"PART 3: Container Gardening"

I finally made and posted the video, "Part 3:  Container Gardening"---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBQ2neI3p3g .
It contains transplanting tips, a few unusual containers, and more.  Enjoy, and garden on.

Happy Trails, and Be Well

Don't Use Cardboard Roll Inserts With Your Seedlings

This idea of using half a toilet paper center cardboard roll to facilitate both seedling germination and transplant seemed like a useful, clever one.  I saw it on YouTube and gave it a shot...several shots.  In the beginning, it seemed to be working just fine.  By placing the roll in a vertical position in the scooped out hole in the receiving container during a seedling transplant, the process went a little easier.  Later, when watering, the roll appeared to keep the moisture close to the seedling.  All seemed well.  I even recommended the use of the roll in one of my Container Gardening videos here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ScottHaley12 .  I think it was the "Part 2..." video.

About a month or so later, I began to notice that my tomato plants with the cardboard rolls were beginning to look a bit stunted.  Not all of them were that way, but it was true of the vast majority.  I had lots of plants without the rolls, as well; they were doing much better.  I do like to experiment, but admittedly, this was not a controlled experiment.  In other words, I didn't account for all the possible variables that might result in the stunting of the plants.  The stunting and the cardboard rolls being in the same pots could be nothing but a coincidence.  Nevertheless, I think there's something to this.

Here's what may have happened.  Cardboard contains toxic glue.  There's not a large amount in the center cardboard of a toilet paper roll, but maybe it's enough to affect seedlings.  Water won't dissolve it (release it from the cardboard), but soil microbes will release it when they digest the cardboard.  I'm guessing that's what happened.  My recommendation is:  don't use those rolls.

Happy Trails, & Be Well

A Few Tips on Transplanting

Transplanting is fairly easy because green plants are extremely resilient.  Unless you somehow break the stalk/stem or shred most of the leaves, you won't damage the plant to any significant degree.  Do not  worry about damaging the roots.  That will happen to some degree, but roots in particular regenerate quickly.

The first step in transplanting is to prepare the receiving container.  Make sure it contains a fertile, somewhat loose, well aerated soil.  Do not water the soil prior to the transplant process; do that afterwards.  It's best to not fill the receiving container all the way to the top with soil.  Leave an inch or two of space from the rim down to the soil surface.  Then scoop out a small hole in the center to accommodate the plant & its associated clump of soil.  Leave the scooped out soil in the container (off to the sides of the interior).

If you're transplanting a seedling from a shallow germinating tray, simply scoop out the plant with a spoon or other rounded tool while supporting the plant & attached soil clump as best you can with your other hand.  Place it in the prepared hole in the receiving container, fill in the hole (if necessary) with more soil and gently press the soil around the base of the plant to firm it up.  If you're transplanting a seedling from a small, individual cup instead of a germinating tray, the removal of the plant is even easier.  Place one hand over the top of the cup on the rim, so that the base of the plant stalk is between two of  your fingers.  Then turn the cup upside down while holding it in front of you, and gently squeeze the sides all around with your free hand & tap the bottom of the cup.  The plant and soil should come out...if the soil is not wet.  Then place it in the prepared hole in the receiving container and firm it up a bit.

In both cases above, the final step is to give the soil in the new container a good soaking with water... and then leave it alone.  Perhaps about half the time you do this process, your plant will droop or wilt to one degree or another.  That's due to transplant shock.  Leave it alone...just let it be.  It will recover in anywhere from fifteen minutes to a few hours...almost every single time.  In the rare case when it doesn't spring back, use it for green manure.

Some gardeners like to use a probe/stick/old pen to "tease out" a seedling from a germinating tray or small cup when transplanting.  With that method, almost no associated soil goes along with the transfer of the plant.  I've tried that way, and don't care for it.  It's a lot more work, and I don't think the plants do as well as they do with the two methods described above.

With larger plants, rather than recently-germinated seedlings, simply modify the process as required.  For example, scoop out a bigger hole in the receiving container...and use a larger spoon/tool to scoop out the plant & associated soil clump from the old container.  As I said in a previous post, I believe it takes at least two transplants before a plant reaches its final home container.  That's when you're starting from a seed.  Some gardeners say only one transplant is necessary.  I've tried both ways, and still believe the plants do better with two.

Transplanting is mostly just common sense...it's easy to do, and it works 99.99% of the time.  There's no need to worry about it at all.  Prepare properly, and just do it.  :)

p.s.  It's nice to have a transplanting table outside or in a shed...nothing fancy is required.  No matter how careful you are, there will be times when you'll spill a bunch of soil when transplanting.  It saves time & effort if you don't have to clean it up.

