I have decided to participate in The Growing Challenge hosted by the people at Elements in Time. The short version is to try growing at least one thing from seed that you have not tried before. My daughters and I have decided to grow some tomatoes (Sweetie, San Marzano, Siletz) which I normally pick from the limited choice of seedlings that are available at my garden store. While picking…
I definitely can’t complain about the current results of the garlic and potatoes I planted from my original post Harvesting seeds from the grocery store Every clove of garlic I planted has come up and seems to compliment the onions well and is supposed to keep the slugs away which I can always use help on. The potatoes have finished developing above ground just hope my soil is not…
This past fall I made my first attempt to harvest my own seeds. If you can’t tell from the picture I chose cilantro (or coriander if you eat the seeds) and seem to be worth the minimal effort. Just as a warning, if the plant you are dealing with happens to be a hybrid (parents of different species) what you get the next year may not be the same…
It is getting that time a year when we are all getting our seeds in order and start planning what we will be including in your garden. Every year I always tell myself “Take it easy, don’t overdo it” but unfortunately I never listen to myself and look at the many seeds in the packet and end up composting at least half of my crop of spinach, carrots, and…
My lettuce seeds sprouted faster than usual this year, I expected to have some problems since I have saved the seeds for 3 years now. I don’t have a heating pad (yeah I’m cheap) so just put them on top of the refrigerator in a makeshift greenhouse out of an old strawberry container. They would have still germinated in my mid-60 degree house, but the extra heat gained from…
Well the strawberry plant seems to be doing great in the $20 PC grow box. Can’t wait to try it out on my recently planted seedlings.
The appeal of working in the garden has always been natural to my daughters. But then again what could be better than going outside playing with dirt and water. I do have a few tips I have picked up that might make it a little extra fun for the young ones: Let them have their own garden, not only does this give them their own space to play but…
Okay, I promise this will be the last time I talk about our strawberry plant in the grow box. After a little more than a month in the grow box our plant went from a small lifeless plant to one that looks like will bear about 10 strawberries. We are planning on moving it to the garden with the rest our strawberry plants later this week to make room…
Lumen is a measurement of the intensity of light; one lumen is equal to the brightness of a candle at 1 foot away. Just to get an idea on a clear summer day by the time the light from the sun hits reaches us on earth it has an intensity of up to 10,000 lumens. If you wanted to simulate sunlight in your house you just need to hook…
We had a good rainstorm the night before and my wife was returning from a neighbors house and noticed a bunch of worms crossing the street. Since she knows me and our girls so well she grabbed a couple Ziploc bags and we proceeded to have a worm hunt. Our older daughter didn’t want to touch them that morning but I was really proud of my wife who procedded…
Many people do not know that given the right care you can save a package of seeds for 3 years and depending on the variety possibly even longer. When you want seeds to germinate you provide heat, moisture, and light. To prevent them from germinating you want to do the opposite by storing them in a cool, dry, and dark environment. I happen to live in the humid Pacific…
I was thinking back to my first vegetable gardening experience in suburbia a few years ago. After many trips to the local home and garden store I accumulated the following: Soil amendments (compost/peat moss/perlite) $ 33.00 Garden tools (rake/fork) $ 16.00 Organic fertilizer $ 3.00 Seeds and seed starter kit $ 24.00 Kid garden tools (shovel/watering can) $ 5.00 Miscellaneous $ 10.00 Total $ 91.00 In the end of…