DIY Grow Bags - Sandbags & Other Bags
16 years ago
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- 16 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 16 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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DIY Grow Bags - Window Screens & Mesh
Comments (24)My local Wal-Mart is selling Shade Cloth, "Coolaroo" Brand, available as either 70% or 90% shade shade factor. Coolaroo claims at least 10 years of UV resistance. I believe that Coolaroo is mostly an Aussie brand (manufactured in China and sold worldwide), so it is usually promoted as protecting people from excessive UV exposure. I really don't understand why Aussies worry about skin cancer; I just thought that Crocadile Dundee would just pull out his 12 inch knife and, all by himself, dig out any funny looking moles saying, "Ah melanoma, no big deal."! The late Crocadile Hunter (may God have mercy on his soul) would just hold out his kid in front of a crock saying "Here crocky, here crocky, bite out that melanoma, that's a good crocky, that' it". And any suburban Aussie, would just rub their pet toxic cane toad above any melanoma. Oops, I digress from the topic of this post. Sorry for the American stereotypes of Aussies. The Coolaroo display box also sells accessories, such as a sewing kit with a roll of black UV-resistant (my assumption) cord plus a special sewing needle. Shade cloth is available in two forms: woven or knitted; the Coolaroo product is knitted and does not fall apart if you cut it. I purchased a roll of green 90% shade. I attempted two methods of fabrication: sewing or silicone glue (caulking). Using the Coolaroo sewing kit with their 90% shade cloth is quite difficult. Both their cord and needle are just too big; in contrast, their needle and cord should be fine for the 70% shade cloth. Sewing the 90% shade with a smaller needle and a more light weight cord, or using an aluminum wire, are alternatives that may work. Using sticks of hot glue melt may work; but the sticks carried by Wal-Mart are not resistant to UV, as far as I know; I have not tried them for that reason. I also fabricated cylinders by pumping 1 or 2 strips of silicone caulking onto a two inch wide strip of the fabric, and pulling the fabric around over the silicone caulking and pushing down to form a 2 inch wide glued seam. There was plastic film underneath the seam to protect the garage floor from silicone. I pushed a seam roller (ie., those used for wall paper) over the glued joint. The pressure from the seam roller causes the caulk to ooze out from both layers of shade cloth- the two strips of plastic film intercept this ooze to form a thin layer of silicone on both outer surfaces of the seam. I soon remove the top plastic film so that air will induce the silicone caulk to cure. Once the silicone caulk cures, I remove the second roll of protective plastic film. Note that silicone does not glue the polyethylene (or polypropylene) shade cloth per se. Rather, as the silicone oozes around the plastic threads, a continuous matrix of cured silicone forms a mechanical layer that physically traps the two layers of shade cloth together. Gee... I'm going to have to photograph this gluing process to explain it. Be careful with the silicone. Some tubes, especially those for bathtubs, contain a biocide to kill mildew; who knows what that will do to plants or those that eat the plants. Silicone, as far as I know, is inherently resistant to mold; but silicone is not inherently toxic to mold, so mold can grow on top of silicone. Nothing prevents mold from growing on top of silicone in a bathtub, unless controlled release biocide is added. Silicone for aquariums would be best, but may be pricey. Since Wal-Mart didn't have the Aquarium Silicone; I bought the "all purpose" tube for $2.65, and a cheap caulking gun. The silicone method is the easiest method of fabricating cylinders of shade cloth from pieces cut from the roll. Now I have to figure out how to fold one end of the cylinder into a bottom of the pot. Either that, I cut out a circle and attach it to one end of the cylinder. Stay tuned for further adventures with shade cloth....See MoreTo Bag or not to bag clippings
Comments (11)I've never heard anyone connected with an organic program claim using organics is reason to quit bagging. What I've heard almost universally is the opposite. Go to organics and mulch mow. There might be some specific circamstances where bagging would be a better option, I doubt going organic would be the cause of bagging becoming the better option. Going organic will cause, inho, most of the stuff growing in your lawn to balance out in favor of the good healthy stuff for your grass. Watering incorrectly leads to more problems with disease and fungal issues than any thing else I have run across....See MoreNew crape myrtle cuttings, to bag or not to bag in zone 8-Atl. GA
Comments (25)Ok just wanted to post a follow up. I got my new cuttings and used my new products... the perlite and dip & grow. I got a ton of semi-hard wood cuttings. Cuttings: 4-8 inch range, striped all but a few leaves at the top, used a 50/50 mixture in 3 pots of my old sand and peat mix with the perlite, poked a hole with a dibber, dipped cut tip in rotting hormone, put my cuttings in the holes, moistened soil (not too wet) damp, kept in location that sees light, but not direct sunlight. (only bad thing was due to time issues I had to leave the cuttings in water longer then I planned before I prepared them and got them set up in pots) This time I left off the bags and instead misted in the morning before leaving for work and when I got home from work in the evening. The leaves browned on me still and I was about to give up and a few days ago 2 gave me some green leaves. So I have 2 out of about 30. I guess that is good considering I have no greenhouse and can't mist them more then 2x a day. The question now is leave them alone and kep doing the same thing and let them get stronger or try to take them out of the rooting pot and into a new pot of their own? I'm leaning towards leaving them till I know if any others are going to try and throw up some green. I worry about the delicate roots and trying to separate them out w/o damage. When, or do they even need to be transferred to a new pot with a different soil?...See MoreIf you use those Debbie Meyer bags or Feezer bags...
Comments (1)For the newbies - so there's no confusion on what's best to do with your new cutting. It is ABSOLUTELY a better thing to grow a nice big rootball/plant over winter for most kinds of brug cuttings, like 95% if not more. A small few are really fast growers. If only just to do your best to produce flowers in their first year. You want to provide the best possible conditions for them to be at their best and that includes having a good headstart before spring. -Sandy...See MoreRelated Professionals
Franconia Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Middle Island Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Aloha Landscape Contractors · Lynchburg Landscape Contractors · Melrose Landscape Contractors · Mendota Heights Landscape Contractors · North Plainfield Landscape Contractors · Vallejo Landscape Contractors · Winchester Landscape Contractors · Hemet Solar Energy Systems · Saratoga Springs Solar Energy Systems · Savannah Window Contractors · Glendale Heights Window Contractors · Windsor Fence Contractors · Hermosa Beach Fence Contractors- 16 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 16 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 16 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 16 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 16 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 16 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 16 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 16 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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Sherwood Botsford (z3, Alberta)