Gardening Discussion

[Busguy2010]

I follow it because of the Hydroponic Aerogardens that I have in my basement. Not what this group covers really but I learn a bunch there

Thanks! I'll look into that. Interesting you do Hydro. I think I'll start a gardening thread to discuss that subject there.

I've wanted to start this discussion for a while. I've got plenty I can talk about on the subject.

But for now just to start it off, I've never done hydroponics before and still don't. But this season for some reason I decided to start my seeds in the Grodan rockwool cubes. So far I'm not experiencing much of a difference from starting in seed starting mix, other than its cleaner. My seedlings don't look any more healthy than the traditional method, but I'd have to say the germination rates oddly from the easier to start seeds (brassicas, tomatoes, peppers) seemed to be markedly lower, while the germination rates on seeds I ALWAYS had trouble with (particularly herbs, thyme, rosemary, lavender, oregano, sage) all came up for the first time in like 5 attempts, so I think I can attribute that to the rockwool. I don't know what's different about that.

I started my sheets by mixing a gallon of distilled water and about a tsp of vinegar and let that gallon soak in. No nutrients yet, but ill have to fertilize with something soon because they're looking pretty sad.

Again I've never done anything with rockwool, so I have no idea what I'm doing lol

[nebugeater]

I have seven Aerogarden Bounty-style gardens. They are not all the same age, so they all differ a little, but they are all LED lights, so they are relatively economical to run. I have a wall in a utility room with two shelves that hold four, each one above the other. So if you are doing math in your head, you see I have room for one more. That space is currently used to grow green onion tops. Put the root end of a green onion in water, and I grow the greens faster than you can imagine. Keep them trimmed, and I can grow a lot.

What is not used fresh, I dehydrate a lot of. also, keep containers in the freezer.

All of mine are the 7 or 9-slot gardens. As we have gotten more serious about this, I do not mix different plants in one garden for the most part. It just works better.

All but one I have bought on Marketplace or Craiglist. A lot of people like the idea, use it once or twice, get bored, and sell them cheaply to get rid of them.


https://aerogarden.com/gardens/bounty-f ... ounty.html


Currently, Here is what I have growing

Two with leaf lettuce, Two different varieties. Get enough for a couple of salids a week for my wife and I. I can usually start to harvest these 2 -3 weeks after planting, and if I do it right, I can harvest for 3-4 months before starting over

One with Cilantro

One with Parsley

One with a couple of types of smaller peppers

One with Basil

One with Oregano



I have also grown.
Lavender
Kale
Chives
Cherry tomatoes
Dill
DIff types of Basil
Diff types of Parsley
Mint
Some types of Tea
Thyme
Stevia - Not had a lot of success with this yet
Spinach - Limited success

[almighty_tuna]

That is a robust facility you have there.

[nebugeater]

That is a robust facility you have there.

I will share some photos soon

[Busguy2010]

Well heck, I may share some pics too. Although nothing looks pretty right now.

[Busguy2010]

I've started my seeds for about 10 years in this "grow box" I made and keep in the basement. It holds 4 trays and uses the old fluorescent bulb grow lights. They were 50 bucks a pop back then, now they're thinking about fizzling out on me and I'm going to switch to LED when they finally do. I was surprised how far the technology progressed in just 10 years, and if I want to go cheap I can get 6 led bars for the same price as one light cost me 10 years ago.

[Busguy2010]

Started some in the greenhouse too, just yesterday.

[Doctor Fate]

Started some in the greenhouse too, just yesterday.

Cool! What are you growing in each?

[Busguy2010]

Cool! What are you growing in each?

In those three foil pans in the back each are red, white, and yellow onion. Probably about 100 seeds in each pan.

Then the black tray I have a variety. I always grow celery, collard greens, kale, Roma tomatoes. A few varieties of tomato and peppers for fun.

[nebugeater]

Here is one photo that I just remembered I had on my phone. I took this last weekend to send to my daughter and son-in-law to see if they wanted any fresh basil before I put it on the dehydrator.

[thenewguy]

do you guys have any pointers on deterring rabbits making homes in your back yard? I've got a deck that they love to nest under, which I wouldn't mind if they didn't try to eat my plants.

[skinzfan23]

do you guys have any pointers on deterring rabbits making homes in your back yard? I've got a deck that they love to nest under, which I wouldn't mind if they didn't try to eat my plants.

I have the exact same problem....I have tried catching and releasing them a few miles away, but I caught at least 14-15 of them last summer, they just keep multiplying.

I live on the southern edge of Bellevue and we used to have a lot of coyotes but I think a lot of the new development has forced them out some.

[Louie]

do you guys have any pointers on deterring rabbits making homes in your back yard? I've got a deck that they love to nest under, which I wouldn't mind if they didn't try to eat my plants.

I use capsaicin spray on all of my lilies, fruit bushes, and just anything else they get a knack for to keep them off. It works well, but you gotta apply rather frequently. I do fence in my garden with chicken wire too.

[thenewguy]

do you guys have any pointers on deterring rabbits making homes in your back yard? I've got a deck that they love to nest under, which I wouldn't mind if they didn't try to eat my plants.

