Posted on 05/09/2020 7:08:22 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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I have taken a chance by setting some seeds in pots whe using a mulch soil mix.
I am using half garden soil (a mix of soils sand mulch which I purchased from a nursery last year....10 yards) and half cedar and pine tree mulch from beneath a stand of trees on my lot.
These are not raw/green pine needles or cedar tree falls. They are brown and have decomposed.
I am adding a veggie fertilizer (2-6-3) to the mix.
I love the soil I bought last year but I think it could use some more organic material for seed starting.
I read several articles that said pine and cedar mulch is too acidic and others that say “nope.”
Any thoughts?
And my neighbor gave me some Hutterite beans to plant.
They are an heirloom variety and she says they are the best for making soups.....her husband said so as well when she was no longer standing there so there may be something to that.
Anyone ever grown these Hutterite beams before?
I found out last year that high temperatures sterilize tomato and pepper pollen.
I was trying to grow, from start to finish, my toms and peppers in my greenhouse for the 1st time.
I was having success with my tomatoes but my peppers were blooming and not setting peppers. I had them suspended from the ceiling and the tomatoes were in the beds.
The greenhouse vents open automatically around 85-90 degrees but the ceiling stays hot....sometimes close to 100 even with the vent open.
I did some research and found out that Temps over 90 (I think the number was 93) sterilize the pepper and tomato pollen and you get blossoms but no fruit set.
I took the peppers down and put them at a lower level and viola.....peppers popped within a couple of weeks.
a possible reason other than soil issues could be level of seed/soil in pots/cells.
if the soil level is below the lip of the cell by any significant amount the seedlings will put all their energy into reaching for sun...and they can become spindly.
Ditto with the fan. I found a solar powered small one with two fans.
I bought a couple and set them.up on the grow beds in my greenhouse right at potting level.
The sun comes out and they blow across the tops of the pots.
I habe 1 celebrity....mismatched start mixed in with Old Germans at Costco. Usually grow all my own starts but these Old Germans were looking too good to pass up and I have never tried them before.
Unfortunately the wife is a bad listener (is I listening or ignoring???) when you say “get 9 plants each of Old Germa and Blavk Krim) and you get 9 plants total....5 Old German, 1 celebrity, 2 black Krim, and 1 mystery non labeled tomato? There were in cradles of 3 pots.
I believe, since we have been married 28 years, I am pretty sure I know how the decision making went.
“18 plants is too much money...only getting 9. Three per cradle, no need to check and see if any Costco shoppers swapped plants around....these 1st three cradles will work.
I got some seedsaver.com seeds (San Marzano Toms and Russian gold currants)
The Tomatoes sprouted well (if on about 65-70% germination rate but ai got some dampening off fungus is a couplen
of pots that the fan did not reach.
Just restarted the rest the San Marzanos yesterday.
I am going to start the currant seeds this weekend.
You know....it is almost like those darned fish hate getting hooked.
I have had so much more luck going with light tackle that the recommended lb test line. I am usually in the 4-6lb test range which makes me and my son play the fish more (lots of fun) and coax him to the shore.
I think going high in the test like everyone did in the 50s and 60s was the way to go back then.....but nowadays since we are not using barbed treble hooks the lighter stuff works better.
I am hardly a fisherman so take that for what it is worth
What are the odds of THAT happening! How cool! :)
My story is a sweet one - I grew up on a lake, so I had a fishing pole in my hand as soon as I could hold one. My Grandpa was an Award-Winning Fisherman, and he was DETERMINED that I would be one, too.
My younger sister, I was 7, she was 4 when this took place, had watched us leave her behind to go fishing all the time and was really anxious to get in the game, but of course she was too little. That didn’t stop her!
When we were all off doing other things, she took a pole and put it in the water, no bait, managed to catch a small Sunfish, but then didn’t know how to get the fish off the hook, so she got a bucket of water, and all by her little self carried the bucket with the fish in it, and the pole ALL the way back up the hill to the house from the lake (it was steep, though there were steps and two landings) to show us her catch.
Grandpa was just BEAMING and he showed her how to unhook and clean the fish and next morning she got to go with us out on the lake, having proved herself. So adorable!
I have grown Early Girl, Beefeater, Black Krim, Big Boy, etc. & the one tomato that consistently does great & has gorgeous tomatoes is the Celebrity. For the last couple of years, while trying other varieties as well as Celebrities, I always think “why in the heck did I buy/grow anything but Celebrities?” So .... that’s my story & I’m sticking to it!
