Virgin Gardener

[prepper7]

<snip> Thanks, I tend to over-research and under-execute, so I'm hoping I can even that out with this project. Tight finances and upcoming financial pressures this summer are a big contributing factor. Pics a-coming! After I get back from my work trip next week.

You've got quite a bit of company. As for the financial pressure, this thread was an offshoot of the Poor Man's Prepping thread.

Another thing I know nothing about is the "perfect partners" as I've heard them called. In other words, veggies I can plant side-by-side that will protect one another. Anyone have a list?

When you Google, use the term, "companion planting". Scroll up, I posted a website with a nice companion planting section.

<snip> P7 is years ahead of me.

Wait, what?! I just just started in January.

[prepper7]

I'm not really sure what my plans are just yet as we're moving into a new house in a couple of weeks

Congrats!

Strawberries<snip>

I literally began to salivate at this.

[prepper7]

Here's another idea. I've heard of using mirrors and reflective plastics to reflect light in greenhouses and such. Go get yourself a cheap space blanket. Unfold and tape/tack/glue/boogers it up on the walls of your balcony. Especially the North wall. Theoretically, that should reflect more light into the balcony, right?

Great idea! I've been experimenting with "Mylar mulch", hoping to make the underside of lettuce leaves inhospitably sunny to the aphid raiders. It's working well as an aphid deterrent (when I replant the chard, I'll also be using the mulch in that container), I think the bounced light has also helped the lettuce grow better, the "mulch" aspect reduces evaporation, and when the weather heats up, it will keep the soil cool.

I got the idea after using mirrors to bounce the window light around the bathroom for my orchids and after making thermal "curtains" out of those Cheetos-bag emergency blankets to reduce summer heat in my (non-air-conditioned) apartment. I'm going to expand my project by creating panels to place on the balcony to maximize the light. I plan to use a rigid (easy to move to different locations and store) reflective material. I've used this to create a thermal barrier between kitchen appliances and I think it will be just the ticket.

Even white (rubbish bag) mulch bounces quite a bit of light (and keeps soil cooler in summer).

[prepper7]

(P7, I have underlined something about aphids you might find interesting)

[i]Reflective mulches: Reflective mulches, including metallic mulches, are a great aid for gardeners growing in shady conditions, as the benefits can be huge. <snip>

Thank you. And they do work well!

[prepper7]

How cool is this living salad bowl! The rest of the Green Roof Growers blog is interesting, too.

[tripleryder]

Too many replies to deal with quoting, but z-prep, I'm glad my mylar idea will prove to be beneficial (or at least trial-worthy). I'm sure you will let us all know how it goes.

On the Mylar mulch and Cheetos comment... you may have just hit on something! Z-Prep, could you just take a cheetos bag, open it up, and place it on the dirt, under the plant, in your containers. Would be a cheap (free) way to easily increase the amount of light absorption, I would think.

On using weedblock: noted. Will definitely do it. I am likely moving after this growing season, so I probably will not buy the expensive, long-lasting stuff, as this year's garden is a one-time-use, learn and (hopefully) eat experience.

[zombiepreparation]

Cheetos-bag emergency blankets....I have never heard of this. Just googled it and it seems like a brilliant idea to make Cheetos-bag reflectors that sit directly under the plant (on the soil, right?). I also use this same idea to use like a ground cloth for the containers to sit on, right?

Are you talking about getting boxes and tape the Cheetos-bag reflective side to the cut-to-size pieces to make that movable/foldable/storable reflective thing? This is sort of related to the solar cooker foil/cardboard box idea isn't it. I would move it around in the mornings to reflect the sun back onto the plants, right?

Now then, since I do not afford chips I need to acquire the bags somehow. And tape. Oh wait, brb.....

I'm back.

I have one of those Mylar blankets. It is paper thin and not insulated. I could use this as the ground cloth the containers sit on to create more reflection, right? And sometime ago I acquired one of those pole closet frames that can be broken down and stored. Maybe figure out a way to use it to hold the reflector and roll it around to follow the sun?

So far just a thought in progress.

[prepper7]

Cheetos-bag emergency blankets....I have never heard of this.

Uh, allow me to clarify... the blankets are not really Cheetos bags (though I think Tripleryder's snack bag reuse idea is excellent), it's simply that they are soooo noisy... like a bag of Cheetos.

<snip> reflectors that sit directly under the plant (on the soil, right?). I also use this same idea to use like a ground cloth for the containers to sit on, right?

Exactly. You could also put it behind (or to the side of) the plants to bounce the sunlight onto the rear/side of the plants.

