, I'd need a measuring tape and the scissors I'd brought down with me. I sat out on the cement path locked the measuring tape at 4 inches and started measuring 3 inches out on each plants root system and cutting. I probably could have cut a few at a time but I wanted to be extra precise. That took me about 20 minutes then I went back inside to plant each plant in it's cup.
I had a little trouble spreading the roots out and getting them to stay spread but I finally did by shaking each one upside down first and starting the process with only about an inch of dirt in the cup. Then I filled in the rest with the cup I'd left empty to pour the extra dirt into. Each one took me about 4 minutes. Once I had completed them all, doing a few twice because I'm a bit clumsy when I have a lot around me so I spilled a few and had to redo them, I needed to line the cardboard trays and water them. I ran up to the kitchen and grabbed some parchment paper. I lined each tray with the glossy side up and started watering the new plants with a pre-filled water bottle. I over watered a few to make sure that the needle and kabob stick points were big enough to allow for drainage. They were.
Praying for Life...
Once everything was watered and on the tray neatly I placed them by a window in the sun room. Hopefully, they'll either stay dormant and alive or get enough light and warmth to grow some before I am able to transfer them. Like I said before I don't know that they are actually alive at the moment. I don't know what a "good" barefoot looks like but I'm praying they are alive and that they'll actually start taking root in there little homes so that they are easy to transplant. I didn't really know how I was going to get them to stay in the Topsy Turvy without the shoe. It would have been pretty, pretty, pretty (said Larry David style) difficult.
My strawberry plants came in the mail today. They were shipped out yesterday and I received an email from Burpee telling me to expect them the next day. I had plans out for the day so I made sure that Mike was checking for them every hour. I didn't want them sitting out in the cold. It wasn't very cold this afternoon but I knew it would get colder as the day went on. Mike texted me around 2pm to let me know that they had arrived. A few hours later, around 5pm, I arrived at home and grabbed the package.
The first thing I said was "Wow this is really small. This is 25 plants?" Mike replied "I don't know. I didn't know what it was suppose to be." So, I opened the package and inside is a plastic bag knotted at the top with what seems like a ton of roots in it. I opened the bag and realized that the roots had crowns but no stems. This was not at all what I was expecting. I knew they were supposed to come barefoot (without soil) but I didn't expect them to have no stems or leaves. I still have no idea if any of them are actually alive and didn't then so I was a little disappointed.
Planting Begins...
I read the insert it came with and made a decision I would plant them like the Bonnie plants in seed starting pots (in my case paper cups) and let them get rooted so that I could transfer them to the Topsy Turvy in a few weeks. The other option was to wrap the roots in damp paper towels and store them in a shaded place for 1 to 2 weeks which wouldn't give me any real time or not the time I needed. The last frost date is April 16 2013 and even though these are day neutral, able to withstand temperatures between 55-90, the weather outside has been jumping from high 50's and 60's to the high 40's. I can't take the chance of putting them out yet.
Once I decided what I was going to do I grabbed 2 cardboard trays, 25 paper cups, a pair of kitchen scissors, a needle, and a kabob stick. I grabbed the the Vigoro Organic potting mix too. I lined the cups up on the cardboard trays upside down and started poking holes in the bottoms for drainage. Once, I was done with that I filled each cup with dirt except for 1. I put the barefooted plants into another cardboard tray and took them outside to trim the roots down to three inches. For this task, I'd need a measuring tape and the scissors I'd brought down with me. I sat out on the cement path locked the measuring tape at 4 inches and started measuring 3 inches out on each plants root system and cutting. I probably could have cut a few at a time but I wanted to be extra precise. That took me about 20 minutes then I went back inside to plant each plant in it's cup.
I had a little trouble spreading the roots out and getting them to stay spread but I finally did by shaking each one upside down first and starting the process with only about an inch of dirt in the cup. Then I filled in the rest with the cup I'd left empty to pour the extra dirt into. Each one took me about 4 minutes. Once I had completed them all, doing a few twice because I'm a bit clumsy when I have a lot around me so I spilled a few and had to redo them, I needed to line the cardboard trays and water them. I ran up to the kitchen and grabbed some parchment paper. I lined each tray with the glossy side up and started watering the new plants with a pre-filled water bottle. I over watered a few to make sure that the needle and kabob stick points were big enough to allow for drainage. They were.
Praying for Life...
Once everything was watered and on the tray neatly I placed them by a window in the sun room. Hopefully, they'll either stay dormant and alive or get enough light and warmth to grow some before I am able to transfer them. Like I said before I don't know that they are actually alive at the moment. I don't know what a "good" barefoot looks like but I'm praying they are alive and that they'll actually start taking root in there little homes so that they are easy to transplant. I didn't really know how I was going to get them to stay in the Topsy Turvy without the shoe. It would have been pretty, pretty, pretty (said Larry David style) difficult.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
For Your Edification
Plants per Plot...
If your like me and have to figure out how many plants can fit into an off sized plot use this formula…
(Height/Space) x (Width/Space)= Total per plot
(Total per Plot) x (# of plots for plant)= total plant type
These formulas give you the number of plants you are able to fit in any given space or plot in a square foot garden, especially, if they aren't quite square feet and how many plants you'll need total. It also gives you the number of rows and columns per plot.
H/SPC. = # of Columns
Width/SPC. = # of Rows
I have 8 square foot plots, 4 plots that are 9x12, one plot that's 3x21, and one that's 3x12. Each plot had to be calculated depending on the occupying plant spacing.
Examples:
Danver126 Plots: 3inch space
Size: (9x12)
(9/3)x(12/3)=
3x4= 12 per plot
12x4= 48 Danver126 plants
Red Core Chantenay: 3 inch space
Plots- 2
Size1- 3x12
Size2- 3x21
(3/3)x(12/3)=
1x4= 4
(3/3)x(21/3)=
1x7= 7
7+4= 11 plants
Note: the formula above for total plants only applies if the plots are the same size.
If your like me and have to figure out how many plants can fit into an off sized plot use this formula…
(Height/Space) x (Width/Space)= Total per plot
(Total per Plot) x (# of plots for plant)= total plant type
These formulas give you the number of plants you are able to fit in any given space or plot in a square foot garden, especially, if they aren't quite square feet and how many plants you'll need total. It also gives you the number of rows and columns per plot.
H/SPC. = # of Columns
Width/SPC. = # of Rows
I have 8 square foot plots, 4 plots that are 9x12, one plot that's 3x21, and one that's 3x12. Each plot had to be calculated depending on the occupying plant spacing.
Examples:
Danver126 Plots: 3inch space
Size: (9x12)
(9/3)x(12/3)=
3x4= 12 per plot
12x4= 48 Danver126 plants
Red Core Chantenay: 3 inch space
Plots- 2
Size1- 3x12
Size2- 3x21
(3/3)x(12/3)=
1x4= 4
(3/3)x(21/3)=
1x7= 7
7+4= 11 plants
Note: the formula above for total plants only applies if the plots are the same size.
Patch Mark-it!
Plant Markers...
The last time I wrote about the plant markers I was so excited to have found something that would not vanish with the rain. It snowed on Tuesday and guess what vanished with the rain... the writing. Apparently, the nail polish pen I was so excited about wasn't nail polish at all. The actual nail polish fought through the snow without one scratch but the writing didn't make it. So, when I was done adding the Perlite to my raised bed yesterday I grabbed them all and trashed them. I must admit I acted a bit impetuously but I was only thinking those didn't work, now what? What I should have done was kept them, cleared off any "nail polish" pen that was left behind and written the names in black nail polish then glued them to the paint mixers I'd gotten from Home Depot. That was the original plan, to glue them to the paint mixers if they made it through the snow...
Once I got inside I instantly regretted throwing the tiles away. I could have just rewritten the names in black polish. I was so cold I didn't want to go out to the garbage and get them so I decided I would just remake them. I had already remade the carrot markers because the carrots I am planning on planting are two different types. I wanted the markers to reflect each type. Before I remade them I took the mixers and drew the veggie and name directly on them. I thought that might look nicer then the tile. It didn't. Then I used paint markers and drew the name and veggie on it, that didn't look good either. So, I started remaking the tiles and even though I had to write the words with a brush they came out pretty well. It was time to glue the tiles to the paint mixers. I grabbed them and a saw and started to cut them down to a more reasonable size. They were originally about 1.5 feet long. I cut them down to about 9 inches. Then I took tile glue that my mom happened to find and I happened to pick up and put it directly on the wood mixer where the tile would sit. At first, I had some trouble getting the glue out which was strange because I'd just tested it. Then I noticed glue was getting on my hand. From where? I looked and couldn't see where the hole was until I squeeze again. There was a hole on the top of the bottle before the screw. I ended up having to use the hole. It worked fine and I glued each tile to there stick.
They came out just OK. I don't know if I like them as much as my first tiles except for the carrots but I like them enough to use them.
Slips in water...
Other than the markers I checked on the spinach (container & faerie plot) and the sweet potatoes. The spinach has been germinating for 9 days and shows no signs of life in either spot. The sweet potatoes have been in water for 3 days and I've already seen some growing roots. I was so psyched to see that but it made me wonder if the spinach will ever grow considering it took my sweets such a short time to show some action. I need to either replant or keep waiting but I think I might replant and keep waiting. See which one turns out first the seeds started in MG garden soil, backyard soil or the seeds I start in organic potting mix. Want to take a guess?
