After I made bunches of seedling starter pots and packed them snuggly in their trays, I spoke with a friend about what I'd accomplished. We discussed the various changes to the procedure that I'd made, why I made the changes, and what I might expect as a result.
This friend (we'll call her JS) expressed her concerns about using only a half a sheet of newspaper, rather than the whole sheet that had been suggested by the video on Ehow.com by the Ehow Presenter Willi Evans Galloway. JS was concerned about the efficacy (I just love that word, don't you?!) of the pot, whether it could hold up during the 6-8 weeks of water and sun. And so the experiment has begun. As of this morning, eight newspaper seedling starter pots are filled with a mix of potting soil and home made, organic compost Four of the pots have lettuce seeds, and four have been planted with spinach seeds. They are basking in the southern exposure of my kitchen garden window, soaking up the light and warmth from the sun, drawing in nutrients from the compost and water. I'll keep you posted on the progress of the seedlings and their pots. Will the pots last?
Showing posts with label recycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recycling. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
We Made Seedling Starter Pots from Newspaper
You may remember (that is, if there are actually, factually people out there reading this) reading my blog of Jan. 6th that included a link to a video about making starter pots out of newspaper. If you've tried this, you no doubt have made some adjustments to the procedure. We made our first pots last night, and here's how we changed the process:
1. I thought that using a whole sheet of newspaper was too much...too much newspaper, more difficult to fold into the glass, plus I hoped that using less might make it easier to break down in the soil so that we could just plant the seedling pot and all instead of removing it from the pot. I like to jostle the seedlings as little as possible! So I started with half a sheet of newspaper.
2. Then I was folding it into thirds (again, less newspaper on the sides, bottom) rather than half and then half again, so that I could have a little taller pot to start out with. I can also, then, have a little more length at the bottom so that I'm sure to completely cover the bottom and not have soil drop out.
3. I folded the top over a little, like 1/2 an inch or so, thinking that it will hold it all together a little better.
4. Finally, I used a jar to roll the newspaper up with because I don't have a straight sided drinking glass and didn't want to go buy one. I also used a slightly smaller jar to mash down into the pot to flatten the bottom better.
5. Into the soil that we fill each pot with, we'll be mixing in our home made compost so that we really give our seeds a great medium to start in. I'm also planning on using a very low dose of BiOWiSH-Aqua™ on a control group of seedlings once they sprout to see what difference it will make on their rate of growth and production. The BiOWiSH Technologies folks have done a study on hydroponically grown lettuce and BiOWiSH-Aqua™ with great results.
6. I know they recommended, in the video, removing the pot before planting. Hubby says the pots will break down "in no time". I'm alittle worried about stunting the growth by making it more difficult for the roots to spread out into the garden soil. I'm thinking that putting slits into the newspaper every 1/2 inch or so will reduce the effort that the roots have to go through to break out of their pots. We may have a control group for this, as well.
We're ready with our pots, and the trays that they'll set in. Hubby is online right now ordering our seeds. I'm even going to start my impatients from seed. I never have before, but he has, so I'm willing to give it the college try. I figure I'll save about $50 on the impatients alone. I hope it works, because my front yard, raised bed for impatients next to my porch are a highlight of my summer!
We have a garden window in our kitchen made for plants. It has traditionally housed only succulents and cacti, because it faces south and I have had a challenge keeping greenery watered enough. With hubby's help and extra care, we've added a potted oregano plant that has been doing just fine. Into this window, we'll be putting 4 trays of starter pots (28 pots in each tray). Another 4 trays (containing the same number of pots) will go under a grow light in the garage. Wish us luck. I have my mouth all set for those vegies!
Happy Composting!
1. I thought that using a whole sheet of newspaper was too much...too much newspaper, more difficult to fold into the glass, plus I hoped that using less might make it easier to break down in the soil so that we could just plant the seedling pot and all instead of removing it from the pot. I like to jostle the seedlings as little as possible! So I started with half a sheet of newspaper.
2. Then I was folding it into thirds (again, less newspaper on the sides, bottom) rather than half and then half again, so that I could have a little taller pot to start out with. I can also, then, have a little more length at the bottom so that I'm sure to completely cover the bottom and not have soil drop out.
3. I folded the top over a little, like 1/2 an inch or so, thinking that it will hold it all together a little better.
4. Finally, I used a jar to roll the newspaper up with because I don't have a straight sided drinking glass and didn't want to go buy one. I also used a slightly smaller jar to mash down into the pot to flatten the bottom better.
5. Into the soil that we fill each pot with, we'll be mixing in our home made compost so that we really give our seeds a great medium to start in. I'm also planning on using a very low dose of BiOWiSH-Aqua™ on a control group of seedlings once they sprout to see what difference it will make on their rate of growth and production. The BiOWiSH Technologies folks have done a study on hydroponically grown lettuce and BiOWiSH-Aqua™ with great results.