Are you talking about getting boxes and tape the Cheetos-bag reflective side to the cut-to-size pieces to make that movable/foldable/storable reflective thing?

Not quite. I'll be using the type of product to which I linked (linky). It is sold by the foot in home improvement shops. It has some rigidity, though I will undoubtedly need to stiffen some sections. I want to use something that is weatherproof and that can be folded/rolled/etc. for compact storage.

This is sort of related to the solar cooker foil/cardboard box idea isn't it. I would move it around in the mornings to reflect the sun back onto the plants, right?

Right!

<snip> sometime ago I acquired one of those pole closet frames that can be broken down and stored. Maybe figure out a way to use it to hold the reflector and roll it around to follow the sun? So far just a thought in progress.

Precisely!

[zombiepreparation]

I attempted using the Mylar survival wrap I had from the American Red Cross for a ground cloth today. It is way too thin, .75m. Even taped securely the wind's throes sucked it up and down making much noise as well as suggesting to me it would not stay secure and maybe even develop tears.

I brought it back inside, hanging it on two inside places in hope of increasing the short light my indoor plants get. It was easy to hang, just Scotch Tape, and looks like it might be effective.

Now back to the balcony garden. I have now had a thought about aluminum foil because sometimes I find the heavy duty type down to a price I could decide to afford once, maybe twice, if I can develop a reasonably good plan.

I am having the thought of acquiring three or four good size boxes, separating them at their joints, covering each separated unit like it is shown to make the solar cooker box (which I have been wanting to make anyway), to give me eight or nine reasonably sized reflectors that can be Duct Taped together (on the non-reflective side) to create different sizes and/or shapes with which to experiment. I am 'thinking' the smaller units would find the aluminum less effected by the whipping wind and since I could join them together I might find a useful size. They 'could possibly' break down easily for putting them away when not in use or for storage and 'possibly' when needed turned into solar cooker box and/or the box/foil coal cooker box which would give them redundant uses, which I find so often stated on ZS as being important.

I would like some strong honest and critical feedback if anyone is willing to offer it. I do not want to afford the aluminum foil and tape for this project without it.

Looking forward to your posts on this.

[tripleryder]

I would think that the space blanket is too flimsy for a portable reflector, that's why I suggested just taping it to the north wall. If you sealed all the edges, the wind shouldn't move it too much? Although it may still be noisy. At least the crackling will keep the rabbits away!

The foil/cardboard idea is a good one also, although as you said, foil gets a bit pricey sometimes. (especially with the Chinese buying all the dam metal. heh heh. dam. get it.)

I'm brainstorming ways of acquiring free/cheap reflective materials...

[prepper7]

Small-space / urban gardening goes mainstream on ABC's urban gardening broadcast

ETA: related "recession garden" article

[prepper7]

An idea for an additional reflective materials use: applying Mylar to your balcony door.

Using the same thickness (1 mil?) as the emergency blankets will also provide privacy with visibility and, light. You can Google or visit hydroponics stores to see the options. You may even get a significant garden benefit if you apply it to the inside surface. I can't say how much of a difference mine makes for gardening, but I installed it long before I made the garden leap.

You can use tape or magnets (if your door frame isn't the correct metal, VERY thin (thinner than wire hangers--or you can use wire hangers; someone is always posting them on Freecycle) steel rods can be purchased from hardware stores for .50-.70-cents for a 6-foot length. These thin wires can be easily bent by hand, or cut with cutters, and then taped to the door frame or the window itself. You can then hang the Mylar the way you'd attach paper to a memo board with magnets. You could also hang a light-duty curtain rod and attach your Mylar sheet to that. You can create a rod pocket by folding and taping the edge of the sheet.

[Bethlehem]

I'm currently in my 4th season of gardening. I started out just planting seeds in pots on my deck and it really hasn't changed. Where I live a big garden wouldn't be practical but I was pleased to find out you can do some amazing things in pots. I have St. Louis weather here and my tomato plants are already over 2 feet tall. That has to do with two things... First is the unusually warm March we had, and Second is my greenhouse. - The greenhouse is nothing more than all my post are shoved under the glass patio table and I duct taped clear plastic around the sides. It generally stays 10 degrees warmer in the G house.

Tomato Horn Worms have ravaged my tomatoes the last three years in a row. I need to pay closer attention and get them before they do so much damage.

In order to use the same dirt in the pots every year, I put a large bass fish in each pot in the Fall that's leftover from the summer fishing trips. It seems to be working well.

- The title of the thread was "Virgin Gardener" and I think this qualifies. Someday I hope to move to our property and do this on a much larger scale. But even if you don't have a big yard or a lot of sun go ahead and buy some seeds and try it. Seeds are cheap and knowledge is priceless!

