Topic: Planning for next year's garden (Thinking about cold frames, greenhouses & potti

[notatroll]

Alot of folks had their tomatoes hit hard by blight this summer. The weather didn't help but a large part of the problem was infected plants. Those plants were started and infected in huge greenhouses down to our south where blight over winters and then they were sold all over the eastern U.S.. One of the ways to prevent that from happening this next year is to buy from a local nursery or start your own tomato plants from seed. Growing your plants from day one also allows you to plant all kinds of varieties you don't normally find at the store. Varieties that may be tastier and more nutritious. Starting tomatoes from seed isn't that difficult but in our climate it means starting the seeds and plants inside. The best way to do that is with a greenhouse, cold frame or a garden potting shed.

    Kevin Nielander from Amish Direct Connection in Wytheville, Virginia sells a potting shed that can be custom built to however big or whatever your specific needs are. He has a work bench that's pressure treated so that it's water resistant. Obviously when you're potting there's a lot of moisture that you don't want that could rot the wood over time. There's a lot of window space to set trays to get sun to start seeds in the potting shed. Also there's even sky lights that if you faced your building to the south you could really maximize your sunlight. There's storage for trays above the bench. There are two entry ways too in this potting shed. One is just a single door and at the other end you have a double door with a ramp so that you can roll your wheelbarrow in and out and not have to be cramped by a single door. Kevin says you can pick your style and color of the shed too. There are a lot of ideas out there so start planning now so you can have everything in place by at least the middle of march. Of course make sure that whatever you have to start your plants in that it gets plenty of sun and you can regulate that temperature so it doesn't get too hot.
http://www.wvva.com/Global/story.asp?S=11549301

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,14336.msg156278.html#msg156278

[Graybeard]

I must admit that I've been thinking about how it won't be too long until ramps will be popping up out of the ground. 

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[Duke Jupiter]

Heck I am hopin' to plant me butt on me motorcycle this Friday or Saturday and take a little ride in the sun.

Best regards,
Duke (racin' with the wind) Jupiter

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,14336.msg156325.html#msg156325

[notatroll]

Duke, don't come this direction...not on a bike.  If you come this direction, you will be an official member of the WV 2 wheeled Polar Bear club.

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[wvchat]

 

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[wvchat]

I started my plants from seed last year and my tomatoes still blighted.  I did not have the best garden year last year.  I got enough tomatoes to eat but nothing for canning.   

My dad used to put pieces of copper pipe in the ground to prevent blight.  Anyone ever done that?
I put copper gutter spikes in the ground last year beside the plants but it didn't seem to help anything. 

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,14336.msg156328.html#msg156328

[Duke Jupiter]

Duke, don't come this irection...not on a bike.  If you come this direction, you will be an official member of the WV 2 wheeled Polar Bear club.

I ain't tuff enuff. I will let Ole' Gray Beard take care of that end of 52.

Best regards,
Duke (stayin' south this weekend) Jupiter


Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,14336.msg156329.html#msg156329

[notatroll]

Trust me it is Cold and still full of snow here.


Nota (wishing for sunshine) Troll 

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,14336.msg156413.html#msg156413

[Graybeard]

Friday: Increasing clouds, with a high near 47. Calm wind becoming west between 5 and 8 mph.

Looks like a fine day to recover from a bad case of PMS. (parked motorsickle syndrome) 

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,14336.msg156472.html#msg156472

[notatroll]

   Hubby is dying to go riding.  Our driveway is still in rough shape - lots of snow and ice.  Hopefully it will melt over the next day or so. Personally anything under 70 is too cold to ride in.

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,14336.msg156475.html#msg156475

[Duke Jupiter]

Friday: Increasing clouds, with a high near 47. Calm wind becoming west between 5 and 8 mph.

Looks like a fine day to recover from a bad case of PMS. (parked motorsickle syndrome) 

47 ain't bad and good weather for a ride.

Best regards,
Duke (keep the wheels on the road and between the lines) Jupiter

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,14336.msg156479.html#msg156479

[Tony Light]

My tomatoes were hit hard by blight also. One day they were fine and the next the leaves were getting discolored. What we did get off the vines before it hit were delicious. My vines were so full of tomatoes. It was sad.

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,14336.msg156628.html#msg156628

[wvchat]

Here are recipes for dealing with common problems in the garden:
1.Soap Spray Insecticide
■1 tablespoon of liquid soap
■1 gallon of water
Mix ingedients in a sprayer and apply to both sides of plant leaves to get rid of aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies. Reapply after rain or as needed.

