[RedSpruce]

😂. I am so excited for spring I’m checking those trays of soil every half hour! 😂. Four out of six basil plants have sprouted. I am going to multiply those with cuttings when they get big enough. I’m not sure we can have enough basil around here!

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Onions are in. Man, am I out of shape. I got winded digging a shallow 8ft trench, I'll never be able to hide bodies if this keeps up.

Garlic is up all over, as are strawberries. Some had to be sacrificed for the onions. I also weeded a bit and pulled last year's asparagus canes.

I'll try and remember to check the community garden for lettuce tomorrow.

 

[hikr00]

@RedSpruce we are twins - I check the Aerogarden every couple hours as if there will be a big change in two hours. Lolol. But it’s fun!! I use a lot of basil too but I especially like chives.

 

[marthamfi]

Sounds like fun esp if you live in places that have long winters. Red you can get some aerogarden types under $100 on amazon or walmart. I saw a set at walmart cheap but can't find it. maybe you just need the lights and do pots in warm place?

I got my seeds from scouts funraiser but still too early though saw my first cherry blossoms and tulips etc poking out.

 

[RedSpruce]

And they’re up! Or getting there. 5 leeks, 5 basil (I accidentally got two seeds in one cell), and tomatoes and cantaloupe (?) breaking the surface. I sprinkled everything with cinnamon because I thought I saw mould in one of the cells. More precautionary than anything.

 

[hikr00]

Looking good @RedSpruce ! It’s so exciting to see.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

I almost bought leek starts today at the community garden but decided against it. They need so much water and it gets so hot and dry here in the summer. Picked up a packet of "salad bowl" lettuce seed. The clerk at the garden said they were expecting their blended multicolor lettuce seed any day now, but that's what they told me last week...

I may try to plant these tomorrow. We're expecting a storm tomorrow night, so they'll get watered in good.

Stopped at one hardware store looking for dirt, they still have ice melt out front. I think I'm getting low on potting mix, too.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Thought this might be useful to someone:

Grow Food In 5 Gallon Buckets - 15 Fruits & Veggies That Thrive

A 5 gallon bucket can be an incredible useful thing. There are many ways to use them around your homestead. One of the most obvious ways to use these reclaimed containers is to grow food. There are

www.ruralsprout.com

Grow Food In 5 Gallon Buckets – 15 Fruits & Veggies That Thrive

 

[RedSpruce]

CH my brother does that. He’ll start his seeds early and, when they are ready, he transplants them into the buckets.

DBro#1 had a fantastic garden (he recently moved). He used any container that wasn’t in use otherwise. He set up a rain gutter grow system too. And had a huge rainwater catchment system. He lived on the prairies in Canada, where it could get really hot and dry in the summer.

 

[Spirit Deer]

I've made self watering planters from cat litter pails. They worked great.

Baby Romaine lettuce does well in AGs. Most any leaf lettuce, really. A lot of people use AGs to grow weed.

Martha, AGs are hydroponic systems that must use the right liquid nutrients, and the water needs to be aerated. And of course, the lights are critical, too. Grow lights will help with dirt gardening, assuming they're close enough to the plants. It wouldn't work very well to just use the AG hood. It's supported by and connects to power through the base. You'd need another type of grow light, or just a regular light with a full spectrum daylight bulb or 3. That's what I use in my older AGs. When the LED hoods on an AG die, the entire hood has to be replaced. I just buy new LED bulbs for most of mine. 🙂🙂

 

[RedSpruce]

My daily photo! 😆

Left to right:
Row 1 = Leeks,
Row 2 = tomatoes (cherry),
Row 3 = tomatoes (plum)
Rows 4 & 5 = two rows of peppers (not up yet),
Row 6 = cantaloupe (1 up) and parsley (not up),
Row 7 = bunching onions (just coming up),
Row 8 = shallots (just coming up), and
Row 9 = basil

 

[RedSpruce]

Everything but parsley and peppers are up. Looks like the jalapeños are just starting to break surface. 😁

 

[RedSpruce]

Jalapeños and New Ace peppers are just starting to come up. No parsley yet. I put together one of my LED lights. Apparently these can be connected in series, but they don’t provide the cord to do it?! Just a single cord with a plug at the end and a switch partway down the cord. Frustrated. I’d like to connect them in series.

 

[hikr00]

I finally planted my seeds! As you can see I planted chives, oregano, sugar snap peas, chamomile, mint and basil. I hope to soon see seedlings sprouting!

Now my Aerogarden is doing great! Everything except the chives has germinated and is growing well. The chives don’t show much of anything and SD said she never had any luck with chives so it’s possible they might not grow at all.

 

[RedSpruce]

The parsley and peppers are coming up! Basil is already starting to get their real leaves. Tiny, but there!

ETA: checking the backyard. Daylilies are up. Keeping an eye on the hostas and Solomon’s seal. Last year the deer ate the buds. This year I’m going to spray them with deer repellent and see if I can save them.

 

[hikr00]

@RedSpruce the plants look great!

 

[Contrary Housewife]

All you guy's seedlings look great. Maybe too early and cold here but I found a coupon for the hardware store and I think I'll go tomorrow or Tues to get some potting soil. I can at least get it mixed with last year's dirt and start getting it into starter pots. I don't have room indoors to keep many of them and the grow lights and grow tent last year was a complete disaster. I'll have to put things out for sun once they come up.

I also want a bag of dirt (or three) for each of my raised beds. We didn't start with much, plan was to add more each year.

 

[RedSpruce]

Thanks so @hikr00 and @Contrary Housewife ! Hubby and I looked at a grow tent today for $80 CAD. we decided against it because of the plastic sides not being separate from the bird netting. Also the plastic would act like a sail in our winds. We would have to have it clamped to the deck…and we’re thinking of replacing the deck this year. Maybe something a bit sturdier and more versatile next year.

We went looking a couple places for the connector cords to go between our Jiffy LED grow lights. No one had them. I also phoned a couple places and got through to one. They didn’t have them. Everyone kept suggesting Amazon. Hubby doesn’t like shopping Amazon. I use it as the source of last resort.

We found them on one Canadian website, but it’s a bit sketchy…no street address or box number. Only a 1-888 number. We did not recognize the name of the outfit. Neither did the sales associate at Walmart we talked to, who agreed it looked a bit sketchy when he looked at it too. So…We decided to just plug all three LED grow lights into a power bar we already have, and turn then on and off as needed. In the process I think I finished off one of the leek seedlings. Oh well.

 

[hikr00]

@Spirit Deer guess what? The chives are coming up in the AG! I remember you saying you didn’t have any luck with them and I hadn’t seen any sign of activity with the pod I’d planted so I thought it was a bust here too. But this morning I peeked in on it and I see a teeny tiny bit of green. Yay! Of course this doesn’t mean it will flourish so I still have my fingers crossed. See the little speck of green? Lol.

 

[Spirit Deer]

Excellent, Hikr! I hope you get a good crop!