6. I know they recommended, in the video, removing the pot before planting. Hubby says the pots will break down "in no time". I'm alittle worried about stunting the growth by making it more difficult for the roots to spread out into the garden soil. I'm thinking that putting slits into the newspaper every 1/2 inch or so will reduce the effort that the roots have to go through to break out of their pots. We may have a control group for this, as well.
We're ready with our pots, and the trays that they'll set in. Hubby is online right now ordering our seeds. I'm even going to start my impatients from seed. I never have before, but he has, so I'm willing to give it the college try. I figure I'll save about $50 on the impatients alone. I hope it works, because my front yard, raised bed for impatients next to my porch are a highlight of my summer!
We have a garden window in our kitchen made for plants. It has traditionally housed only succulents and cacti, because it faces south and I have had a challenge keeping greenery watered enough. With hubby's help and extra care, we've added a potted oregano plant that has been doing just fine. Into this window, we'll be putting 4 trays of starter pots (28 pots in each tray). Another 4 trays (containing the same number of pots) will go under a grow light in the garage. Wish us luck. I have my mouth all set for those vegies!
Happy Composting!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to recycle (my mother must've been one of the original recyclers...she used to reuse aluminum foil like crazy!!) And I think I was one of the first 1,000 contributors to WWF. Then when I had children, I probably drove their father to distraction with my efforts to make the world a little less formidible, poluted, for our kids by paying my trash collector to recycle. I've conserved water by putting bottles filled with water into the tank of all our toilets. I rode my bicycle when it wasn't fashionable, ate organic, and used biodegradable soaps. Guess I could've been called a granola head.
With all the media coverage on Global Warming, energy conservation and living green, you're probably thinking about joining in, or increasing your commitment to the “Green Movement”. One of the easiest and cost effective ways to do so is to use biological cleaning products. To clean your carpet, remove laundry stains, deodorize your bathrooms or trash receptacles – check out BiOWish ™ – Cleaner/Deodorizer for complete odor removal and cleaning. It is an advanced enzyme based technology that is 100% organic and safe to use. The way it works is not like a soap, cleaning the stain. Instead it's enzymes 'eat' the stain. I had a stain in my dining room carpet that just kept coming back! I tried several different chemically based cleaning products, but after a few weeks, the stain would reappear. But with one treatment with BiOWish ™ – Cleaner/Deodorizer it’s been gone, really gone, for over a month with no sign of a come back. And then on Christmas day, my daughter's pup cut her paw on some lawn edging and tracked the blood inside the house and onto the carpet. I could tell that my sister-in-law didn't think the stain would ever come out. I got out a spray bottle and mixed up a batch of BiOWish ™-Cleaner/Deodorizer. My daughter works for a carpet cleaning company and I don't think even she thought the blood stains would come out. But when I sprayed the stain I heard her say "Wow!" and I knew she'd be hooked! As she said, the blood stain "just disappeared". My husband wishes we'd had a video camera to film it...I'm tempted to reenact it. Maybe the blood bank will let me have a little blood to do a demonstration with? I'll let you know.
To clean your home, office, or remove laundry stains naturally and organically, try BiOWish ™ – direct from http://www.bestcomposters.com/page/398177366
With all the media coverage on Global Warming, energy conservation and living green, you're probably thinking about joining in, or increasing your commitment to the “Green Movement”. One of the easiest and cost effective ways to do so is to use biological cleaning products. To clean your carpet, remove laundry stains, deodorize your bathrooms or trash receptacles – check out BiOWish ™ – Cleaner/Deodorizer for complete odor removal and cleaning. It is an advanced enzyme based technology that is 100% organic and safe to use. The way it works is not like a soap, cleaning the stain. Instead it's enzymes 'eat' the stain. I had a stain in my dining room carpet that just kept coming back! I tried several different chemically based cleaning products, but after a few weeks, the stain would reappear. But with one treatment with BiOWish ™ – Cleaner/Deodorizer it’s been gone, really gone, for over a month with no sign of a come back. And then on Christmas day, my daughter's pup cut her paw on some lawn edging and tracked the blood inside the house and onto the carpet. I could tell that my sister-in-law didn't think the stain would ever come out. I got out a spray bottle and mixed up a batch of BiOWish ™-Cleaner/Deodorizer. My daughter works for a carpet cleaning company and I don't think even she thought the blood stains would come out. But when I sprayed the stain I heard her say "Wow!" and I knew she'd be hooked! As she said, the blood stain "just disappeared". My husband wishes we'd had a video camera to film it...I'm tempted to reenact it. Maybe the blood bank will let me have a little blood to do a demonstration with? I'll let you know.
To clean your home, office, or remove laundry stains naturally and organically, try BiOWish ™ – direct from http://www.bestcomposters.com/page/398177366
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