Just a couple a random thoughts as I relax and enjoy this beautiful rainy day…
Springtime lawn destruction: Where’s the logic in ‘rolling’ the lawn?
Over the last few days at least three of my neighbors fired up their riding mowers and dragged a large, heavy lawn roller around their properties.
As I watched, I asked myself if I should plan on doing this, also? Then the aspiring Permaculturist in me spoke up and shouted “Heck no!” They are destroying the wonderful, airy growth zone in their lawn. The precious, non-compacted space that took nearly three seasons of ‘being left alone’ to create. A precious place where tiny organisms can thrive, where rain and dew can be more easily absorbed and where the grasses’ roots can breath and expand.
Needless to say, I quickly banished the idea of crushing my lawn from my mind.
Container Sizes: How important is it and what is the impact of under-sized containers?
With the abundance of successfully sprouted pepper, tomato, and various other veggies and herb seedlings, I’m left scrambling to find suitable containers to transplant them into. I have about six, thirteen-inch containers for the some of the tomatoes and peppers. This won’t be enough for the number of starts I would like to keep. I have over a dozen peppers I would like to keep, since both of my sweet and hot peppers are mixes. I have no idea which varieties I have going. Maybe mix packets weren’t the best idea for a first-time container garden.
My question, what is the risk in planting peppers or tomatoes in smaller containers? I have a number of eight inch glazed ceramic containers.
In my quick research, everything I’ve seen talks about the ideal size containers. None listed the consequences of a slightly undersized container. Will the plant be smaller and the fruit not as abundant, or will the plant die off if it crowds itself and gets root bound?
Time will tell, and so will I. After all, that’s why I write Spisblog’s Journal.
Growhouse update: Death sentence for unattended seedlings?
Before leaving the seedlings unattended in the growhouse I wanted to monitor the temperatures throughout the day to see how the temperatures change and to confirm that the poor little seedlings don’t get cooked or dehydrated.
Yesterday was a beautify day to monitor this. It was a partly cloudy, breezy day in the mid-fifties (F).
About mid-morning when the internal temperature in the growhouse reached the low fifties, I moved the trays and strawberries in.
One of my key concerns with this growhouse is the lack of a vent flap or any easy way to allow heat-buildup to escape. This proved to be a valid concern. Within a few hours, the internal temp was climbing into the mid-eighties. To regulate the temp, I would frequently open and close one of the zippers to allow the breeze to cool the internal temp. With a little practice, I was able to keep it hovering in the mid-seventies .
While this was fine for a Saturday that I was home, this isn’t an option during the work week. I need to find a better solution or the seedlings will cook.
My plan is to cut openings at the top of the side walls and line them with self adhesive velcro. This way I can make an adjustable gap in the velcro, allowing for the excess heat to vent. This will also provide for some airflow through the greenhouse, which will also help with condensation.
Seeing it’s raining right now, this sounds like a nice project for tomorrow.
