WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD DEC 29, 2018

freerepublic | DEC 29, 2018 | greeneyes

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Linseed oil can be a Food Grade supplement. There are other types, including Raw Linseed oil that can be used for wood finishing.

As an omega 3 suppliment;

https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/why-not-flaxseed-oil

Here is an article that dicusses the other types of linseed oil.

https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/is-linseed-oil-toxic/
https://ardec.ca/en/blog/22/linseed-oil-a-natural-solution-for-wood-finishing

!!! Duncan; If you use linseed oil be aware that the oily rags you use in finishing are a fire hazard and may spontaneously combust. do not leave them in a pile or in a can! let them dry outside!

[MightyMama]

FWIW, I’m coming up on my fourth year with these. There’s been a bit of buckling, but they do a good job of keeping the topsoil contained. They only look neat and pretty the first year (they don’t look BAD now, they just look like whatever the garden equivalent of “lived-in” is), but they’ve worked pretty well for me. They’re really good for seasonal or replantable stuff like broccoli or bush beans, or for putting an herb in while I decide if I like it or not. :)

[DuncanWaring]

Regarding the fire hazard - I’ve got a sister who lost a garage that way...

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

I am sorry to hear that. Hope it was just the Garage!

[DuncanWaring]

Actually, didn’t even burn the front of the garage, so they could discretely rebuild it without getting the code-enforcement people involved.

[greeneyes]

An illuminted light bulb inserted in the boat’s I/O engine compartment will ward off a freeze as long as it isn’t really really cold.
**************************************************************************
That reminds me, we used to put a light under the hood of our car to make sure it would start during extra cold winters. I wonder if there is anywhere to buy incandescent 100 watt bulbs? Maybe the call them heat lamps or something?

[greeneyes]

I envy you the S.West MO. location, but the trip is getting long for us to make. We haven’t been back to Springfield since we sold our place in June.

We have lots of nieces and nephews and cousins there, but our immediate family is all gone now. Much as we would like to see the kids, it’s a long journey, and we just won’t make it anymore when the weather is cold.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

My father used to start seedlings in March in a cold frame with a hot bed. He dug out the topsoil and put a 6 inch layer of raw manure. He covered that with 12 inches of topsoil and did his plantings and they would be ready in mid April! (Northern Illinois)

I have a book on Biointensive gardening which shows
a picture of a early 1900s Winter Urban farm in Paris. Inside a walled area they had long beds of manure, which they covered in topsoil. They grew lettuce, spinach and radishes on the beds. To protect the plants they put a glass Cloches over the plants (Hinkley and Schmidt water jug with the bottom removed-top open!) At night they covered the cloches with canvas. (A lot of work!) Note that this was before cars and they had lots of manure available!

If I had an unheated greenhouse a hot bed might be a good way to do winter gardening. (Cover at night with gardening fabric) I have tried heated cold frames and its too much work. (But I did produce winter greens that year!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqKmAp0t1SY

https://joybileefarm.com/hot-bed-gardening/

(Winter gardening with fabric)

http://www.motherofahubbard.com/

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

You could get a dipstick heater. Keeps the oil warm. You plug it in at night.

They also have inline radiator heaters. I used them on my cars when I lived up north.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

;)

[greeneyes]

Never heard of a dipstick heater.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Here is what they look like. (make certain they are the right size for your engine.)

https://www.autozone.com/external-engine/oil-dipstick/five-star-oil-dipstick/419954_0_0

[greeneyes]

We haven’t had to use anything under the hood since we got rid of the 66 Mercury Colt, but if winters get really bad, it’s nice to know what to do.

[DuncanWaring]

Punch “100w incandescent bulb” into your favorite search engine.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Originally posted to Texokie on that other thread!

(Yawn! Up from my nap!)

Iodized salt loses it iodine in about 6 months. Not might be much left after sitting in the grocery and your shelf for any length of time. Try some kelp tablets from time to time!

Also:

“Brassica vegetables also contain goitrins which, at excessive levels, can block iodine uptake by the thyroid gland and produce antivitamins. Antivitamins mimic real vitamins and prevent real vitamin uptake in the body. As the saying goes, everything in moderation.”

https://gardening.usask.ca/articles-growing-information/brassicas-kale,-cabbage,-broccoli,-turnip,-rutabaga.php

(Reposted this to the gardening thread!)

[tob2]

Weather continues to be mild and, unless it changes drastically overnight, I plan on planting spring bulbs. Daffies and miniture Dutch Iris. Also violas recently purchased at deep discount prices. Maybe sow lettuce seeds and arugula as well. I usually sow seeds of romaine lettuce and cover them with a plastic tarp. They do well in my environment.

Hope everyone in the group is doing well and I wish you all the best wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Time for starting 2019 pepper seeds. I have a 24 pot seed tray with a plastic dome that I sit on a heat mat so it stays at around 80 degrees F. I plant 4 seeds for each variety then as they germinate I move them into recycled yogurt cups and put them under a LED grow light for 18 hours per day of light. When they outgrow that they go onto my windowsill in the sun room then finally outdoors for the year. Cold isn't an issue where I live but in the winter there can be heavy downpours that would beat the seedlings into the dirt. This season my new varieties will be Big Black Mama, Big Yellow Mama, NagaBrain Yellow, Apocolypse Scorpion, Jais Peach Ghost Scorpion, Jais Pink, White Bhutlah and Purple Rush. I have all of the red varieties I need so I am going for more color this season.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for the pic. Sounds like a good system. We have cold snaps here, and have had snow as late as mid April. I don’t even try to transplant till June, but hubby does some stuff earlier.

My earliest crop is taters. Try to plant them April 1.

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Pete from Shawnee Mission :" .. to start seedlings in March in a cold frame with a hot bed."
" ..glass Cloches over the plants (Hinkley and Schmidt water jug with the bottom removed-top open!)"
" ..an unheated greenhouse a hot bed might be a good way to do winter gardening."

Thoroughly enjoyed your post, and the hot links.
The idea of a manure hot bed remains unknown to a lot of gardeners for early seed germination. Nowadays, most use electricity for convenience sake, and can be done within the comfort of a heated structure.
Heat production of manure hot bed is dependent on the source (animal) and quality (freshness) of the nitrogen breaking down the compost.

"..glass Cloches over the plants"- the weight of the glass helps stability. One year, I tried to use plastic gallon jugs, but they would blow over in even the slightest of wind. I ended up using all metal wire coat hangers to 'pin' the jugs to the soil.
A greenhouse is merely a room-sized cloche, but moisture, insect and temperature control is more easily maintained.