Max, the hydro growing is completely different, than in dirt. I should have used the term "drip zone" when describing the root size, I guess. Most veggies have pretty shallow root systems.

And every areas soil is different, so that makes a big difference too. The part of Ohio I'm in is pretty much a glacial kame, so we have it all, sand, clay, rock.

 

Living in MN I need to start seeds inside due to our shorter growing season. Here's a picture of my tomatoes and peppers, started in recent weeks. I've had mixed success the last few years I've been doing this.

Also a picture of my "incubator"! I have an AVR monitoring a thermal sensor and a 4x7seg readout (both I2C), flipping a relay on and off to turn on 3 lamps for heat. 80F-87F. Also a PC fan turns on occasionally to circulate.

If anyone has suggestions on when to re-pot to maximize success I'd appreciate it. They look good so far but I've lost seedlings in the past; roots don't seem to thrive. That's why I've got the heater gizmo going to see if the higher temp will help.

 

I don't know about the deep cups. Seedlings need a lot of subdued lighting otherwise they grow fast and spindly. I use standard seed trays.
Also I would select one plant per cell. Usually, I plant one seed per cell and get pretty close to 100% germination.
I repot after the first pair of true leaves mature.

For growing annual flowers I have had success with a flat tray and sprinkling the seeds across the tray, thinning out as they appear. After the seedlings mature I scoop out single plants and repot.

 

Were there no gas powered augers within driving distance? we borrowed an old man's tractor from down the road that had a PTO driven auger attachment.

Nobody to help me. Places where tractors couldn't go!
It was a land survey in the mountains of Kentucky. 10 miles to a stop sign, 30 miles to a place that had a 3 color traffic signal.

But like I said, I have the upper body of a person that did years on crutches. Other people would take 10 whacks at it and refuse to work at a hopeless chore. I just did 37 holes at 25 whacks per inch for a week, then poured in rebar, concrete, and water to mark the survey. Grunt work, but somebody had to do it.

PS, just did the math. That averages 6.6 whacks per minute over 56 hours. I obviously hit the dirt at faster than that rate and the other time was spent walking from one place to the next and carrying concrete to the markers.

 

I planted the remaining crap from the incubator today, plus some potatoes and garlic.

Damn wildabeasts or squirrels or whatever ails suburbia has laid waste to my squash plants already. Ripped up and relocated the clippings of all 5 of them, and I'm pretty sure he has carnal knowledge of one of my pumpkin seedlings.

I plan to cover the entire area with a cage of chicken wire and realse the crakens (praying mantii) into the foliage.

The garden ran out of room so I have ~30 plants arranged in plantary piles of gardening soil around the mountain of gardening soil.

"around the mountain of gardening soil"... which brings me to another point... the "mountain of gardening soil" was purchased for $220 delivered. 4yds (minimum order) of compost-enriched soil with cedar. Because it turns out I'm not supposed to "dig" in the back yard, as it's on a utility easement and I can only garden "up" from ground level. So I had to buy soil to replace what I'd illegally removed, and further garden from there, up. ________ insert expletive here.

Anyway, I'm sure my plants will do better planted in soil that wasn't free.

Next up, digging a fish pond in that portion of the yard which isn't part of the "easement" and integrating it with the soon-to-be automated watering portion of the garden, which is soon(within 2 years)-to-be all assimilated into a giant automated aquaponics system. I have already bought the pond liner and pump; all that's required is time and energy.

I have been taking note of, but not necessarily abiding by, the "planting distances" spec'd by the seed packets. I gave melons and 'maters their room, but everybody else whose spec'd distance is <2' is in a 1'X1' grid. herbs are in a 4"X4" grid.

 

I planted the remaining crap from the incubator today, plus some potatoes and garlic.

You know how to grow tubers? For Taters and such you must grow them big in spring then in summer you must drought them and cut their water off to the point they start to wilt. This tells the potatoe to actually start to form potatoes at the root to store water. If you keep em wet the taters will be tiny. If you stress em at the right time they put all their energy into producing potatoes. Never done garlic.

For light pests just use hot pepper spray. That teaches em pretty quick and it washes off.

 

If you stress em at the right time they put all their energy into producing potatoes.

Remember to stop the nitrogen fertilizer when you want the tomatoes to convert from vining to tomatoing.

 

thanks for the tips; I did not know that about the taters or the maters. I don't use nitrogen fertilizer so I guess mine will suck, or just be in tomatoing mode from the start.