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Plot x Plot
Patch Market: Monthly Planting Guide
Key:
1st Sowing/Planting- Light Purple
2nd Sowing/Planting-Light Pink
3rd Sowing/Planting-Lime Green
N/A or Weather Doesnt Permit- Aquamarine
Growing- Olive Green
Harvest-Magenta
Note: Colored circle means that, the colored action took place as well as the box color action. Horizontal carrots are Danver126 they can stand hot weather. Because of that they are resown in June. Red Core Chantenay's (vertical row) cannot stand hot weather.
Key:
1st Sowing/Planting- Light Purple
2nd Sowing/Planting-Light Pink
3rd Sowing/Planting-Lime Green
N/A or Weather Doesnt Permit- Aquamarine
Growing- Olive Green
Harvest-Magenta
Note: Colored circle means that, the colored action took place as well as the box color action. Horizontal carrots are Danver126 they can stand hot weather. Because of that they are resown in June. Red Core Chantenay's (vertical row) cannot stand hot weather.
Dirty Deeds
Soil Troubles...
I was online just looking up some information about natural fertilizers for strawberry plants and happened to come across both of the specifications on the two types of soil I had purchased. Both said in bold lettering "Not for use in containers." So I kind of started to freak out thinking MY BED IS ONE LARGE CONTAINER and then pushed it to the back of my mind and continued looking for strawberry plant fertilizers, without much luck. The next day I start looking into the MG soil and Scott's soil. It turns out that they aren't for containers they are to be used as amendments for ground soil. Now what do I do, I bought 12 bags of the wrong soil and did all this work for what? I wasn't planning on mixing in any of my ground soil. That's why I did all that work with the raised bed. So that I wouldn't have to, ugh! Growing veggies is 50/50, water and soil, and I happen to get 1 fifty wrong. Fantastic. I couldn't sleep most of the night thinking about what ingredients were in potting mix and what was in what I got. I finally fell asleep at about 5am only to have to get up at 10:30am to help my mom run some errands. We spent the day out together and I forgot all about my soil problems. The second I got back, my problems were back. Not being able to relax I got up and went down to the local hardware store to check out the ingredients in potting mix.
Hardware Home Depot...
At the hardware store I took a look around for 1 bag identical to mine and placed it next to an overturned bag of potting mix to compare. It turns out the only difference in the MG potting mix and the garden soil is Perlite or those little things that look like broken up Styrofoam. So I asked the attendant if that was true? Was I getting it right? Did I just need to add Perlite? He said that as far as he knew it wasn't Perlite but Vermiculite that I needed to add. He showed me where both were shelved. I took a look at them both and then went back to the two bags for comparison. I didn't want to go against what he'd said so I headed to Home Depot for Perlite. I know that it's a good idea to add Vermiculite but as far as making the soil I bought into potting mix all I needed was Perlite.
At the Home Depot I grabbed a cart and started searching for Perlite. It was nowhere to be found. I started getting really frustrated with my particular Home Depot this had happened once before, under stocking. I was going to leave but then this really nice older woman (seemed like a big gardener herself) asked if I needed any help. I said 'yes' and asked for the Perlite. She showed me exactly where to find it, INSIDE. They don't keep it out in the garden center but inside in the garden section. I grabbed two bags and headed to the seed racks. I grabbed 2 packs of Cherry Belle radishes and a pack of watermelon seeds, just for fun. Then I headed back out to the garden center to get some Organic Potting Mix for the strawberry planter. Considering, that I was making my own potting mix and I had read that poor soil would kill my berries I wanted something amazing and pre-mixed. I looked at both the MG organic and the Vigoro organic potting mix. Vigoro had Perlite in it and MG did not. Want to guess which one I got??? Duh! The Vigoro. I'd learned my lesson. I didn't actually know if Perlite was organic but the rest of the components matched MG ingredient for ingredient.
Back in Patch...
Once I had unloaded everything from the car and into the garden I went into the house to grab my gloves and put on my boots. Perlite should only be worked with (apparently) when wearing gloves. I took that warning seriously for my hands and feet. Back in the garden... I unhooked the twine I was using to section off the area into square feet and started chopping up the soil. At first I was using a small hand spade and it was taking me forever and ever to mix even the first few inches. Then I grabbed an enormous shovel and started hacking into the soil just to get it loose and to make a hole to pour in some Perlite. I poured, mixed, and moved. Poured, mixed, and moved. I was sweating like a pig and cold at the same time. It was windy and freezing every time I stopped mixing, pouring, moving. Finally, I got back to where I started pouring and mixing and the entire raised bed was now speckled in white. It looked good and I could see that the soil even looked lighter. It may have been my hopes coming true in vision but I really think it did. I bought 8 quarts of Perlite and mixed in about 6.5 quarts. I don't know if that was too much or too little but every bit of soil now has a fine coating. THANK GOD! I would have never chosen to do it this way if I had known better but trust me next year I'll do it this way again (it's cheaper). I'll just mix in Perlite as I had soil. The hardest part about this was trying to get the Perlite all the way down to the bottom of the bed. I replaced the twine and went inside to collapse. I was tired, cold, sweating, and not rested but I was anxiety free for the moment!
I was online just looking up some information about natural fertilizers for strawberry plants and happened to come across both of the specifications on the two types of soil I had purchased. Both said in bold lettering "Not for use in containers." So I kind of started to freak out thinking MY BED IS ONE LARGE CONTAINER and then pushed it to the back of my mind and continued looking for strawberry plant fertilizers, without much luck. The next day I start looking into the MG soil and Scott's soil. It turns out that they aren't for containers they are to be used as amendments for ground soil. Now what do I do, I bought 12 bags of the wrong soil and did all this work for what? I wasn't planning on mixing in any of my ground soil. That's why I did all that work with the raised bed. So that I wouldn't have to, ugh! Growing veggies is 50/50, water and soil, and I happen to get 1 fifty wrong. Fantastic. I couldn't sleep most of the night thinking about what ingredients were in potting mix and what was in what I got. I finally fell asleep at about 5am only to have to get up at 10:30am to help my mom run some errands. We spent the day out together and I forgot all about my soil problems. The second I got back, my problems were back. Not being able to relax I got up and went down to the local hardware store to check out the ingredients in potting mix.
Hardware Home Depot...
At the hardware store I took a look around for 1 bag identical to mine and placed it next to an overturned bag of potting mix to compare. It turns out the only difference in the MG potting mix and the garden soil is Perlite or those little things that look like broken up Styrofoam. So I asked the attendant if that was true? Was I getting it right? Did I just need to add Perlite? He said that as far as he knew it wasn't Perlite but Vermiculite that I needed to add. He showed me where both were shelved. I took a look at them both and then went back to the two bags for comparison. I didn't want to go against what he'd said so I headed to Home Depot for Perlite. I know that it's a good idea to add Vermiculite but as far as making the soil I bought into potting mix all I needed was Perlite.
At the Home Depot I grabbed a cart and started searching for Perlite. It was nowhere to be found. I started getting really frustrated with my particular Home Depot this had happened once before, under stocking. I was going to leave but then this really nice older woman (seemed like a big gardener herself) asked if I needed any help. I said 'yes' and asked for the Perlite. She showed me exactly where to find it, INSIDE. They don't keep it out in the garden center but inside in the garden section. I grabbed two bags and headed to the seed racks. I grabbed 2 packs of Cherry Belle radishes and a pack of watermelon seeds, just for fun. Then I headed back out to the garden center to get some Organic Potting Mix for the strawberry planter. Considering, that I was making my own potting mix and I had read that poor soil would kill my berries I wanted something amazing and pre-mixed. I looked at both the MG organic and the Vigoro organic potting mix. Vigoro had Perlite in it and MG did not. Want to guess which one I got??? Duh! The Vigoro. I'd learned my lesson. I didn't actually know if Perlite was organic but the rest of the components matched MG ingredient for ingredient.
Back in Patch...
Once I had unloaded everything from the car and into the garden I went into the house to grab my gloves and put on my boots. Perlite should only be worked with (apparently) when wearing gloves. I took that warning seriously for my hands and feet. Back in the garden... I unhooked the twine I was using to section off the area into square feet and started chopping up the soil. At first I was using a small hand spade and it was taking me forever and ever to mix even the first few inches. Then I grabbed an enormous shovel and started hacking into the soil just to get it loose and to make a hole to pour in some Perlite. I poured, mixed, and moved. Poured, mixed, and moved. I was sweating like a pig and cold at the same time. It was windy and freezing every time I stopped mixing, pouring, moving. Finally, I got back to where I started pouring and mixing and the entire raised bed was now speckled in white. It looked good and I could see that the soil even looked lighter. It may have been my hopes coming true in vision but I really think it did. I bought 8 quarts of Perlite and mixed in about 6.5 quarts. I don't know if that was too much or too little but every bit of soil now has a fine coating. THANK GOD! I would have never chosen to do it this way if I had known better but trust me next year I'll do it this way again (it's cheaper). I'll just mix in Perlite as I had soil. The hardest part about this was trying to get the Perlite all the way down to the bottom of the bed. I replaced the twine and went inside to collapse. I was tired, cold, sweating, and not rested but I was anxiety free for the moment!
