[Food] Production – Gardening, General pt 2

[PeakOiler]

I just wanted to add that the first 20 green bean seeds were started in paper pots using "The PotMaker", a wooden tool that is essentially a press for shaping the paper into a cup that is filled with seed-starting soil:

See the ad at Lehman's



I used recycled junk mail envelopes instead of newspaper. I peeled off the plastic windows from the envelopes before making the seed-starting pots.

The next round of green bean seeds will be directly planted into the garden soil.

[PeakOiler]

Today I moved six pepper plants that were over-wintered in the house outside onto the back deck. I also moved the other grapefruit tree outside.

I got out the broadfork, shovel and rake and prepared part of the garden. I partially turned the soil and weeded. Then I transplanted a dozen green bean sprouts into the soil and set up tomato cages over them.

Those little paper seed starting pots really make transplanting easy without any damage to the roots.

I harvested one onion.

[AdTheNad]

I just wanted to add that the first 20 green bean seeds were started in paper pots using "The PotMaker", a wooden tool that is essentially a press for shaping the paper into a cup that is filled with seed-starting soil:

Looks interesting. Does the newspaper break down quick enough when you plant them out that it doesn't inhibit root growth?

[PeakOiler]

I just wanted to add that the first 20 green bean seeds were started in paper pots using "The PotMaker", a wooden tool that is essentially a press for shaping the paper into a cup that is filled with seed-starting soil:

Looks interesting. Does the newspaper break down quick enough when you plant them out that it doesn't inhibit root growth?

When you make the paper cup, you leave enough gap in the bottom to allow the roots to grow. And yes, after a couple of weeks of being wet, the paper essentially starts coming apart.

I like using junk mail envelopes since the envelopes are a good length and height:


After pressing:


The cup upside down to show the hole in the bottom:


I placed all the paper pots into a secondary container:


And look! Another bean has sprouted! The paper pots are soaking wet and already coming apart after about 10 days.

[AdTheNad]

When you make the paper cup, you leave enough gap in the bottom to allow the roots to grow. And yes, after a couple of weeks of being wet, the paper essentially starts coming apart.

Thanks, I checked a couple of videos on youtube where people seemed to cover the whole bottom, so leaving a small gap seems like a better idea.

I used some seed trays last year, but I'm not sure if I left the seeds in them too long as the roots started circling the pot and I had trouble getting them out of the trays. I also tried doing the soil cube thing, but I think I made them too big as they seem to just dissolve and were quite a hassle. Using newspaper pots looks like it could be the way for me to go.

[PeakOiler]

I've had trouble getting sprouts out of those plastic multicomponent seed starting trays too. They work OK for some seeds. I like the idea of recycling a wasteful product (junk mail). If the US post service goes out of business, I'll lose my supplier of all that paper...

But in the meantime, here's a pic of the pole bean sprouts I put into the ground yesterday including their paper pots (and opening the bottom of the paper pot as each was placed into a hole in the ground):


The transplanting step seems to have worked so far. One spiraling stem was already clinging to the cage.
I haven't finished re-connecting the garden's rainwater-supplied 3/4" PVC pipe irrigation manifold yet. All the PVC fittings are dry fitted. The collected rainwater is gravity fed to this little garden.

[Loki]

We've been seeding a lot of stuff in the greenhouse lately, various alliums, various brassicas, beets, chard, lettuce, etc. On Friday we potted up beefsteak tomatoes that are destined for a hoophouse.

Did our first transplanting of the season last week, peas. Roughly 700 bed feet @ 2 row = 1400 row feet. Still have plenty of peas left to transplant, too.

Been direct seeding the heck out of carrots, we had a bad carrot year last year, I think the owner is trying to make up for it. Also direct seeding a lot of salad mix (lettuces and mustards).

I used some seed trays last year, but I'm not sure if I left the seeds in them too long as the roots started circling the pot and I had trouble getting them out of the trays.

