Anyone doing a garden?
- Thread starter spartanmanor
- Start date
Did I say thatSilly me. Where has the time gone. I have sowed some lavender seeds and strawberry seeds and the lavender has started to germinate. I made up some of those newspaper seed starter pots and I got a big bag of seed starting mix so it is time to start on those tomatoes & Bell peppers, honest. I'm going to try a lot more this year. I've got seeds for chives, dill, garden beans, radishes and onions. Also switching to Regina strawberries instead of the Alpine variety from last year. Wish me luck.
Earlier this month my soil temps were 40*. Checking today the shallow temp in the raised bed was 50* and deep (12") temp was 43. The big pots for my tomatoes were at 45*.
This is a fairly accurate site for ground temps. Just punch your location in.
Soil Temparature Maps | GreenCast | Syngenta
Hey gang mark it on your calendars. The first Saturday in May is World Naked Gardening Day! You have been warned
Dear Moderators...PLEASE disable this emoji for use on this thread!!!
Happens when it stays too damp. You can spray it with vinegar or baking soda water depending if the plants like acid or alkaline soil. I've read cinnamon is supposed to stop it too. Let the top layer dry out some or even sunlight will stop it.
It's nothing to be too concerned about though. Some of my pepper plants did this and it didnt do anything to them. I used vinegar in my case.
Take your bag of soil and spread it out in the sun to UV sterilize it.
I just looked back at my notes on my pepper growing and I actually used hydrogen peroxide to spray the top of the soil. It was recommended by pepper growers.
Also I should note that for seedlings it could be a problem. Read up on "damping off". Its a fungus that needs to be treated with a fungicide like the natural ways like above or chemicals.
Also I should note that for seedlings it could be a problem. Read up on "damping off". Its a fungus that needs to be treated with a fungicide like the natural ways like above or chemicals.
Wow that tracks. I measured it today after the overnight rain stopped and the raised veggie bed was 50* When nighttime air temps reach a steady 50* it's plantin' time.This is a fairly accurate site for ground temps. Just punch your location in.
Soil Temparature Maps | GreenCast | Syngenta
www.greencastonline.com
I held off starting plants too early this year. Last year I had tomatoes and peppers pushing 14”-18” high and it was too cold to put them out. I waited 2-3 weeks later on starts this year and everything is doing just great. And to top it off, the weather is so absurd that and mild my frost date of march 25 may arrive even earlier!
But my special growing closet is underway. The heat pads are off, but the LED lights bring ate small area up to 75+, so I leave the door open a foot which helps control the temps!
I will start cuts, zucchini, melons, and some bee happy flowers on March 10, the timeline should work fine.
In the back raised bed I have 70 onions, and 3 rows of carrots and 2 row of beets. This is the bed I had to dig out 6-8” and refill to get rid of the heavy phosphorus level that was stunting a lot of stuff. Much better so far!!
But my special growing closet is underway. The heat pads are off, but the LED lights bring ate small area up to 75+, so I leave the door open a foot which helps control the temps!
I will start cuts, zucchini, melons, and some bee happy flowers on March 10, the timeline should work fine.
In the back raised bed I have 70 onions, and 3 rows of carrots and 2 row of beets. This is the bed I had to dig out 6-8” and refill to get rid of the heavy phosphorus level that was stunting a lot of stuff. Much better so far!!
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Nice. You have any fans going? It help simulate outdoors and gets the stems and stalks sturdier. Airflow keeps the humidity down also helping to prevent fungus and mold.
I've started some lavender and some strawberries. I let the seeds soak in water for about a week then placed them in some damp paper towels inside zip-lock bags for another two weeks and they began germinating. Once they began germinating I put them in seed starting mix. I'm going to do the same with Scarlet Bee Balm and Butterfly Weed that I had trouble growing before.
I got the book Square Foot Gardening so I can squeeze more veggies into the space I have since I'm growing more veggies this year. I've got a bunch of bell pepper seeds so I'll start some outdoors in a couple of weeks along with starting some indoors. May the strong survive
I got the book Square Foot Gardening so I can squeeze more veggies into the space I have since I'm growing more veggies this year. I've got a bunch of bell pepper seeds so I'll start some outdoors in a couple of weeks along with starting some indoors. May the strong survive
One of my raised beds is set up for Square Foot gardening, and currently is under a hoop rack with a frost blanket cover, still pulling lettuce and mustard all thru the winter.
One note on SFG, and I also have the book, is it may seem counter productive to only plant in one square only a certain number of plants? As you figure out how to use the squares, do not over-fill with too many plants, which I did in the beginning. Less is more, and it helps the cut-n-come again plants regrow faster! I don’t do the recommended soil mix, but similar based on the products I can find locally. I find its easier once a year to remove the square foot grid, turn the bed by hand and add compost, put the grid back even though the dirt may be a bit higher than the grid, and in a couple weeks settlement balances out.
One note on SFG, and I also have the book, is it may seem counter productive to only plant in one square only a certain number of plants? As you figure out how to use the squares, do not over-fill with too many plants, which I did in the beginning. Less is more, and it helps the cut-n-come again plants regrow faster! I don’t do the recommended soil mix, but similar based on the products I can find locally. I find its easier once a year to remove the square foot grid, turn the bed by hand and add compost, put the grid back even though the dirt may be a bit higher than the grid, and in a couple weeks settlement balances out.
Wow...one #7 and two #8 seeds already germinated...not bad. Both were early birds last year too but took them a whole three days.
Another stroke of luck is the Piquillo seeds I saved from my peppers last year germinated fine in a test I did earlier. This is good since I didnt realize I used all the seeds last year and finding them now is near impossible. However...it will be interesting to see how they turn out because they could be a crossbreed.
Another stroke of luck is the Piquillo seeds I saved from my peppers last year germinated fine in a test I did earlier. This is good since I didnt realize I used all the seeds last year and finding them now is near impossible. However...it will be interesting to see how they turn out because they could be a crossbreed.
What peppers are you planting? Some germinate pretty fast except for the really hot ones I understand. I just finished transferring about 14 more seeds from the baggies to the seedling tray...so 6 types have started in 4 days.
I hope the weather doesnt pull any surprises this year. I was out in tshirt and shorts a few days ago then yesterday woke up to snow on the ground again.