Monday, March 25, 2013
Drinking Glass Slips
Starting Slip...
As I mentioned in my last blog entry I learned how to start sweet potato seedlings or slips using an old S-Pot. All of the articles I read and video's I watched said to put the mature potato into a glass container. So, I started there by looking for glass containers I already owned to use. I came up empty on mason jars. The one I did have was closed so tightly even after about 30 minutes of trying I couldn't seem to get it to loosen up a bit. That was out. I then Googled "do sweet potato slips have to grow in glass." The results all came up with use either a glass or clear plastic container that will allow you to submerge one-half of the potato. The only glass I had were drinking glasses and the only plastic containers I had were opaque or didn't have the depth. So I went with the drinking glasses. I didn't want to because I thought YUCK! at first but then realized that was stupid. Everything can be washed in the dishwasher. Once I made sure the glasses were nice and clean I grabbed a bottle of Deer Park, tooth picks for support, and filled the glasses half way each.
I didn't want to use tap water because of all the pollutants people talk about. I wanted my slips to be as organic as possible. I didn't use distilled water (most pure) because all of the good components, like minerals, are boiled out. I wanted all of the good stuff and none of the bad. So Deer Park it was, although, I do read things that say bottled waters are no better than tap but choose not to believe it. After each glass was filled I submerged each potato in its glass about half way. Making sure to hold each firmly so they wouldn't plunge in any deeper than the half way mark. Once I removed them from the water the skin that had been submerged was darker. It was easier for me to insert the toothpicks on the line between dark and light skin. Once the toothpicks were in I set them in there glasses and placed them on a table by the window.
The next morning I went to check on them and the glasses were bit on the chilly side and remembered that the potatoes should be left in a warm place. The weather does not permit that naturally at the moment so I grabbed a space heater from the basement and set it on Low next to the glassed. I plan on getting one of those CFL bulbs tomorrow but for today the heater was fine. I may end up using both to try to speed up the process but I'll need to read a little further into it. When I'm out getting the CFL bulb I'll also head over to Goodwill and by some glassware to put the two dirt S-Pots in. Goodwill always has a ton of clear glassware for $0.50 to $1.00 per item. Cheap and convenient.
Total Cost for Slips*:
CFL Bulb: ~$4.00
2 Glass Containters: ~$1.50
Total Retail Cost:
Slips: $4.00/plant X 4 plants= $16.00
Slips Grown @ Retail*: $4.00/plant X 25= $100.00
* If they grow I'll get about 25 slips or more out of 4 potatoes.
I only need for so I'd never spend $100.00 but you can see how much is saved by trying to grow everything yourself. It's really amazing. I just wish that I had planned to grow things from seeds/scraps from the beginning then I would have had more time to try and fail and try again. Next year, I'll know!
Soil Slips...
I started the soil slips today. I found a clear plastic tub and added about an inch of soil. The soil was already moist because I took it from the outside bed that happened to be covered in snow from last night. Great timing, right?
I heated the soil up a bit by holding the container in front of a heating lamp and then added the sweet potatoes. I cut one potato in half and added the two halves orange flesh down. I did this because in a few of the articles it said to cut them. That was part of what had confused me in the beginning. Then I added the last sprouted potato to the dirt whole and placed the container in front of a low set heating lamp. Since its been snowing the house isn't very warm, especially not the sun room which happens to be the only place that I can keep my potatoes. So, the heating lamp is going to be necessary for a few days until it starts to warm up and the sun decides to show his face in VA again.
The spinach happens to be sitting there too. I didn't think it was getting enough warmth from the sun. So I brought it in for the day to get a little artificial warmth. I won't leave it there as long as the S.P's because it doesn't need it but I did want to bring it in out of the snow... its been 7 days and I don't see any signs of germination. Hopefully this will help and not hurt.
Soil Slips...
I started the soil slips today. I found a clear plastic tub and added about an inch of soil. The soil was already moist because I took it from the outside bed that happened to be covered in snow from last night. Great timing, right?
I heated the soil up a bit by holding the container in front of a heating lamp and then added the sweet potatoes. I cut one potato in half and added the two halves orange flesh down. I did this because in a few of the articles it said to cut them. That was part of what had confused me in the beginning. Then I added the last sprouted potato to the dirt whole and placed the container in front of a low set heating lamp. Since its been snowing the house isn't very warm, especially not the sun room which happens to be the only place that I can keep my potatoes. So, the heating lamp is going to be necessary for a few days until it starts to warm up and the sun decides to show his face in VA again.
The spinach happens to be sitting there too. I didn't think it was getting enough warmth from the sun. So I brought it in for the day to get a little artificial warmth. I won't leave it there as long as the S.P's because it doesn't need it but I did want to bring it in out of the snow... its been 7 days and I don't see any signs of germination. Hopefully this will help and not hurt.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Slippery Sweets
Bored...
The last 2 days I haven't had that much to do concerning P.M. because most of the plants I have chosen to grow are warm/hot weather plants and I hadn't planned on growing my own seedlings. The spinach still needs to be tended to on an every other day basis and checked on everyday but it has yet to germinate. Not that I was expecting my spinach to be super spinach or anything but at the moment the container and faerie plot are a bit on the boring side. I did add the markers to the empty garden, mostly because I am impatient but also as a test. I wanted to make sure that all of the nail polish products used would withstand the rain. Now that they are completely dry I may add a topcoat of clear polish to ensure there survival. Other than that I did a little sweeping, tossing of old plant material, and mulching in the area next to my little garden just so that it all looked uniform and neat. That turned out fine. Just fine.
I found a few old but beautiful tiles laying behind a bush in the driveway and grabbed 3 of one design (yellow and white swirl) and 2 of another (unsure of how to describe). I cleaned them up with a little all-purpose cleaner and laid them out in a left-right upward pattern on each side of the bed. I placed the spinach container on top of the first tile to the left. I think they add a little something. That took all of 30 minutes and then it was back inside.
Slips...
I was going through Pinterest while watching RHoBH. I usually go through the garden section before bed just to get a few ideas or read about interesting projects people are trying. As I was going through Pinterest I saw a pin that said "Start garden with kitchen scraps." I didn't click on it to see what the article had to say but the title got me thinking. As I thought it came to me that they must be talking about veggies that get old in your pantry and start to sprout roots or stems. That made me think of onions, garlic, and finally sweet potatoes. The last being an veggie I plan to grow.
Memory...
I remembered that one day about a year ago Mike and I were going through the kitchen to find something to munch on and found a few sweet potatoes with funny looking "roots." At the time we were both saying things like "Look at this" and "weird" and "Bah" (toss in face). We had a good laugh then tossed the "ruined" potatoes in the garbage.
Little did I know...I went upstairs to see if we had any sweet potatoes in the pantry with "roots" on them. I hadn't yet Googled "How to grow sprouted S.P's" or anything. I just thought I'd need a couple sweet potatoes with "roots" if I was going to experiment. I found 3. Then I Googled. I found out that you can start with any sweet potato no, what I now knew are slips and not roots, needed but that if they do have slips starting already that you were in better shape than if not. So I read on and found two different methods of creating slips from grocery store sweet pots. 1) using tooth picks to suspend the S.P. submerged halfway in water in a glass container with the slip end up 2) set the sweet potato on top of a little moist soil slip end up.
Both methods required a warm spot to work. At first the fact that there were two methods confused me. One in only water and one in little water, that didn't seem right. So I found a video that really helped on YouTube, How To Grow Your Own Sweet Potato Slips/Plants. The woman in the video documents growing slips both ways over the course of about 4 weeks. Both approaches worked well. She also explained the part that the written articles did not mention or didn't explain properly... after the slips have grown (both methods) you must snap them off and submerge the bottom in water to root, then plant if it's warm enough. Without this little nugget of info my slips my have made it through the first step but they never would have become potatoes. I had all the information on growing slips that I needed and the time to try it.
Bored no more...
I'm psyched for tomorrow! I'll set up both methods on a windowsill in the house and spend the next few weeks attempting to grow my own slips. I'll use the 3 I'd found with slips already forming and 1 without as a small test within my test. Also, that will even it out 2 for each method. If they all don't work out I'll just buy them at the local Home Depot or nursery. I'm really excited to try it either way. The potatoes with just the slips on them were beautiful and it would be great to say I started the plants from scratch, basically. Problem of nothing to do for my garden until ALFD, solved!
The last 2 days I haven't had that much to do concerning P.M. because most of the plants I have chosen to grow are warm/hot weather plants and I hadn't planned on growing my own seedlings. The spinach still needs to be tended to on an every other day basis and checked on everyday but it has yet to germinate. Not that I was expecting my spinach to be super spinach or anything but at the moment the container and faerie plot are a bit on the boring side. I did add the markers to the empty garden, mostly because I am impatient but also as a test. I wanted to make sure that all of the nail polish products used would withstand the rain. Now that they are completely dry I may add a topcoat of clear polish to ensure there survival. Other than that I did a little sweeping, tossing of old plant material, and mulching in the area next to my little garden just so that it all looked uniform and neat. That turned out fine. Just fine.