 

He's just referring to any veggie. You have 2 cycles. The Growth cycle where it grows and produces no fruit till the times reach 12/12 in your area. Right now in spring and summer you have more daylight the more north you go. So here in FL just N. of the Equator we get at most 13 hours sun vs 11 hours darkness, to fall and winter which is 12/12 TN will get 15 hours daylight vs 9 hours dark in summer and 12/12 in fall. All the way to alaska where its daytime for 3 months. Well once the light cycles reach 12/12 or what ever your plant requires to produce fruit, it will once the light changes. In growth mode you use a high nitrogen fert. Which will be like 5-1-1 It goes Nitrogen/Phosphorus/Potassium or NPK. For flowering and blooming veggies you wants a fert high in P and K so look for something like 1-15-10 or 5-50-30. If you use a grow fert on a veggie or flower in flower mode it wants to keep growing and not ripen, its lengthy, and produces tiny sour fruit.

 

Dammit man, you mean I can't just plant seeds, keep em watered, and harvest veggies? I have to educate myself? what a drag. I give up on this gardening crap .






(that was a joke, BTW)

 

Joke? Well, here's some serious: It will only take 2 or 3 years of gardening until you will walk out among the veggies, look at them, and know what they need.

It isn't all that hard, it just takes time to become attuned to the nature of it.

ps, gotta put a, "Thanks" on max for 'splaining that in detail.

 

My very first garden, was turned over using an old car shock. We always had a huge family garden, but I wanted one of my own. Since we only had 2-3 hoes, my Dad gave me that damn shock; and I went at it.

I was only five at the time, and I planted a few rows of beans, corn, potatoes, onions, radishes, etc. We couldn't afford a camera, but it would be funny now to see me bending over, using a shock to tear up sod, and dig out a garden.

1945 was a good year for gardening. I just realized I'll be 73, not 74; as I had been thinking for almost a year. Yep, old age is creeping in......

Back in those days, we were putting up around 200-300 quarts of the good stuff every year. We always put up farm raised chickens, hogs, cattle, etc., mostly for the freezer.
If you've never tried it, get some meat from a real farm; not Factory Farms.
You won't believe the texture and taste. That makes every meat from a grocery store, taste like cardboard...or worse.

One of my favorite jobs, was heading to the woods to bring sticks/small logs, for heating a huge washtub; for open water bath canning.
The last 35 or so years, I've been doing it the easy way, with a huge pressure canner. So much faster than doing it outside over an open fire.
Y'all do much canning?


I also do a lot of veggie freezing and drying. Especially wild mushrooms.


Hopefully, I'll feel good enough to get the garden out next year.....

Sorry for the long story.....you know how old men are, right?

 

Your picture tricked my eyes several times. When I first opened it, I thought I was looking at dozens of baby mice huddled together. then I thought it was a rabbit pelt. Then mold. I guess mold was the closest.

Its interesting you speak of meat; that's what's on the agenda next. I'm thinking I'll try raising a couple of rabbits and see how that goes. I would do chickens but probably would result in a run-in with the HOA. I hear rabbits taste like chicken, they're quiet, breed in captivity (a lot), and are easy to not kill unintentionally.

Also my project for next week is to dig a small fish pond and put some tilapia in there. Eventually it will all come together into an quasi-aquaponic setup.

Don't beat yourself up about forgetting your age. I've been unsure of my age for the past 4 or 5 years now; you ask me, I have to think about it, I second guess, and sometimes get it wrong. I'm only 27 (for sure).

 

My very first garden, was turned over using an old car shock. We always had a huge family garden, but I wanted one of my own. Since we only had 2-3 hoes, my Dad gave me that damn shock; and I went at it.

I was only five at the time, and I planted a few rows of beans, corn, potatoes, onions, radishes, etc. We couldn't afford a camera, but it would be funny now to see me bending over, using a shock to tear up sod, and dig out a garden.

1945 was a good year for gardening. I just realized I'll be 73, not 74; as I had been thinking for almost a year. Yep, old age is creeping in......

Back in those days, we were putting up around 200-300 quarts of the good stuff every year. We always put up farm raised chickens, hogs, cattle, etc., mostly for the freezer.
If you've never tried it, get some meat from a real farm; not Factory Farms.
You won't believe the texture and taste. That makes every meat from a grocery store, taste like cardboard...or worse.

One of my favorite jobs, was heading to the woods to bring sticks/small logs, for heating a huge washtub; for open water bath canning.
The last 35 or so years, I've been doing it the easy way, with a huge pressure canner. So much faster than doing it outside over an open fire.
Y'all do much canning?


I also do a lot of veggie freezing and drying. Especially wild mushrooms.


Hopefully, I'll feel good enough to get the garden out next year.....

Sorry for the long story.....you know how old men are, right?

Oyster boomers?

 

Metalmann is in close tie with Ron H for the prize to be awarded to the most senior member of AAC. They were both born in the same year. (Sorry about the hijack).

Maybe this would be the appropriate prize:





or this one. Which do you prefer?

