Today, I rounded up a few more things in preparation for indoor seed starts.
Last year I was introduced to LED Grow Light Strips. I was playing around with microgreens and this seemed like a good addition to the toolkit. One strip was temporarily mounted for a test run, then dismantled and set aside for future use.
I also located the seeds I'd used last year. I'd forgotten what I had left.
(Apologies for the blurry pictures. I was practicing close-ups with my ancient camera.)
Fingers crossed the plum tomato seeds I harvested will germinate. More of these would be awesome!
The pole beans were my best producer by far. They will definitely be making an appearance again this year.
The peas bit the dust early when I over-fertilized them. That mistake won't happen again.
The old carrot and radish seed tape actually worked!
The birds beat me to the carrots and ate the sprouts, but radishes grew too quick and outlasted the birds.
This time the carrots will get a head start indoors and be safe from the birds like the radishes were.
The microgreen experiment wasn't so much for the food, as to test out a germination and seedling 'nursery'.
It needs work before I'm ready to explain it, but the results were promising enough to proceed. The plan is to have the greenhouse ready in time to help harden off the indoor starts.
The new additions are purple basil, lemon balm, rocket salad, mustard greens, and beets. We'll see if any make it past the micro stage and into the outdoor garden.
I added the packets to the Ragtag Dream Board. Having them all together helps to visualize where they'll land in the overall plan.
Soon...
RECAP:
It started here - Reclaiming The Backyard Firepit
Which turned into this - Ragtag Garden
The expansion of these two projects has now become The Ragtag Saga:
Latest episodes of the Ragtag Saga:
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 1
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 2
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 3
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 4
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 5
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 6
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 7
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 8
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 9
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 10
Stay Tuned For The Next Installment - Coming Soon!
Upvote, ReSteem,
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Gardeners Badge created by @daddykirbs. Ragtag Brand Logo created by Michelle @slhomestead. Steemit Badge created by @grow-pro.
Latest episodes of the Ragtag Saga:
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 1
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 2
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 3
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 4
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 5
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 6
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 7
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 8
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 9
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 10
Stay Tuned For The Next Installment - Coming Soon!
Upvote, ReSteem,
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
i love the idea of the gardening dream board! i want to get some of that big, 2 foot by 3 foot drawing paper & start coming up with sketches and options and stuff, too.
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It sure makes things easier to visualize and think through different plans. Go for it and see what you come up with. It's fun having it as a work in progress!
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and it's one big, long, work in progress!
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Yup, yup... this is going to be a multi-year effort IF I can stay focused.
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I was going to say the same thing!! Genius! Great to keep track of everything at a glance for us visual learners:)
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it's also fun to stand in front of something big like that, muttering to yourself. makes me feel like some sort of scientist, figuring out a formula!
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LOL at that mental picture! Good call!
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Muahahahaha!!!
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Doing a lil happy dance in your garden's honor haha! Omg I can't wait to see what you get to growing this year! I should be receiving my worms for my compost bins sometime this week! Is it wrong that it makes me so happy? haha
Hugs and a lovely eve to you!
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Oooooohhhhh, worms!! Let me know how that goes (and for heavens sake, don't tell the hens). They're on my wish list, so we can't both be wrong --- right? ;~D
Thanks for the happy dance! They'll thrive with that much positive energy headed their way!
Hope you're having a delightful evening, too.
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Haha the hens never get to them, I keep them in our side property in bins. Had them going for a couple of years now but I wanted a new "breed" of wrigglers lol
I use the compost tea for my plants and the compost for my veggie gardens, such a gift from these hardworking creatures! You should definitely try composting with worms!
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Excellent tactic on placement of the bins! That would be too much of a temptation for the girls. I hope the new additions to the bins rev up the process.
I've got enough buckets to do a tower and a lid to top it off. Starting small seems like a good idea as hubby and I don't generate much waste. It can always be ramped up later.
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Hi there friend, the girls destroyed what was left of the winter garden. The only survivors are baby carrots. They got into the greens and Kale early on, naughty birds. Hope all is well with your crew.🐓
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Shame on them! Mischief with feathers.... Well, at least the carrots made it!
We're well, thanks. Just bracing for another small blast of winter this week. (Mid twenties and snow off & on. Snow's already started...) Hope you're getting milder temps these days!
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Oh yes, soon, very soon!
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Chomping at the bit over here...
... and twenties for highs and snow all next week.
Sigh.
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microgreens something I really want try out this year. It just seems like an interesting process and I like idea having a bit of a turnover rate on crops as well.
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It was fun to watch them change so quickly once they germinated. When you get the timing down, it should be relatively easy to keep fresh ones on hand by staggering the start times.
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Everytime I see your Dream Board, I think that I want to put one up. Maybe I’ll get that done over the weekend.
Your Ragtag garden posts were some of the first posts I read when I got on Steemit in November. I came across one and then read them all. I’m stoked for Season 2!
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Go for it! They serve so many purposes and it's just nice to have a central spot for gathering all the stray thoughts into one place.
