Well, I know I should have posted my to-do list yesterday, but I was exhausted so I'll get it out today instead of actually accomplishing anything on it.
First off, the weather. Seems to be a popular thing to blog about as spring approaches, but here the groundhog saw his shadow in the puddle so we have 6 more weeks of this...
| Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday |
 45° F | 31° F |  43° F | 34° F | 41° F | 31° F |  40° F | 31° F | 43° F | 29° F |
| Partly Cloudy | Chance of Rain 30% chance of precipitation | Chance of Rain 40% chance of precipitation | Rain 70% chance of precipitation | Chance of Rain 50% chance of precipitation |
So, tomorrow's the day to visit the garden it seems, and wear a coat. There will hopefully be some salvagable plants (like the succession lettuce). I haven't seen it in a month, so I hope it isn't dead from lack of water. Mostly however, it will be clearing the dead plants out of the garden in time for replanting.
Another outdoor activity would be to flip the compost pile. I would love to see what's down at the bottom. And I think my kitchen compost bin is about ready to spread onto plants it's been so long under the sink, hehe.
The rest of my weekend will likely be spent indoors as it's too cold and wet to do too much. I really would like to finish my light setup. I have the wood for the base and the shelf, and I have the lights to put together and hang.
However, I still need to buy some seed trays, where do you get them? And I need a timer. Should have one laying around, but can't find it. So I need to pick those things up to complete the setup.
Then I need to figure out how to plant my seeds. I'd hoped to use soil block makers, but I am under strict self-imposed purchasing restrictions so I can't buy it from the Dervaes site. Much as I'd love to.
Lastly, I need to figure out when to plant everything. Thanks all for the links and help to figure it out. I just need to sit down and map it out so I feel better. Now I have the sinking feeling that I'm late, even though I know I'm not.
So, enjoy the weekend, and enjoy your garden!
I just picked up a seed tray from Lowes today, I seem to never have enough of them. Those clear domes they sell are really good to use as plant trays as well. They stop the water from getting on everything below & then you can also water from below with them.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow, or I guess it is today now, is supposed to get up to 6c(42f). It is going to be the warmest day of the year so far! Of course it is going to rain too.
Good luck with your planting schedule. I should get on that too, especially for the stuff I have to start indoors soon.
ps I may just do one of your BAYG bins, definitely no spuds filling up my raised beds this year though.
I too need to work on my seeds. I plan on filling all my trays with soil and getting them ready to go. I'll store them all in the basement, then when I need to start seeds I just need to grab some seeds and a tray and sprinkle away. I should get my onions started ASAP (should have a few weeks ago).
ReplyDeleteI should get out and do some outdoor work, but we still have several inches of very wet heavy icy snow, so I think that will inhibit any work outdoors.
Here is a great link to a video on making paper pots - it is very easy and works well (have a good friend that religiously does this for her seed starting). Just remember to remove the seedlings from the pot when you actually transplant out - as the newspaper takes too long to deteriorate and the roots end up pot bound even though they are "planted out" in the garden. I do that with peat pots to for the most part for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link! http://www.ehow.com/video_1745_create-seed-starting.html
The best source I've found for seed trays in quantity (not counting garage sales) is Peaceful Valley. Many of the growers at the Tilth Producer's conference love the durable and pricey Plantel trays, but, if you're as broke as the rest of us you'll be stuck re-using the cheap ones for as long as possible. It's also probably worth checking nurseries to see if they have any they're going to throw out.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'd skip the paper pots. When I was taking out the garden in the fall, I pulled up a lot of failed, rootbound seedlings still comfortably ensconced in their paper pots. We had a ton more success with soil blocks and, if you do part with the scratch, I'll think you'll more than pay for the soil blocker by not buying starts at the tilth plant sale in may.
But now that I think about it... how hard could it be to make a soil blocker? Start with one of the Ron Paul for President signs you've no doubt got laying around(;P), cut out a little cube, wrap it in duct tape, and figure out some sort of plunger mechanism and you can squeeze out a block at a time for very little money.
Hmmm, I'm going to the shop...
I got my black "nursery" seed trays from both Charley's Greenhouse (local, they send out catalogues) and Pine Tree Seeds (Superseeds.com, good prices and shipping rates). Both are quite inexpensive, nice companies. I believe Sky Nursery carries them too...
ReplyDeleteGarth - that was my point about paper pots - remove the seedlings from the pots when you transplant them. Too many people make the mistake of planting pot and all and the newspaper does not disintegrate fast enough - hence pot bound plants in the ground. They work good though as pots to start from - just take the plants out of the pots when you go to transplant them.
ReplyDelete