The Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Computerized grow box update

Feb 28, 2009 cilantro, computer, computer power control, cucumbers, electronics, indoor growbox, tomato

Haven’t mentioned the computerized grow box for a while, so think it is a good time for an update.  The moisture sensor corroded away, but have plans to make a much more beefier one.  With the exception of the hard drive failure, the basic functionality of the computerized grow box has been excellent and the plants have been thriving.  The only physical improvement I have made is adding some particle board to the top and side (salvaged from packaging material from some furniture we ordered) of the grow box.  This helps retain heat and allows the access panel to stay put without requiring tape and/or bags of coffee grounds propped against it.  I also mounted the LCD panel securely to the top of the box.

They say as your paycheck increases, somehow your expenses follow suit.  I have a feeling same concept applies for grow boxes.  As the computerized grow box is about four times bigger than my PC grow box it has quickly getting pretty crowded waiting for the time I can move my summer vegetables outside.  I am planning on doing some reorganization this weekend to clean things up a little bit but still going to be pretty tight quarters. 

The current inventory in the grow box are 12 tomato plants (was 18 but gave six away at a recent gardening talk), 2 cucumber plants (had one fatality from Peat/WonderSoil experiment, looks like Peat lost), 6 pepper plants (need transplanting), and a cilantro plant which was the source of my first harvest of the year.

Now just hoping Punxsutawney Phil is wrong and we really don’t have six more weeks of winter, though with the snow we got two days ago and the current temperature outside, I think he might be right.

Tags: cheap, cilantro, coffee grounds, garden seeds, growbox, outdoor plants, pepper plants, tomato plants, vegetables

First/Last? trip to the NW Home and Garden Show

Feb 21, 2009 Uncategorized

My daughter and I made our first trip to the NW Home and Garden show yesterday.  It was a great experience which if you want to know more you can check out my guest post on Flora’s Blog.  Apparently there is a March 31st deadline to find a new owner, so keeping my fingers crossed since I would love to go next year with both my daughters.

Grocery store Vegetables are not as nutritious as they used to be?

Feb 18, 2009 grocery store, organic

“University of Texas, Austin. Davis claims the average vegetable found in today’s supermarket is anywhere from 5% to 40% lower in minerals (including magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc) than those harvested just 50 years ago.”

Not only are those vegetables you been eating at the grocery store less tasty, but may be getting marginal nutritional value.  They discuss some of the potential factors in this including use for synthetic fertilizer and the desire to achieve higher yield during a shorter timetable, unfortunately the poor plants do not have time to absorb the beneficial minerals (as do we)

This article is timely with my Chemistry of Gardening — What nutrients do plants need? post.  If you have sufficient primary macronutrients (NPK) which is the primary contents on synthetic fertilizer you can still have great yields and fast growing plants but quality of plants are reduced.  What the problem appears to me, is the secondary macronutrients are not being supplemented (magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc) which is causing the nutrient/taste deficiency.  Organic methods natural provide these nutrients by the addition of organic matter to the soil. 

I am cheap and organic vegetables are expensive, this is definitely a case of you get what you pay for.  Hope is still here you can easily grow your own organic vegetables at home.  If you still think growing your own vegetables is a bad idea here are a list of benefits from buying at the grocery store:

• Continue to rise in cost so you won’t have to worry what to do with your extra money
• No confusion with the small variety available (transport well)
• They don’t taste as good, so no guilt in enjoying eating your veggies
• Less of those pesky minerals for your body to absorb
• Opportunity of getting a trip to the ER after picking up salmonella

In all seriousness this is a scary development where people could be malnourished even with a decent supply of fruits and vegetables. 

Tags: cheap, cilantro, organic vegetables, outdoor plants, vegetables

LED Plant Grow Spikes

Feb 16, 2009 electronics, LEDs

Not sure how effective these would be with so few LEDs but they do look pretty cool.  In their defense they do label these as supplemental lights.  If you want one, unfortunately you have to make it yourself with full DIY instructions below.

via Gizmodo via PopSci via Lifehacker

Tags: grow lights, led, outdoor plants

Chemistry of Gardening – What nutrients do plants need?

Feb 15, 2009 alfalfa pellets, fertilizer, outdoor seed starting

If I ask my four year old what it takes for a plant to grow she can quickly respond with response, “Sun, water, air, and soil”  This is a great answer for photosynthesis since plants need energy from the sun.  They leverage the carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air and water (H₂O) to create starches and sugar.  Now the soil part of this answer is where things get a little more complicated.  Soil gives plants the ability for roots to expand and grow but also provides many nutrients to help them as well.

Similar to humans, plants need various minerals to live healthy lives.  The primary macronutrients Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K) are required to sustain life.  These are the nutrients that plants consume significant amounts which is why these are advertised in big letters on the outside of packages of fertilizer. 

MACRONUTRIENTS – PRIMARY

We could live off a simple food like gummy bears for quite a while, but our quality life will decrease once we picked up scurvy and exhibit significant bone and muscle loss.  The same idea goes for plants, they can live simply on the primary macronutrients but they will live poor and possibly fruitless (literally) lives.  This is where the secondary nutrients come in.  With the exception of Calcium, these are not consumed in nearly the volumes as the primary macronutrients though supplementation may be required.

MACRONUTRIENTS – SECONDARY

Finally are the macronutrients, these are the nutrients that most of the time, as long as you are not growing with hydroponics. should exist in your soil and rarely need to be supplemented due to the small amounts that are consumed by plants, nevertheless are still very important for plant growth.

MICRONUTRIENTS

Nutrient Deficiency Information from “The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible”

Now you are armed with plenty of information, though unfortunately you can not act on any of this without knowing the chemical composition of your soil.  If you simply went by the signs of deficiency (for example yellow leaves) could be caused by one or many nutrient deficiencies.  Fortunately you can get this information to act on by running a soil test on your soil.  There are a couple options for this if you are simply concerned about primary macronutrients there are cheap DIY home tests, electronic testers, or you can send a sample to a soil lab to give primary/secondary macronutrient and micronutrient levels and recommendations to get your soil back on track.  You may also want to check with your local municipal office they may have a cheaper/free option available to you.

Just remember, your perceived lack of a green thumb my have nothing to do with your ability but the chemistry of soil you are working with.

Tags: alfalfa pellets, cheap, compost, garden seeds, led, organic vegetables, outdoor plants, vegetables

Cheap DIY fogger aeroponic system

Feb 9, 2009 aeroponics, cheap, hydroponics, indoor growbox, indoor seed starting

 

In my post about basic the basics of hydroponics I mentioned the potential high cost of entry but with a little creativity this can be avoided.  I went through this exercise and here is a pretty inexpensive way to try out hydroponics without having to spend hundreds on a prebuilt system.  The solution I came up with cost me $1.00 to setup though I did have many of the items on hand, if I had to purchase everything cost would be in the $10-15 range.

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Tags: cheap, garden seeds, herb garden, outdoor plants, pepper plants, strawberry plants, tomato plants, vegetables