Like the illusion of Wall Street, with its vast and powerful investment banks, now shuttered, China too is an illusion perpetuated by the Globalists that gave us the 15,000 mile Caesar salad, poisoned cat food and lead based paint on babies' pacifiers. Like the illusion that money would come from thin air to always push housing prices higher, China has spent a generation pursuing its illusion. Pursuing an unattainable dream to be like the West, while 6000 years of its carefully shepherded top soil blows into the sea.
Joined: Sep 04, 2005 Posts: 443 Location: central MA, USA
Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:44 pm Post subject: Re: So I wanted to start gardening
I second (or third? "I Nth") the suggestion for container gardening.
Some caveats: Planting in pots means being very attentive to soil moisture. A big plant in a too-small pot can fry to a crisp in direct sun on a hot summer day.
Clay pots are especially prone to this; they wick moisture out of the pot's soil.
Some solutions:
1. Empty 2-liter bottles to make a cheap-ass drip-irrigation system for large pots. Rinse out a bottle. Drill a small hole in the top of the cap. Drill another small hole in the bottom of the bottle. Hold you finger over that bottom hole. Fill the bottle with water. Put the cap on. Bury the bottle a few inches into the soil (most of the bottle will be sticking out) upside-down. Drip, drip, drip. Should keep the pot moist enough. (If the water's emptying out in only a day, the holes are probably too big; do it again with a smaller drill bit.)
2. Add some water absorbing polymer crystals to the soil in the bottom of the pot. These soak up many times their dry weight in water. Roots can grow into a mass of them and reap water from them. If you use these, be sure to follow the directions about letting them soak in water before planting with them. If you don't, the first rain you get, will probably result in all of your plants being heaved out of their pots -- this stuff expands a lot as it absorbs water.
Also beware of planting stuff that gets much taller than their pot, like tomato plants. Without an "outboard" stake in the ground, to tie the plant to, the first good wind is likely to tip your pots over.
I do think container gardening's the way to go if you want to start small. It's a heckuva lot easier than tilling up and amending a big plot of soil!
And if you decide you hate veggie gardening, you can always use the pots for indoor ornamentals.
The container that is included with this kit is awesome. Get it in green, though. I have several and have used them for several years. They work quite well and will yield a LOT more than a similar size piece of earth.
You are in Texas, and in the summer you will need to fill the reservoir every day, but you can manage the heat with these containers. Also, if you get some crazy weather you can bring them in.
I have done tomatoes, cantaloupe, and cucumbers in these containers and they worked well.
It's also easier to keep dogs out of containers than it is to keep them out of gardens unless you have some kind of fence.
The kit is a little pricey, but I see so many people start gardening and get frustrated and quit, I would rather invest a little to make it a little easier starting out (and as long as you want to use containers these are good ones). _________________
Joined: Dec 18, 2004 Posts: 4948 Location: One Mile From the Columbia River
Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:36 pm Post subject: Re: So I wanted to start gardening
BigTex wrote:
eastbay wrote:
$65.00... lol.
uh.... I'm not laughing at you BT, it's the price I find hilarious.
You see that?
Flack.
Sorry, I misread your linky.
I shouldn't laugh either. Yesterday I paid 60 bucks for a whiskey barrel which was cut in half around the mid-section. My wife and I decided to try some container gardening and the barrels seemed like a nice place to start. It's going to take a few years of harvesting to make it worth the cost! But they look nice in the front yard. _________________ Got Dharma?
Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:42 pm Post subject: Re: So I wanted to start gardening
My only advice is keep it small. I've seen too many people jump into huge gardens which then get out of control and become too much work, then they decide gardening sucks and they give it up.
At 10 or 12' square garden, planted as 3-4 beds each 3' wide and the length of the garden, will give you all the greens you can eat and room to experiment with other things and won't take more than a few minutes a day to keep up.
As for what to grow, what do you like to eat? Particularly, what do you like to eat that's expensive at the store and not too hard to grow in your climate? Examples for me are parsnips and leeks. We eat lots of each, they're easy as can be to grow and are expensive and/or hard to find in stores. Other things, like potatoes, are cheap in the store but taste much better fresh from the garden.
Joined: Dec 18, 2004 Posts: 4948 Location: One Mile From the Columbia River
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:54 am Post subject: Re: So I wanted to start gardening
Speaking of container gardening... here's a dumb question. No flack please. I really don't know... lol.
Should they be properly lined somehow to protect the wood, especially if you're using wood, like we are with our (expensive) two half whiskey barrels? Or do you simply toss in the soil and start planting seedlings. _________________ Got Dharma?
Joined: Aug 03, 2006 Posts: 4337 Location: Graceland
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:07 am Post subject: Re: So I wanted to start gardening
eastbay wrote:
Speaking of container gardening... here's a dumb question. No flack please. I really don't know... lol.
Should they be properly lined somehow to protect the wood, especially if you're using wood, like we are with our (expensive) two half whiskey barrels? Or do you simply toss in the soil and start planting seedlings.
