What are your 2020 garden plans?

[Just Cooking]

What are "SIPs"?

Sign of the times..

When I read that, my mind automatically translated to, "Shelter in Place."

Ross

 

[larry_stewart]

A few weeks ago I tested some seeds I didn't thing were going to germinate ( tomato). Of course, they all germinated and are doing too well. So in a similar situation as pepper, they are just getting too big too quick. Got them in the garage now, introducing them to the cooler weather for the past few days. Some exposure to sun and wind past few days. Likely will get them in in the upcoming weekend. A little earlier than I expected, but if they harden off well, shouldn't be an issue. I dont see any obvious signs of frost over the next 10 days ( although anything is possible).

 

[pepperhead212]

What are "SIPs"?

Sorry about that - SIP is an abbreviation for Sub-Irrigated Planter. The Earthbox (often abbreviated EB by some gardeners) is the best known brand of one of these, and I have a few of these I got several years ago, when a lady in Florida (most people in the south can't grow tomatoes, and many other plants, in anything but a container, due to nematodes) informed other gardeners on a forum I am on that Earthbox was selling out to a larger company, and had an incredible sale. I never had one, but I grew a lot of things in containers at the time, so I tried some, and I was hooked! I grew double the amount of vegetables on many of the plants in those things, and I found out that there were cheaper, homemade versions of them, that I could make, with things in my workshop.

What they are is a container with a reservoir under the growing section, and there are some wicking chambers, that extend into the water, to wick the water up into the growing section. This keeps the soil mix moist, but not overwatered, as it would be if a pot was just sitting in a tray of water constantly. The reservoir is filled through a column, and the containers are covered, not only to prevent evaporation, but also because the fertilizer is put in a strip in the container, to slowly dissolve into the water, as it wicks into the soil mix - if this was done in a regular pot, it would me severely over-fertilized from top watering, or the first time it rained.

Here is a photo showing the Earthboxes I have set up, ready for my cherry tomatoes.
Earthboxes, ready for the tomatoes! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here are the bucket sized SIPs:
Bucket SIPs, ready for cucumbers! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And the ones I made from 18 gal buckets:
SIPs, ready for tomatoes! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here are a bunch of photos I took, showing the construction of
Homemade Sub Irrigated Planters

 

[taxlady]

Thanks for the explanation Dave. That sounds interesting.

 

[GreenEnvy22]

We've got most of the garden planted now, mostly the tomatoes, potatoes, and hot peppers left to go in.
We moved a few things around, due to availability and changes in what we wanted.

 

[larry_stewart]

Got out to a local nursery to pick up some flats of things I either dont have , dont have the patience to grow by seed, started by seed but dont have the patience for them to mature...


I always do this, I get so excited that stuff is available, that I go and purchase more ( assuming my stuff either won't germinate or survive the hardening process) then I wind up with 2 X the amount of stuff with no where to put it.

Anyway, picked up some Kirbies, Cukes, String beans, basil, chard Zucchini ( I think thats it).

I waited until a crappy midweek day and went right when they opened to minimize amount of people there ( I think there were 6 including me, and Im the only one who went straight to the veggies).

Still a little cool so they are in my garage. open the door during the day for the sun, and close it at night to prevent any temps that are too cold and to protect from the wind.

Gotta check the 10 day forecast to see when. I can get them in.

 

[CharlieD]

My father was a . He took over my yard and planted trees, bushes, berry bushes, flowers, vegetables.
Not that he is gone, the yard, pardon my language looks like, well, you know what I mean.

If I had money I'd live in the big city in a skyscraper apartment, or at the very least i would cover the yard with asphalt. It's not that I don't enjoy it, I neither have time or money to take care of it. And looks bad.

 

[pepperhead212]

Today, while trying to figure out something to do garden related inside (lousy weather, and even worse tomorrow - the reason I put off the tomato planting), I realized that I had to take apart my small hydroponics tub, to make room for my cloner, so I got that done. Tomorrow the cloner gets set up, and some basil will get going, along with some red epazote, and some other plants. And I put some cucurbit seeds and okra seeds to soak in GA-3, and I'll plant those inside tomorrow. It should be warm enough when those are ready to go out.

 

[larry_stewart]

Just planted my okra seeds indoors yesterday. I bought a flat of pickling cukes yesterday ( or at least I thought I did). I looked at the tag, which said pickling cukes, grabbed the whole flat. Then I grabbed an additional 4 cells of regular cukes. When I got home, turns out someone placed 3 cells of pickling cukes back into the regular cucumber flat. Which means I have the mother load of regular cukes, and maybe 1/4 the amount of pickling cukes I wanted. So, I planted some pickling cukes inside as well ( which I was planning to do originally, but when I saw them at the nursery I made an impulsive purchase)

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

My new apartment is on the 4th floor, facing south, so I am going to put a couple of cheap planters on my balcony and plant one tomato plant and one bell pepper plant. Then I am going to get a window box I can hang on the railing and plant some herbs.

