I should expand on this and start selling these early at the markets here. I would be the first one with cherry tomatoes. I am terrible with mushrooms but I seem to be able to get the tomatoes and peppers to grow. Like I said, I need to get my butt in gear. This year I took a "break" from hardcore gardening.
Being very limited in getting around, my garden plans went to he!! last year. Been looking at innovative ways to do some gardening if only to keep me happy. Found this interesting method. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-grow-100-pounds-of-potatoes-in-4-square-feet-81760
Somewhere around this house o mine I have a book on container gardening. PM if you are interested in having it.
I use chest freezers with the doors removed for raised beds. Easy peasy for weeding= no bending over. The insulation in the freezer box keeps the dirt warm=longer/better grow season. I've also scrounged some old windows to lay on top for hot house seed starting. Ill never go back to tilling the ground for a traditional garden!
I converted a broken refrigerator into a seed germination chamber. I run a heat lamp at the bottom of the fridge and fill the shelves with my flats. The lamp cycles on 1 hour, off 1 hour as to not over heat the flats. It works great. Just remember to water well twice a day as the heat dries the soil out if you miss a day. I usually get germination in around 3 days then as soon as I see the seedlings breaking through they get put under lights and the next batch goes in. Johnny Selected Seeds has great info on optimal seed germination chamber for every seed type in their catalog. Most seeds like high 70s.
For those who grow large gardens this program is very useful once you the the hang of it. I planned out my entire year for the farm over the weekend. https://code.google.com/p/cropplanning/downloads/list
I used the self watering containers for the first time last year and was happy with the results. Might have to plow some ground for corn though.
I have gutters on the house that feed into a 300 gallon tank that I use to water all the "beds" . Since I started using air temp rain water and the hot houses type starters I get vegetables a lot sooner in the summer. Our growing season in this zone starts the end of May. Last year we had zucchini the 3rd week of June. Some crops like corn and peppers just aren't worth growing. They sell so dirt cheap at the produce auction at the end of the season when its time to freeze and can I wont waste my summer tending them.
Good point, I usually end up getting some from my daughter as many farmers grow a ton of it and have plenty to give away.
My 3 year old and I were taking care of the chickens and rabbits earlier. He said dad you need to till the garden. I tried to convince him that with snow on the ground it wouldn't work out to good. He made me get his mini planet Jr out for him. Guess he wanted to cultivate the snow. No pic cause I didn't have my phone but really wish I did.
I have started two dwarf varieties of tomato plants. A sweet n neat red and a tumbling tom junior yellow. The seedlings have sprouted, now I get to see how hardy they are and if they will make it further. My long term goal is to see what will grow inside. I've been doing this for about 3 years now. Yeah, some people have great conditions where they can grow large tomato plants indoors. I don't have that luxury. Tomato plants are a general b*tch here. I don't mean to use a bad word but that is the best way to describe the climate. Not tomato friendly. I'm looking for long term indoor alternatives and to stay away from canning as much as possible.
We have a pretty short growing season here. Not impossible for tomatoes, but if we wait too long to start, they won't mature well. I put in a few plants last year and we also tried some cherry, which did ok. I've been watching a LOT of gardening videos the last few days waiting for things to melt.
Same here. I have almost 2 feet of snow covering my yard. Long term I would like some sort of greenhouse set up.
