Propagation: Propagation: part IV based on my own experienc

Tilly let us know what you lost. I don't know about the rest but I will send a few plants your way once we thaw out. I also have some seeds I can share. I am hopeing to get a shelf to start seeds inside the house... all grown up heat mats and domes to keep the humidity up... I get goose bumps just thinking it might happen. Imagine what I could do with that compared to what I do know with no heat. Boy of boy... Keep us posted on how the plants look. of course some may fool you by either looking fine untill june and then roll over and die or they will all just die, Its hard to tell sometimes.
I got clearence to hang a shop light in the gh, which is good because my gingers look awfull. My poor blue he is starting to die back from the tip. I just hope he makes it.
Dave

love you all , thanks but don't yet.

Hi everyone:
Sorry for the long delay. I have had a few days of health issues. OK we were talking about cost realization on our plants we sell. The best way I know to break down some of the fixed costs such as potting soil and fertilizer is to calculate the cost per pot. There are a lot of figuires given by the manufacturer of these products.
Soil is on of the easiest to calculate because it breaks dow to so many pots per cubic foot of soil. This can be further aided by using a mix that includes slow release fertilizer along with moisture crystals for water retention. I am highlighting on this because a few of us are in the frying pan area of the country. Oklahoma, Texas the Carolinas and Florida. Lets face it 99 degrees is hot no mater where you are some of the lucky few hit the 100 degree plus mark, myself included. I do not care if the humidity is 30% or 4% or 80% the plants are going to use up the moisture we provide. At least thats how I see it. I am sure we will get one or two that pop in and disagree with my dismissing the humidity as an effect on water consumption. Yes it might lessen the up take a little but if you have to water it does not matter how much the humidity is.
http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CN%2DNCE&gclid=CPTfzJD115cCFQ0xawod_m-0Dg

Above is a good site for calculations of cost. I shoot for buying large bags of soil as it is easier for me to use and handle. I buy the 2 1/2 cu ft bag of moisture controll with slow release fertilizer mixed in. A cubic foot of soil is 12" x 12" x 12" or 1728 cubic inches. one bag of soil should fill 94 "kord"(plastic pot manufacturer) 4" X 4"X 3 7/8" pots. Now this is based on exact calculation and some people fill their containers fuller than others so how far a bag will spread can vary. There for the cost of the initial (roughly) $12.00 a bag of soil with slow release fertilizer and moisture crystals should be based at $0.13 per container.
To further the dizzying and awful part of the business we need to calculate the cost of the pot's space usage from the cost per sqft. This can be any combination you like. if you are growing 4" square pots tightly togeter a sq ft of space will be 9 pots. divide your sqft cost by 9 and you will get the cost per sqft per 4" pot. add this cost to the $0.13 per pot and you will have how much you need to get for your pot to cover your costs.
I know this is a bit much to digest but I thought it should be talked about especially if as many of our group are going to sell plants. I would hate for you to do it for a while and then figuire out you are loosing money . But of course we are loosing money as we feed our hobby. I guess I am wanting for you to have a posative experience with your nursery business.
Next we will disscuss how we can take our own landscape and make it work for you and the business.
I realize its been a bit dry and I opologize for the excess info some have had to endure.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holliday.
Dave

Dave

The 2.5 cf of moister control is new to me. How can I find some.

Gary

I enjoy your posts

I buy mine at home depot and lowes. They usually are Miricle grow. I have found and off brand with fertilizer and moisture crystals in them. I do not like the off brand. It just does not feel right to me. Personally I used the bag mix to maximize my time. I could buy bales of peat moss and buy all the ingredients to mix my own. We have used a concrete mixer to mix up batches and poured them into a bin on rollers. The greenhouse had a massive space for handeling the planting and all the other things involved in the green house. Being a one person operation I have to maximize my use of time. I am sure we all have to weigh out the time used to mix soil vs buying premixed. Farfard also has a great line of soil mixes that can be purchased at a horticultural supply house.
We have one in Oklahoma city that I can order $200.00 Min. and meet their truck in a parking lot to buy the more exotic items that are needed.
I apreciate the praise. I really don't like to deal with the math stuff in an operation but it must be delt with or the operation will fail at some point.
Another thought is that I also buy a bag of pine mulch untreated with as fine a chip as possible. I sometimes mix in some to beaf up the mix I am using. it depends on what I am planting. It also helps to increase the amount of soil I have and improve the air space in the mix.
Dave

Dave, hope all is well for you sorry to hear you are having issues.
This has been a white winter so far this year I have 12" not really normal for here.
This was taken for the top of my road down in the front part of the yard.

