Tomato seedlings in the PC Grow Box
16.7 years ago indoor growbox, tomato
The strawberry plant got too big for the PC grow box so I planted it back outside where it is doing great. Now my tomato plants have more room to grow and have to compete less for the limited light. I have been impressed with my tomato plants in the grow box. I think this is the first year I have grown tomatoes that were not all white and leggy. One the cherry tomato (Sweetie) plants already grew enough my daughter and I had to transplant it to a large pot we will sit on our front porch that has good southern exposure.
The rest of the tomato plants are growing a little slower but should be perfect to move outside after our last frost which in my area is March 22nd.
Tags: cheap, garden seeds, growbox, outdoor plants, strawberry plants, tomato plants, vegetables
Vermicomposting – How to harvest your worm poop (castings)
16.7 years ago harvest, vermicomposting, worms
Now your worms have been working hard eating, pooping, and reproducing so now it is time to harvest the fruits of their labor (worm castings) There are a few methods to harvest worm castings so I will briefly describe a few:
Dump and Sort Much like it sounds you simply dump out your worms and castings onto a plastic sheet. Sort through and catch as many worms as you can and set them aside.
Divide and Harvest Move you compost and worms to one side of your worm bin and fill the other half with new bedding. For the next couple weeks only bury food on the side with the fresh bedding. During these two weeks a majority of the worms will move over to the other side where you can harvest the castings minus the worms.
Moving on Up Create a second bin which you place on top of your existing one (Rubbermaid containers and 5 gallon bucket worm bins work great for this) and fill it with clean bedding and food and after a couple weeks the worms will migrate into to the new bin. Now you simply harvest the lower bin.
Using any of these methods I would suggest using a soil sieve like I showed how to create previously to better separate food/bedding from the castings and either use the remains in your next bin or put them right into your compost bin.
Tags: cheap, compost, vegetables, worms
Vermicomposting – How get your worm bin ready
16.7 years ago vermicomposting, worms
Now you have created your own worm bin now you need to get it ready for your worms. The worms need some bedding, which you can buy some coir worm bedding online or you can make some yourself by taking confidential documents from your shredder and soaking in water until it has the consistency of a wrung out sponge. Now not only shredding your documents but having worms eat them and then spreading their castings in your garden, talk about organic security. Simply add this wet paper with a handful of compost for grit (worm fiber) to your worm bin and you are ready for the worms.
The best worms you can get for vermicomposting are red wriggler (Eisenia Fetida) because they digest nearly their weight per day, creating lots of precious castings. They also enjoy eating close to the surface so they will happily eat food you place at or just under the surface. You can purchase these red wiggler worms online or at your local worm farm. I could not get myself to pay $20 for worms, so I went the cheap route and with my daughters took some worms from our garden. They do not have as big an appetite, if I get a population more than my bin can support (yes they multiply quickly) I can simply add them to my garden without worries of effecting the native worm ecosystem.
Now you should have a happy worm habitat which can provide rich nutrients to your garden.
Tags: cheap, compost, organic vegetables, vegetables, worms
Vermicomposting – How to make a cheap worm bin
16.7 years ago vermicomposting, worms
Why would I want a worm bin? Well my initial reason was my daughter wanted a pet worm and I decided making a worm bin would be a much better option than having worms escaping in our house. After researching into the world of vermicomposting, harvesting worm poop or castings for the nicer which is basically the best thing you can add to your garden. It is also a great way to compost your garden/kitchen waste if you have limited outdoor space such as a condo or apartment. There are actually many books on the subject but the most well known is Worms Eat My Garbage
There are many options for creating a worm bin for Vermicomposting. You can take a 5 gallon bucket drill a few holes (1/2 inch) in the bottom and stack multiple or use a single one and put a lid on top also with some hole drilled (1/4 in) in it. If you are really serious and want to make harvesting your castings easier, you can purchase a worm factory or Worm Chalet online.
I obviously like to go the cheap route and I didn’t have any extra 5 gallon buckets I wanted to sacrifice, so I opted for another method of using a 14 gallon Rubbermaid container. Using the same premise as the bucket I drilled 3 holes (1/2 in) in the bottom for drainage and about 30-40 around the top 3 inches of the container to allow for sufficeint airflow. As any project my daughter insists she needs to “decorate” which included coloring and labeling our finished product with a permanent marker.
Tags: cheap, compost, led, vegetables, worms
Science Fair: Why don’t strawberries grow during the wintertime?
16.7 years ago indoor growbox, strawberries
My 6 year old daughter was the inspiration for the PC grow box for her science fair project to figure out why strawberries don’t grow during the wintertime. She started by picking a strawberry plant from our garden (snow still on the ground) and we potted it in a terra cotta pot which she carefully painted ahead of time. We put it in the grow box in our garage with the lights on for 14 hours a day. As she saw significant changes in her strawberry plant we took pictures. After about a month of growing we went through the pictures and she wrote her report explaining the changes.
She definitely had a good time standing by her display proudly telling people about her project and answering any questions that the various visitors had. She did take a break to take a look at some of the other kids displays which I took note of the gardening related ones which would be great for a science projects for any of your budding scientists:
– Seed germination (soil or paper towel)
– How plants grow with different color of lights (colored transparent plastic)
– How plants grow when given different liquids (water, soda, milk, vinager, diet soda)
– Effects of being mean or nice to plants
– Effects of music on plant growth
– Hydroponics
– Effects of temperature on plant growth
Tags: cheap, garden seeds, grow lights, growbox, outdoor plants, strawberry plants, vegetables
Strawberries in the PC Grow box (UPDATE #2)
16.7 years ago indoor growbox, strawberries
The strawberry plant is doing better than I ever expected, should have some fresh strawberries in a week or two. Hopefully no one tells them it is not June…
Tags: cheap, growbox, outdoor plants, strawberry plants, vegetables
