Weather: Sunny and 40s
The last few days have been warm in the 70s. Then we had a rain storm (three inches) and now the cold is back.
For the last few days I have been starting seedlings. I have used cardboard egg cartons with dried egg shells as planters (fill the egg shell with dirt and seed, then put in the carton.) Moshi trays ( a rice paste wrapped ice cream ball treat that comes in little plastic trays of six) and glass jars. The glass jars are done in a terrarium style with decorative rocks and pebbles on the bottom, a layer of sand and then the soil with the seeds. I did transfer a pepper plant from my hydrogarden into another glass jar filled with glass marbles (I knew there was a use for these things) because the pea plants were preventing any light from getting to it. I left the little plastic holder on it and added some of the liquid nutrients that this planter uses. It is my hope that it will spread the roots around the marbles and grow. All of these plants are now on my one window still that gets a lot of day light.
I was looking at the various items around my house and found that I have 6 clementine boxes. These are the little wooden & paste board ones they sell them in the last few years. As they are two inches high on the sides, I think they will work wonders as a planter. My intent is to layer them with wet newspaper shred, fill in the dirt and plant the seeds. How the roots develop will determine whether or not I take them out or just plant the planter into the ground.
I am looking for some wood pallets that match in size. As my Edible garden is one foot from the fence I plan on laying down wet newspapers between the garden and the fence and then tying the pallets to the fence, using the news papers to fill in the holes, and then filling it all with dirt. I am going to use this to plant my herbs this year. Our fence is a chain link that is not in the best of shape. To repair it we will need to remove the whole thing (at least 80 feet) and that is not something I can easily afford to do at this time. If done properly, the pallet wall will help shore it up for at least another season. This will also prevent the grass from growing between the links and, hopefully not encourage spiders from nesting.
A good friend of mine will be coming over for the next few days. She has been growing her own plants for a while now (and has chickens!) and I hope I can get some pointers from her. You can check out her place here http://www.olskisheirloomnursery.com or here https://www.facebook.com/olskisheirloomnursery13
FRUGAL GARDENING 