Definitely sounds like you left them in the trays too long. A dense mass of circling roots is not good, likely to set the plant back. You want to use plugs when the rootball barely holds together, but before it becomes too dense. It helps if you water them before trying to pull them out of the tray.

PeakOiler, I'd be worried about how quickly that envelope paper breaks down, I'd think newspaper would be better. Let us know how it works.

[PrestonSturges]

I got my young figs out of storage and they never really went dormant. I will try to give some figs to the Indian family up the street with the big yard and garden. Strangely, figs aren't that popular in India (?). I gave a nice potted specimen to a friend for christmas.

The hardy kiwi is putting out lots of leaves, not pruning it back this year.

The young elderberries are doing well, expect the two I dug up will reach 5' this year.

[PeakOiler]

We've been seeding a lot of stuff in the greenhouse lately, various alliums, various brassicas, beets, chard, lettuce, etc. On Friday we potted up beefsteak tomatoes that are destined for a hoophouse.

Did our first transplanting of the season last week, peas. Roughly 700 bed feet @ 2 row = 1400 row feet. Still have plenty of peas left to transplant, too.

Been direct seeding the heck out of carrots, we had a bad carrot year last year, I think the owner is trying to make up for it. Also direct seeding a lot of salad mix (lettuces and mustards).

PeakOiler, I'd be worried about how quickly that envelope paper breaks down, I'd think newspaper would be better. Let us know how it works.

A 700 ft. long bed is not a garden. That's a farm! My garden (not counting the 42 fruit trees) measures only about 12' x 16'. If I had the time (and no constant diabetic neuropathic pain in my left thigh) I would have a larger garden. Having a 40 hr/wk job and 10 hrs/week commute doesn't allow me to have a bigger garden either. More rain would help too. Trying to maintain a garden when it seems that every three out of five years are under drought conditions really bites too.

Texas is NOT the place to live if you expect to consistently grow a lot of your own veggies from year to year.

[Shaved Monkey]

Im going wicking beds because of lack of water in winter
Heres a high tech wicking bed
sure you could low tech it
http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/costa/listi ... arden-Beds

[Shaved Monkey]

Just ordered garlic,red shallots and elephant garlic as well as more strawberries all organic open pollinated heirlooms that are proven performers in the subtropics.
This should bring me closer to being self sufficient in the foods I use regularly.
Im working on never having to buy lettuces,tomatoes,bell peppers, chillies,cucumber,beans,broccoli,cabbage,pumpkin, zucchini,carrots,beet root,sweet potato,potato,corn,asparagus,spring onions,leeks,peas,various Asian greens,garlic, various gingers,all Mediterranean and Asian herbs,strawberries,pineapples,bananas,blueberries,peanuts,mushrooms,citrus,apples, plums,peaches and nectarines, grapes,macadamia and pecan nuts,avocado,paw paw and numerous mixed subtropical fruit and bush tucker.
Then it will be eggs, fish and dried legumes.

The hard one here is to grow regular onions, mainly because of space but also climate effects growth and storage.
You still get two crops a year but they don't store well, so processing and freezing or jarring up pre prepared sauces,frying and drying(Asian style) or building an insulated root cellar is the way to go.

[Loki]

It's been raining like crazy here lately, we were supposed to transplant broccoli and beets, but the fields have been too wet. Hopefully next week. Been doing a lot of greenhouse work instead, seeded peppers and onions this week, and potted up more tomatoes. Hopefully the weather will give us a break, it'd be nice to get back to full time.

A 700 ft. long bed is not a garden. That's a farm!

I work on a vegetable farm, ~20 acres in production last year, maybe a bit less this year.

[Shaved Monkey]

Just put down a big bag of crusher dust all over the garden to re-mineralise and aid in the water holding ability of my soils.