Awww, thanks for that! That must've been a marathon, though... wow! Season 2 is, hopefully, going to be even better than last year. Fingers crossed... I'm stoked about everyone else's plans, too. It looks like everyone is expanding their gardens this coming year. I predict we are all going to have an embarrassment of riches come harvest time!
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I’m trying to come up with a plan. Actually, I’ve had about 17, but I keep adding things (thanks to Steemit) so it keeps changing! As soon as I have a plan, I’ll make a post, but the plan will probably unfold as I plant things. :)
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LOL on the ever-shifting plan. Boy, do I relate to that! I'm hoping the Boards helps me at least pick priorities. 'Side trips' are essential this time of year or the cabin fever would be out of control. I agree that most of it will unfold in real time, but it'll be easier to see what the overall game-plan could be with a running start.
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I have courage to try the radishes in containers now. Was wondering how they would do in flats. I am itching to get more greens started. Won't be in a large enough town until wednesday to get some more dirt. If the weather is going to hold like this for the rest of the winter, we may try some colder weather stuff outside. There are enough old windows around here for a type of cold frame. I went ahead and resteemed and upvoted this post. Thanks for your support!
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Oh good! I'm not sure how flats would work. The bin I used had quite a lot of dirt, so I think that helped retain a bit more heat than a flat would. I also had a lid to use on the extra cold nights. A cold frame would probably be an ideal solution to protect them. Thanks for the support and I hope you have success with them!
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Yay! So inspiring! Making me want to start sprouting something!
Ive been thinking about growing microgreens too, they sound yummy. ♥
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Microgreens are as close to 'instant gratification' that I've found in the gardening realm. Fun stuff!
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Haha, sounds perfect then! (I am not known for my patience... LOL!)
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There ya go! The only thing I can think of that would be faster would be harvest as sprouts. You can do those in a glass jar in a few days.
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That's true! I have been meaning to do sprouts again! I used to do them all the time....
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I'm really keen to find out how your tomato seeds go. Please let me know when you post about it, because I know I don't always manage to keep up with everyone and I wouldn't want to miss it.
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Thanks and will do! Fingers crossed the experiment is successful...
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I really like the little sign you have now for the ragtag garden! :-)
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Awww, thanks! Michelle at @slhomestead designed it. She did a great job!
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Carrot seed tape is genius, especially because if they dry out even a little bit during germination...it's game over!
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These are the only two I've ever bought the tape version of. Makes planting a breeze and the spacing is pre-determined, so thinning is rarely necessary.
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I would never do carrots with out seed tape!! I spend time in the winter making my own seed tape for carrots, lettuce and a couple other things. Totally worth the time it takes.
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I saw that post! Seed tape totally makes sense with the itty-bitty ones. I need to go back and look that up. It will help me avoid my habit of over-crowding the container grown items.
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Here it is.
I’m a terrible over crowder. But if I can’t find a home for all the seedlings I start, I feel like a murderer!!!
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Thanks!
Awww, that is a tough choice for the poor excess seedlings. Can you donate them somewhere? Maybe that would easier on your nerves than the compost pile?
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Looks like you are going to have an awesome garden. I also got an LED light that Im going to get some stuff started under. Got a CMH light too.
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Thanks and fingers crossed! I'll look forward to seeing how your starts do. Haven't used a CMH before. How are they on heat output? I went LED out of concern for burning the seedlings by using other types of lights, but CMH didn't make my research list.
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CMH (Ceramic metal hallide) is pretty new, but they probably are the best grow lights because they cover the entire light spectrum. I would say they run hotter than LED but definitely not as hot as high pressure sodium.
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Interesting... will have to be on the lookout for a deal. Full spectrum sounds better by far, especially if you have a lot of seed varieties. Everything gets what it needs. I think the LED will work for the small batches I'll be doing, but it's good to have options available. Plus, experimenting is half the fun of the process!
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I do think LED will work fine for what youre using it for, but if you ever do want to try having a full indoor operation CMH is definitely something to consider. LED is actually pretty good for using the full spectrum too but CMH is better for penetrating the canopy of a plant.
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Radishes hate me! I have never ever gotten them to grow more than just tops. I've tried in the ground, in pots, sewing on top of the soil, raking them in, planting in early spring, late spring, fall...Ugh!!!
I'm glad to see how your plans are shaping up!
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Oh, girls, you’re killin’ me. I’m trying radishes for the first time this year!!
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make sure your soil isn't too rich, of all things! i had that same issue with carrots in a pot, last year. lots of beautiful greens and diddly-squat for the edible roots.
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Ditto! This is the first time I've gotten any actual radishes. @uncle-dan is the one with all the luck where radishes are concerned. He had a huge direct-sow March crop one year out of the raised bed I'm trying to revive. There was a small cold frame over it and he was bragging over the ultra-early harvest. I think they're not as easy as they look like they'd be. Damn rascally radishes!
Thanks and I'm looking forward to all your goodies, too!
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Your post becomes a valuable lesson for me and everyone. MODERN Agriculture
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Thank you and you're right on the term 'modern agriculture'. We need to grow wherever we are!
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Very nic posts,
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thanks!
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