Tilly i know the snow is hard on people that are not use to it but you have such a beautiful scene there.

The snow is very pretty if you don't have to drive in it.

Jeanette

How well I know, Today its not nice out there, Plus I took a different route so I didn't have to go up a big hill, and got lost and so turn around I did not which way to go. But finally got to work, a hour late. LOL

Tilly: I agree with Jeanette, its a beutiful scene. I would enter it in the daves garden picture contest next fall. I did notice the mail man was delivering mail in your pic
Yes zone 8a is no place for snow. Of course our temps have been in single digits the last few days with a wonderful north wind Its suposed to be in the 40's maybe 40's by the weekend. I am prying for that to happen. My father has a giant staghorn that I gave to him in 1991. He asked me to repot the plant with fresh soil and long spagnum moss.
Hey an idea ... take pics of what I am doing with a small how 2 so everyone can pot up their own ferns and other hanging baskets.
I am also working on getting the word doc put together for an easier read. I hope everyone does not mind me using nicknames. I will email it out to you if you will email me your contact info. I have started a book on what I am getting done.
Dave

We are use to that kind of weather but it is still hard on us even. We had 2 ft of snow here a few years ago and just brought everything to a stand still. I almost didn't get out of our drive way it was so bad. That is probably the most we had had for 10 years or longer.

Pughbear, Dave, was it you I was talking about the Japanese Maple rootstock? I seem to have lost the info. about the suppliers, Jim

Dave, I would love to see the staghorn fern you are replanting for your father. Jeanette

I will take some pics. Its still too cold for my blood so It might be later this week. Monday morning we were at 8 degrees plus a wind chill BRRRRR and friday they say upper 60's.. Like Will Rogers said "If you don't like the weather in oklahoma, wait a moment it will change"
I think the same can be said for all the states that sit on the cold warm boundry zone 6a & b and 7 a & b. Just my humble opinion.
Dave

For everybody that knew I was getting a GH , WELL I GOT IT TODAY !!! WOOOOO HOOOOO MY biggest Christmas Present yet !!!!

Ok FF, when are you going to put it up? I am anxious to see how it goes. Are you going to heat it? If so, what with?

Fun, fun!!

Jeanette

Hey, Merry Christmas to you FF, Oh what fun.

Dave, hate to say this, but the Pic was from the drive down to the yard, no mail there. those where 2 travel trailers in the yard. LOL, both are used for storage.
Sending you my E-mail addy.

Have a
HAPPY CHRISTMAS
To All
Best I can come up with
Coke Bottle ^_^

Well getting it up is going to be the problem now, with this stupid weather. It is going to get up to 63 by Friday here ,but it is suppose to rain the whole time and then it will probably get so cold after that , that we can't get out to do it then.
We were checking out some electric heaters and looking at several different things and ways to heat it . We probably won't decide that until we get it up and take a good look at it and see for sure what we can use. I would like to get some of those heating cables too if I can find them cheap enough. I guess it will just take me some time to get it to come together the way I want it. I will keep you all informed as how it is going when we get it started.

FF, nice present, let me know how it's going. Jim

FF: great christmas gift.... I am excited for you. If you would like I can dig up some links for heating the GH. I hope everyone has had a great holiday.
Dave

hey if you can find some sites that has decent prices I would appreciate it.
Dave hope you have had a Great Christmas and a good New Year too.
stay healthy !!!

