O.C.D. Gardener

Earth Boxes

OCD Gardener — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 01:42:41 +0000

I’m still in Spring Fever mode. My sister’s ex-sister-in-law swears by the Earth Box. She may live 1500 feet lower than me, but I’m willing to give anything a shot. In “Combat Gardening,” I am a complete mercenary. I ordered just the boxes, not the soil. Last week I went to our local Disneyland of nurseries, Tagawa Garden Center, in Parker, Colorado. I bought two 3 cubic foot bags of Roots Organics by Aurora Formula 707. I filled up my Earth Boxes and rubbed my paws together in anticipation! Salivating, really.

Today, I went back to that “Cave of Wonders,” Tagawa. They are already selling a truly spectacular variety of tomato plants. I couldn’t help myself. I only went in for compost, I swear, but I felt the irresistible pull of the green.. and I found too many varieties to recall. I was star-struck. Tomatoes which I had only read about appeared before my eyes. I spent an hour reading tags, and purchased a Black Crim and a Champion II to plant in my experimental Earth Box, as well as a four pack (with a fifth plant) of Lady Bell pepper plants. Shame… I feel better now, though. I got a jump on spring. Take that, wind.

Spring fever

OCD Gardener — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 01:27:06 +0000

Sunday, April Fools’ Day, after a week of really spectacular weather for this altitude, 70 plus degrees each day, I planted. I felt that enough time had passed, and I had ants in my pants to plants. Hee-hee…

My grandson and I decided square foot gardening was the way to go (mainly because his idea of rows is rather loose). The Minion and I had tilled the soil in all four raised beds two weeks ago with new compost and let them rest. So my five-year-old assistant and I chose the bed which last year had hosted pole beans and spaghetti squash, and we spread Baby Carrots, Chantenay carrots, Breakfast radishes, Scarlet globe radishes, lettuce, and spinach in each roughly square section. The bed is roughly 8 by 4, so you do the math…. Hey, he’s five. We will plant the other half in a couple of weeks. Then we watered, which is his favorite part, although I had to remind him fifty times that turning the sprayer to “blast” would annihilate the seeds and mean no vegetables. “Spray gently!!!!!” Finally, we put the cold frame tent over the seeds and said “Good luck.” The next day, 30 degrees. The next, next day, 20 inches of snow. Today, Thursday, the snow has mostly melted, and I really should go water, since the cold frame prevented the snow from reaching the seeds.

We also planted peas in the bed that last year hosted tomatoes. We put in three rows of peas, which at first I felt bad that I hadn’t soaked. The next day, as it started to snow, I felt less guilty. After a foot and a half of snow, I didn’t worry at all. They will sprout soon, since it was 68 degrees today! Gotta love Colorado.

How to Start Seeds Indoors

OCDG Minion — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:50:45 +0000

Indoor seed starting.

Presented by Lowes

Solar Heated And Cooled Greenhouses

OCDG Minion — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:42:34 +0000

Slideshow of Solar Greenhouses heated and cooled by the Subterranean Heating and Cooling System featured at http://www.sunnyjohn.com

120 mph Winds Destroyed Our Greenhouse

OCDG Minion — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:36:52 +0000

The Snap & Grow greenhouse that we purchased from Home Depot Online could not survive the Colorado wind. A microburst caused the greenhouse to blow apart. We picked up all the pieces, but unfortunately it is destroyed beyond repair. The greenhouse frame was still anchored by steel cables as the rest of the structured twisted and snapped.

Pictures of the destroyed greenhouse:

Deer trouble

OCD Gardener — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:08:53 +0000

I ran out of the garlic-smelling Deer and Rabbit Repellent from Sweeney, so I switched up. I purchased Havahart “Deer-Off” which is supposed to repel deer, rabbits and squirrels for “up to 3 months” and be weather-proof. So far, that is not the case. The midnight raiders have eaten the tops off of the Asiatic lilies, munched the holly hocks, day lilies, petunias, callirhoe, and Missouri primrose in spite of the spray. I am going to have to try another deterrent, although the fact that I spent nearly $17 on the Deer-Off makes irritates me.