I found a few old but beautiful tiles laying behind a bush in the driveway and grabbed 3 of one design (yellow and white swirl) and 2 of another (unsure of how to describe). I cleaned them up with a little all-purpose cleaner and laid them out in a left-right upward pattern on each side of the bed. I placed the spinach container on top of the first tile to the left. I think they add a little something. That took all of 30 minutes and then it was back inside.
Slips...
I was going through Pinterest while watching RHoBH. I usually go through the garden section before bed just to get a few ideas or read about interesting projects people are trying. As I was going through Pinterest I saw a pin that said "Start garden with kitchen scraps." I didn't click on it to see what the article had to say but the title got me thinking. As I thought it came to me that they must be talking about veggies that get old in your pantry and start to sprout roots or stems. That made me think of onions, garlic, and finally sweet potatoes. The last being an veggie I plan to grow.
Memory...
I remembered that one day about a year ago Mike and I were going through the kitchen to find something to munch on and found a few sweet potatoes with funny looking "roots." At the time we were both saying things like "Look at this" and "weird" and "Bah" (toss in face). We had a good laugh then tossed the "ruined" potatoes in the garbage.
Little did I know...I went upstairs to see if we had any sweet potatoes in the pantry with "roots" on them. I hadn't yet Googled "How to grow sprouted S.P's" or anything. I just thought I'd need a couple sweet potatoes with "roots" if I was going to experiment. I found 3. Then I Googled. I found out that you can start with any sweet potato no, what I now knew are slips and not roots, needed but that if they do have slips starting already that you were in better shape than if not. So I read on and found two different methods of creating slips from grocery store sweet pots. 1) using tooth picks to suspend the S.P. submerged halfway in water in a glass container with the slip end up 2) set the sweet potato on top of a little moist soil slip end up.
Both methods required a warm spot to work. At first the fact that there were two methods confused me. One in only water and one in little water, that didn't seem right. So I found a video that really helped on YouTube, How To Grow Your Own Sweet Potato Slips/Plants. The woman in the video documents growing slips both ways over the course of about 4 weeks. Both approaches worked well. She also explained the part that the written articles did not mention or didn't explain properly... after the slips have grown (both methods) you must snap them off and submerge the bottom in water to root, then plant if it's warm enough. Without this little nugget of info my slips my have made it through the first step but they never would have become potatoes. I had all the information on growing slips that I needed and the time to try it.
Bored no more...
I'm psyched for tomorrow! I'll set up both methods on a windowsill in the house and spend the next few weeks attempting to grow my own slips. I'll use the 3 I'd found with slips already forming and 1 without as a small test within my test. Also, that will even it out 2 for each method. If they all don't work out I'll just buy them at the local Home Depot or nursery. I'm really excited to try it either way. The potatoes with just the slips on them were beautiful and it would be great to say I started the plants from scratch, basically. Problem of nothing to do for my garden until ALFD, solved!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Nail Polish Markers
More Markers...
I was getting pretty frustrated with the broken tile markers. I kept trying the calligraphy ink and they just weren't turning out. I went back to Sharpie markers and that wasn't the look I wanted. So, I got out a small can of sample enamel house paint in black. I started painting one of the tiles and it was looking pretty good but the smell was toxic. I just kept thinking, I don't know if I'm going to pass out mid paint...
The enamel paint was getting all over the place so I moved to the floor and laid out some extra newspaper and continued trying the black paint. It was too messy, smelly, and thick. It wouldn't dry completely so it got all over my hand but it would dry too quickly on the brush so that my stokes ended up uneven and bulky. It was a complete mess. So I grabbed the trusty acrylic paint kit, a paper cup filled with water and some paper towels. I squeeze out a little crimson, considering that it had worked so well on the sign, and start painting. I stop to take a look at what I've done and it just felt like a child's finger painting. It was too bold not fake enough or realistic enough. Plus, it turns out that acrylic is water soluble when used on tile. May be either way but I didn't think so. I continue sitting on the floor just look at all the samples I've piled up. None of which would work. None of which were up to par. I sigh deeply and got frustrated and started to put all my tools away when I thought, NAIL POLISH! It's waterproof and I think I have most of the colors I'll need. OH MY GOD! I even have a black nail polish pen for the words!!
I ran to the bathroom and grabbed the nail polish colors, pen, and some acetone for mistakes. I started with the radish plant marker. It looked good. I was even able to add a little shadow on the radishes with the polish pen. Then, I moved on to the carrots. I happened to have this neon orange and I wasn't sure that it would look very good but orange isn't a popular nail color so it had to. I started with the triangles and used Go Aboard by Essie for the greens. They looked great but were missing a little something... adding the little ridges on a carrot in the black polish pen made the carrots. It was officially my favorite. It was on to the sweet potato. This one was going to be tough. I didn't have a true brown color so I improvised with a purplish brown mauve color and a coral for the interior. I figured the only way they would be slightly recognizable was if I made them sliced. So I painted in the body then the coral cross section slice and added some eyes. It was okay... the words made it look even better because they filled in what the oval pots. couldn't. This was finally going well, it was 3 down and 2 to go. The peppers were easy but I made them red even though jalapenos are usually green. I used red because I love the Go Overboard color and didn't want to waste it all (@ $8/bottle) on the marker. Then I moved on to the strawberries and was able to get the tops relatively right. They looked good and amazing after I added all the seeds. I didn't account for the word so "Strawberry" would have to do over "Strawberries." Now, the Spinach. Well what can I say spinach is really hard to paint, draw, copy, & etc. It would have been a green blob and my Essie would have been empty... I decide that I wouldn't make one for the spinach, 1) because it is in a container and the tile would most likely squash it 2) if it wasn't placed in the container it would be placed on the ground and might cut someones bare foot and 3) I'm only using one of that type of container so I know what it is. No need to mark it.
I am so excited that the nail polish worked and that the markers look good! I was getting extremely frustrated and was not willing to give up on the tile pieces. Thank goodness for nail polish!!!! I'll be putting them out tomorrow along with the decorative tiles... I'll explain about those later when I have them out.
I was getting pretty frustrated with the broken tile markers. I kept trying the calligraphy ink and they just weren't turning out. I went back to Sharpie markers and that wasn't the look I wanted. So, I got out a small can of sample enamel house paint in black. I started painting one of the tiles and it was looking pretty good but the smell was toxic. I just kept thinking, I don't know if I'm going to pass out mid paint...
The enamel paint was getting all over the place so I moved to the floor and laid out some extra newspaper and continued trying the black paint. It was too messy, smelly, and thick. It wouldn't dry completely so it got all over my hand but it would dry too quickly on the brush so that my stokes ended up uneven and bulky. It was a complete mess. So I grabbed the trusty acrylic paint kit, a paper cup filled with water and some paper towels. I squeeze out a little crimson, considering that it had worked so well on the sign, and start painting. I stop to take a look at what I've done and it just felt like a child's finger painting. It was too bold not fake enough or realistic enough. Plus, it turns out that acrylic is water soluble when used on tile. May be either way but I didn't think so. I continue sitting on the floor just look at all the samples I've piled up. None of which would work. None of which were up to par. I sigh deeply and got frustrated and started to put all my tools away when I thought, NAIL POLISH! It's waterproof and I think I have most of the colors I'll need. OH MY GOD! I even have a black nail polish pen for the words!!
I ran to the bathroom and grabbed the nail polish colors, pen, and some acetone for mistakes. I started with the radish plant marker. It looked good. I was even able to add a little shadow on the radishes with the polish pen. Then, I moved on to the carrots. I happened to have this neon orange and I wasn't sure that it would look very good but orange isn't a popular nail color so it had to. I started with the triangles and used Go Aboard by Essie for the greens. They looked great but were missing a little something... adding the little ridges on a carrot in the black polish pen made the carrots. It was officially my favorite. It was on to the sweet potato. This one was going to be tough. I didn't have a true brown color so I improvised with a purplish brown mauve color and a coral for the interior. I figured the only way they would be slightly recognizable was if I made them sliced. So I painted in the body then the coral cross section slice and added some eyes. It was okay... the words made it look even better because they filled in what the oval pots. couldn't. This was finally going well, it was 3 down and 2 to go. The peppers were easy but I made them red even though jalapenos are usually green. I used red because I love the Go Overboard color and didn't want to waste it all (@ $8/bottle) on the marker. Then I moved on to the strawberries and was able to get the tops relatively right. They looked good and amazing after I added all the seeds. I didn't account for the word so "Strawberry" would have to do over "Strawberries." Now, the Spinach. Well what can I say spinach is really hard to paint, draw, copy, & etc. It would have been a green blob and my Essie would have been empty... I decide that I wouldn't make one for the spinach, 1) because it is in a container and the tile would most likely squash it 2) if it wasn't placed in the container it would be placed on the ground and might cut someones bare foot and 3) I'm only using one of that type of container so I know what it is. No need to mark it.