[prepper7]

Welcome, Bethlehem. Glad you've joined us.

<snip> Tomato Horn Worms have ravaged my tomatoes the last three years in a row. I need to pay closer attention and get them before they do so much damage.

How have you been attempting to control them?

In order to use the same dirt in the pots every year, I put a large bass fish in each pot in the Fall that's leftover from the summer fishing trips. It seems to be working well.

Fascinating; I've not run across this alternative to crop rotation! But then again, I've not been gardening for years, as have you.

But even if you don't have a big yard or a lot of sun go ahead and buy some seeds and try it. Seeds are cheap and knowledge is priceless!

This!

[prepper7]

Not really gardening... and yet, it may be just the type of help some of us need.

From Deal News: Amazon offers downloads of Craig S. Fleisher's and Babette E. Bensoussan's "Analysis Without Paralysis: 10 Tools to Make Better Strategic Decisions" eBook for Kindle for free. That's the lowest price we could find by $10. A Kindle or Kindle-enabled device is required to download and read this eBook. It's also available for the Nook for the same price.

[Zen Chameleon]

zombiepreparation;
It's hard to tell from the pics you put up wheather this would be helpful or not...but you could also possibly try strategically placing/hanging clear coke bottles/or 2 liter bottles/plastic baggies, and fill them with water to help disperse light. In combination with mirrors and foil reflectors this could help a lot.
1: make sure they don't block what dirrect light you do get to the plants
2: keep an eye on them to make sure they don't act like a magnifying glass burning ants.

Here in the south it's common to see baggies filled with "water and vinegar" around front porches and doorways to ward off flies, and seems to work pretty well. I'm not sure if this method would help keep away other flying insects or not but I'm sure the info can be googled.

There is a lot of good info and this thread and maybe this will give you one more idea that could help.
Good Luck

[zombiepreparation]

Now that is interesting. The soda bottles and the baggies. I'm not quite seeing the picture but it somehow is striking me as useful but not yet clear. I'll look into it.

And today, over in The Poor Man's Prepping thread I talked about my bucket laundry set up I worked on today and in figuring out how to dry these small washloads I'm going to be doing I set up these two folding lanai chairs to hold drying poles for what I had just washed and saw these same chairs can be the movable platform that can hold my 'reflectors'. They had been there all along but I didn't notice they would work until getting them to work as a drying wrack. Now to check out the soda bottles and baggies thing.

[prepper7]

Mike Lieberman recently posted this on his blog, Urban Organic Gardener: 3 Reasons Your Garden Will Fail This Year. Scary title, right? There are tips that can help us VGs (Virgin Gardeners ) avoid some garden pitfalls.

In the post What’s the Hardest Part About Starting Your Container Garden?, he discusses his plans to create a course to help readers get started. It's nice to read the replies from readers all over the country talking about their issues and solutions.

In another post, Mycorrhizal Fungi: The Secret to Healthier Plants, he provides a link to request a free sample of Thrive mycorrhizal fungi.

[zombiepreparation]

Mike Lieberman recently posted this on his blog, Urban Organic Gardener: 3 Reasons Your Garden Will Fail This Year.

You told on me didn't you!

[prepper7]

Nice little app: Sun Calc. It won't take into consideration things like building, trees, etc., but you'll have a general idea what goes on in your area.

[prepper7]

You told on me didn't you!

[prepper7]

Information for the sun-challenged amongst us: Herbs and Vegetables That You Can Grow on Shadier Balconies

[zombiepreparation]

Yay. My asparagus didn't give up the ghost. It's back.

During the mold epidemic its container that it has been in for over two years had 'caught' mold from the other containers so I felt I needed to bag up & discard that soil too, sterilize the container, and re-pot it. Well I don't know anything about asparagus but an in-law once told me "Just dig a deep hole and throw it in. It'll grow." So I found some ground soil in an alley, mixed in the last of my compost, took the clippers to the extreme knot of asparagus roots until the mass was the size of a medium large bowl, and re-potted them. Actually I bagged the first container that was just the big purple tub in the pic and threw it away, then replanted the asparagus in the big round maroon container, watered it and hoped.

Later I planted some green onions I bought at the grocery and rooted to keep using. The onions are doing fine in the soil and yesterday an asparagus stalk broke ground. I was so relieved because I'd become attached to that plant. Today two more stalks have appeared.

It's Alive!

[tripleryder]

NICE!

I have been busy as of late, and my only free-time is when the weather is not cooperating for bed-building. Soon, my darlings.... very soon...