Virgin Gardener

[zombiepreparation]

A fun, space- and water-saving planter: Tipsy Pot Plant Tower.

P7, I was just re-reading the thread and saw I'd either missed this one too or didn't click on the url or something. Amazing. I want one of these. I've gotta get a bigger balcony.

[prepper7]

Prepper7 gave us a link to buy sheets (I think it was) of Mylar but the cost is prohibitive for me. <snip>

Well, the link was more along the lines of a picture being "worth a thousand words". The product is available, by the foot, in home improvement stores. I bought mine at Orchard Supply Hardware.

[prepper7]

My second thought is how do I attach the Mylar to whatever? My experience is when I tape it, even tightly, the wind here whips it making it have a steady crinkling sound. Can I improve on this? A YouTube guy said his get ripped from the wind<snip> Ideas?

For mounting survival blankets? Spray adhesive. Krylon, 3M, Elmers. Available at office supply (Office Depot, Staples), home improvement (Home Depot, Lowes), and craft (Michaels, Joann) shops.

[prepper7]

A page of fun, creative planter ideas: Gardening differently

[zombiepreparation]

This TSP podcast, Seed Starting Primer for 2012, may be helpful to someone just getting their garden off the ground (or someone who wants to know more about the process and pitfalls ).

Read this one but didn't investigate then but in re-reading the posts here I am taking the posts slower and in more depth. I have been wanting something to listen to while I'm doing my daily laundry and these podcasts might be something for that. I'm listening to the Seed Starting Primer today or tomorrow.

I've just put lettuce, kale, and spinach seeds to soaking before I plant them. I may not have much success with these crops as the heat on my balcony is more beginning summer temps than spring. Maybe I can grow them inside, I know there is some talk on the internet of indoor summer spinach gardening.

My onions are doing a funny (to me) thing. They look like they are growing seed pods. ??? They are green onions (what I call green onions, maybe they are 'bunch' onions, I don't know). I bought them at the grocery and stuck them in the asparagus planter. Could this mean they have bolted to seed?

[Emit70517]

My onions are doing a funny (to me) thing. They look like they are growing seed pods. ??? They are green onions (what I call green onions, maybe they are 'bunch' onions, I don't know). I bought them at the grocery and stuck them in the asparagus planter. Could this mean they have bolted to seed?

The white flowers that you are seeing is normal, dont worry about it. And they can be used like green onions when cooking. Just be careful not to take too much otherwise you could damage the bulb. You defenitly dont want to water them too much. Onions have very small and shallow roots and can rot very easily. I've planted an 8 foot row with about 10 bulbs per foot. I managed to get 70% to harvest. It came out to about 13 pounds. And dont worry about it so much if you give your plants a little bit of love everyday they will be just fine. I go offshore for 2 weeks at a time and leave my garden in the hands of my girlfriend that has absolutly no experince and when i get home they look just fine. Just a lot of weeds to pull out.

[zombiepreparation]

A bunch of gnats arrived today and settled in my onion/asparagus container. I used a spray of dish soap and water and kept spraying them but they just kept recovering. So I googled and found the vinegar & dish soap gnat trap set-up and made one. Don't know if it is going to be effective because not long after I made it storms with hail and several pip squeak tornadoes started moving in and I moved all the plants away from the balcony edge to protect them just in case and I came inside, then it got dark.

I was having a strong visceral bad uncomfortable reaction to the spraying and looking at the soil when I was spraying those gnats off and on for a couple of hours or so. I swear that mold thing really did a number on my head. Bugger.

[prepper7]

Outside-the-[chocolate]-box gift ideas for Mother's Day. Seeds Now! Code "URBAN10" takes 10% off your purchase.

[tripleryder]

I"M BAAACCCCKKKKK!!

I know it's been a couple weeks, I've just been crazy busy. This last weekend though, I was able to get my Garden boxes built! I'll grab some pics tonight. It's 3 feet wide and 24 feet long. 1 foot high.
Tonight or tomorrow I will go out to our city dump and buy their topsoil/compost mix. It's $15/yd, and I think 2 yds oughta do it. That's a little more than I want to spend, but I don't have a good place to pull that much soil from, and good composted soil should make evertyhing grow that much better.

Don't recall if I shared this before or not, but I plan on using this chart to plant things in partners, to repel one another's pests: http://tippolly.com/files/partner.pdf

In fact, that site, tippolly, is loaded with all sorts of guides and charts and tips. GREAT resource.

cheers!

[zombiepreparation]

You're back. Yay!

[jessy27]

Polie,
When you go to find some lights for your herb garden ask about LED lights. There are some new ones out
on the market that are supposed to be killer and use almost no electricity.

[zombiepreparation]

The gnats have trebled in number, I have two vinegar/dish detergent traps sitting there, only two gnats caught in 24 hours. I would ignore them except the balcony is so small that the herd of gnats is in my face when I'm out there just doing normal balcony stuff.

[edit] I have now put open containers instead of 'trap' containers out, this time using vinegar with oil. When I emptied the original two traps to convert them to 'containers' I found I had caught 16 gnats. Okay, that's better. And I have put out five little containers instead of two, one container being a wine glass in case they like Happy Hour containers.

