Daily Notes- March 4th

                                               

Grace asked in the comments section yesterday (and I didn't see it until she emailed me) to give more help with the Milk Jug as a Seed Greenhouse Idea. Before I get into it- Grace I use tape to hold the top half to the bottom half.  A few pieces.  Some easy to stick and re-stick tape.  Because you are going to want to open and close while checking on the seeds.  The jugs in this picture have not been cut open yet and have no soil.  They do have holes drilled into the sides and bottom. No caps. Leave tops open.

The milk jugs act as a little greenhouse for the seeds.  And none of the waiting and germination needs to happen in the house, with lights etc- it all happens outdoors.  In my case, here in Maine, the milk jugs get rained on and covered with snow.  Doesn't matter.  The bottle heats up and cools off. A process very much like Mother Nature's.


                                             

Here's my jug planted with parsley seeds and not closed all the way- scotch tape holding it closed.  NO CAP.  Soil.  I think I could have had more soil in the jug. Quart sized jugs or gallon sized for larger needs.  Only one kind of seed in any one jug.  You can see- right under the paper label- one small round hole the drill made. You can't see all the other ones and the holes in the bottom for drainage.

Flower seeds (perennial and annuals) could have been started in January to February.  Cold crop vegetables this month.  Herbs, lettuce, parsley, oregano, cabbage, thyme, and some flowers like hollyhocks, catmint, marigolds.

The jug here has holes drilled into the sides and bottom for air circulation and drainage.  The soil is seed starting soil mix or a container soil.  NOT regular garden soils.  Too heavy for seed roots.  And the top half of the jug is cut with scissors leaving a hinge at the back by the handle.  So the top stays attached to the jug.

The soil needs to be evenly moist- even a bit over watered at first.  Then you never water it again while the lid in over the top. The Sun will heat the jug up and cause condensation which will run back down into the soil.  It's okay if it gets rained on- or if it snows.  You will want to secure the jugs if it's very windy where you are gardening.  I have dug out a shallow hole in the snow and set each jug in their own little hole.  Not deep- just to keep them for tipping over.

The lid can be tilted back to make it easy to fill with soil and to plant your seeds then put back in closed position and fastened with tape.  Read your seed packet.  Some seeds need to be covered (do not want light exposure) and others ask to be sprinkled on the surface of the soil.

Nothing much has happened in the jug with the parsley seeds but the packet said they were slow seeds to germinate.  The packet said I should soak the seeds before planting them and then cover with additional soil as they do not germinate in the light. They want darkness. Other seed packets might tell you the seeds you have chosen do like to germinate in the light so seeds would be sprinkled on the soil's surface.  Read the packages.

If there is interest in the procedures- I will try for better pictures here.  Just let me know in the comments.  But I wanted Grace to get her answer right away.  So, the pictures aren't the best.