Blue metal crusher dust is left over at quarries when they are crushing blue metal (volcanic basalt) rock to be used on bitumen roads.

http://www.oliveaustralia.com.au/Olifax ... _dust.html

[PeakOiler]

Im going wicking beds because of lack of water in winter
Heres a high tech wicking bed
sure you could low tech it
http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/costa/listi ... arden-Beds

A wicking bed is essentially what I made for my small garden years ago without being aware that is what it is called! lol I dug out the soil about 60 cm (2 ft), put down sheet plastic, then refilled it with good soil.
What has happened over time is the plastic sheet gets weak spots and starts to leak, then tree roots found their way into the bed. (The bed is right on the property line and it's my neighbor's trees that are becoming invasive.)

It still works, but not as well as in the beginning. Perhaps it's time to re-do it.

[PeakOiler]

It's been raining like crazy here lately, we were supposed to transplant broccoli and beets, but the fields have been too wet. Hopefully next week. Been doing a lot of greenhouse work instead, seeded peppers and onions this week, and potted up more tomatoes. Hopefully the weather will give us a break, it'd be nice to get back to full time.

A 700 ft. long bed is not a garden. That's a farm!

I work on a vegetable farm, ~20 acres in production last year, maybe a bit less this year.

Loki: Yes, I'm well aware you work on a small farm. Perhaps you could start a separate thread on small-scale farming instead of posting to the gardening thread(?).

I tend to differentiate a garden from a farm by the amount of mechanized inputs. My garden uses no farm equipment such as tractors, tillers, or electric-powered pumped water. It's done all by hand, by myself. In other words, minimizing the amount of fossil-fuel inputs.

I recall you mentioning that y'all use a well for irrigation and that the well-pump is connected to the grid. I try to use gravity-fed rain rainwater only. That is, until the rainwater runs out...


There is no way I could do a 20 acre garden by myself without using farm equipment. I don't think anyone could!

[Loki]

Loki: Yes, I'm well aware you work on a small farm. Perhaps you could start a separate thread on small-scale farming instead of posting to the gardening thread(?).

Nobody’s putting a gun to your head forcing you to read my posts.

I tend to differentiate a garden from a farm by the amount of mechanized inputs. My garden uses no farm equipment such as tractors, tillers, or electric-powered pumped water. It's done all by hand, by myself. In other words, minimizing the amount of fossil-fuel inputs.

I've known many, many gardeners who use walk-behind tillers or small tractors, city water or well water, store-bought inputs (fertilizer, etc.), and so on. Your distinction is irrelevant, the only difference between a farm and a garden is scale of production. Guess I don’t understand what your problem is.

[PeakOiler]

Loki: Yes, I'm well aware you work on a small farm. Perhaps you could start a separate thread on small-scale farming instead of posting to the gardening thread(?).

Nobody’s putting a gun to your head forcing you to read my posts.

I tend to differentiate a garden from a farm by the amount of mechanized inputs. My garden uses no farm equipment such as tractors, tillers, or electric-powered pumped water. It's done all by hand, by myself. In other words, minimizing the amount of fossil-fuel inputs.

I've known many, many gardeners who use walk-behind tillers or small tractors, city water or well water, store-bought inputs (fertilizer, etc.), and so on. Your distinction is irrelevant, the only difference between a farm and a garden is scale of production. Guess I don’t understand what your problem is.

I knew you would take my post the wrong way. I meant no offense. Perhaps you need to re-read Dale Allen Pfeiffer's "Eating Fossil Fuels".

My point was, again, to minimize the amount of fossil fuels to produce food.

Please tell us if the farm you're working on uses more fossil fuel energy than the caloric energy from the produce. How many gallons of diesel fuel and electricity are used to produce the amount of food y'all are producing. Do you have a clue?

I quickly learned that just using the city's water for irrigation cost more than if I had just bought the produce from the store...

[Loki]

Dude, I'm not going to waste my time arguing with you. Don't like my posts, don't read them.

[PrestonSturges]

Lots of breba figs already showing up - usually they are lost to a late frost, but maybe this year will be different.

[PrestonSturges]

The pear trees are looking good this year!