Summer plants in December

I decided to try an experiment this winter.  I decided that I wanted to grow a cucumber plant in my basement.  The idea sprang to life for me when I found a self pollinating variety of them with my local seed go to supplier.  I had the idea in the summer and it came to me again in late November.  As I relayed in my December 2nd post, I decided to test two other older cucumber seed packs to see if they were viable.  One packet was along with the new seeds as you can see below.  The third pack - not so good.  I'll plant them again by themselves as Spring arrives just to be sure they are dead seeds. 

So, now that I have seedlings and they seem pretty healthy, it was time to set up a support for the plant to grow on.  I will be thinning these down to one plant to grow through the winter.  So, I devised a string support system to allow the plant to grow vertically and enable me to supply enough light for it.  Here is a shot of the system from the perspective of the plants.   

I am supporting the plant with a roller system that I have that is identical to those used in greenhouses.  I strung wire from two eye hooks in the rafter and attached the roller system to it.  I then took the string and ran it down to the bucket and anchored it to into the soil with an earth staple/stake.  Once the plant grows a little more, I will then use clips that attach to the string and encircle the plants vine.  I used these with my tomatoes and I have to say, I didn't have a single issue that I recall.  Here is a picture which shows the roller and how it is supprted/attached to the wires I strung.

   

 

Its a little difficult to see but the clip basically has a loop at the top where you clip it onto the support wire.  And, as the plant grows, I let out the string at the top to allow me to wrap it loosely around the plant and support the vine via the support clips.  It works so easy.  I will be updating the progress on this periodically.  Hopefully, we'll be eating some cukes in teh not too distant future.

That's all I have at this time.  Hope you are doing well.  Until next time,Happy Gardening everyone. 

  

Leaf Mold progress

It has been roughly two weeks since I loaded the remaining leaves into my four composters and the garbage can composter. I decided it was time to check progress on them as I want to insure they are decomposing at a steady rate. This is going to be a major additive to my soils this spring.

So, I checked on the garbage cans' current status first. Despite the rains of the past weeks, the top layer looked dried out. This wasn't surprising as we have had many windy days here and it is uncovered. So, I decided to turn the leaves by using my compost turner. When turned, the leaves were putting off steam as it was 37 degrees at the time. They were moderately wet and looked as though the breakdown was in process. Here are pictures of the leaves before and after I turned them.
 
They will need to be moistened and turned several times before spring in order to speed up the breakdown needed.

I then checked the composter where I alternately layered ground wood chips and leaves. Upon opening, the leaves at the top were dried much like the other unit. So, I began to turn the front half of the pile to see if there was any difference between them and the untouched remainder of this pile. The leaves that I turned were moderately wet in comparison and also seemed to be breaking down. A good sign. Much like the other unt, they too will need more water and turnings to get them into a rapid state of decomposition.Below are before and after glimpses of the unit.
 

All in all, I am happy with the progress but do need to attend to them more frequently. I have a desired result that is time sensitive. A lot will depend on the weather as colder temps will impact these piles more than anything else. Only time will tell.
Well, that's all I have for now. I will be updating the greenhouse progress in my next post

Indoor gardening

Last week was a very busy one for me. During the week, I discovered an infestation of pesky gnats in my cucumber planter. I decided I had to take action as I certainly did not want it to spread and time was of the essence. Given that the cukes hadn't even started to peek through the soil as they were seeded in a few days prior, I decided to do another boiling water treatment. I took the water and poured it over the soil as I strirred the soil with my trowel. I did this to insure the water penetrated further than the 2" where the eggs may be. I got the water super boiling which resulted in it steaming for quite some time. I checked it the next day and there were no signs of the gnats. Thankfully!

I seeded in three varieties of cucumbers about two weeks ago.  My reasoning for this is I had two older packets of cuke seeds and wanted to run a test to see if they would still germinate. I put those on each side of a very recently purchased variety I really want to grow. Figured if I got a plant from either of those, I could always transplant it.  And, much to my amazement, all the seeds germinated.  Guess I don't need to buy any new seeds for this coming year.
Speaking of seeds, I have been watching several Youtube gardening and other similar types of channels. A recurrent theme recently has been that there more than likely will be a seed shortage next year accompanied by pretty steep price increases. Some suppliers have already annouced price increase of upwards of 100% for next year and some even more. Now, I certainly didn't think I needed any seeds but I decided to check my inventory. And, upon further analysis, it turned out I did need a few seed packets. So I went to the local seed supplier I buy from to check out if the rumors were true.

After shopping and deciding what I needed and wanted, it turned out I needed more than I was aware. Guess I got a gardening bug while I was there. They had a meager supply showing in the shop but they did have everything (and more) that I wanted in their warehouse storage area.
So, I bought 15 various seed packets for a total of $28.00. Not too bad considering I bought quarter pound bags of peas and corn at over $4.50 a bag each. I was quite happy that they have not - at this time - raised their prices. I asked about this upcoming years prices and availability. They have no plans for price increases and are still waiting to hear from their seed supplier on availability. They're assuming it's all good. Which, if it pans out, is good for our area.
So, when I came home, it dawned on me that I needed to organize my seeds in a better way. I decided to bite the bullet and organize the seeds alphabetically. I had them by season but it just wasn't working out. After about an hour or so, I had them all laid out ready to pack. Here is a picture of my seed packs.

I haven't counted them but I would imagine there are about 225-250 packets. I am going to count them and update my spreadsheet in the near future. After loading the seed packets into my container and putting the larger bags into ziplock bags, I put them into my dorm refrigerator for safe keeping. Here is the refrigerator as it now sits.

The top shelf has containers with single type seeds in them. The second shelf has the seeds combined by alphabet. And the bottom bag has Bean seeds and packets from last year. While not ideal, it does make finding a particulat variety a little easier at this time.
I was driving through my neighborhood recently when I came upon a bounty of leaves that were bagged in clear plastic bags. What were these people thinking about? They're gardeners no less. So, I stopped and very matter of factly threw 6 of the bigger bags in the back of my car. I drove to my house, dumped them on my driveway and looped back around. I again piled 5 bags into my car and repeated the unloading. I then thought about what I was going to do with these. Then it struck me.
I took the bags and put them on the ground around my greenhouse. This way, I thought, they would decompose with all the sun that area gets throughout winter. And, they would act as a wind barrier for my greenhouse. Two wins there. Below are pictures of the bags and the bags placed around my greenhouse.
 
I guess I am just a little different. Most people don't understand the value of them. I have 4 composters that are filled with leaves from my tree. I have a 32 gallon garbage can that I perforated with a ton of holes that is also filled with the leaves. And I have the 11 bags I just appropriated with little effort. True story - I used to stop on my way to and from work to snag bags of leaves along the curbs. My wife (and neighbors most likely) probably shook their heads when they saw me unloading those bags. The reason for all this effort is that leaf mold is perhaps as close to the most perfect soil addititve you can find. I am frugal for the most part. Not of out necessity but out of resourcefulness. I can't stand to buy processed soil from anywhere. Paying upwards of $10.00 for a 2 Cu. Ft. bag of soil when I can create my own seems like a waste of money. Last year I spent more on soil than I ever have. And, the reason was that I just retired last fall and lost focus on my composters due to other priorities. That was a lesson learned that will never be forgotten. Here are pictures of my composters and the one garbage can as they sit now. I will need to water them down if it doesn't rain soon to assist with their decompostion.
 
I have lots more to tell so I will be posting again in the near future.  Until then, Happy Gardening everyone.