The Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Life in the growbox

14.6 years ago indoor growbox, peppers, tomato

Right about now the temperatures outside should be increasing and I should be thinking about start hardening off my summer plants over the next few weeks. 

Unfortunately we seeing hail the past few days along with some pretty cold nights.  Looks like even though I was fairly pessimistic about my last frost date I may have another battle of tomatoes/peppers over taking the growbox or bring them out into the elements a little too early…

To make a little room I did move my herbs (oregano/parsley) out to the cold frame with the basil struggling to survive in the growbox I will give it a little time to bounce back.

Tags: cheap, growbox, herb garden, outdoor plants, pepper plants, tomato plants, vegetables

Cheap Light Bar for Seedlings

14.7 years ago cheap, indoor seed starting

A couple months ago we replaced a couple of bathroom light fixtures and it didn’t take too long for me to find the old ones a new home.  An old extension code couple electrical connectors and I have a completely non-code light bar.  I used the smaller fixture and replaced my light bulbs hanging from sockets using zip ties.

When I have some more time I will plan on making a reflector to redirect more light on the plants but for now the little peppers/tomatoes look very happy.

Tags: cheap, garden seeds, outdoor plants, pepper plants, tomato plants, vegetables

Hometown seed giveaway #2 (Survival Seeds)

14.8 years ago free, giveaway, seed storing, seeds

Hometown Seeds has again graciously offered up a selection of their non-GMO non hybrid survival seeds.  These are advertised to keep in storage for 5-10 years but also are open pollinated so you can grow them this year, collect the seeds and create your own stockpile in preparation of any future catastrophic food shortage.

They include a selection of the following varieties:

• Lincoln Peas
• Detroit Dark Red Beets
• Kentucky Wonder Brown Pole Bean
• Yolo Wonder Pepper
• Champion Radish
• Lucullus Swiss Chard
• Black Beauty Zucchini
• Waltham Butternut Winter Squash
• Bloomsdale Longstanding Spinach
• Scarlet Nantes Carrots
• Long Green Improved Cucumber
• Rutgers Tomato
• Golden Acre Cabbage
• Romaine Paris Island Cos Lettuce
• Golden Bantem Sweet Corn
• Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion

They will be sending me the seeds to no restrictions on where these can be mailed to, so simply add a comment by 2/16/2010 2/19/2010 and I will randomly select a winner in one week.

Update — 2/16/2010

I got the seeds in the mail from Hometown Seeds and I was very surprised in the weight of these seeds.  Well over a lb of seeds in this package.  They come in a sealed lightproof wrapper as you can see below:

Though the seeds would last longer if I kept them in this packaging, though I just had to rip it open to see what was inside (winner’s package will not be opened):

As you can see there are quite a few seeds in this package so you may want to think about who you may want to share these with if you win.

Tags: cheap, garden seeds, led, pepper plants, tomato plants, vegetables

Seeds from WinterSown

14.8 years ago cheap, seed exchange, seed saving, seeds

I know many of your probably already know about WinterSown but for those of you that have not you must check them out.  This is the first year I have requested seeds from them and I they completely blew away my expectations.  By simply sending them an self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) and an optional donation they will send back some seeds of your choosing.  I have gotten tired of my boring tomatoes I have been growing from the limited selections at local nursery and garden center so I chose the following: Husky Red Cherry, Persey Tomato, Red Brandywine, New Yorker, Mini Gold, Green Zebra, Tommy Toes, and they also sent me some Parsley which was not on my list though I was planning on growing this year.

They also included a pamphlet (mirrored) providing a long but not very labor intensive method of how to save your own tomato seeds which was yet another added bonus.  I will be sure to save some seeds and send many of my extras back their way at the end of the season.

Tags: cheap, garden seeds, tomato plants, vegetables

Planning garden using GrowVeg (Year #2)

14.8 years ago garden planning, spring, sprouting

Though GrowVeg worked great for planning my garden last year, this year it became even more useful.  By creating a garden plan using my template from my previous year not only did it save time but also showed where I should not plant certain vegetables because I planted the same family of plants in that area last year.  Here is my plan for my larger plot:

I am growing much of the same as I have in past years with the addition of broccoli and Swiss chard.

For my longer fence plot here is what I am going with the following:

New in this area I am going to plan on growing some dry beans for storage as well as some green beans along with our regular cucumbers, tomatoes, and sunflowers.

I also have an area I am planning on growing herbs, though for that I am just going to wing it.

In the end it took me about 3-4 minutes to create this plan thanks to GrowVeg which I can print out and keep by the garden so I don’t have to wonder, “Now where did I plant that spinach again.”

They do have a free 30 day trial if you want to try it out this year.

Tags: cheap, herb garden, outdoor plants, tomato plants, vegetables

pH needs of plants in soil or hydroponics

14.9 years ago hydroponics, pH, water

With the exception of some of my acid loving plants and flowers I normally do not have to worry much about the pH of my soil.  This is because I have amended my gardens with nutrient rich soils in raised beds over my alkaline clay I get naturally in my area.  This and the fact that due to natural and manmade causes the rainfall is slightly acidic and given the average range for the sweet spot of most edible vegetables (see table below) is 5.8 to 6.0 having your soil slightly acidic this is perfect.

Now when it comes to hydroponics this is entirely different.  My tap water has a pH of around 7.5 and the fluctuation of plant using nutrients and transpiration can cause great havoc on the pH on your hydroponic system.  Now this creates a challenge but also an opportunity to have control with great precision your pH and keep your plants growing in the sweet spot for the healthiest plants and the greatest yields.

So whether you are growing hydroponically, or simply trying to figure out why your Fennel didn’t do so well last year take a look at the table below, hopefully for some hints of what happened.

Recommended pH Ranges of Vegetables/Herbs

Tags: garlic bulbs, herb garden, outdoor plants, pepper plants, peppermint plant, tomato plants, vegetables