The Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Finish outdoor seed planting with coffee grounds

15.8 years ago garlic bulbs, onions, outdoor seed starting

It has been a blessing that the competition for free coffee grounds at the Starbucks at my work has increased now the weather warmed up and I have freed from the temptation to grab yet another free shiny silver bag of grounds.  The reason is, I have put four bags in my compost, worked generous amounts into my vegetable garden and I still have six bags left.  Now I am looking at inventive ways to use the rest up.  I tried mixing with perlite to make a cheap potting soil (failed still no room for roots) but I believe I have come across one success I thought I would share.

When you are finished planting seeds outdoors apply a thin layer of coffee grounds.  This will deter slugs from going after your new seedlings and keep cats from mistaking your nicely loosened and raked soil for their kitty litter. 

I have done this for my larger seed plants (peas, garlic, onions, cilantro) but for the small seed plants (carrots, lettuce, spinach) I used the coffee grounds as a seed covering.

So far the results are great.  All of my peas/garlic/onions/spinach have sprouted with no signs of pests (four-legged nor zero-legged).

Tags: cheap, cilantro, coffee grounds, compost, garden seeds, garlic bulbs, led, outdoor plants, vegetables

Growing in dirt outside

15.8 years ago cilantro, cucumbers, garlic bulbs, indoor growbox, onions, outdoor seed starting, peas, tomato

I haven’t done many posts in a while about regular old gardening in actual dirt so figured a good time to do an update.  Though I enjoy indoor seed starting in my LED grow box and computerized grow box, some plants need to be started outdoors.  Today my daughters and I planted the last these plants for fall outdoor planting. 

A few weeks ago, we planted garlic, onions, spinach, and peas which are doing well.  I love growing these plants no matter how late your spring comes these plants are hardy they are pretty hard to kill off.

Today we planted carrots, lettuce, and cilantro leaving a little space left to do some successive cilantro planting in a couple weeks to ensure I have enough for salsa by the time the tomatoes are ready this summer.

Speaking of tomatoes, they along with jalapeño peppers, and cucumbers (actually flowering) are doing great in the computerized grow box.  In the LED grow box I have pumpkin, Black Eyed Susan, small sunflowers, and Purple Coneflowers using Grodan Gro-Blocks.

Nice to finally see some stuff in the ground though still hoping the weather gets better before my cucumbers try to escape the grow box.

Tags: cheap, cilantro, garden seeds, garlic bulbs, growbox, led, outdoor plants, pepper plants, salsa garden, tomato plants, vegetables

Growing seedlings with compostable coffee cups

15.8 years ago cheap, compost, indoor seed starting, tomato

Occasionally at work I get a craving for some hot chocolate.  When I do, I reach for a company provided compostable coffee cup (I know I should bring in my own cup, but I did say “occasionally”).  When I am done with my delicious beverage, I simply dispose of them in the proper “compostable” reciprocal.  Last week was different, with my recent frustration with the durability of some of my newspaper pots, I got the idea to extend the life of these cups a little longer and grow some seedlings in them.

This particular type of cup breaks down in 47 days, unless you happen to leave one half filled with liquid overnight on your desk, in that case they magically breaks down a few minutes after you walk out the door.  I am planning on growing my tomatoes and peppers in these cups and plant them directly into the soil.  To help with more freedom in root growth I will cut out the bottom of the cup.  I will let you know how it works.

Now if your work does not use these cups, never fear many coffee shops are featuring these same type of cups with the purchase of an overpriced hot beverage.

Tags: cheap, coffee grounds, compost, garden seeds, led, outdoor plants, pepper plants, tomato plants, vegetables

Light sensitive automated grow light

15.8 years ago electronics, indoor growbox, indoor seed starting

I came across this interesting concept for an automated grow light. It uses a photoresister to detect when lights get low and proceeds to turns on some red LEDs to provide the plants a few extra hours of light.

From my experience if you are growing indoors, your seedlings can use as much supplemental lighting as they can get and would recommend turning them on when there is light as well, but though still a very cool project.

This could be an interesting concept for something like a greenhouse during the fall/winter seasons though.