I am so excited that the nail polish worked and that the markers look good! I was getting extremely frustrated and was not willing to give up on the tile pieces. Thank goodness for nail polish!!!! I'll be putting them out tomorrow along with the decorative tiles... I'll explain about those later when I have them out.
Mark the Tile
Plant Markers...
I had totally forgotten about plant markers besides what I had used for the faerie spinach patch. So last night I went looking around for something clever...
The original idea was to find rocks of a certain shape and size then paint them fully in different solid colors. Once they had dried I would paint the name and image of a veggie or fruit to reside in my garden. I figured that was a lot more trouble then it may be visually appealing. I found some broken tile and gathered some art supplies. I tried Sharpie's first but they came out way too pale on the tile. Then I tried black calligraphy ink but haven't been able to manipulate the brush over the small pieces of tile. I am trying to recreate the screenshot below;
I hope they work out like the above and not like the below... No real work done outside because of the extremely cool weather... more tomorrow.
I had totally forgotten about plant markers besides what I had used for the faerie spinach patch. So last night I went looking around for something clever...
The original idea was to find rocks of a certain shape and size then paint them fully in different solid colors. Once they had dried I would paint the name and image of a veggie or fruit to reside in my garden. I figured that was a lot more trouble then it may be visually appealing. I found some broken tile and gathered some art supplies. I tried Sharpie's first but they came out way too pale on the tile. Then I tried black calligraphy ink but haven't been able to manipulate the brush over the small pieces of tile. I am trying to recreate the screenshot below;
I hope they work out like the above and not like the below... No real work done outside because of the extremely cool weather... more tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Signing Up
About My Last Entry...
I was obviously upset when I wrote "Dreams Dashed." Only because one of the things I've been most excited about is the strawberries. I had planned on using PVC pipes to make homemade strawberry towers (that would have been cheaper) but I was so worried about risking the plants themselves. So I bought the Topsy Turvy. The shipping was the same price as one unit but I figured it would be worth it. I'd definitely get a good crop. When I found out that the Topsy Turvy would require a minimum of 12 plants I was bummed. Mostly because I had set a very strict budget. I was also bummed because it would look silly if I didn't fill every hole in the planter. Mike thinks that ordering the plants online is "too good to be true" but I have read a lot about gardening in the past few months and to be honest it seems like most skilled gardeners order their plants online or from catalogs.
Prices:
Home Depot/Retail: $5/plant
Total: $60.00 for 12
Online/Catalog: $5.70/bundle or 10
Total: $11.40 for 20
I'm going with the online plants and it'll be fine. I'm OK now. Hopefully, Mike won't be right.
Today...
I got up and checked the weather because it looked a little cloudy out. Then I stuck on my boots and headed out to the garden. I quickly checked my bed and spinach container. The container was still moist but I added a little more water. It seemed to need just a touch. DONE. Then I looked into the bed and noticed that there were little red buds all over it.
I worried that adding the soil to the bed too early would lead to some "self pollination." That the wind would carry seeds and other little plants into the soil that would then take root and begin to grow, ruining the ALFD plants I have planned. So I began picking out the little red "buds" by hand. I couldn't help but thinking that one of the neighbors had thrown the buds in the air and let them fly to sabotage my garden. Mostly, I thought of our direct next door neighbor to the right of the house. I only thought this because we don't spend that much time in the side yard or what now is Patch Market and maybe he didn't like some of his privacy invaded. Anyway, it was a fleeting thought. I really don't believe that was done. It's March and you know what they say "March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb" referring to the wind. So the wind carried these buds in and I was left picking them out. I continued to pick as many buds out as I saw. I went square by square and dumped them in the ivy.
When I was done with that I thought about looking for an old sheet to cover the fresh soil until I plant my ALFD plants but I thought that may be over doing it. So, I went looking for a piece of old wood to make a sign. I looked all over the yard, in the basement, and finally in my boyfriends Dad's tool room. I struck gold. I found a fallen out bottom of an old kitchen draw. It was perfect! Initially, I'd asked Mike (the boyfriend) to paint the sign for me because he's really good at that type of thing but once I had the wood in hand I decided I wanted to be the one to do it. I had a clear and direct vision. So I grabbed a white and brown can of paint, paper towels, and newspaper and headed back out. Once I was at the top of the driveway I laid out the newspaper and sprayed some white paint onto it. I wanted the sign to have the look and feel of reclaimed wood that hadn't been stripped. I dipped a paper towel in the white paint and started running it across the piece of wood to give it that leftover paint look. Then I did the same with the brown to outline the white. Now I needed to paint the words "Patch Market" on the sign. I went down into the far back room and found an acrylic paint set, I found it earlier when looking for the wood but didn't grab it because I didn't plan on using it. It happened to contain the fancy paint brushes I had been missing. So double score! I took the kit outside, opened it and grabbed for the black. The cap wouldn't budge. I tried with rubber gloves, paper towel, and anything else I thought would give me some grip. Nothing worked. I was thinking of cutting the bottom off but couldn't bring myself to do so... as I was reaching for another color I noticed that some black paint had leaked out of the tube when I was squeezing it. The tube had a hole. I squeezed a little more out and started painting the words on. At first, I was really disappointed. It was looking bad, especially the "P" so I lifted the sign and started painting with it closer to my body. That helped so much! It was really starting to turn into something nice-ish. I finished the words and decided to add a couple of veggies for decoration. I started with a large radish.
When the radish turned out fairly well I got the green paint out and added some stems. Since the brush I was using was already green I painted in the carrot greens. I had to wash the brush under the hose each time I changed colors. I ended up getting really cold and wet. The hose is actually, currently, detached from the tap so the water was going everywhere. I didn't want to use all of my fancy new paint brushes (that I'd lost and found) on the sign so I chanced getting wet each time. I went back and looked into the kit for orange paint to finish the carrot. None. I sat there thinking, What makes orange? I ended up mixing burnt sienna and crimson red. It wasn't the exact color I wanted but it worked well enough. I painted the carrot in and added some crimson lines for depth. I took a look at what I had completed and felt like it needed a little something on the left side (the radish and carrot were on the right) so I washed my brush again and added a baby crimson radish to the left and then washed it again and added some greens. I was finally done after about 2 hours. Now, I needed to hang it. It had taken me so long to paint, almost all of it was dry by the time I finished the baby radish. Now because of the time I am sure that you're thinking the sign is a work of art. It's not. I just took a lot of time finding all of the things I needed. In part, all of the other tasks I've completed in the garden have taken me longer because I don't bring everything out that I'll need that day. Still hadn't at that point...
I went back inside and got the trusty twine, a pair of scissors, 2 long nails, and a small hammer. I headed over to Patch and hammered the nails into the sign, tied the twine to the nail, strung the string through one opening in the gate and tied the other end to the other nail. As I looked on at the sign I'd I became really excited I kept thinking all I need is the Topsy Turvy and I'm done done done. I took a couple pictures and headed inside to wash up and have some lunch. Mike headed out to pick up lunch but came right back down with the Topsy Turvy. It was here! Once he left I opened the box and put it all together. Then I went outside to hang it on my shepherd hook. My garden was complete (minus the plants). It was really a great feeling to see all the building truly done. I had transformed this little piece of land into what I hope will become a thriving sunny garden of beautiful berries and veggies.
That feeling didn't last long...
Once I had taken my pictures with the TT in place I went back inside because it was getting cold. I boxed the TT back up and started reading the pamphlets that came with it. The "10 tips to growing the best strawberries" or something like that, as I read on I got more and more discouraged. One of the 10 tips said that buying regular potting soil wouldn't be a bargain. It would kill my berries. Just another thing I had to buy or so I thought (hence the Dreams Dashed blog entry). After reading everything and getting discouraged by 1 or 2 more of the "tips" I grabbed my iPhone and googled, "MG soil for strawberry growth." I found a forum where several beginners and pro's were discussing Miracle Gro garden soil. Most people said that MG was fine. They said that compost was obviously best but that they had pretty good results with the MG garden soil. That lifted my spirits a bit. I wouldn't have to buy a tiny bag for $10. I spent awhile reading the blog and decided that as soon as this spring is done and all my plants are just getting going I'm going to build a compost bin. Compost is so good for your plants and its virtually free. I also found out that I should have bought compost from another county. I'd looked into that before starting but never found anything for Arlington County. I didn't think to look in neighboring counties. Others do sell compost by the yard and deliver it. If I decide composting isn't my thing I'll definitely be using them next year!
I was obviously upset when I wrote "Dreams Dashed." Only because one of the things I've been most excited about is the strawberries. I had planned on using PVC pipes to make homemade strawberry towers (that would have been cheaper) but I was so worried about risking the plants themselves. So I bought the Topsy Turvy. The shipping was the same price as one unit but I figured it would be worth it. I'd definitely get a good crop. When I found out that the Topsy Turvy would require a minimum of 12 plants I was bummed. Mostly because I had set a very strict budget. I was also bummed because it would look silly if I didn't fill every hole in the planter. Mike thinks that ordering the plants online is "too good to be true" but I have read a lot about gardening in the past few months and to be honest it seems like most skilled gardeners order their plants online or from catalogs.