FF, one thing I have done to keep the costs of heating down. I use a small heater that is set at 40%F, when we're having those below freezing days and nights. it's working. also you can buy some GH insulation at one of the GH suppliers. it's like bubble wrap. and sticks to the panels. so here's a couple of ways to save. I do this along with the heat bed. so I don't lose my Brugmansia, Musa, Tender succulents. when it's above 40%f I turn the heater off. Jim

Well I might have a problem with the bubble wrap thing as my GH is made of fiber type material. We are looking into the heaters though.
I have philos and EEs that I want to try to keep in the GH so I will most likely have to have at least a 50 to 60 steady temp, plus I'll have coleus and begonias. Right now I have kind of specilized in some plants that I have wanted for a long time,and of course I'll be starting my seed for the spring too and for my veggie garden.

Dave did you ever find out anything about the Co-Op for the heating cables? If you did let me know ok?


Goodnite all

Hi: I droped a dmail to you FF. Heads up everyone there is a horn canna co-op in the initial stages so you might want to check it out great prices for canna's. I hope to do a new post monday.
Dave

Hi Everyone, I am sorry to have been MIA for so long. My computer crashed really big the week before christmas and now I have had to send it away for repairs. The chances that I get to snatch my son's computer are really small since he is out of school. Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I will check in again asap.

Linda

-Oh Linda, what a rotten thing to happen. Glad to hear from you for a minute anyway and to know you are ok.

Jeanette

Linda: I am glad to hear you are ok. I do understand about computer issues. Luckily I have a laptop to back me up. My main computer is acting hinke. I shut it down and now it won't boot up. I am afraid of whats going on with it. Oh well just another day in paridise.... LOL... Take care of what you need to we will be here. I hope you had a great christmas and a happy new year. Dave

Where is everyone????????

Hope you all had a great Christmas.

I think everyone is still kinda yuck after all the holiday food and festivities.

Hey guys. I think everyone is just too fat to type.!!! I iknow I must have gained 50 pounds. Don't know why everyone I know thinks I need candy. It's a conspiricy. I got really sick a couple years ago and lost a bunch of weight.
Everyone keeps telling me I need to gain some back. They ought to be happy now!!!
Tilly, I'm sorry too about your plants. Please do let us know what you lost.
Also, I keep intending to ask you where in the world you got your dave's name.
Come on ,spill it.
Ok ff,, have you got that greenhouse up and filled up yet? You'll have to send us a picture when you do.

Lorraine, when I first joined Dave's in 06 and had to come up with a user name. This is how I did it.

This is Tilly, my Calico Kitty, youngest of 4 that I have. and with her is my Ratso 2nd youngest, name given to him the day he was born (he looked like a rat) I still have his moma. Corky, thus the name given as they have weird tails, by birth.
I saw this pic, and thus my DG name.

FF I can't wait to see it, Pics please...............

This is mom, Corky with Rattso (she is the darker one). her name would not work. for me.

Then there is Miss Sassy, she is my shadow no matter where I go.
That name ? but she is true to her name LOL

Well ladies if I sent pics right now all you would see is it in a large long box on my piled up deck. Our weather since I got it has not cooperated as to getting it up. The nice days that we have had it has been so windy we could have used it for a balloon to carry us away, and DH doesn't want to put it up until we can get the type of anchors HE wants. He wants to make sure it is anchored well enough that when we do have bad winds that it won't go anywhere. Personally I want it up now but I have to wait on him as I can't do it by myself, or it would have already been up.Lorraine I am sending you a dmail and will explain in it ok?

So sorry FF, I would have wanted up now, but you know Men. LOL
Procrastinator as they are. Have fun.

Bummer, FF.

Aw, Tilly - I love Miss Sass's blue eyes.

They are all a hand full LOL
Sassy on watch.

tilly you have all your cats and I have dogs. Full blooded dashund, boston terrier, and 2 chihuahuas. talking about a hand full LOL But I love them just the same. Oh yes I do have 2 outside cats., Tommy and Armon. Dogs are Elle,Misty,Lily, and Lizzy

I also have 2 dogs, a Black Lab and a Corgie, funny pair.
The Lab is Ester (she is 9) and the short one is Tyler, he is a handfull, more like 3 dogs in one, just turn 2. LOL
Plus 2 birds ( Cockatiles) And the 4 cats, but they rule the house.

Such a house full for you, LOL