2.Garlic Spray Insecticide – for aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites
■1 whole garlic bulb
■2 cups of water
■1 gallon of water
Combine in blender the entire garlic bulb and two cups water, and blend on high speed until garlic is finely pureed. Put in storage container and set aside for a day. Strain out pulp, and then mix liquid with one gallon water in sprayer. Spray tops and bottoms of leaves thoroughly. Apply about once a week, and after a rain.

3.Baking Soda Spray – treats powdery mildew and other fungus (tomato blight)
■1 gallon of water
■3 tablespoons of baking soda
■1 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid
Mix all the ingredients in a sprayer and apply to leaves of affected. It is best to remove leaves that are seriously infested if possible. Treat every one or two weeks.

4.Milk Spray – treats powdery mildew and other fungus
■1 quart of milk
■1 quart of water
Mix milk and water in a sprayer and treat infected plants. Three separate treatments a week apart should control the disease.

5.Garlic & Pepper Spray – gets rid of cabbageworms, catepillars, hornworms, aphids, flea beetles, and other insects
■6 cloves of garlic
■1 tbsp dried hot pepper
■1 minced onion
■1 tsp liquid soap
■1 gallon of hot water
Blend all ingredients and let sit for 1 to 2 days. Strain and use as spray. Ground cayenne or red hot pepper can also be sprinkled on the leaves of plants (apply when leaves are slightly damp) to repel chewing insects or added to the planting hole with bone meal or fertilizer to keep squirrels, chipmunks, dogs and other mammals away from your gardens. Be sure to reapply after rain.

6.Sprinkle flour on small cabbage heads to get rid of cabbageworms. The flour swells up inside the worms, killing them.

7.Snail & Slig Trap – Place a small, shallow saucer full of stale beer to get rid of snails and slugs. The snails and slugs are drawn to the beer, but then drown once they climb in the saucer.

8.Sowbug Traps
■1 small plastic container (tupperware bowl)
■2 tbsp of cornmeal
Cut a small hole at the base of the container, large enough and close enough to the bottom to allow sowbugs to climb in. Place cornmeal in container. Place container into area infested with sowbugs. After feeding on the cornmeal, the bugs will drink and then explode! (Replace cornmeal frequently.)

9.Sticky Traps – for whiteflies and fungus gnats
■1-2 Tbsp. Vaseline or preferably, non-petroleum Jelly
■4”x8” plastic cards or cardboard
■Waterproof yellow paint
Apply paint onto both sides of the card and let it dry. Once the paint is dry, apply
non-petroleum jelly liberally over both sides of the card. Place the card just above the plant canopy.

10.Ant Traps – for killing ants in the garden
■1/4 cup of sugar
■1/4 cup of borax
Mix the sugar and borax, then sprinkle around any hills and travel paths. The ant will think it is all sugar and take the borax back to the nest. The borax is poisonous to ants.

11.Critter Spray – for getting rid of rabbits, deer, dogs and other four-legged critters
■4 tsp dry mustard
■3 tsp cayanne pepper
■2 tbsp chili powder
■1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
■2 quarts of warm water
Mix all the ingredients in a sprayer and apply around the border of your garden. Those pesky deer or rabbits won’t dare enter your garden.
(I always grate irish spring soap and sprinkle around the garden to repel deer and it
seems to work quite well)  I may have to apply it 2 to 3 times during a full garden season

12.To get rid of earworms in corn, apply one drop of mineral oil to the tip of each ear of corn when silks begin to brown. Reapply every 5 to 6 days for 3 applications per season

http://www.veggiegardener.com/blog/12-homemade-natural-remedies-for-the-garden/

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[notatroll]

Winter is not going to end....it just goes on and on.  Better learn to grow in doors.

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[libby]

I'm still living with 2-3 feet of icy dirty snow. The snow that was shoveled off the front stoop and steps was piled to the sides, and and my rock garden with herbs and other perennials is buried under it so I don't know if anything will survive. Not only that, I learned the hard way that cat litter might be ok in an emergency - like to help get your car going on the ice, but it is definitely not a good substitute for commercial deicers elsewhere. I ran out of the deicer and the stores did also, so I scattered cat litter on my front stoop and 6 steps down to the sidewalk, and the same in the back. As long as it was cloudy and cold and snowing, it helped get up and down the steps. But. When the sun came out (my house sits east-west) and the ice began to melt a little, that litter turned to something like sticky dark gray rice pudding. I tried sweeping it off and gunked up my broom. Same with my snow shovel. I tried water, and it turned into something like thick gray pea soup. And when it dries on your shoes - well, I haven't gotten to that yet.

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