January Plans ?
8 years ago
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8 years agoRelated Discussions
Seedling heat pad importance / favored source
Comments (6)The heat mat is a necessity, as far as I'm concerned. I was too cheap to buy one last year and my seeds grew, but a LOT slower than the seeds that I'd germinated at the arboretum's greenhouse (they have bottom heat, but they use piped hot water). The difference was even noticeable at two weeks. I believe -and I might be totally wrong on this - but I believe that bottom heat might also thwart some of the fungus that causes damping off, too. The temperature at which spores germinate is around 68 degrees F. Much warmer or much colder and it can be a problem for fungal growth. (Others say that temps in the 50s (F) is optimal for fungus, too). When the soil temp is 78 I'm guessing this might have some sort of slowing-effect on the organisms that cause damping off. Of course, the surefire way to prevent damping off is simply by letting the soil surface dry out between waterings, but I DO know that of the seeds I'm growing right now, I've only lost two seedlings on the tray growing on top of bottom heat, where as I've lost about ten or twelve on the tray I'm not using bottom heat on. As far as selection goes, I'd suggest this one: This is the one I've used and I've NEVER used a thermostat with it. IT doesn't get TOO hot, where as some other heat mats will getup to 95 F without a regulating thermostat. I just got another heat mat and grow-dome/flat to do another round of metasequoias at my old man's house and the sketchy pot-grower store that I went to to by it tried to sell me a thermostat, as well. Guess how much that thing cost? 70 bucks! Everything else at this joint was already over-priced anyway so I said "to hell with it". If, for some reason, you can't find the hydrofarm heat mat and you feel that your heat mat is getting too hot, you can just place a towel over it (remember, 95 F is only a few degrees lower than the temperature of the human body so you're not going to start a fire) to reduce the amount of heat that reaches your propagation tray and cool it down a little bit. You can also take a temp reading with a cooking/turkey thermometer if you want to know for sure what the temp is, but just use that hydro farm heat mat if it's available, that thing will give you no trouble. Good Luck....See MoreWhat are your plans to battle the winter blues?
Comments (14)Now, before the snow has really started, I enjoy the various evergreens that range from groundcover up to large trees, though once the snow starts the groundcovers and some of the shrubs will disappear. Most are green, but I have some with tones of blue, red-orange, purple and gold scattered around for contrast. I have also planted some winter or really early bloomers such as Hellebore, witch hazel/Hamamelis and retulated iris, so most years I start seeing flowers sometime in March. Currently, my Major Wheeler honeysuckle/Lonicera sempervirens has a few blooms still showing color, even after temperatures down to 20F. I have planned for nice views from various indoor windows, regardless of the season. I am spreading manure and wood ash in the veggie garden today, and will continue to use oversized pliers to remove invasive shrubs until the ground freezes in the woods.. I've put green and colored branches in my planters and will put a few lights out in the garden soon. I will look at various shrubs and trees to plan any needed pruning, though I will most likely wait until early spring to do the cuts. And once it is colder and snow arrives, I will bundle up, slap on skis or snowshoes, and go out to enjoy the woods and fields either on my own property or in other areas. If the weather is really bad, I read, do woodturning, or cook. Many folks I know maintain feeders and water for birds to add interest and activity to the winter garden, but I stopped feeding when we started seeing bears on a fairly regular basis. I would need to bring the feeders in for the season before there is much natural food available for the birds, and it doesn't seem fair to feed them only until late winter when they are starting to breed....See MoreJanuary FOTESS Activities - The Joy of January!
Comments (177)Thanks so much, everyone. It has been rainy and chilly here today. Apparently farther north in SC they even got snow. I had expected to get the prizes mailed today, but I've just switched our TV service and they came out today to do the installation so I didn't get out the door except for here in the yard. The prizes will go out on Monday - and maybe tomorrow. There's a meeting I have been planning to attend, but we'll see if I get up and get myself moving early enough. If I don't go to the meeting, the little "post office store" I use most of the time is open until 1 p.m. Otherwise I'll head out with them on Monday. JOY is having such special friends here at FOTESS. Happy last day of January! CLEAN: Yes, one more. This is about books, especially paperback books. I read that most books cannot be recycled with paper recycling because of the glue used in the binding. I never tried to recycle any, but I probably would not have thought about that. If you are a book lover, you may do like I do and keep them for a long time. Guess what, some of the pages (especially paperbacks) get yellowed and brittle over time. Books that are in better condition can be donated to our local library and then they are sold to raise a bit of money for the library. If you are a reader you will know of other places that accept donated books. My report is that for the most part old paperbacks (and I still had a few from my days in college) are not fit for anything unless that specific book has a special meaning for you or is a rare collectible. I decided at some point that I would rather buy a book again or better yet borrow it from the library than read an old musty book that makes me sneeze. (Okay after that talk, I will need to go through my bookshelves again!) I've had fun with this theme and am glad you did, too. I certainly didn't get all of my cleaning projects completed, but the information did a lot to keep me motivated....See MoreJanuary: Is anything blooming in your garden now? Spring plans, etc?
Comments (78)41 North! Thats a beautiful Camellia too! Oh those deer can be so naughty. Our deer are, as well.. We have dairy goats here so I quit growing any Azaleas and am switching to Camellias. Azaleas are deathly toxic to goats. On the other hand, they adore Camellias which are not toxic to them. So its not surprising to me that the deer would love Camellias too lol. I can lock up my goats. Deer are a different story. They mostly stay out of our front yard and dont come up around the house or livestock pastures due to our Livestock Guardian Dogs. They do roam the wooded areas, ponds, and unfenced pasture areas. The nieghbors have deer blinds up on stilts in their back pastures so the deer have been hiding in our fenced in pond areas (a couple acres). Its swampy there so they can have it lol. I did plant some gingers out there the deer dont care about them. Our goats and pigs love ginger leaves. I will be planting the Camellias in the front and maybe some in my (soon to be) fenced in side garden area. These areas may get too much sun so I will have to maybe plant a taller tree or shrub that will grow faster and lend afternoon shade. Still thinking about that! Nothing can just be easy lol. Our soil is on the slightly acid side. I am in the upper FL Panhandle where it is hilly, so we have loamy sand but 2ft down is orange clay. Gardenias and Banana shrubs (Michelia figo/ now Magnolia figo) etc do well here. My hydrangeas err on the blue side. Our water is a neutral pH though. We checked the ponds pH because hubby wants to stock the deepest one with fish....See More- 8 years ago
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