I use capsaicin spray on all of my lilies, fruit bushes, and just anything else they get a knack for to keep them off. It works well, but you gotta apply rather frequently. I do fence in my garden with chicken wire too.

i know there are flowers you can plant that keep deer away (they dislike the scent), I'll have to look and see if there is anything like that for rabbits

[skinzfan23]

At least last year the japenese beetles weren't as bad.

[Doctor Fate]

Cool! What are you growing in each?

In those three foil pans in the back each are red, white, and yellow onion. Probably about 100 seeds in each pan.

Then the black tray I have a variety. I always grow celery, collard greens, kale, Roma tomatoes. A few varieties of tomato and peppers for fun.

Fresh produce is so good. Having it from your own garden is even better!

[Busguy2010]

Cool! What are you growing in each?

In those three foil pans in the back each are red, white, and yellow onion. Probably about 100 seeds in each pan.

Then the black tray I have a variety. I always grow celery, collard greens, kale, Roma tomatoes. A few varieties of tomato and peppers for fun.

Fresh produce is so good. Having it from your own garden is even better!

Yep, I love it. I don't always get the best yields on everything. I've gardened over 10 years and I have yet to get a decent bell pepper crop. Every other pepper ever, usually have great yields. Same deal with tomatoes, I've done well with every kind except the BIG ones.

Onions also haven't been great. I started off planting the slips (which are the bulbs that you can get in a bag from anywhere) those don't work because those are second year and only produce greens and don't bulb. Then moved onto starts which are the onions you can get anywhere and they come in a bunch and still have the tops. Those don't do great because they're half dead when you get them (could just be my luck too). So I started growing them from seed, and over the years, I can tell you I've found out you CANNOT start them too early. I'm really kicking myself that I missed the window that I intended to hit. So I planted some on January 1st, but they never even came up, probably old seed. I JUST started them the other day so I'm probably not going to get great onions this year.

But I HAVE to remember to do this at the end of the year. I'm going to start next years onions either AT the first frost so October 14th, or maybe even a couple weeks before that. Onions take FOREVER. same thing with Garlic. I'll have to buy the bulbs this spring and somehow keep them from rotting, because I'll plant those out at the same time toward the end of the growing season.

But yeah, my favorite thing is you really do save a lot of money on produce for juicing. Things like kale and beets get pretty expensive from Natty Gs over time. Other favorite money saver us making kale chips. Those are $5 a bag for one measly serving. Last favorite is celery. I cannot tell you how much more green and vibrant the celery I grow at home is than what you get at the store. It also takes forever, so I wish they worked out too when I planted them back on January 1st. But here we are, February first. By no means not early, but not as early as I was looking to.

[Busguy2010]

I am not happy at all with the rockwool blocks. I followed the instructions to acidify them, then started adding very watered down super thrive after most of what came up, came up, probably about 2 weeks and that's for the ones I started on January 1st. Now 3 weeks into the flat I started on February 1st, all the seedlings are about the same size, despite having a month difference. The ones I started on January 1st, I'd expect to have to transplant to bigger pots by now, but they look like they're only 2 weeks old and not healthy looking at all. I hope I get something out of them, but I'm afraid to touch them. I won't be doing it like this again.

[BRoss]

I have plants that are starting to sprout on the side of my house. Seems way too early for that.

[Busguy2010]

I have plants that are starting to sprout on the side of my house. Seems way too early for that.

Oh, me too. Daffodils (?) are already a good 8" tall. They started poking through a few weeks ago. Onions I left in the ground over "winter" are definitely growing their tops already.

Another I forgot to mention a few weeks ago was the buds on trees looking like they were coming to life. Now a few weeks later, trees everywhere you look are budding out. It's just crazy. I'll bet they enjoyed last night.

[BRoss]

I have plants that are starting to sprout on the side of my house. Seems way too early for that.

Oh, me too. Daffodils (?) are already a good 8" tall. They started poking through a few weeks ago. Onions I left in the ground over "winter" are definitely growing their tops already.

Another I forgot to mention a few weeks ago was the buds on trees looking like they were coming to life. Now a few weeks later, trees everywhere you look are budding out. It's just crazy. I'll bet they enjoyed last night.

I've noticed some budding on trees too. Hopefully the cold last night doesn't hurt the plants.

[Brad]

I covered all my Tulips and Alliums last night. They might be hardy, but I'm not sure anything is 8 degrees hardy...

[Busguy2010]

I covered all my Tulips and Alliums last night. They might be hardy, but I'm not sure anything is 8 degrees hardy...

I figure they'll be fine. They made it through -25, dormant of course. But I figure if they make it ill learn their limits, if they don't, no loss.

[Brad]

I covered all my Tulips and Alliums last night. They might be hardy, but I'm not sure anything is 8 degrees hardy...

I figure they'll be fine. They made it through -25, dormant of course. But I figure if they make it ill learn their limits, if they don't, no loss.

My tulips are already a few inches tall and the alliums are about an inch tall.