Prices:
Home Depot/Retail: $5/plant
Total: $60.00 for 12
Online/Catalog: $5.70/bundle or 10
Total: $11.40 for 20
I'm going with the online plants and it'll be fine. I'm OK now. Hopefully, Mike won't be right.
Today...
I got up and checked the weather because it looked a little cloudy out. Then I stuck on my boots and headed out to the garden. I quickly checked my bed and spinach container. The container was still moist but I added a little more water. It seemed to need just a touch. DONE. Then I looked into the bed and noticed that there were little red buds all over it.
I worried that adding the soil to the bed too early would lead to some "self pollination." That the wind would carry seeds and other little plants into the soil that would then take root and begin to grow, ruining the ALFD plants I have planned. So I began picking out the little red "buds" by hand. I couldn't help but thinking that one of the neighbors had thrown the buds in the air and let them fly to sabotage my garden. Mostly, I thought of our direct next door neighbor to the right of the house. I only thought this because we don't spend that much time in the side yard or what now is Patch Market and maybe he didn't like some of his privacy invaded. Anyway, it was a fleeting thought. I really don't believe that was done. It's March and you know what they say "March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb" referring to the wind. So the wind carried these buds in and I was left picking them out. I continued to pick as many buds out as I saw. I went square by square and dumped them in the ivy.
When I was done with that I thought about looking for an old sheet to cover the fresh soil until I plant my ALFD plants but I thought that may be over doing it. So, I went looking for a piece of old wood to make a sign. I looked all over the yard, in the basement, and finally in my boyfriends Dad's tool room. I struck gold. I found a fallen out bottom of an old kitchen draw. It was perfect! Initially, I'd asked Mike (the boyfriend) to paint the sign for me because he's really good at that type of thing but once I had the wood in hand I decided I wanted to be the one to do it. I had a clear and direct vision. So I grabbed a white and brown can of paint, paper towels, and newspaper and headed back out. Once I was at the top of the driveway I laid out the newspaper and sprayed some white paint onto it. I wanted the sign to have the look and feel of reclaimed wood that hadn't been stripped. I dipped a paper towel in the white paint and started running it across the piece of wood to give it that leftover paint look. Then I did the same with the brown to outline the white. Now I needed to paint the words "Patch Market" on the sign. I went down into the far back room and found an acrylic paint set, I found it earlier when looking for the wood but didn't grab it because I didn't plan on using it. It happened to contain the fancy paint brushes I had been missing. So double score! I took the kit outside, opened it and grabbed for the black. The cap wouldn't budge. I tried with rubber gloves, paper towel, and anything else I thought would give me some grip. Nothing worked. I was thinking of cutting the bottom off but couldn't bring myself to do so... as I was reaching for another color I noticed that some black paint had leaked out of the tube when I was squeezing it. The tube had a hole. I squeezed a little more out and started painting the words on. At first, I was really disappointed. It was looking bad, especially the "P" so I lifted the sign and started painting with it closer to my body. That helped so much! It was really starting to turn into something nice-ish. I finished the words and decided to add a couple of veggies for decoration. I started with a large radish.
When the radish turned out fairly well I got the green paint out and added some stems. Since the brush I was using was already green I painted in the carrot greens. I had to wash the brush under the hose each time I changed colors. I ended up getting really cold and wet. The hose is actually, currently, detached from the tap so the water was going everywhere. I didn't want to use all of my fancy new paint brushes (that I'd lost and found) on the sign so I chanced getting wet each time. I went back and looked into the kit for orange paint to finish the carrot. None. I sat there thinking, What makes orange? I ended up mixing burnt sienna and crimson red. It wasn't the exact color I wanted but it worked well enough. I painted the carrot in and added some crimson lines for depth. I took a look at what I had completed and felt like it needed a little something on the left side (the radish and carrot were on the right) so I washed my brush again and added a baby crimson radish to the left and then washed it again and added some greens. I was finally done after about 2 hours. Now, I needed to hang it. It had taken me so long to paint, almost all of it was dry by the time I finished the baby radish. Now because of the time I am sure that you're thinking the sign is a work of art. It's not. I just took a lot of time finding all of the things I needed. In part, all of the other tasks I've completed in the garden have taken me longer because I don't bring everything out that I'll need that day. Still hadn't at that point...
I went back inside and got the trusty twine, a pair of scissors, 2 long nails, and a small hammer. I headed over to Patch and hammered the nails into the sign, tied the twine to the nail, strung the string through one opening in the gate and tied the other end to the other nail. As I looked on at the sign I'd I became really excited I kept thinking all I need is the Topsy Turvy and I'm done done done. I took a couple pictures and headed inside to wash up and have some lunch. Mike headed out to pick up lunch but came right back down with the Topsy Turvy. It was here! Once he left I opened the box and put it all together. Then I went outside to hang it on my shepherd hook. My garden was complete (minus the plants). It was really a great feeling to see all the building truly done. I had transformed this little piece of land into what I hope will become a thriving sunny garden of beautiful berries and veggies.
That feeling didn't last long...
Once I had taken my pictures with the TT in place I went back inside because it was getting cold. I boxed the TT back up and started reading the pamphlets that came with it. The "10 tips to growing the best strawberries" or something like that, as I read on I got more and more discouraged. One of the 10 tips said that buying regular potting soil wouldn't be a bargain. It would kill my berries. Just another thing I had to buy or so I thought (hence the Dreams Dashed blog entry). After reading everything and getting discouraged by 1 or 2 more of the "tips" I grabbed my iPhone and googled, "MG soil for strawberry growth." I found a forum where several beginners and pro's were discussing Miracle Gro garden soil. Most people said that MG was fine. They said that compost was obviously best but that they had pretty good results with the MG garden soil. That lifted my spirits a bit. I wouldn't have to buy a tiny bag for $10. I spent awhile reading the blog and decided that as soon as this spring is done and all my plants are just getting going I'm going to build a compost bin. Compost is so good for your plants and its virtually free. I also found out that I should have bought compost from another county. I'd looked into that before starting but never found anything for Arlington County. I didn't think to look in neighboring counties. Others do sell compost by the yard and deliver it. If I decide composting isn't my thing I'll definitely be using them next year!
Dreams Dashed
Dreams...
I'll explain the dream. The dream was that I would buy six strawberry plants and 6 mixed seedlings and my garden would be lush and beautiful. I figured the topsy turvy was some miracle planter that wouldn't let my berries die. I also dreamed that I'd come within budget, $135.00. Considering how much recycled and home materials I used that was a logical dream.
Dashed...
I found out that I need 12 strawberry plants @ $5.00 a plant to fill the topsy turvy to the minimum. It actually fits 30 plants. I found out that the most common seedling sold has been known for disease, Bonnie. I found out that regular potting soil may kill my plants because its just not good enough. I found out I wouldn't meet my budget. If you know me that's the worst of them all. I am unbelievably frugal. Happens when you grow up with little money and not much choice about it.
Overview...
I'm doomed! But my topsy turvy came today so that's good. UGH!
I'll explain the dream. The dream was that I would buy six strawberry plants and 6 mixed seedlings and my garden would be lush and beautiful. I figured the topsy turvy was some miracle planter that wouldn't let my berries die. I also dreamed that I'd come within budget, $135.00. Considering how much recycled and home materials I used that was a logical dream.
Dashed...
I found out that I need 12 strawberry plants @ $5.00 a plant to fill the topsy turvy to the minimum. It actually fits 30 plants. I found out that the most common seedling sold has been known for disease, Bonnie. I found out that regular potting soil may kill my plants because its just not good enough. I found out I wouldn't meet my budget. If you know me that's the worst of them all. I am unbelievably frugal. Happens when you grow up with little money and not much choice about it.
Overview...
I'm doomed! But my topsy turvy came today so that's good. UGH!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Faerie Plot
Forgotten...
After I planted the container, I forgot that I had planted a few seeds in the ground in the backyard! I felt like it was so very sneaky at the time, maybe because I knew it shouldn't be grown there or didn't have much of a chance, I don't know.
I looked around for a spot that wouldn't be walked on for at least a week or two. Like I said, I knew the seeds didn't have much of a chance but I wanted to experiment. See if you really need loose soil, compost, and a root free ground. So I found a spot under what looks like a peeling tree (not one leaf, yet, so sun shines through) and used the rake type tool to dig into the dirt about half an inch. As I dug I saw worms, roots and felt the resistance. The dirt was muddy because it had rained the day before but I continued. Once I had dug out a tiny 4x4" plot I raked across the plot and put four seeds in each row. I didn't remove any roots, double dig, or add compost. I just added the seeds, covered them with dirt, and lightly patted them with a spade. Since I'd found a random spot to clean out and dig into, in what comes out to be a fairly large backyard, I needed something to mark my test. I went looking around and remembered that I saw an old plastic plant marker from last summer an hour earlier. That didn't work it was covered in muck. I ended up finding a larger plastic marker by the gate to the driveway and cleaned it off. Now all I needed was a marker (an ink one) so I went inside grabbed a Prisma Color purple and wrote "Spinach".
I headed back out, to the left of the peeling tree, to stick the marker in front of my 4x4" plot. A faerie garden was built!
Why did I do that...?