Of course, if I can’t find any more Celebrities, I’ll have to settle for something else. My brother saw me at my garden last evening & came across the field to talk - he’s heard what I’ve heard .... most peoples’ gardens are going to have to be replanted due to the cold weather. Tonight should be the last “cold” night at 40 degrees (38 or 39 last night - I covered a few plants, including my one remaining tomato). The rest of the week, the nights are up in the 50’s/60’s & the days will get to the mid-80’s by the end of the week (highs have been running in the 50’s, low 60’s the past week or so - chilly & unusually windy, too).
Your scenario as to how you got the 9 tomatoes you ended up with sounds “about right”! :-) Good luck with them!
You are making me homesick for someplace I’ve never been!
I’ve been as close to you as the Azores, but that was just a refueling stop on the way to Germany in 1988 at Lajes Field, Terceira Island.
We didn’t stay any longer than it took to refuel, but I remember it feeling so TROPICAL because, well, it WAS February when we left the USA for a month-long REFORGER mission. ;)
(’Return The Forces to Germany’) My Brigade (through some old WWII treaty) had an agreement with Germany that we could be packed up and be there to assist them in times of trouble, and we had to prove it to them every 10 years, I think? That was 32 years ago! Eeeek!
I spent a month in Aschaffenburg, which used to have a US Army detachment there for years. I wasn't in the military at the time, just there for a job in a nearby town. Did a lot of exploring in the area. It was a beautiful town and a beautiful country. My wife also happened to be in England at the time so she flew over to spend a week with me. I was working so she spent a decent amount of time by herself and she never once felt uncomfortable walking around alone.
I would love to take her to see Rothenburg ob der Tauber but it is extremely hard to get to, no nearby airports and expensive flights. Maybe the pandemic will bring the prices down so we can go there.
You are correct - most people go too heavy with their tackle and line, for most circumstances. Granted that if you are trying to pull a several lb. or more fish away from cover (branches or whatnot), even 10 lb. line can be insufficient for the task. And that (cover / snags) is very often where the fish are.
Those put & take pond trout tend toward deep hook sets, so I use a 1’ 4 lb. leader with a small swivel on the pole end and a #8-14 hook on the other. I make up several in advance. The swivel attaches to a snap swivel on the end of my main (usually 8 lb.) line. That allows me to unsnap the leader & deep hooked fish, toss it in the cooler, snap a new leader & hook on the main line, and get back to fishing quickly. Or if releasing a deep hooked fish, cut the line @ the fish’s mouth, release it, and go put a new leader / hook on without having to tie on a new hook in the field. This also allows me to easily switch over to, say, fishing for catfish or bass if they are hitting instead, or if I limit out on the trout.
Fly fishermen will probably grimace, but I’m no purist when fishing for put & take trout: I’m out to put fish on my supper table!
The “real fun” is when one is fishing with light gear for bluegill and a big catfish decides to inhale the bait...
Great story!
I didn’t grow up by a lake. But Dad took us fishing. The earliest I can actually remember any of is a trip to Canada when I was 6.
I’d have loved to retire by a lake, but all I’ve got is a backyard that floods in heavy rains, and lots of places to fish locally. ;-)
Walleye is good stuff. Not many places near me where they can be caught consistently. I’m going to buy a dozen or so from the hatchery in the fall and toss them in my pond.
I’ve been pretty happy with their seeds, as long as I get varieties known to do well in my zone (between 7 and 8). I have heirloom Cherokee Purple tomatoes I bought 8 years ago that I’ve been saving and planting. They are my go-to tomato now because they handle GA’s unpredictable weather but they are pretty ugly, lol.
Let me know how yours turn out!
We have a nearby lake stocked with bass and crappie. Since I do the farming and gardening, my husband has decided his contribution to self-sufficient food is to learn to crappie fish. He has been on the lake at dawn once a week and caught quite a few and cooked them. Surprisingly good!
One of my “dreams” is to dam part of our creek and raise catfish. Hubs says that if it rains they will all wash away so I’m pondering how that would work.
Diana, any ideas what would cause the edges of some of my green bean leaves to turn yellow and curl? This year I am trying row covers because we have a terrible time with Mexican bean beetles. The row that is covered has bean plants on the end curling. The ones in the middle of the row are ok. It’s just the 2-3 plants on each end.
To be clear, what I meant. I was referring to was starting them from seed in those cups. Put 2 seeds BTW, so that even if one does not germinate the other one may.
That bright LED light overwintered a bunch of our plants well this winter,
But LED lights do not have the spectrum that grow lights do.
They will not set fruit at that temp. Which is rare here.
Meanwhile here is another cross thread: Gardening Essentials | Vermiculite The How Do Gardener ^ |
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