Posted on 03/01/2026 5:58:25 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
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If you’re talking about ‘Chervena Chuska’ and ‘Wisconsin Lakes’ pepper seed, I bought them both at Seed Savers.
That was one shop light down the middle which explains the middle daikons.(note to self - daikons get tall fast - do separate tray)
Lights I just bought from Menard's are narrow so I put two side by side. I'm now 2 inches off those Daikon trees and 4 inches on everything else. 
(hunk of wood, some wire and some screws)
When my flats end up looking like that, I just raise one end of the light bar, or lower the other.
Maybe we need a list of seedling heights so we don’t put tall seedlings in with shorter ones? LOL! ;)
Anybody who is into the YouTube learning process (grins) I found a channel called “Survival Kitchen 1930” which is all about canning meats and other “Amish’ish” food preservation techniques from the depression era.
This week is supposed to be so warm that I’ll be putting my seedlings out during the day and for a few nights they’ll be able to stay outside.
Last year I had issues with mice snacking on my seedlings. I went out one day and found 90% all chewed off. So what I’m doing is taking some dishpans which I had mr mm drill some holes in and we got some hardware cloth and he’s going to cut them to fit the dishpans and I’ll twist tie them on.
That way they’ll get the sun and wind but no critters will be able to snack on them.
I did set out a mouse trap last year and got the seedling eating bugger.
Watching it now! ❤️Yes! Great movie! 😘
Thanks, Ern! Great Channel! :)
https://www.youtube.com/@1930sSurvivalKitchen/posts
Re: The very first video in the list! I’ve got chicken carcasses, veggie scraps, etc. thawing (water covered, lid on the pot) on the stove for making chicken stock tomorrow. :)
I’ve had that problem in the past in my greenhouse. I locked my ‘Killer Queen’ cat, Eva Grace, in the greenhouse overnight and...problem solved. Word must’ve gotten out to The Mouse Community, as it was no longer a problem after that. ;)
We’re allergic to cats and this is tick country.
I cannot imagine the amount of effort it would take to keep an outdoor cat anywhere near tick free.
So we use conventional mousetraps and Top Gun bait blocks.
It has something in them that messes up their digestive tract and they stop feeding but it is pretty much harmless to anything bigger or that might catch them for food.
https://www.jteaton.com/product/top-gun-bait-blocks-4-lb/
Yeah I turned that one tray around so the daikon trees are at one end and then tilted the lights.
Note To Self: Do daikon in there own full tray or direct sow them. Didn’t realize that they’re considered a winter radish. I could probably direct sow in November. After the Summer of rain, humidity, bugs and powdery mildew, I didn’t bother with a fall garden.
The daikon forced me to pull the dome off before anything else had sprouted. The center ones being bigger could be from the light or heat of the center fixture. That’s why I did two of the new fixtures. Now I need two more to do another two trays. Should be able to keep them a little higher up with double the lumens. Might help prevent the top of the seed mix from drying out as fast.
Definitely not something to sow in a tray along with a bunch of leafy greens and lettuce. None of my lettuce has sprouted, probably because the top of the mix was dry most of the time during my four day work week. I bottom watered prior to that and top watered with a pump sprayer every afternoon but it only takes 5-6 hours for the top to dry out again.
Need a germination chamber I guess. There are a ton of youtube vids showing how to convert an old dead fridge into one. Don’t remember the details but it involves a crock pot sitting in the bottom for humidity and probably heat. A fan to ventilate, probably to remove heat as needed. A vent for incoming air I think too. Temp/humidity sensor.
Did an unplanned cleanup of the shed. It needed it bad. It was a tire shop a few weeks ago. I moved the PC to the other corner. I was sick of reaching over it to reach the controllers and do wiring and the seed tray shelves are on that side so I had to reach over it to do anything with the two trays at that end/corner.
Also did some cleanup in the shop and flipped the top over on my work bench so the goat manure side is facing down now and I have a fresh top side. It’s 3/4” OSB and still solid so I wasn’t going to throw it away. That place is always going to smell like goat no matter what.
Grocery store that normally has 4-5 varieties of seed potatoes had none. I’ll call this morning and see if they plan to get some in. If not, I’ll call Tractor Supply and see what they have. They’re advertising their Baby Chick Days. Would be nice to have an egg supply again.
The creeks have calmed down enough to make a water run or three and I have until 11 to get that done before the 80% chance of rain kicks in. Inch and a half coming today/tonight so the creeks will be raging rivers again tomorrow. Gonna clean out the tunnel, hook up a few micro-sprinklers and soak it. It’s dry as a bone under that poly roof. Might buy a couple more IBC tanks next week. Gutter too which is cheap until you buy all the parts and pieces. Hangers, splices, ends with downspout hole, end caps. See new tagline.
Thinking about direct sowing half a bed in the SE corner in daikon since they’re so eager to grow. Morning sun, afternoon shade. They’re supposed to be good heavy soil busters even though they’re not specifically a tillage radish. If they do good, I’ll do a different half a bed next time and keep rotating them through the whole tunnel. Mixing in some legumes with them is supposed to make a good cover crop. Breaks up the soil and adds nitrogen. Yes, I’m reading up on them after the fact. Keeps things interesting. Another few days and the daikon might have pushed the humidity dome off themselves. LOL
Thanks for the reminder. I see mouse turds in my shed and will grab a sticky trap. I get the rat sized ones and usually get a half a dozen mice with one. Need to toss a small one in the Ford Focus too because it evidently has a hole in it somewhere where they’ve gotten in.
I’ve thought about making hardware cloth lids for the 1020 trays and do have some so I should do that too. I’ve lost my share of seedlings to mice. Also had them dig up the seeds and eat them.
Another cup of coffee and I’ll go turn on the lights in the shed and walk around and peak underneath and look for light to see where they’re getting in. It’s warm enough for spray foam. Not sure how I’d do that with the car. Maybe shove a drop light up under the dash and look under the hood and floor boards for light or visa versa. Light under car and/or under hood and look for light under the dash.
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