Gardening

[MikePal]

Anyone use pressure treated lumber for raised beds - my one son replaced a large wooden patio deck that was built from pressure treated lumber - I took the lumber and stacked it in my yard - thought of using it for raised beds in the garden but found out it has arsenic in it - now I am wondering if I should forget about using it in the garden - it is a shame because there is a lot of lumber -

Not really an issue Joe unless your cutting it , then wear a mask...or you G'kids like to chew on it.

They stopped using the green stuff here year backs...the new brown Sienna stuff is safe.

[Bo D]

IMG_0803.jpgJust a quick update since obtaining a couple of grow lights as per the advice given here when asked for it back a month or so ago. The plants, particularly the tomato plants are a lot hardier. The stems are thicker and no where near as spindly as they were in the past. I've replanted most of the beefsteak tomatoes into larger pots burying them deeper hoping they'll get a better root system. A couple of them need redoing to get them even deeper in larger pots. With another two to three weeks before outdoor planting to go I may cut down on the amount of time I have the grow lights turned on.

I even went to the extent of constructing raised beds and am just waiting for the weather before ordering the triple mix to fill them. Thanks for all the help, much appreciated..

[MikePal]

We used to do the seed starter thing; special lights, water trays, pots, soil, vermiculite, seed pkg, ect ect ..

Then a local garden centre started to sell 6 pkgs of started veggies for about $3..hardly worth the effort to grow them at that cost. They are the same thing as a home grown one..without the fuss.

[Bo D]

True Mike but it not only passes the time but it's something you did yourself and not someone else. From preparing the soil mixture to sowing the seed and watching it progress after it germinates... No different than starting and training a dog and watching it progress from being a pup to a finished hound or finished retriever... I guess it's up to the individual and whatever turns their crank. I can see with you living on a farm there's more to do to keep you busy... It's just something I enjoy doing....

[greatwhite]

Like Mike I use to do the seed starter thing but I did it a few times to just say I did it. Cost me much less time to go buy some plants .

[MikePal]

True Mike but it not only passes the time but it's something you did yourself and not someone else.

You're absolutely right...and I did it for years when we first started the farm. Starting tables full of seedlings of every shape and size. But the effort of doing it indoors was basically a pain in the butt, all for a few 'feel good' rewards. Sort of like making your own soap or candles. Sure..but after awhile the 'back to your roots' feeling goes away and far easier (cheaper?) to support the nursery.

We continued our gardens with the $3 'six pgk' plants for years. Grew all our own veggies, hours a week spent working and weeding the garden. Watering it with our precious well water through the summer droughts and spending hours in the hot kitchen boiling stuff on the stove to bottle up everything.

It WAS great fun, but as the back got older and I got lazier, I found people willing to sell me their surplus. People trying to make a go of a Hobby farm will sell their priced harvest at a cost comparable to doing it yourself and it saves you the costly trip to the Pharmacy to stock up on A535 and Tylenol.

Basically human evolution; as we grow older we grow wiser

[greatwhite]

Are small Mom and Pop green houses even open? I know the one down the road from Me Closed and was trying to sell the place.

[Bo D]

Mike I may be a little older than you and in the long run you are right and maybe my mind isn't what it use to be...But I'm hoping the raised beds will have a little mercy on my back with less weeding. I've never been one to walk away from work and if I can get a bit of enjoyment out of it right now I'm gung ho on it and only time will tell.

Besides if you're ever up this way and I have some produce left over you'll be more than welcome to it...

[JoePa]

What I did last year was plant a couple tomato plants in old tires I had laying around - they took off and had ripe tomatoes by July 4 - I put one tire down and planted the tomatoes plants then when they got bigger I put another tire on top of the first one - if you plant them early it is easy to cover if frost is expected - the black tires kept the plants nice and warm

[MikePal]

Are small Mom and Pop green houses even open? I know the one down the road from Me Closed and was trying to sell the place.

The two I frequent are opening the 1st weekend in May...one you can pre-order and curbside pick up....the other he's allowed to let 2 into the greenhouses at a time.