Canadian Gardening: Welcome to new member drivenbonkers from Perth ON, 1 by drivenbonkers

drivenbonkers wrote:
Ginny, delphiniums are my four o'clocks, lol, can't grow a delphinium no matter what I've tried.....was discouraged once with my sweet violets, and after they didn't grow (I was a bit piqued!) just dumped the tray behind the greenhouse, now the greenhouse is practically surrounded with violets. beautiful in the spring, lol, am learning patience.... ;-)

Andy, Murphy's Point is a little south of us, but we have toured along Elm Grove Road in the old car during the summers....

Sandy, I too, like Kiwi and Rock Wall, (Kiwi's just down the road across the railroad tracks from me) but look for bargains and different things just about anywhere. There's also Hillside Gardens about a mile east of Perth on # 7 , Independant Grocer and Home Hardware also have a reasonable selection of different things.....depending, of course, what you are looking for.

I've never been to Whitehouse Perennials, will put that on my list this year....

My preferences seem to change, what is alive is my current favourite, lol

echoes, here's a pic of what I have set up now. It's two and a half weeks old. It's just a plastic container, an aquarium airpump, some plastic tubing and two solid bottom trays. (holes punched in one end to drain back into the container) Seeds were started in jiffy 7's. (it's what I had on hand when spring fever hit) The aquarium pump provides the irrigation/aeration, my floralight 2 tier, 8-lamp stand provides the light. looks like I'll have to raise the light in the next day or so. there's romaine lettuce, swiss chard, mesclun mix in this one, new seeds sown every week. Another set up is on the lower level with tomatoes, cantelope, beans, and cucumber. it's my 'spring fix'.

The first hydroponic set up I had was 2 summers ago, outside, made 3 wooden bins, plumbed them together, lined them with plastic and used a pond pump to circulate the water (from a recycled plastic olive barrel) used vermiculite in pots,drip lines into the pots, trained the tomatoes up strings, and floated the lettuces. Had all the lettuces we could eat! Ran into problems with too much rain flooding the bins, leaking plumbing between the bins, clogged emitters...

Last summer tried to float the lettuces in the set up in the greenhouse, was a dismal failure only because it was way too hot for lettuces... but will have another go this summer with cantelope, tomatoes, stuff that likes the heat. This gardening stuff is so much experimentation, perspiration and exasperation! the exhiliaration when that bud bursts open....!