plastic planting trays(?) in fours and sixes

Shoe,

Great pic! Thanks.

You both take care,

Karen

Shoe, When I used the commercial insecticidal soap, I sprayed it and left it in the garage to dry. It never got direct sunlight cuz even indoors, the plants only got filtered sunlight.. That's why I thought it was the soap that burnt the plants not the sun.. Maybe the plants can tolerate sun at all if that's they case or the soap application was just too strong..

Yep, I think if you mix it too strong you'll get bad results. I noticed on the directions that some plants are more sensitive to soap sprays/mixes, hence the wording to "try on a small area first".

Thinking further I realize that the age of a plant will come into play as well (young seedlings vs older plants) and also how hardened off they are.

Sorry you had bad results, it's no fun to raise your babies up from seeds, pot them up, set them out in anticipation of a good crop and then have them taken away from you. No fair!

Wishing you a better season this year.

Shoe

Thanks Shoe.. For the record, it was premixed so I think the makers made it to strong.. Think I will try the homemade mixes next time.. :)

I usually buy plants at the feed store or garden, but I'd like to start some heirloom seeds. I never have any luck with seeds as they always damp off. What can I do about that?

Also am planning on getting some chicken wire and making row covers for my rows at least until they grow up to a height that my chickens won't dig them up. I'd like to use the chickens as a sort of pest control.Thought if I just roll off the wire and add some kind of stake to hold it into the ground. I read somewhere that they used their chickens like that.. ??

Chickens are great at pest control. Not to mention the fertilizer provided. You need to let your plants get some size first.

yea that's why I want to make the row covers. I figure it will help keep out the rabbits too. I don't see rabbits much around here, but you never know. We have coons too, I don' t know if they dig in the garden or not. A couple of years ago. I had trouble with armadillo's digging for grubs. I sprinkled some moth balls around where they were digging and that was the end of that. They do dig in the yard too though.

The spot I'm using now though is my uncle's fenced garden adjacent to the chicken pen. So I don't think I'll have problems with the armadillos but the coons get in anywhere they want. I don't know about the rabbits. I know my uncle used to trap (humane) stuff out there but most probably raccoons.

Oh the damping off I found some info ... talks about soaking seeds in a weak bleach solution to kill fungus.
make sure tools are fungus free by bleach or alcohol wash.
leave plenty of room for air to circulate.

Good drainage. I hope I don't have problems with it this year.

I've done the chicken wire row covers exactly like that.

I get the rolls of chicken wire that are [something like] 2' high, bend them into a curved shape and anchor them with garden staples, folding in the ends.

Only way to get the spinach for me instead of the damnrabbits.

Roll them back up in the fall and save for next year.

I didn't even think of getting the little short rolls of chicken wire.. doh.. I was thinking of like the 4 ft ones.. but the two foot ones will be perfect.
I am going to go out this week and water ( hopefully it will rain) and stretch out clear plastic over the rows to kill off the weeds.
my husband and I nether one are wanting to do the tiller again.. Our neighbor did it a couple of months ago and so Its' nice and tilled.. just need to get the new shoots coming up. Though I don't know.... should I mound up the rows are leave the flat?

the problem I have out there is I don't have water. For the chickens I have an automatic waterer.. with a hose stretched the 70 ft from our house to the chicken pen. So I am going to have to get an "Y" to run a hose to the garden. but I think I might do the soda bottle idea of cutting the bottom out and putting the neck into the soil for easier watering the plants. We are metered out here so that would save money on the water bill.

I use that method of soda bottles or cut off milk jugs buried upside down between the plants. I have a very shallow well, so need to be very careful with the watering. Get your self some annual rye grass and oversow the area. It is an annual, just mow it off and plant right into it. That will smother out the weed seeds and add a little nitrogen fix to the area. Plus it will hold your soil in place until you can plant. Have you thought about getting some rain barrels to help supplement your water? Using graywater from your washer? Google that for more information. Very interesting.

