Garden 2025

[Kathleen]

They have some nice sales going on, @pepperhead212 . Thanks for sharing the link!

@taxlady I found seed at Urban Farmer and purchased some today. I decided to give it a try this year.

 

[dragnlaw]

Wow, and they ship to Canada! Finding out if sites ship to Canada can be like pulling teeth sometimes. Very upfront about perhaps extra charges too. Nice. Worth checking out. Just what I need more cruising the internt...

 

[pepperhead212]

@Kathleen If you will be planting a large number of those Hamburg parsley seeds, here's a way to speed them up, if you have one - a seed sprouter. The kind you use for sprouting beans and grains, and it works great for these, too! Soak then overnight, then put in the sprouter, and rinse at least 3 times a day with tepid water. I usually get the first parsley sprouts on the 7th or 8th day, compared to 2-3 weeks, planting in the pots. This is also how I always test seeds that aren't germinating at all, and occasionally get lucky; of not, I know they aren't viable.

 

[pepperhead212]

Today I planted some scallion seeds - those ones I left the previous link to. The king long, iron long, and all seasons, the last one the one they I grew last year, most of the season, and they seemed to have dropped from the catalog. I'm still hoping for those late seeds I planted in the bed to come up, but I haven't seen any. I just packed 3 of those containers, saved from the 8 oz mushrooms, with the seedling mix, about 1/2" from the top, then spread out the seeds, about 1/4" apart, then spread about 3/8" of mix on top, then moistened it with a solution with that Bt israelensis. Those went up to to the seedling/laundry room, and soon, when those or the greens start sprouting, the lights will go on, until into May!

 

[larry_stewart]

Yesterday was my first real day in the garden/ yard. Sunny and ,mid 60's , so I took advantage of it.
- Free compost and mulch now available so I picked some up. Didnt do much with it yet, but nice to have on hand when I need it.
- Repotted a bunch of fig trees. They will soon be ' waking up'.
- Gave a few off my cold hardy citrus plants a taste of spring, by moving them out of the garage for the day.
- Turned the compost pile, and added all the stuff that accumulated over the winter from my compost bin.
- Started to get an area ready for the cooler crops ( lettuce, radish, arugula...)
- Kale, which was left uncovered through the winter, starting to come back to life ( so is the arugula). They took a beating in February, but still vital, and perking up a bit.
- Getting boots ready for cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli
- Garlic poking through. Not as tall as previous years at this time, but this winter was more like a real winter than recent years.

 

[pepperhead212]

Yes, it's been several years since we had a winter as cold as this one got, and my garlic hasn't been dying back, like it did this year - just slowing down considerably. We'll see if it slows down the harvest any.

That reminds me of something else I did before we got that last rain - I uncovered my fig tree. That thing more than doubled in size last season, but I only got one fruit! This is the 3rd year for it, and hopefully it will finally start producing.

Yesterday, since there is no freeze in the foreseeable forecast, I closed the valves outside, then opened the water valves in the basement, so that I can get the water outside now. Usually, in the spring, I have to close them at least once more time, and drain the pipes out there, due to freezing, but I'll need the water out there in the mean time.

 

[Kathleen]

@Kathleen If you will be planting a large number of those Hamburg parsley seeds, here's a way to speed them up, if you have one - a seed sprouter. The kind you use for sprouting beans and grains, and it works great for these, too! Soak then overnight, then put in the sprouter, and rinse at least 3 times a day with tepid water. I usually get the first parsley sprouts on the 7th or 8th day, compared to 2-3 weeks, planting in the pots. This is also how I always test seeds that aren't germinating at all, and occasionally get lucky; of not, I know they aren't viable.

Thanks, Pepper! I do have a seed sprouter!

 

[taxlady]

I have a question. Do any of you know of a use for broken terracotta pots? Is there something one can do with the pieces instead of just throwing them away?

 

[dragnlaw]

I know that one site said the following was bogus and not true but I swear it works.
1. Putting broken shards in the bottom of a pot to make an airy area around the drain hole helps to prevent the dirt from sifting down and clogging the drain. I've always done it and have never had water logged potted plants from not being able to drain properly.
2. You can crush them further to mix into your soil. Helps to retain moisture.

 

[taxlady]

I know that one site said the following was bogus and not true but I swear it works.
1. Putting broken shards in the bottom of a pot to make an airy area around the drain hole helps to prevent the dirt from sifting down and clogging the drain. I've always done it and have never had water logged potted plants from not being able to drain properly.
2. You can crush them further to mix into your soil. Helps to retain moisture.

I have heard of putting the shards at the bottom of a pot. The reason I heard was so the pot would drain faster. Apparently, the pot doesn't drain faster, but I can see how it would keep the soil from falling out through the hole or from clogging it.

 

[dragnlaw]

so the pot would drain faster.

Well, I guess if you think of it in a round-a-bout manner, it does drain faster in that it prevents the hole from clogging and preventing any draining at all.
Typical thinking for things never explained, or that were explained but when knowledge is passed on not all the knowledge goes with it.

 

[taxlady]

Well, I guess if you think of it in a round-a-bout manner, it does drain faster in that it prevents the hole from clogging and preventing any draining at all.
Typical thinking for things never explained, or that were explained but when knowledge is passed on not all the knowledge goes with it.

There was some gardening show on CBC decades ago. The host was a housewife. There was a professional gardener who was sometimes on the show. It was that professional gardener who demonstrated and explained why the water doesn't drain as fast with shards and/or rocks at the bottom. It had something to do with a shorter water column.

So, in general, it will go slower than without the shards. Pots don't often clog with soil. It would only be a very few pots that would get the faster draining benefit. But, it would still keep soil from falling out through the hole, something that I have seen every now and then.

 

[dragnlaw]

shorter water column.

What is that?

 

[taxlady]

What is that?

A water column is a "notional column" from the top to the bottom of something. So, imagine a thin column from the surface of the soil to the first thing it encounters that isn't soil. According to this gardener (I think he taught gardening and the science of gardening.) the water column stops either when it gets to the bottom of the pot or to any shards of terracotta or stones. I really don't remember the details. I think it was the 1970s or 80s when I used to watch that show. But, for some reason, the same amount of water would drain faster with a longer water column than with a shorter one.

 

[dragnlaw]

hmmmm...

 

[Badjak]

Thats due to water pressure.
A longer narrower column results in more pressure, therefor it will drain faster (1 bar extra for every 10 metres, so not much in a plant pot, but it does make a difference)

 

[dragnlaw]

Ok, I get it. But honestly, isn't that sort of like mountains to mole hills?
I actually water my plants from the bottom as they seem to do so much better for me that way.

Of course that also begs to wonder how the water knows it is soil and when to slow down. If you change the pots medium from soil to sand or straw would you confuse the water? Is there an intelligence test for the water? Some days I think my water gets a bit confused. Perhaps it just didn't get a good nights sleep, I believe I've even caught it napping on the job once or twice.

 

[pepperhead212]

And remember, something that most people don't do when they put those rocks or other "spacers" in the bottom, unless you place a very fine screen between the soil and spacers, the soil quickly fills up the spaces. So all they do is make less area for the soil.

 

[dragnlaw]

which is why I'm always careful to build bridge like arches with the shards for air pockets. Never had a bottom clog.
But I think a lot depends on your soil mixtures too.

 

[pepperhead212]

And this is why I just picked up a 4 cu ft bag of perlite, I ordered at Lowe's yesterday! Nothing makes for better drainage, when making soil mix.