I mean the stool, not the gardener.

 

Dammit man, you mean I can't just plant seeds, keep em watered, and harvest veggies? I have to educate myself? what a drag. I give up on this gardening crap .






(that was a joke, BTW)

Get Alaska Brand Fish Emulsion from Lowes for $14.00 a gallon. Its organic, 5-1-1 and is almost impossible to burn your plants since its a fish emulsion. Then for blooming your fruits I'd reccomend Alaska MoreBloom. This you will probably need to order for $22 a gallon. You can get Quarts for like $9.99 if you want, but lowes sells em in a gallon for $14 so its just worth the extra $4 to get a gallon. Follow directions on bottles and your off. These are great fertz that can be used for award winning setups, but their also very beginner friendly and hard to burn with. Their perfect to start with. And their organic so no worries. You'll really learn a lot from these 2. Then when you've learned those you can play with the more detailed Fertz like Folic Acid, and straight dissolved salts. And may be even get into Hydro Ferts and do some hydro or just use the fertz cause their the best. I've used many hydro fertz in soil before. And with Hydro Fertz it opens you up into the big leagues where you can get 2 part formula's with 3-4 suppliments, to 5 part formula's with other suppliments. ITS FUN!!!! Oh another advantage to using Hydro Fertz on soil is their Ph Balanced automatically. Sorry its spring and your getting me all hot and bothered! I gotta start planting all my plants now.

PS Anyone wanting to start want a 4X4ft Flourescent light to start out? I have 2-3 spare if you wanna pick em up in Central FL or pay for shipping. Also if your wanting anything gardening wise thats $$$ or hard to find let me know I have a friend that buys and sells hydroponic gardens for a living. Makes good money too. I'd do it if I had a truck.

 

Please, max, don't scare the noobie.
There, there, strantor. Nobody is going to hurt you.

 

...eh... never mind

Get Alaska Brand Fish Emulsion from Lowes for $14.00 a gallon. Its organic, 5-1-1 and is almost impossible to burn your plants since its a fish emulsion. Then for blooming your fruits I'd reccomend Alaska MoreBloom. This you will probably need to order for $22 a gallon. You can get Quarts for like $9.99 if you want, but lowes sells em in a gallon for $14 so its just worth the extra $4 to get a gallon. Follow directions on bottles and your off. These are great fertz that can be used for award winning setups, but their also very beginner friendly and hard to burn with. Their perfect to start with. And their organic so no worries. You'll really learn a lot from these 2. Then when you've learned those you can play with the more detailed Fertz like Folic Acid, and straight dissolved salts. And may be even get into Hydro Ferts and do some hydro or just use the fertz cause their the best. I've used many hydro fertz in soil before. And with Hydro Fertz it opens you up into the big leagues where you can get 2 part formula's with 3-4 suppliments, to 5 part formula's with other suppliments. ITS FUN!!!! Oh another advantage to using Hydro Fertz on soil is their Ph Balanced automatically. Sorry its spring and your getting me all hot and bothered! I gotta start planting all my plants now.

PS Anyone wanting to start want a 4X4ft Flourescent light to start out? I have 2-3 spare if you wanna pick em up in Central FL or pay for shipping. Also if your wanting anything gardening wise thats $$$ or hard to find let me know I have a friend that buys and sells hydroponic gardens for a living. Makes good money too. I'd do it if I had a truck.

The main idea behind this garden and all is to improve in myself in the areas of sustainability and self reliance. Buying a bunch of canned magic, whether natural or chemical, from the store is along the same lines as defeating the purpose.

I appreciate the tips you're giving me, and I will listen to whatever you have to say, but if at all possible I would prefer to do this with as little store bought fertilizers and store bought anything-elses as possible. I think it should be possible to grow your own food without buying anything at all; it's been done for thousands or millions of years until now.

But I guess during that extensive period before the advent of canned super fertilizers, gardening was done on a much larger scale than what can be realized in a suburban back yard. This would allow for smaller yield per plant and smaller veggies. I may or may not be able to sustain myself and family on what I can grow in the back yard with no fertilizers. That's what we're going to find out. I'm already chalking this year's garden up to experience; it is an experiment. I may try the fertilizers on one half and none on the other half and observe the difference.

 

We always used horse, cow, chicken, crapola. Nothing was wasted on the Farm.

The more natural the better.

Make sure all that poopy, has cured for at least 1 year.

 

I started out using lawn clippings for fertilizer, but in Florida, they rinse right through the sand and are gone in a matter of months. I got much better results with chewed up trees. Still, there is a danger. Some trees would discourage your veggies, possibly camphor or eucalyptus. If you can know you're getting a ground up oak tree, or maple, something non-toxic, plow that in.