I don't know if they'll even germinate but I do kind of hope they do. It would be nice to know that plants are a lot more resilient then the websites and books make them out to be. I know that even if they do germinate that they won't grow to full side because that ground plot is fairly hard and I just don't think that the roots could push through even after the thaw, if I can't. Mike's dad keeps saying that we should use more of the garden space for things like blueberry bushes and etc. but I just don't know if they'd make it in the yard because I haven't read much about ground gardening. If these spinach seeds just germinate that will give me hope for a blueberry bush and for the seeds that I have planted and am planning to plant in loose, composted, well aerated, nutrient rich soil (thought in a snobby voice). I really am worried that 3 out of my 6 veggies aren't going to grow. So, if the ground plot even germinates one seed it'll boost my confidence in my seed sowing abilities. If they don't I won't take that to mean that my other seeds won't germinate and flourish but I'll be much more wary when I finally plant the carrots & radishes in my raised bed. Also, I'll take what the websites and books say completely to heart. Follow the directions even more meticulously than I have been (which is really really meticulously) and maybe even use some of the off-plot, that was allotted for the carrots (not all of it), for herbs that help my plants grow (as recommended). I'll get fewer carrots that way but some Lemon Balm and... uh Stinging Nettle may be nice too, MAYBE.
::extra deep sigh::
After I planted the container, I forgot that I had planted a few seeds in the ground in the backyard! I felt like it was so very sneaky at the time, maybe because I knew it shouldn't be grown there or didn't have much of a chance, I don't know.
I looked around for a spot that wouldn't be walked on for at least a week or two. Like I said, I knew the seeds didn't have much of a chance but I wanted to experiment. See if you really need loose soil, compost, and a root free ground. So I found a spot under what looks like a peeling tree (not one leaf, yet, so sun shines through) and used the rake type tool to dig into the dirt about half an inch. As I dug I saw worms, roots and felt the resistance. The dirt was muddy because it had rained the day before but I continued. Once I had dug out a tiny 4x4" plot I raked across the plot and put four seeds in each row. I didn't remove any roots, double dig, or add compost. I just added the seeds, covered them with dirt, and lightly patted them with a spade. Since I'd found a random spot to clean out and dig into, in what comes out to be a fairly large backyard, I needed something to mark my test. I went looking around and remembered that I saw an old plastic plant marker from last summer an hour earlier. That didn't work it was covered in muck. I ended up finding a larger plastic marker by the gate to the driveway and cleaned it off. Now all I needed was a marker (an ink one) so I went inside grabbed a Prisma Color purple and wrote "Spinach".
I headed back out, to the left of the peeling tree, to stick the marker in front of my 4x4" plot. A faerie garden was built!
Why did I do that...?
I don't know if they'll even germinate but I do kind of hope they do. It would be nice to know that plants are a lot more resilient then the websites and books make them out to be. I know that even if they do germinate that they won't grow to full side because that ground plot is fairly hard and I just don't think that the roots could push through even after the thaw, if I can't. Mike's dad keeps saying that we should use more of the garden space for things like blueberry bushes and etc. but I just don't know if they'd make it in the yard because I haven't read much about ground gardening. If these spinach seeds just germinate that will give me hope for a blueberry bush and for the seeds that I have planted and am planning to plant in loose, composted, well aerated, nutrient rich soil (thought in a snobby voice). I really am worried that 3 out of my 6 veggies aren't going to grow. So, if the ground plot even germinates one seed it'll boost my confidence in my seed sowing abilities. If they don't I won't take that to mean that my other seeds won't germinate and flourish but I'll be much more wary when I finally plant the carrots & radishes in my raised bed. Also, I'll take what the websites and books say completely to heart. Follow the directions even more meticulously than I have been (which is really really meticulously) and maybe even use some of the off-plot, that was allotted for the carrots (not all of it), for herbs that help my plants grow (as recommended). I'll get fewer carrots that way but some Lemon Balm and... uh Stinging Nettle may be nice too, MAYBE.
::extra deep sigh::
String Them Up!
I started out the day by checking the weather because I decided that gardening in the rain when it's under 70 degrees probably isn't best. The weather read 57 and Sunny so I headed outside with my packet of spinach seeds, a new pair of gloves and a container.
I tried using one container but decided that it just didn't drain as quickly as I'd like... Considering that my strawberry plant was killed partially by root rot I picked a smaller container with better drainage and began filling it. I should have poured instead but I scooped. When I was finally done scooping about 30 minutes later I got one of those small rake looking things and a measuring tape. Why the tape you ask? Well, the back of the seed packaging said to plant the Bloomsdale Long-standing spinach 1/2 in. deep. So I measured the prongs on the small rake tool and raked through the top of the soil at 1/2in depth, abouts. Then I tore open the seed packet and was kinda shocked by how many seeds are in 1 package. I'd gotten 2 for 2 containers. You live and learn, I guess. So I put about 7 seeds in each row. If all of them germinate then I wasted like 38 seeds. I figured my chances were better that I'd get 3 to germinate by trying an overload of seeds. I'll definitely thin them out when they start growing if all of them do or more than 3.
Once I had completed the spinach container I decided that I needed to measure the interior wall of my raised bed considering that I hadn't moved the back wall in that meticulously. I knew it wouldn't come out to my originally planned 5x3 foot raised bed. It came to about 4.5 ft by 2.5 ft. Not exactly what I had expected but closer to that then I had figured. So I took a spade and started drawing the lines in the dirt. I had 6 1x1 square foot plots and on the perimeter I had one 4.5ft by .5in plot and one 2.5 ft by .5 inch plot. Although all of the plants I had plotted wouldn't fit into my square garden perfectly I decided not to be so disappointed by this and instead to be happy that I would have the space, in some sense, for each veggie selected. I am going to use the off-plots for the carrots. One variety in the 2.5 plot and the other in the 4.5 plot. I'll just plant 1 row instead of 2. That'll get me more than enough carrots. I hope.
Once I had sectioned the dirt off with a spade I went inside to find some pieces of wood to use to hold my ties and string. I came back with 4 chopsticks, 1 paint mixer, 8 kabob sticks, and twine. I remeasured and used the bricks to hold one end of the string and the paint mixer, chopsticks, and kabob sticks to hold the end that ran to the concrete blocks. It took me awhile to get everything just right. I had to measure down the middle twice and remeasure each square once I realized I had gotten the middle off by 3 inches or so. Chopping the dirt up with a spade and tape measure wasn't as efficient as I'd thought. I finally got it right and my raised bed had transformed into a garden. Somehow, those string sections made it look real and fancy almost. I know it sounds silly but my picture of a garden includes those strings so "installing" them was kind of the last piece of building. All I need now besides the plants is a sign for the gate that allows entry to the side yard from the backyard. Then I'll be set.
As far as the container...
My spinach seeds should show something green in about 7 days but I don't know it may be more like 14. I told my mom this and she asked immediately "when can we eat it!?" I replied and said that it would be less if we picked the baby leaves. She said "baby spinach is better! With tomato though! When will they be ready?" And I replied again assuring her that spinach and tomato would be available together at some point in the summer but not as soon as the spinach, of course. I don't actually know this to be true but she sounded more disappointed then I was about sledge hammering my finger (still feel bruised btw). So I made a big to-do about how if we pick the leaves just right the others will keep growing. I read this somewhere but only once and I don't really know what "pick them right" means. I guess until I can plant the "ALFD" (after last frost date) plants I can look into harvesting the spinach and should. I never thought I could have an on-going crop. It'd be like having a home grocery store. Every time I want a spinach salad I just run out to "Patch Market" and pick the spinach fresh out of the container. That is kind of, REALLY COOL! I wish all the others were like that! Maybe they are?! Even if none of the others are on-going I'm pleased to try "picking them right." I told her she'd have to pick the spinach up herself considering that I've slaved over a small container to "make" it for her. I won't make her pick it all up herself but the same site that said to "pick them right" said that it would be better to eat the leaves the same day or moment (forgot) they were picked. So she'll either have to pick them up, get me to drop them off (some task she can get me to do almost anything) or eat day old spinach. I'm pretty sure the spinach in the store is about a month old so that won't be that bad.
I tried using one container but decided that it just didn't drain as quickly as I'd like... Considering that my strawberry plant was killed partially by root rot I picked a smaller container with better drainage and began filling it. I should have poured instead but I scooped. When I was finally done scooping about 30 minutes later I got one of those small rake looking things and a measuring tape. Why the tape you ask? Well, the back of the seed packaging said to plant the Bloomsdale Long-standing spinach 1/2 in. deep. So I measured the prongs on the small rake tool and raked through the top of the soil at 1/2in depth, abouts. Then I tore open the seed packet and was kinda shocked by how many seeds are in 1 package. I'd gotten 2 for 2 containers. You live and learn, I guess. So I put about 7 seeds in each row. If all of them germinate then I wasted like 38 seeds. I figured my chances were better that I'd get 3 to germinate by trying an overload of seeds. I'll definitely thin them out when they start growing if all of them do or more than 3.
