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Giveaway: $1354.83 worth of fresh produce
15.4 years ago giveaway, harvest, seed saving, seeds 47 Comments
Ok there is a little catch, you have to plant the seeds and grow the produce yourself and have perfect weather and unlimited space to do it. Over the past season I have intentionally harvested more seeds than I needed just for the purpose of sharing them so here is your first chance to get some of CVG’s seed stash. This should be a good addition to your current selection of seeds or great for a person just starting out next year.
The harvest values were calculated using my most profitable vegetables in your garden post, so numbers are estimated but I tried to be as accurate as possible. Below are also links to my harvesting techniques of most of the “Self” seeds below (just realized I never wrote up cilantro and radish seed harvesting so expect to see these soon).
CVG’s Seed Stash (Variety Pack)
| Seed | Seed Type |
Seeds (Est.) | Harvest Value (Est.) |
| Jalapeno Pepper | Self Collected | 10 | $ 45.00 |
| Radish | Self Collected | 30 | $ 11.66 |
| Lavender | ? | 50 | $ 10.00 |
| Cilantro/Coriander | Self Collected | 100 | $ 525.00 |
| Bhut Jolokia pepper | Self Collected | 10 | $ 150.00 |
| Sunflower (Big) | Self Collected | 20 | $ 10.00 |
| Spinach | Self Collected | 25 | $ 11.25 |
| Carnation | ? | 30 | $ 5.00 |
| Onions (White) | Self Collected | 50 | $ 12.94 |
| Tomato (Early Girl) | Hybrid | 15 | $ 233.55 |
| Corn (Sweet Yellow) | Self Collected | 25 | $ 31.25 |
| Pumpkin | Self Collected | 15 | $ 150.00 |
| Carrots (Finger) | Hybrid | 70 | $ 15.58 |
| Sunflower (Evening Sun) | Hybrid | 10 | $ 10.00 |
| Cucumber | Heirloom | 30 | $ 116.10 |
| Peas | Self Collected | 30 | $ 12.50 |
| Mint (Spearmint) | Hybrid | 50 | $ 5.00 |
| Total | $ 1,354.83 |
As always just enter a comment and a winner will be randomly selected using my patented “CVG’s Contest Winner Pickorama” on Jan 1st, 2010. This contest is open to everyone inside/outside the United States pending any export/import of regulations of sending seeds, which I am still doing some research on.
EcoSmart Garden Insect Giveaway: Winner
15.4 years ago giveaway Leave a comment
Using the “CVG’s Contest Winner Pickorama” it has determined that =*N*= is the winner of their choice of an earth friendly product from EcoSmart. Please contact my using the link in the header with the product you want and you contact information and I will pass the info to EcoSmart. Thanks for everyone that entered and for those who didn’t win check in the next couple hours for another exciting CVG giveaway.
Hometown Seeds giveaway, and the winners are…
15.4 years ago giveaway, seeds 5 Comments
I believe Plato was credited with the quote, “Necessity, who is the mother of invention.” As the Cheap Vegetable Gardener I prefer, “Laziness, who is the mother of invention.” With laziness and some boredom on the bus while riding to work with my laptop this motivated me to create “CVG’s Contest Winner Pickorama.” Basically I pass in the comment RSS feed and it extracts any duplicates (or my name if it exists) and by using some complex super top secret logic to pick the winner(s).
Now you can see it in action now and see if you were a winner:
For those without Superman vision the winners are: Trailshome, Red Icculus, and David (There were two David’s so be sure to click the link to make sure you were the right one)
If you are a winner please click on the “Contact” link at the top of the page with your name/mailing address and your seeds will be sent out shortly. For those who did not win this time, no worries I have at least one more seed giveaway coming up.
EcoSmart Garden Insect Control Review and Giveaway
15.5 years ago aphids, giveaway, peppermint 15 Comments
One of the major disadvantages to growing plants indoors is the lack of beneficial insects. In a larger environment like a greenhouse you could release some ladybugs to initiate an aphid slaughter though the thought of 1500+ ladybugs investing my garage where my grow box resides does not seem like a good idea. I am always open to trying out new products so when EcoSmart contacted me if I was interested in trying out their garden insect control products I jumped at the opportunity.
I explained the problems I have with pests in my indoor growing and they suggested “Garden Insect Killer” Their documentation states, “Kills and repels garden insects and mites. Kills exposed eggs, larvae and adult stages.” This seemed to be exactly what I was looking for so once the first onset of pests arrived I applied liberally to tops and bottoms of leaves and so far the results are great. Not only were this effective on the little buggers, given the selection of Rosemary, Peppermint, Thyme, Clove oils it actually makes the garage smell pretty nice as an added bonus.
Want to try this out for yourself the great people at EcoSmart have offered to give away a bottle of any of their products. So under normal rules, enter a comment and a winner will randomly be selected and sent a bottle of their choice. Comment must be submitted by Friday, December 18th 2009 at midnight (Pacific) to be considered for the drawing. Good luck.
Heating row tunnels and grow box with Christmas lights
15.5 years ago cheap, indoor growbox 11 Comments
Currently it is 16 degrees outside and given my grow box containing jalapeno peppers is in my unheated detached garage, which can bring some challenges. Like most plants, peppers will continue to grow in the range of 60 to 90 degrees, but thrive in 70 to 90 degrees. With the lights on the grow box gets to about 60 degrees but drips to the 50’s at night. This will result in plants having stunted growth and begin dropping blossoms before they can start bearing fruit.
My solution, a string of green mini Christmas lights. Just to clarify these are your typical small bulb Christmas lights not LEDs, given the efficiency of LEDs they do not product much extra heat which is what I am going for here. I also chose green Christmas lights because plants do not absorb this wavelength very well so they can be left on at night to keep heating while still letting the plants “sleep”.
Of course results will vary depending on the size of your grow box or outside row tunnel, insulation, and exterior temperature, but I am seeing 8-10 degree increase in temperature with a single string (50 bulbs)
I am always open to new ideas to safely, cheaply and efficiently heat my grow box or row tunnel so if anyone has any other suggestions please add a comment.
My new blog “ Going Homemade
15.5 years ago Uncategorized 3 Comments
Along with gardening, I also have a passion for cooking/baking. I have had many adventures I wanted to share but didn’t exactly fit under “The Cheap Vegetable Gardener” so I have started Going Homemade.
Though I have been spending much of my life eating most of my meals from bags and boxes, I am making a commitment to bravely try homemade versions of my personal favorites as well as teach my daughters that not all meals come from Costco/Trader Joe’s. So far, everything tastes much better, healthier, and I am even saving a little money according to my calculations.
