March 3rd, 2009
8 comments »
This plastic tunnel is being used inside of the greenhouse to protect tender plants against a late hard freeze - very effectively I might add.
A simple plastic tunnel like this can serve as a cold frame to grow salad greens all winter long, to grow out tomatoes and other tender plants, to extend the season for an early Spring start or a late Fall harvest, or even as a screen house to keep birds off of your strawberries or vine borer moths off of your squashes. You can also use one of these to dry out water logged beds and warm up the soil so that you can begin planting in early Spring. These devices are so useful, cheap, easy, and quick to build that everyone should have at least one – it’s almost as good as having your own polytunnel greenhouse. » Read more: Simple Plastic Tunnel Cold Frame or Row Cover
February 28th, 2009
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March is when things really start happening in the garden – even though some wintry weather is normal for this month you can’t help but notice the flowers appearing, the buds swelling, and the birds singing – nature knows that winter is almost over. If you haven’t already placed your seed order you need to do it ASAP! If you save your own heirloom seeds you don’t have to worry about buying seeds – ever again.
March is the right time for planting many cool season plants, but unfortunately the unpredictable weather means that it might be hard on any given day to work in the garden. So try to take advantage of any break in the weather to prepare the ground as soon as possible. Add compost, manure, lime and other soil amendments at planting time if you haven’t already.
Freeze hardy annual and perennial vegetables can be planted or set out any time in March:
- Potatoes *
- Onion and Shallot sets
- Peas**
- Fava Beans
- Spinach
- Asparagus
- Rhubarb
- Horseradish
- Jerusalem artichokes
Frost hardy vegetables can be seeded or set-out later in the month: » Read more: March in the Garden
February 23rd, 2009
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Before farmers had the option of battling pests and diseases by applying petroleum based poisons to crops or tampering with genetic designs they worked out sustainable systems to manage insects and pathogens by rotating crops. » Read more: Prevent Garden Pests by Rotating Crops
February 19th, 2009
4 comments »
Before it’s too late?! Yes, that’s not a joke. It’s still winter but the cabbage, broccoli, peas, potatoes, etc that you’re planting now (or soon will be) for your early spring garden are almost the same things you will want to plant in July – August (in zone 6) for a Fall garden. The thing is that seed will be hard to find, and seed potatoes and bedding plants will be just about non-existant by then. Buy a few extra now while they are plentiful and stash them for later. You’ll be glad you did.
February 17th, 2009
39 comments »
I always had problems starting seeds in our plant room, but these tomato plants were grown under shop lights in only 4 weeks from planting the seeds!
These seedlings were planted only one week ago. I used to wait weeks for germination that was spotty at best in my cool plant grow room.
The answer was simple…
Recycled rope lights turn out to be a great way to make bottom heat for seed starting under lights.
I built our “plant room” about 2 years ago – just a small well insulated room with a lot of windows and shop lights – and since then I’ve tried starting my own seeds with varying degrees of success. The problem that I’ve had is that over night temperatures in the room routinely fall into the 50s which is fine for maintaining tender plants over the Winter, but makes seed germination spotty at best. I knew that what I needed was bottom heat.
The thing is that retail bottom heat is expensive – I saw one “kit” at a local garden center that was big enough for 2 flats and was $79 – wow! You can buy a lot of tomato plants for eighty bucks! A low cost alternative had to be possible for a dedicated scrounger like myself.
Whatever I decided upon had to be:
- Safe – neither an electrical shock nor a fire hazard!
- Cheap
- Simple
- Big enough to start all of our early Spring seeds.
Before proceeding – You the reader must agree that you will not hold the author or anyone associated with doorgarden.com responsible for your use of this information. What you see being done in this article may not be safe (and probably isn’t), and could cause injury, death, destruction, mayhem, fire, dammage to your home, and prolong the economic downturn by preventing you from spending money and thereby stimulating the economy. It might not even work. In any event thou shalt not hold me responsible. If you don’t agree with any of that then turn back now – don’t even look at the pictures. » Read more: Home Made Bottom Heat for Seed Starting (or pet bed)
February 4th, 2009
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Cold weather and snow concentrate birds near food supplies in February.