As for saving $$$, usually any of the dollar stores have the 32oz sprayer bottles for a dollar. Cheap enough to have several and mark each with a "Sharpie" so you don't use for anything else.

I avoid all commercial insecticides, but a couple of oz of Murphy's Oil Soap in a sprayer filled with water seems to keep most under control.

all of our washing machine and bath water go into a cistern. and we pump it on to the yard. But my garden is probably half a block from the water source. and from the hose that pumps out the cistern. I put a "Y" on it and ran another hose to the garden.. Trying to work out there but the wind is horrible out here in Central Texas. Hopefully it will die down so my husband and I can get out there and get the plastic down.

That rye grass seed is a great idea..I'm thinking about leaving the grass in between the rows and just keeping it mowed. Cut down on the mud and sloppiness LOL rain barrels would be great except we have very little rain during the growing season. It gets parched out here. and the temps get up in the triple digets... So it's tough having outdoor plants here.

The murphys,, I could use that around the chickens? I've been worrying. Oh I also got some horticultural cornmeal. has anyone used that?

I appreciate all you guys advice!!! :)

Even with little rain, rain barrels will take some of the pressure off for you. Grass between the rows is a good idea. The trick to keeping the weeds down is making sure there's something growing in that space and smothering out the weed seeds. Using heavy mulch on the veggies should help conserve the moisture as well.

Did I tell you guys that I am using the newspaper seed cups like Dave teaches in the video?

Yea.. I made tons in no time.. and I sat them in trays with pea gravel in the bottom. I have grow lights on them on cloudy days and at night. They are in a room that has solid windows from waist height up on the east and south side. As soon as the sun gets stronger .. and it comes early here, I'll maybe set them out for a couple of hours when they start coming up. I used to put the black cloth on the rows. It works for a season .... then stuff starts growing up in it. Here in CenTex... beggar lice is very hard to get rid of. When we have the right circumstances we try to burn it before the seeds can fall, but lately we haven't been able to do that because of the lack of wetness.
Yea I like the idea of grass.
Thanks guys

Some of my seeds are finally coming up.. the one's in the pots. I had to replant a couple ....my sweet little Velcro kitty got into them.... *sigh*

The outdoor seeds (sweet Peas) are coming up big time.

I don't know if I will use the paper cups again. the news paper ones are doing really well but the toilet paper/paper towel rollers are not. they are unwinding. So I don't know if I'll use them again. I liked the idea because it recycled. But I suppose that I can just go on and put them in the recycle box

Good for you.

My pole beans were on a roll till this weekend - cat ate the tops or dragged then out of their beds - maybe some of those that haven't poped up will germinate.

No sign of life from the peas yet, but they reportedly take a few more days than beans.

agg.. Cats.. love em.. can't live with out them, but ....

It's supposed to get really cold this weekend, so I'm hoping all the cold weather stuff will be ok. My seedlings are coming up. Tomatoes, eggplant and artichoke.

Replant them now. if the come up double it's ok. Then put something some milk jugs over them with the bottoms cut out, with the hole open in the top.. till they grow up enough for the cat to leave them alone.

Moved the dirt (not sure anything will pop up) to a place the cats can't get to.
Also sowed a bunch of pepper seeds - ancho and chilaca - both from grocery store peppers - we'll see what happens. Put them with the beans & peas.

Frustrating to have rain this weekend, but the ground needs it

yes we had rain too.. i don't know for sure where you are in relation to the Waco area. I live right by Lake Whitney. We had storms and rain. but I take it when we can get it. I hope the seeds do ok.. I have planted Sweet chinese, tobasco, cayenne and some bell peppers. I ordered most of my seeds from Baker Creek.

We are just south of Houston.

The teepee for the pole beans survived the wind and rain just fine. No peppers popping up yet, but bought some tomato sets - yellow plum, grape, and some red lettuce that looked harvestable right now - repotted everything into bigger containers.

Thanks to the link Badseed posted at the beginning, I ended up purchasing some supplies from http://www.novoselenterprises.com/default.asp. The prices and shipping were better than other websites I checked out. I've already got other things in my shopping cart with them!