[Polie]

Polie,
When you go to find some lights for your herb garden ask about LED lights. There are some new ones out
on the market that are supposed to be killer and use almost no electricity.

I almost bought lights yesterday. The price difference is HUGE. It was $12 for a dual 48" florescent bulb fixture and the bulbs where $11 for a pack of 2 grow lights at wally world. If I could get LED for $75-$100 I might consider that, but these are sooooo cheap lol.

[prepper7]

I"M BAAACCCCKKKKK!!
I know it's been a couple weeks, I've just been crazy busy. This last weekend though, I was able to get my Garden boxes built! <snip>

Welcome back and congratulations!

In fact, that site, tippolly, is loaded with all sorts of guides and charts and tips. GREAT resource.

This does look like a nice site, thx for the info.

[tripleryder]

... one container being a wine glass in case they like Happy Hour containers.

Found that my local dump sells 50/50 topsoil/compost for $15/yd. Hopefully I can get off work early enough this evening to get over there and get at least one truckload (I think it'll take 2)

Excited to plant soon!!

[AR15Tac]

I have an Acre homestead on Gulf Central Fl. I have about 500sq feet dedicated to raised beds and containers, fruits and a green house. I've always been a gardener and with my LEO background and Tactical Weapons enthusiasm, prepping has become natural to me. I've become a good enough gardener to realize what one needs to grow for subsistance. Firstly....someone wanted a Topsy tervvy tomatoe grower.......forget that crap. You can get the same effect hanging spackle buckets if you need to grow things off the ground. Next, only concentrate on growing what you actually eat. A bumper crop of eggplant means nothing if nobody will eat it. I've found the following vegetables easy to grow and most are nutrient packed: Leaf Lettuce, Collar Greens, Tyfon or Holland Greens, Beans...any beans......loads of dry beans for storage, potatoes, watermelon, cherry tomatoes, summer squash, Italian sweet peppers...the long ones, scallions, vidalia onions, plum tomatoes for saucing, fava's, hot peppers. I left out plants like Cukes, radishes, cantaloupes, eggplant, spinach....some I can't grow, won't eat or they just don't have much nutrition to them like Cukes. Just screwing around in 2011, I put up 25qts of sauce, 10qts of salsa, 25lbs of dry beans and got over 1800lbs of food from my beds. I also have extensive fruits in the form of blueberries, cherries, pear, nectarine, plum, apricot trees and a friend is giving me an avacado tree this friday.

I get water from rain barrels I place on my patio and near the green house....55 gallon food grade plastic drums. I don't shoot squirrels, coons or possums but I could if needed to. I fish and could supplement the food stores if needed. If you don't have a green thumb. Take a look at All American Selections when you look at seed. These generally are dependable, easy to grow crops, that will grow just about anywhere in the US. Sorry for rambling on in my first post.....cool site.

[zombiepreparation]

Not rambling at all.

Interesting.

Informative.

I'm glad you have joined us here (and I see your first post in all of ZS is with us.

Regarding my containers meant to catch the drat gnats: Each container is all cider vinegar with a dash of oil to skim the surface a bit. I checked them today and have caught some gnats and I have not seen the herd of gnats swarming the balcony like before. I don't know if that is related to the gnat catching containers or weather or something else but here's a funny thing; the little containers are catching (& drowning) flies. Flies?

What about that addage about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar? I mean, granted, there is no honey set out too to test it, but vinegar catching flies? I dunno, it just seems... not in a fly's character or propensity. Especially since I rarely notice flies up this high anyway and now they are flying into my vinegar and drowning? Maybe it's the oil on the vinegar's surface.

A funny little thing.

[ZombieGranny]

They are after the vinegar.
I use a cup of vinegar-water-soap mixture to catch flies as well as gnats above my kitchen sink.

[zombiepreparation]

They are after the vinegar.
I use a cup of vinegar-water-soap mixture to catch flies as well as gnats above my kitchen sink.

No kidding. Well, live and learn.

[SCBrian]

I do almost the same as Zombie Granny- 1 part white vinegar - 1 part sugar - 1 part water with a dash of soap.
Takes a day or 2 to really attract them to the mix...

[prepper7]

Miracle Gro have a $3-off coupon available for their garden soil and potting soil products.


ETA: woohoo--700 posts!

[prepper7]

Kellogg have a $1 per bag (maximum $10) mix-&-match soil rebate. Good until 12/31/2012.

[zombiepreparation]

ETA: woohoo--700 posts!

<clap clap clap> 700. A good looking number to boot! <more clapping>

[tripleryder]

At long last..... [drum roll please...]






24' long, 3' wide, about 11" tall. Took about 1.25 yds of 50/50 topsoil/compost. Got a soaker hose (50') to go down and back for easy, even watering. Then I'll just water extra on those that need it. It does get a bit from the yard sprinklers as well...

Headed this afternoon to pick up some heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers from a local who advertised on craigslist. only $2 each! She also has some of the newer varieties with added antioxidants.... anyone know anything about these?