What to plant in the garden in February – Cool Season Vegetables – February is not too early to begin planting the spring vegetable garden. Take action now and your family will be eating fresh garden fare months before your neighbors.
- Cool season crops such as broccoli, cabbage, radishes, kale, turnips, Irish potatoes and onions planted now will yield their harvest soon.
- Arugula, lettuce, and other salad greens can also be planted out in the garden this month, but will do better if started under cover of a simple plastic tunnel, or a cold frame. Plan on succession plantings every week or two to keep the homegrown goodness coming.
- Spinach – plant out in the garden around the middle of the February – cover spinach seeds with 1/4″ of peat moss or screened compost instead of garden soil so that the tiny plants don’t have to fight heavy crusty soil just to emerge. Plant plenty to share with family and friends.
- Potatoes – toward the end of the month plant potatoes in trenches or pits leaving room to add additional soil as the plants emerge.
- Black berries, grapes, strawberries and other small fruit and hardy perennials can be transplanted out this month.
- Asparagus crowns can be set out or moved, as can almost any dormant hardy perennial. » Read more: February in the Garden
January 29th, 2009
10 comments »
Raising a garden will not only allow you to feed your family the freshest and highest quality food - it can also help save a lot of money!
Welcome Stumbleupon gardeners!
You can spend a lot of money putting in a garden, but you don’t have to. Some of the best gardens I ever grew were when I had little more than my time to invest – the essential ingredient. In today’s economy many people are interested in growing a garden to supplement their family food supply, but will it really save you money? Yes – if you follow a few guidelines. » Read more: Gardening on the Cheap
January 20th, 2009
3 comments »
I usually don’t worry about sterilizing compost or home made potting soil. However, this year I’m starting most of my plants under lights in a rather cool grow room – a fairly substantial investment of effort and time – and I just don’t want to take any chances.
If I had planned ahead I would have done solar pasturization by putting saran wrap on the top of a picnic cooler full of compost. Since I didn’t plan ahead I did this instead:
Grilled dirt anyone? The oven bag makes it look kinda like a dirt haggis.
An oven bag full of my best screened compost cooked well done on the gas grill. I added about a quart of water so that it would all steam evenly, and punched a small hole in the top to keep it from building pressure – took about 2 1/2 hours to reach 170 degrees Fahrenheit. The probe thermometer lets you be more efficient by not opening the lid. Needless to say plan on just letting it sit there for several hours to cool.
If you only cook the compost you should be able to make 2-3 times this volume of sterile homemade organic potting soil by the time you add the other ingredients.
The oven bag looks no worse for wear and tear, and I don’t see why you couldn’t reuse it again – for dirt of course. Next time though maybe I’ll do better and use sunshine instead of fossil fuel, but in the middle of January this worked pretty well without cooking dirt in the kitchen.
January 13th, 2009
2 comments »
Cocus Flowers in the Snow - Carmelite Monastery Chapel - Bettendorf, Iowa
OK, Spring isn’t here yet, but it is time to take some action. I know, there’s a blizzard blowing down today, but in just a few weeks (around February 15 in zone 6) it will be time to plant spinach out in the garden – and by the end of February it will be time to plant early potatoes. Not to mention anything that you are planning to start indoors. So, this is just a heads up.
If you’re hoping to plant any varieties that aren’t available off the shelf it’s time to place your seed order pretty soon. No catalogs? Just Google for garden seeds and place your order online.
In just a few weeks it WILL be spring with birds singing and buttercups blooming – and you’re going to want to get your hands in the dirt. An early start really helps you to get the most out of your garden – and will make your garden the envy of the neighborhood. Act now so you can be ready!