That's a great question and I wondered about that when I have used whiskey barrels for vegetables in the past, but I wondered about the chemicals in the wood of the barrel (you're thinking about protecting the wood from the soil and I was thinking about protecting the soil from the wood--same difference, though).
Given that the whiskey barrel is presumably made with some kind of treated wood (and not actually made to hold whiskey), it makes sense that the chemicals in the wood could leach out into the soil. OTOH, I always thought that the amount of water a container plant is going to get would likely cause any chemicals in the wood to be in the runoff from the container, as opposed to in the soil itself.
But the pros always say not to use treated wood.
So maybe you ought to put a liner of some kind in there.
Let me know if you need a link to a liner/container like that. I think they are around $65. _________________
Joined: Dec 18, 2004 Posts: 4948 Location: One Mile From the Columbia River
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:18 am Post subject: Re: So I wanted to start gardening
BigTex wrote:
eastbay wrote:
Speaking of container gardening... here's a dumb question. No flack please. I really don't know... lol.
Should they be properly lined somehow to protect the wood, especially if you're using wood, like we are with our (expensive) two half whiskey barrels? Or do you simply toss in the soil and start planting seedlings.
That's a great question and I wondered about that when I have used whiskey barrels for vegetables in the past, but I wondered about the chemicals in the wood of the barrel (you're thinking about protecting the wood from the soil and I was thinking about protecting the soil from the wood--same difference, though).
Given that the whiskey barrel is presumably made with some kind of treated wood (and not actually made to hold whiskey), it makes sense that the chemicals in the wood could leach out into the soil. OTOH, I always thought that the amount of water a container plant is going to get would likely cause any chemicals in the wood to be in the runoff from the container, as opposed to in the soil itself.
But the pros always say not to use treated wood.
So maybe you ought to put a liner of some kind in there.
Let me know if you need a link to a liner/container like that. I think they are around $65.
$65.00 sounds about right. These barrels, btw, have no outlet for moisture other than evaporation. I filled them with nice soil already, but they can be emptied in a few minutes.
Hey, check this out!! whiskey barrel liners are only $50.00, EACH!! free shipping! I'm not paying $100.00 for liners. No way. _________________ Got Dharma?
Joined: Nov 18, 2004 Posts: 1136 Location: Central Texas
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 12:48 pm Post subject: Re: So I wanted to start gardening
Stratovarius wrote:
I'm feeling ambitious. How about I just do both?
Also I'm not looking to spend a fortune these weird things.
I used to be a cash-strapped college student too. That's why I suggested you just spend about $3 on three packages of seeds, and about $10 on some bagged soil, and your own labor to clear a small plot and see what happens.
_________________ About my avatar: Guess.
Joined: Sep 16, 2007 Posts: 1458 Location: Oklahoma City, USA
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 6:55 pm Post subject: Re: So I wanted to start gardening
PeakOiler wrote:
Stratovarius wrote:
I'm feeling ambitious. How about I just do both?
Also I'm not looking to spend a fortune these weird things.
I used to be a cash-strapped college student too. That's why I suggested you just spend about $3 on three packages of seeds, and about $10 on some bagged soil, and your own labor to clear a small plot and see what happens.
I second that. This is the perfect time to start, and putting stuff in the ground is the best teacher.
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:16 pm Post subject: Re: So I wanted to start gardening
I started off last year with a tomato planter like the one mentioned above and harvested a nice little crop of cherry tomatoes. Over time, I started picking up medium-sized clay pots and planted some rosemary and thyme. The rosemary's doing well, but I let the thyme dry out and die in a day. You have to watch that water.
Now I have an orange tree, about a dozen heads of garlic, tomatoes, strawberries, mint, and a bunch of other stuff. It's all small, but I learn something every time I plant something.
I figure I'll just be busy learning about gardening for the next couple of years while I put together my money for a plot of land and start building and gardening for real.
In the meantime, I've done a little research on how to balance out a diet rich in vitamins and minerals with plenty of protein. It's very satisfying to me to fry up some eggs in the morning with my home-grown rosemary, or whatever else is handy.
My girl likes to pick the occasional strawberry.
Some things that are easy to grow are even easier and cheaper to just buy. Beans and rice, for example. I'm not going to grow peas when I can go buy a pound of dried split peas for 69 cents. Not yet.
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:48 pm Post subject: Re: So I wanted to start gardening
eastbay wrote:
Speaking of container gardening... here's a dumb question. No flack please. I really don't know... lol.
Should they be properly lined somehow to protect the wood, especially if you're using wood, like we are with our (expensive) two half whiskey barrels? Or do you simply toss in the soil and start planting seedlings.
It's always a good idea to line wooden containers I reckon, it extends their life, stops any treatments in the wood getting into the soil and reduces moisture loss- no 'wicking'. Just line em with some thick polythene sheeting, you can get bonding tape that makes a waterproof seal. Cheap as chips. Obviously you need holes in the bottom tho, for drainage.
All times are GMT - 6 Hours Goto page Previous1, 2, 3Next
Page 2 of 3
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
News
Discussions
Resources
Members
Forum FAQ
Search
Usergroups
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