Via Hack-A-Day via Instrucatable

Tags: cheap, garden seeds, grow lights, led, outdoor plants, vegetables

Computerized grow box update

15.8 years ago cilantro, computer, computer power control, cucumbers, electronics, indoor growbox, tomato

Haven’t mentioned the computerized grow box for a while, so think it is a good time for an update.  The moisture sensor corroded away, but have plans to make a much more beefier one.  With the exception of the hard drive failure, the basic functionality of the computerized grow box has been excellent and the plants have been thriving.  The only physical improvement I have made is adding some particle board to the top and side (salvaged from packaging material from some furniture we ordered) of the grow box.  This helps retain heat and allows the access panel to stay put without requiring tape and/or bags of coffee grounds propped against it.  I also mounted the LCD panel securely to the top of the box.

They say as your paycheck increases, somehow your expenses follow suit.  I have a feeling same concept applies for grow boxes.  As the computerized grow box is about four times bigger than my PC grow box it has quickly getting pretty crowded waiting for the time I can move my summer vegetables outside.  I am planning on doing some reorganization this weekend to clean things up a little bit but still going to be pretty tight quarters. 

The current inventory in the grow box are 12 tomato plants (was 18 but gave six away at a recent gardening talk), 2 cucumber plants (had one fatality from Peat/WonderSoil experiment, looks like Peat lost), 6 pepper plants (need transplanting), and a cilantro plant which was the source of my first harvest of the year.

Now just hoping Punxsutawney Phil is wrong and we really don’t have six more weeks of winter, though with the snow we got two days ago and the current temperature outside, I think he might be right.

Tags: cheap, cilantro, coffee grounds, garden seeds, growbox, outdoor plants, pepper plants, tomato plants, vegetables

Chemistry of Gardening: What nutrients do plants need?

15.9 years ago alfalfa pellets, fertilizer, outdoor seed starting

If I ask my four year old what it takes for a plant to grow she can quickly respond with response, “Sun, water, air, and soil”  This is a great answer for photosynthesis since plants need energy from the sun.  They leverage the carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air and water (H₂O) to create starches and sugar.  Now the soil part of this answer is where things get a little more complicated.  Soil gives plants the ability for roots to expand and grow but also provides many nutrients to help them as well.

Similar to humans, plants need various minerals to live healthy lives.  The primary macronutrients Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K) are required to sustain life.  These are the nutrients that plants consume significant amounts which is why these are advertised in big letters on the outside of packages of fertilizer.

MACRONUTRIENTS – PRIMARY

We could live off a simple food like gummy bears for quite a while, but our quality life will decrease once we picked up scurvy and exhibit significant bone and muscle loss.  The same idea goes for plants, they can live simply on the primary macronutrients but they will live poor and possibly fruitless (literally) lives.  This is where the secondary nutrients come in.  With the exception of Calcium, these are not consumed in nearly the volumes as the primary macronutrients though supplementation may be required.

MACRONUTRIENTS – SECONDARY

Finally are the macronutrients, these are the nutrients that most of the time, as long as you are not growing with hydroponics. should exist in your soil and rarely need to be supplemented due to the small amounts that are consumed by plants, nevertheless are still very important for plant growth.

MICRONUTRIENTS

Nutrient Deficiency Information from “The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible”

Now you are armed with plenty of information, though unfortunately you can not act on any of this without knowing the chemical composition of your soil.  If you simply went by the signs of deficiency (for example yellow leaves) could be caused by one or many nutrient deficiencies.  Fortunately you can get this information to act on by running a soil test on your soil.  There are a couple options for this if you are simply concerned about primary macronutrients there are cheap DIY home tests, electronic testers, or you can send a sample to a soil lab to give primary/secondary macronutrient and micronutrient levels and recommendations to get your soil back on track.  You may also want to check with your local municipal office they may have a cheaper/free option available to you.

Just remember, your perceived lack of a green thumb my have nothing to do with your ability but the chemistry of soil you are working with.

Tags: alfalfa pellets, cheap, compost, garden seeds, led, organic vegetables, outdoor plants, vegetables