Happy Trails, and Be Well

Container Gardening Overview

You can do this!  We'll show you how.  I'm using "We" not only in the editorial sense, but also because it's my hope that people with gardening experience will comment on this venue.  Actually, whether you're experienced or not, please join in the conversation.  If I recall correctly, one has to "join" Blogger in order to comment; that's true on most venues.  Unfortunately, I suspect it discourages some folks from participating.  If you don't care to join, you may email me: abstractcowboy@gmail.com and I'll summarize your views and/or answer your questions in a future posting.
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If you don't have a "Mother Plant" from which to take cuttings (& later put in soil), then you start with seeds.  I like to experiment, so I have a variety of different seeds---Heirloom, Organic-certified, and plain old seeds off-the-rack, so to speak.  Don't use Monsanto seeds; more on that later.  In any case, it helps if you soak your seeds from 6 - 8 hours before planting.  That way, they germinate a lot faster.  [That's especially true in the case of Sprouting-for-Food.  Don't ignore Sprouting; sprouts are delicious on a sandwich or as a salad.]  Then let them dry out enough to where you can separate and manipulate them for planting in soil.  A seed has three basic components:  the plant embryo, endosperm (mostly starch, some protein, enzymes, & oils), and a covering.  It doesn't need light to germinate, but some warmth is required.  I mention all this because it's important to avoid planting seeds too deep.  With green plants, the embryo has to pierce the surface of the soil, shed the seed covering, and unfold the seed leaves before it runs out of endosperm (nutrition for growth).  It's better to plant too shallow than too deep.

You'll need a variety of containers...many you can recycle from your kitchen.  I'll give lots of specifics on that in the next post.  If you germinate seeds in a tray of some sort, I've found that it's not necessary to cut holes in the bottom of the container.  It doesn't take much watering to germinate seeds that have been soaked.  If you germinate in a cup (which usually has more depth than a tray), then it's best to cut holes in the bottom of the container.  That's because gravity will pull most of the water to the bottom of the cup, out-of-reach of the seed/embryo/seedling/root.  You'll have to water more often than you would with a shallower tray; we have to get rid of the excess drainage, hence the holes in the bottom.  Don't forget to have a saucer, old lid, or something else to capture the excess water...so you don't stain your window sill, or deck, or wherever your container resides.  After the seedling has pierced the soil surface, the first two leaves you'll see are the "seed leaves"; before transplanting to a somewhat larger container, wait for the "true leaves" to be in full "flower", so to speak.  They almost always are a different shape than the seed leaves.  The goal is to eventually get your plant into a fairly large container...its permanent home.  Opinions vary as to how many transplants will be required.  Many people say only one.  I think at least two, which means three different-sized containers...each one progressively larger & deeper.  But don't panic--- transplanting is easy, and most of these containers you own already.

There are different types of soil, and we need to be aware of them.  Some container and raised-bed gardeners pooh-pooh the use of natural, un-sterilized, outdoor soil.  I see their point relative to possible soil pests and harmful bacteria, but farmers have been using natural soil for thousands of years.  It can't be all bad.  A good outdoor soil is about 45% minerals, 25% air, 25% water, and only 5% humus (partially decayed organic matter).  To me, that 5% humus is the main drawback to its use in container gardening.  Plants in containers need more humus (nutrients) than that because they don't have the advantage of having nutrients added naturally (by animals, falling leaves, decaying ground vegetation, soil being washed down from higher places, etc.) the way outdoor plants do.  I've put a shallow layer of outdoor soil in the bottom of my largest containers---thus saving on potting soil to a degree---and I see no ill effects thus far.  So for your containers, I suggest that bottom layer in the largest ones, then add a mixture of mostly potting soil plus some mulch (plant litter) & even a little compost closer to the surface.  Compost is humus that you make yourself.  For container gardening, you don't need much (perhaps make some in a 5-gallon bucket), or really, you don't need any at all...because potting soil is rich in humus.  If you do make some compost in a bucket (or in a pile out back), though, make certain you aerate the layers every so often...or else you'll get harmful anaerobic bacteria.  Aerate those layers by turning them over every so often.  Finally, though not totally necessary, it's somewhat helpful to have some litmus paper strips (or a small soil testing kit) in order to test your soil for its pH level---alkalinity versus acidity.  The pH scale runs from 0 to 14, 7 being neutral; less than 7 means increasing degrees of acidity...more than 7, increasing degrees of alkalinity.  Plants vary as to which pH level is optimum for them; sometimes the back of the seed packet will tell you the optimum level.  If it doesn't, you have the world's greatest library right in front of you.  :)  Honestly, though, I've never worried too much about pH levels.  In general, soils in the West (USA) usually are alkaline to some degree, while those in the East (USA again) are acidic to varying degrees.  The MidWest is all over the place.  In a future post, we'll go into how to alter the pH of your container soil.  Potting soil usually is not either extremely acidic or extremely alkaline...that's one reason I've never been too concerned with pH.

As to watering, never water so much that the liquid is pooled on the soil surface.  That's too much.  On the other hand, except for a germinating tray, give your container plants and soil a good soaking when you do water.  Don't water every day; the soil needs to alternate between being watered and being allowed to get almost dry.  That cycle helps with disease and soil compaction prevention; it also helps soil aeration.  Your plants will show you when they need to be watered; at the first sign of wilting, water again.  For larger plants in the largest containers, that might be only once or twice a week...maybe three times, depending on a bunch of variables (temperature, humidity, type of plant, wind---if they're on a deck or patio, etc.).  If they aren't already there, don't forget to have holes punched in the bottom of your containers.  Finally, in the case of fruiting plants (say, tomatoes, as opposed to lettuce or basil), once those yummies come into being, your plants will need a bit more water...that is to say, they'll have to be watered more often because of the "fruit".

Happy Trails, and Be Well