Preparing for Spring during the off season

Hello folks!


I haven't made any post recently because there isn't much going on in the garden at this time of year.

Some of my other interest include fly fishing and tying flies. I've stayed busy lately tying flies and getting syched out about the up coming fishing season. Anyway, I'm still getting ready for the gardening season.

I have planted seeds inside using the lighting stand that I built. The seedlings are growing well under the lights with the help of a south facing window..

All of the tomatoes came up pretty quickly, but the peppers and eggplants have been much slower to germinate. They have finally started to peek their heads out though. As you may be able to see, some of the tomatoes have started  their first set of true leaves. They will have to be transplanted to bigger pots by next week.

I will transplant them to these 18 oz. plastic cups. I have drilled a small hole in the bottom of the cups for drainage. This was easier than it sounds. With the cups stacked together I was able to drill through several cups all at once. They were very cheap at the Dollar store and I can save them to use again next year.

I also made some plant tags. I cut them from an old kitty litter bucket with tin snips. I was able to get 64 plant tags using only the flat sides of the bucket. These can be used in the pots and with a hole punched in them, they can be tied directly to the plants in the garden. I'm going to have so many varieties of tomatoes, I'll need the tags to keep everything straight.

I'm going to have a lot more plants than I can use in my garden this year, so I may try to sell some on Craigs list or give them to members of a permaculture group that I joined. Having free plants is a good way to build your friend list!

After the gardening season starts, I will have plenty to write about. So don't give up on me yet!:)


Soooo......Until next time......HAPPY GARDENING!

Lighting for seedlings

Hello folks!


I got to thinking about starting some seeds today and thought I needed some way of hanging lights above the plants. I thought about it for a little while and came up with an idea. It was a nice day so I went outside and built this.

I ripped 2 x 4 lumber into 2 x 2 lumber to keep it light. I connected the top piece to the end supports with angle brackets so that it could be easily taken apart and bundled for storage.

I cut triangle brackets from 1/2" plywood for support at the bottom.

As you can see in the first photo, I hung 2 loops of small chain to hold the lights. These can be adjusted to keep the lights 2 - 4 inches above the plants as they grow. I used 2 aquarium light fixtures that I had for the lighting. Hopefully this will be enough light to get them started. I built the stand so that I can add more lights if needed. And I should be able to take the plants outside on nice days to give them some sun and to help harden off the plants.


During the holidays my house mate was making stuffing. She was using Chestnuts as one of the ingredients in her receipt. I started wondering if these nuts would sprout and grow. While she wasn't looking, I grabbed one. It was a very hard nut so I cut a little off the bottom thinking this would help water soak into the nut. I planted it in a pot with some organic potting soil. A couple of weeks ago I got curious and dug the nut out to take a look. It had sprouted a root! I put it back in the pot and covered it up with soil. Today I checked on it and it has sprouted above the soil and and is trying to grow leaves! .

I'll let it grow until it out grows the pot and then add it to my food forest. It will be a welcomed addition.

Starting seeds is a good way to be actively gardening during the winter months. If you are doing anything to stay active with your gardening, let me know . Maybe it will give me some ideas to work with.


Soooo......Until next time......HAPPY GARDENING!