Sun - May 16, 2004

Carrots, Beets and Radishes


We planted beets, radishes and carrots in a raised bed.

Posted at 08:54 PM     Read More  

Wed - May 5, 2004

Peas, Spinach, and Lettuce


To keep the critters out, we nailed stainless steel quarter inch mesh to a miniature white picket fence and stuffed it around the inside edge of the beds.

Posted at 03:56 PM     Read More  

Thu - April 22, 2004

Huge Tomatoes


Tonight we decided to transplant the Brandywine and the Cherry tomatoes into small and medium size pots, because they are so large and many of their roots are growing out of the 2'' soil blocks.... I am sure that the tomatoes will grow just fine in the pots, considering we use good potting soil and at this stage of the game our plants are quite strong and healthy.

Posted at 03:01 PM     Read More  

Wed - April 7, 2004

Steady State
Steady State


We have found a way to keep them watered while we are away by setting the tray they are sitting in, into another tray with water (so they get watered from the bottom) This method works pretty well.

...I am not sure if the seeds were old or if the conditions were not appropriate for them (too hot, too wet, etc.) The snaps are doing well and we will be transplanting them into 2 inch blocks soon.

Posted at 09:46 PM     Read More  

Wed - March 31, 2004

Moving up in the World


The Brandywine and Yellow Nugget cherry tomatoes roots were starting to get long and entangled with one another in the small blocks.... We were able to put the plastic covers over the 2 inch blocks as well for a bit longer until the plants become too high and they hit the top.

...They should be fine with a room temperature of 55-65° F, however they may not grow as fast as they would with the warm 78° F environment provided by the heat mat.

Posted at 10:04 PM     Read More  

Tue - March 30, 2004

Growing, Growing, Growing!


We will use the regular growing mix rather than the seed starting mix to make the 2 inch soil blocks, last year we used the seed starter for all our soil blocks, which was unnecessary and an added expense.

...Once we transfer the plants into the 2 inch blocks we will take them off the heat mat since they just need warm soil to emerge.

Posted at 09:12 PM     Read More  

Thu - March 25, 2004

Sprouts!


We kept the germination chamber dark for sprouting, we have the heat mat set at 78 degrees and have plastic covers over the flats which kept in the moisture and heat.

...Now that the sprouting has begun, we will keep the plants on the heat mat while they grow, it will be crucial to keep the soil blocks damp so the delicate sprouts don’t wilt and become weak at this stage of the game.

Posted at 10:26 PM     Read More  

Sun - March 21, 2004

Hands Back in the Soil


This evening we headed to the basement and fired up our grow lights, heat mat and cleaned off all our flats and tools from last year.

...We use seed starting mix from Linders and mix it about 2.5/1 soil to water to get the right consistency for the soil blocker to form good blocks. Chris has found the blocker to work best by pressing it onto a hard surface then tapping the plunger down slightly 3-4 times before pushing it all the way in and removing the casing from the soil.

Posted at 10:48 PM     Read More  

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