Once I had completed the spinach container I decided that I needed to measure the interior wall of my raised bed considering that I hadn't moved the back wall in that meticulously. I knew it wouldn't come out to my originally planned 5x3 foot raised bed. It came to about 4.5 ft by 2.5 ft. Not exactly what I had expected but closer to that then I had figured. So I took a spade and started drawing the lines in the dirt. I had 6 1x1 square foot plots and on the perimeter I had one 4.5ft by .5in plot and one 2.5 ft by .5 inch plot. Although all of the plants I had plotted wouldn't fit into my square garden perfectly I decided not to be so disappointed by this and instead to be happy that I would have the space, in some sense, for each veggie selected. I am going to use the off-plots for the carrots. One variety in the 2.5 plot and the other in the 4.5 plot. I'll just plant 1 row instead of 2. That'll get me more than enough carrots. I hope.
Once I had sectioned the dirt off with a spade I went inside to find some pieces of wood to use to hold my ties and string. I came back with 4 chopsticks, 1 paint mixer, 8 kabob sticks, and twine. I remeasured and used the bricks to hold one end of the string and the paint mixer, chopsticks, and kabob sticks to hold the end that ran to the concrete blocks. It took me awhile to get everything just right. I had to measure down the middle twice and remeasure each square once I realized I had gotten the middle off by 3 inches or so. Chopping the dirt up with a spade and tape measure wasn't as efficient as I'd thought. I finally got it right and my raised bed had transformed into a garden. Somehow, those string sections made it look real and fancy almost. I know it sounds silly but my picture of a garden includes those strings so "installing" them was kind of the last piece of building. All I need now besides the plants is a sign for the gate that allows entry to the side yard from the backyard. Then I'll be set.
As far as the container...
My spinach seeds should show something green in about 7 days but I don't know it may be more like 14. I told my mom this and she asked immediately "when can we eat it!?" I replied and said that it would be less if we picked the baby leaves. She said "baby spinach is better! With tomato though! When will they be ready?" And I replied again assuring her that spinach and tomato would be available together at some point in the summer but not as soon as the spinach, of course. I don't actually know this to be true but she sounded more disappointed then I was about sledge hammering my finger (still feel bruised btw). So I made a big to-do about how if we pick the leaves just right the others will keep growing. I read this somewhere but only once and I don't really know what "pick them right" means. I guess until I can plant the "ALFD" (after last frost date) plants I can look into harvesting the spinach and should. I never thought I could have an on-going crop. It'd be like having a home grocery store. Every time I want a spinach salad I just run out to "Patch Market" and pick the spinach fresh out of the container. That is kind of, REALLY COOL! I wish all the others were like that! Maybe they are?! Even if none of the others are on-going I'm pleased to try "picking them right." I told her she'd have to pick the spinach up herself considering that I've slaved over a small container to "make" it for her. I won't make her pick it all up herself but the same site that said to "pick them right" said that it would be better to eat the leaves the same day or moment (forgot) they were picked. So she'll either have to pick them up, get me to drop them off (some task she can get me to do almost anything) or eat day old spinach. I'm pretty sure the spinach in the store is about a month old so that won't be that bad.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Hard Patch
What I did to plan...
Like I said in my first blog I found this amazing website called SmartGardener.com. It allowed me to lay out my square foot garden in square feet, choose plants, and recommended which plants would be best planted next to each other by laying them out on the grid using pictures of the veggie or fruit. It also allowed me to choose containers in the shape and sizes I planned on using. As you know, I plan on decorating the raised bed by placing containers of spinach and what ever else germinates from a seed around it along with the strawberry topsy turvy.
Choosing the veggies...
So I did all of the steps and choose all my veggies. Then I changed the veggies from radishes, carrots, spinach, peppers, and sweet potatoes to all of those minus the radishes add the eggplant. The site recommended varieties that would grow well in my region (Arlington, VA). So I choose shooting star eggplants, Danver 126 carrots, Porto Rico sweet potatoes (no i didn't spell it wrong) bloomsdale longstanding spinach and jalapeno peppers. After sticking with that plan for about a day I decided that the eggplant variety would be hard to find in seedling form and took up too much space for something that I wasn't really that into. Then I decided that I wanted to try cherries to be specific I wanted to try the Cossack Pineapple. That ended up needing 4x4 sq. ft. so I dropped that really quick. I looked through all the recommends for my region and space and realized that 1) a lot of the seedlings for the recommended veggies were not available 2) I didn't like a lot of them and 3) that the ones that I did like were root veggies. I wanted 50/50. Meaning that I could pick 50% of the "reward" off of a plant and pull 50% out of the ground like the carrots.
I'm really discouraged at the moment. I ended up plotting my garden from (left to right) as follows;
00- Easter Egg Radishes
Good part- they look pretty because they are 3 different colors
Bad part- I don't really eat radishes. Never have! My mom does though so I'll give them to her. Also they are a root. At 25%. OH! And they are a seed start... read below for why this is a bad thing.
01- Jalapeno Peppers
Good Part- pickable and love them in salsa
Bad Part- I cannot eat that many because I have severe acid re-flux.
02- Danver 126 & Red Core Carrots
Good Part- since carrots only need 1x1 sq. foot to grow about 16 plants I can grow 2 different types and Mike loves carrots and blue cheese dressing
Bad Part- I am growing them from seeds because all the books and sites say its easy and cheap but I don't know that for sure. I may get nothing out of them. Also, a root. At 50%.
03- Bush Porto Rico Sweet Pots.
Good Part- I grew them last year and love sweet pots.
Bad Part- At 75% for roots.
04- Bloomsdale Longstanding Spinach (container)
Good Part- My mom loves spinach, I can start this right away from seeds in a 1x1 container and grow 4 plants.
Bad Part- same thing as carrots; books and sites say use seeds I never have so don't know if i'll get one green leaf especially since they are a cool/warm crop in a global warming VA spring season.
005- Ozark & Allstar Strawberries
Good Part- One is a june-bearer and one an ever-bearer. I'll have strawberries all summer/spring long.
Bad Part- I killed my strawberry last year and don't want these to die too. Along with the carrots, spinach, and radishes.
If all goes well I'll have an amazing crop... if all goes poorly I may have a pepper and a sweet pot. if the bunnies don't get them first. This fun hobby has become more stressful by the moment.
Like I said in my first blog I found this amazing website called SmartGardener.com. It allowed me to lay out my square foot garden in square feet, choose plants, and recommended which plants would be best planted next to each other by laying them out on the grid using pictures of the veggie or fruit. It also allowed me to choose containers in the shape and sizes I planned on using. As you know, I plan on decorating the raised bed by placing containers of spinach and what ever else germinates from a seed around it along with the strawberry topsy turvy.
Choosing the veggies...
So I did all of the steps and choose all my veggies. Then I changed the veggies from radishes, carrots, spinach, peppers, and sweet potatoes to all of those minus the radishes add the eggplant. The site recommended varieties that would grow well in my region (Arlington, VA). So I choose shooting star eggplants, Danver 126 carrots, Porto Rico sweet potatoes (no i didn't spell it wrong) bloomsdale longstanding spinach and jalapeno peppers. After sticking with that plan for about a day I decided that the eggplant variety would be hard to find in seedling form and took up too much space for something that I wasn't really that into. Then I decided that I wanted to try cherries to be specific I wanted to try the Cossack Pineapple. That ended up needing 4x4 sq. ft. so I dropped that really quick. I looked through all the recommends for my region and space and realized that 1) a lot of the seedlings for the recommended veggies were not available 2) I didn't like a lot of them and 3) that the ones that I did like were root veggies. I wanted 50/50. Meaning that I could pick 50% of the "reward" off of a plant and pull 50% out of the ground like the carrots.
I'm really discouraged at the moment. I ended up plotting my garden from (left to right) as follows;
00- Easter Egg Radishes
Good part- they look pretty because they are 3 different colors
Bad part- I don't really eat radishes. Never have! My mom does though so I'll give them to her. Also they are a root. At 25%. OH! And they are a seed start... read below for why this is a bad thing.
01- Jalapeno Peppers
Good Part- pickable and love them in salsa
Bad Part- I cannot eat that many because I have severe acid re-flux.
02- Danver 126 & Red Core Carrots
Good Part- since carrots only need 1x1 sq. foot to grow about 16 plants I can grow 2 different types and Mike loves carrots and blue cheese dressing
Bad Part- I am growing them from seeds because all the books and sites say its easy and cheap but I don't know that for sure. I may get nothing out of them. Also, a root. At 50%.
03- Bush Porto Rico Sweet Pots.
Good Part- I grew them last year and love sweet pots.
Bad Part- At 75% for roots.
04- Bloomsdale Longstanding Spinach (container)
Good Part- My mom loves spinach, I can start this right away from seeds in a 1x1 container and grow 4 plants.
Bad Part- same thing as carrots; books and sites say use seeds I never have so don't know if i'll get one green leaf especially since they are a cool/warm crop in a global warming VA spring season.
005- Ozark & Allstar Strawberries
Good Part- One is a june-bearer and one an ever-bearer. I'll have strawberries all summer/spring long.
Bad Part- I killed my strawberry last year and don't want these to die too. Along with the carrots, spinach, and radishes.
If all goes well I'll have an amazing crop... if all goes poorly I may have a pepper and a sweet pot. if the bunnies don't get them first. This fun hobby has become more stressful by the moment.
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