Taking container plants out of garage??
lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan
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It takes a LOT of Al's Gritty to fill a 3 gal container.
Comments (28)Suzi, I did see the other thread and the reason Al is "OK" with it not being sifted. It's not what he suggested you do as part of the desert mix. It is because the grow bags are placed directly on the ground, with holes making contact with Mother Earth. When this happens, the earth will "suck" more water from your bag (his words were they are a "raised bed") - therefore your unsifted mix will do much better in this situation. Most people using the gritty mix have traditional containers that do not make direct contact with the earth-- they are at least very slightly above it, due to the thickness of the bottom of container, or a saucer, or whatever. However, even if you lift your grow bags off the ground and put them on a table (I don't recommend it), or instead use a traditional container with a saucer, I still think it's possible your unsifted mix will do OK for your vines (all depends on how dusty things were). Another FYI, most mixes drain quickly when first used. Even those right-of-the-bag like Miracle Grow mixes. Over time (like months--->year) due to watering and other factors, the air spaces in the mix get smaller and it "smashes down", ie compacts. Just b/c you can see your mix draining quickly right now doesn't mean it will stay that way and won't compact later, resulting in much less oxygen for roots and holding much more water. The ideal sifted gritty mix is the opposite, it can go a very long time and should drain near the same as the first year. I'm not suggesting you change anything (since you don't want to anyway) ;-) These are just explanations as I don't want you to get "slapped" :-) later if you're trying to debate those points and someone corrects you. You or JD feeling sore yet from lifting all that heavy granite? If so, that's why some people replace the granite component with Perlite. Have a good one, Chris...See MoreHelp me take the leap to planting out
Comments (8)You can plant out any perennial as long as it is hardy to your growing zone. You can plant out any hardy annuals as long as you don't expect any deep freezes in the future; they can tolerate frost fine. There is an exception for a few hardy annuals that do remain green all winter; these are those that self-sow themselves in mid fall and bloom the following spring: Larkspur, Nigella, Poppy, Chamomile and Viola come to mind; the ground could freeze and and they wouldn't care...deep freeze so what! Half-hardy annuals tolerate the cold and even a slight touch of frost but will die in a freeze. Some half-hardy annuals would include: Alyssum, sunflower, Cosmo, Datura, Amaranthus, Asarina, Nicotiana and Nasturtium. Although everything I listed does self-sow (except Asarina that I know of) they'll wait until temps have warmed up; sunflower will take some frost but not for very long. Tender annuals won't tolerate temps below 50; they will survive as long as it doesn't frost however they are often stunted as a result: Basil, Coleus, melon, pumpkin, Tithonia, Marigold, Zinnia. Even though I could plant some things out now (Poppy,Stocks,Chinese Houses)I won't until the soil dries out some. It's never a good idea to be digging or walking on the soil if it's so wet you can squeeze water out of the soil yet....See MoreHelp me start cleaning out the garage/favorite garage organizers?
Comments (7)Here's what we did a few years before we sold our house, and I swear it came back to us four times in our price. I don't have a photo, but I'll try to describe it...and test your patience! I designed a work area that went across the back of our narrow single-car garage and around both corners, to make a long U-shape with short sides. We had built a library upstairs years earlier, and had two nice L-shaped birch countertops that our cabinetmaker mis-measured and had to do over. Our contractor built simple open frames, using 2 X 6's nailed to the wall to support the back, sheets of 3/4" plywood, with 1 X 2 nosing along the front edges, as the vertical supports, and 1 X 4 horizontal aprons under the front edges of the countertops. I designed the spacing on the ends of each side under there to fit a couple of Elfa basket units that I had been lugging around for years. The rest we left open, with 1/2-depth shelves against the wall inside. In the center of the U, there was about 30" to fill, so we installed an inexpensive fiberglass sink in a length of butcher block from Lumber Liquidators (we used the rest of the piece to hold the laundry sink elsewhere), supported in the same way. I hung a simple curtain on a tension rod under the sink part, and kept buckets and rags and cleaning things there.I stained all the wood countertops with cherry stain, and gave them three coats of spar varnish, which made them essentially waterproof. We covered the walls above the countertops on both sides with pegboard, and hung tools in one L, and craft and potting supplies in the other. Same division of categories for the areas underneath each side. I painted the wall over the sink with blackboard paint and used it to make lists and note measurements or whatever I needed for whatever I was working on. We ran a shelf around the top on sturdy metal brackets on the tool side to make use of the space between the top of the pegboard and the ceiling. The other side had ductwork at the top, and we stopped the pegboard and put the shelf at that same height to make the space consistent... We stored paint cans and plastic tubs of paint-related stuff up there. We painted the pegboard the same shade of chalky white as the walls of the garage, and painted the underneath structure battleship gray. I used inexpensive peel-and-stick vinyl floor tiles that resembled gray and cream stone on the concrete in that area. Then we continued the storage along both side walls with an open gray plastic shelf unit from Lowes for garden things on one side, and a Rubbermaid tall storage cabinet for car stuff on the other. It was fabulous. Very simple, and really useful, and a pleasure to do stuff in. I was crazy proud of myself!...See MoreRooftop gardening - Best time to repot out door container plants in no
Comments (3)It varies by species but generally hardy perennials that will be given a cold dormant rest are best repotted in spring immediately prior to budswell. Some plants, like those that bloom in spring on old wood would be repotted after blooms fade. Also, some plants can be repotted in fall if you're sure the roots will be protected from freezing temps during the subsequent dormancy and the quiet rest period that follows dormancy. Al...See Morelovemycorgi z5b SE michigan
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41 North (Zone 7a/b, NE, coastal)
last monthI brought all my subtropiicals (with some cold tolerance) out this weekend past in zone 7b, NJ. It was near 70 F outside and the garage can easily get 10-20 degrees warmer as the sun angle increases. So Date palms, cycads, Citrus, Oleanders and many others are outside now until December 1st. My inground camellias are already at peak (been blooming since November).
lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan thanked 41 North (Zone 7a/b, NE, coastal)lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan
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rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
last monthlast modified: last monthlovemycorgi z5b SE michigan thanked rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan
last monthrouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
last monthlast modified: last monthlovemycorgi z5b SE michigan thanked rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan
13 days agoWell, the containers were dragged in and out of the garage about three times since my original post, then I decided to just leave them outside since they are so heavy. They endured a few freezing nights and a few snow showers, but have really taken off with the recent warmer weather and sunshine!
@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a), I am curious to know how your clem containers are faring? I wonder if mine would be just as vigorous if I had just left them in the garage longer and only recently brought them into the sunshine and warm weather. I don’t like doing unnecessary work if the end result is just the same! They’re over two feet tall right now, and these are ”Rain Dance”.
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