It Is Time to Think Gardening

We hit the three minute mark on February 5th. The days are getting longer, no matter what the thermometer says.

Our self-watering container trials last season proved to us that one really can have a bountiful garden without having to have a garden- one in the ground, that is. The downside of container gardening, however, was the amount of watering required as the plants matured. The advertized “self-watering” feature is a bit misleading. The 4 gallon reservoir does eliminate daily watering early in the season. Some plants, like peppers, were fine for 3 days or so even when they were big and bushy. Tomatoes were another story. Two robust tomato plants loaded with fruit (vegetables?) drank up 4 gallons or water with ease during the course of a day. There was no going away for the weekend with these demanding plants around. Sometimes, by the end of the day, they were laying flat on their faces. Refilling the reservoir would revive them, but the damage had been done.

The containers do eliminate weeding, tilling, fertilizing, most pest problem, and are very productive. But they are not self-watering. Dragging the hose around to 20 or more containers in two different container gardens became a daily chore-sometimes even twice a day. Our goal this season is to make our containers truly self-watering, and to keep with our mission to do things simply and inexpensively. So we scoured the web to find a mini float valve that is inexpensive, simple, and durable. One valve should regulate the water levels in several containers, as long as they are all on the same level, such as on a deck or patio. The valve is mounted inside of a chamber in the first container. A length of garden hose then connects this container to others down the line. The valve may be connected to a hose from the outdoor faucet, or to a rain barrel. We intend to use rain water as much as possible this season. Besides our drought/deluge watering regime last season, the immersion of the roots in cold well water was not a very pleasant way to revive the drooping plants. A steady supply of tempered rain water would be greatly appreciated by the plants, which should repay us with a bountiful harvest. Our new store will have a container garden for you to come and inspect.

Sphagnum Peat Moss- A Moral Dilemma

We were told by many experts that the best potting mix for a self-watering container is one that is peat based. Deep down, we knew that peat is a non-renewable resource. But rationalization is an easy thing to do. It happens most nights when one contemplates a bowl of ice cream while watching the hockey game. We knew that peat is strip mines from bogs in Canada, where it took hundreds , or even thousands, of years for sphagnum moss to partially decompose in those cold, acidic, sterile bogs. For us mere mortals, anyway, it is a non-renewable resource. But, it was fairly inexpensive, readily available, convenient, organic, helped with the trade balance with Canada….

Anyway, it turns out that there is a good alternative to peat. It is called composted pine bark fines, and is the stuff that is found at the bottom of the pine bark mulch pile that has had a couple of years to decompose. It is a locally obtained by-product of our lumber industry that is inexpensive, organic, and much more renewable. This material does not hold water as well as peat, which we found actually held too much water in our containers. It is mixed with composted cow manure, some peat (although not enough to lose sleep over), perlite, some controlled release fertilizer, and azomite.

We will once again offer the Earthbox kit, which includes the casters, fertilizer, lime and 2 covers, for $49.95. We will also have these boxes available already filled with our custom potting mix, and even already planted with container varieties of plants. Prices will vary depending on the quantity and types of plants that are included. If you are interested in one of our watering systems, we will also have them available.

We once again will be staring all of our seedlings outdoor in our custom cold frames, equipped with soil warming cables and an automatic opener. Our frames are made of cedar with acrylic panels. The warming cables are mounted on mesh, and must be buried under 2 to3 inches of soil-preferably sand. The cables will then turn on when the soil temperature drops below 74 degrees. The automatic opener will begin lifting the lid at about the same temperature that the cable shut off. The system allows you to forget about your tender seedlings, even in April , when nights are well below freezing, but the sun is high and hot by mid morning. Without the opener, the plants would cook by noon, without someone home to prop open the lid. All you need to do is add water. A system that holds 3 trays are $179.00.

New Plants for 2008

We are trying blueberries in containers this season. Stop out to see how they are doing. The lure of having thriving blueberry plants on the deck or patio was just too strong to ignore the possibilities. Besides blueberries, we are trying containerized hops. For all of you home brewers out there, we may be on to something here. Stop out and see how they are progressing. We promise nothing, but there is great potential here to grow our own hops. We are also thinking grapes….