 

[pepperhead212]

I got the tomatoes in today! 28 plants, of 21 varieties, plus two tomatillos of a new (to me) variety: Everona. They were the only plants that got somewhat rootbound, and one had a hint of a blossom on it, which I removed. I still have 5 extra plants, of some of my favorites, in case something happened to any of them. The rain started just as I was finishing, which gave me an excuse to stop. After a break, I'll get working on getting the cuttings in the cloner.

Just now, I noticed a couple of those okra seeds sprouting already. That GA-3 really speeds up their germination, as well as improving %. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for many seeds, including peppers!

 

[pepperhead212]

This morning, around 9 am, I took all of the seeds that had been soaking overnight in the GA-3 and put them in the petri dishes, on layers of moistened strips of paper towels. In less than 12 hours, all 4 seeds of one of the cucumbers germinated, and a number of each of the two types of okra had sprouted, and a couple of the squash had sprouts started. The bitter melon and bottle gourd seeds are the slowest, but this even speeds those up.
Cucurbits and okra seeds, sprouting, before putting them in the jiffy pellets. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cucumber seeds, sprouting in less than 12 hours after soaking in the GA-3 overnight. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

I put out a few ' sacrificial'. plants to see how they due under the current conditions. I always have extras, and its kinda borderline out there. Im pretty sure the hardening process is going well, but Im always afraid of losing everything and having to either start all over, or go to the nursery to buy everything. I took a quick peek when I went out to feed the cats, and the cukes and some of the squash still look alive and healthy.

Running to a nursery, out east, in a few minutes to see if they have anything unusual, also see if they have some currant plants I can pick up and add to my collection. Im also interested in planting som Elderberry plants. Ive seen some online, but none in the local nurseries . This is my last stop before ordering them online.

Supposed to be nice outside today ( and crappy tomorrow) so as long as the sacrificial plants do ok, ill probably ge a lot in this weekend. the 10 day forecast appears to be good.

 

[Katie H]

With the "virus" thing going on, I haven't been able to get what plants I want. However, I have been able to get some of the vegetable plants we wanted.

Thusfar, I've planted some Jetstar tomatoes, romas, sweet 100 cherry tomatoes, yellow squash, green peppers, burpless cucumbers, white eggplant, bell peppers, caulifower, and some herbs. Herbs include parsley, thyme, sage and basil. I also have some red leaf lettuce in a shady part of the yard. Looking forward to enjoying that.

All the plants are in containers, which I've been using for a long, long time. Seems to work for me.

 

[pepperhead212]

I got my cuttings in the cloner today:
Cloner with three types of basil, plus some red epazote. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I also got 5 more SIPs ready, along with getting the drip irrigation system starting up again, though no hurry on that, since the heat is not up yet, and the smaller plants don't need that much watering yet. There are always a couple leaks that have to be fixed, and some new mapping out, but it's mostly the same as last year. I just hope the rain is lighter than it was early last year.

 

[larry_stewart]

Are there plants that are not successful at cloning ? or not as predictable as others ?

 

[pepperhead212]

Are there plants that are not successful at cloning ? or not as predictable as others ?

I have tried several that didn't do well. Kaffir limes and curry trees did not root, no matter what stage of growth I cut the stem at. Things like parsley and cilantro will root, but not grow into an actual plant. And surprisingly, lemon grass didn't do as well in the cloner and it did just putting in a glass of water, and changing it occasionally. Tomatoes and peppers clone well, but I'm not sure how well those plants do compared to seed started plants, as I never grew them all the way.

Basils, sage, rosemary, perilla, rao ram, oregano, epazote, and mints clone very easily. Most seasons I go to the Asian market and buy some herbs to clone

 

[larry_stewart]

I have tried several that didn't do well. Kaffir limes and curry trees did not root, no matter what stage of growth I cut the stem at. Things like parsley and cilantro will root, but not grow into an actual plant. And surprisingly, lemon grass didn't do as well in the cloner and it did just putting in a glass of water, and changing it occasionally. Tomatoes and peppers clone well, but I'm not sure how well those plants do compared to seed started plants, as I never grew them all the way.

Basils, sage, rosemary, perilla, rao ram, oregano, epazote, and mints clone very easily. Most seasons I go to the Asian market and buy some herbs to clone

Thanks.

in the fall, when I cur my fig trees back, I put the cuttings in my aquaponics system and they root very well also. Ive tried other methods with them, but that works best for me.

 

[bethzaring]

NWS is predicting 33*F tonight. I believe I have now purchased all the veggies starts I want and now have them tucked in a heated bed. It is supposed to be in the 30's for the next 5 nights. I buy my veggies at a local nursery who has had to go to extremes to sell to the public. I have several varieties of tomatoes, green chiles, celery, swiss chard, parsley, basil, bell pepper, and lettuce.

 

[GreenEnvy22]

NWS is predicting 33*F tonight. I believe I have now purchased all the veggies starts I want and now have them tucked in a heated bed. It is supposed to be in the 30's for the next 5 nights. I buy my veggies at a local nursery who has had to go to extremes to sell to the public. I have several varieties of tomatoes, green chiles, celery, swiss chard, parsley, basil, bell pepper, and lettuce.

It's border line here for Frost too. This morning there actually was a tiny bit on the cars and roof, but plants seem ok.
Tonight I think I'll cover the tomatoes and some other plants, they are still small enough for that.