Plantout Preparation, 4/5 April 2008

[AlabamaJack]

I hauled all my soil for my containers today...about 6 yards...

Thought I would post some pics of the recycle/compost place where I get my garden soil....

this is driving into the area...

this is the piles of different soils/compost and a shot of the machine in action that makes the Premium Garden soil I am using (60 compost/40 cushion sand)

shots of my back yard with my containers and extra soil I moved today....I need about 50 more containers...dang, I thought I had enough...the ones I use come in stacks of 47. The containers with soil in them are 4 stacks...hope my nursery man has another stack....

Looks like we are in for a round of bad weather tonight...tornado warnings and threat of large damaging hail, high winds and severe thunderstorms....this is ahead of a cold front moving thru...temperature in the morning supposed to be 46F (8C)...

Tomorrow and Saturday (4/5 April) is the big plant out dates...I will try and get more containers in the morning and wait until it warms a bit before I get outside and start transplanting all my seedlings...

I have worked my little butt off today....time for a Mackeson...

 

[wordwiz]

AJ,

Wouldn't it be a lot cheaper to buy or rent a tiller?

And what are you going to do with all that dirt next year? Pull out the roots and reuse it? Unless you are meticulus, you're going to spill a lot of dirt on the yard.

Yards were made to be used - for planting things in them. I like veggies more than grass!

Mike

 

[Pam]

I want both lawn and gardens. I have dogs, they need room to run, and I like stretching out in the grass myself.

 

[AlabamaJack]

AJ,

Wouldn't it be a lot cheaper to buy or rent a tiller?

And what are you going to do with all that dirt next year? Pull out the roots and reuse it? Unless you are meticulus, you're going to spill a lot of dirt on the yard.

Yards were made to be used - for planting things in them. I like veggies more than grass!

Mike

Mike, it probably would be cheaper to rent or buy a tiller but... there is only about 4 inches of top soil on my lot that they brought in for the sod....under that, is rock and caliche clay...I would have to do something to get the rock out...and then build my soil...that is primarily why I have gone to above ground beds...next year is still in the works...there may be a gridwork of raised beds next year...

I want both lawn and gardens. I have dogs, they need room to run, and I like stretching out in the grass myself.

Roscoe is another reason for not taking up the whole yard...he does have a place to run...

 

[Pepper Ridge Farm]

You life will be so much easier so very soon. All the dirt in the pots looks great, but I'm worried about your pots not being level. You will lose a lot of dirt when it rains. I'm sure you've already thought about it. Good luck with the plant out and seeing all those teenagers out of the house.

 

[GrumpyBear]

mom has trained me to obsess over the lawn. at first i was one of those "i don't care what grows, as long as it's green" types but mum was all about the lawn and me having a lot more free time than her meant i was always 'volunteered' to water, weed, and feed the lawn. and now i love my lawn. actually the first thing i thought when i saw the photos of all your containers lined up was "but..but that's gonna kill the grass...".

And what are you going to do with all that dirt next year? Pull out the roots and reuse it? Unless you are meticulus, you're going to spill a lot of dirt on the yard.

one of the many uses of poly tarps. move a bunch of containers onto the tarp, pull out old plants then plant in new plants, collect spillage as needed. it's just a little extra back-breaking labour but, from what i've seen, AJ doesn't seem to mind that sort of thing...

 

[okie joe]

Looking good to the weather AJ I'm getting that storm tonight. I watched the weather fore casts and next week its going to be in the 70 and just above 50 at night so I am looking at next weekend to do the teen dance and let them cut a groove in the pot and dance till the moon comes up Looks like you needed more than a cold one after all them 5 gal containers filled lol good luck

 

[elequin]

Damn, man. You're dedicated!

I can't wait to see your plants in the throes of mid-summer! It's going to be crazy..

Are you still following the Almanac and going all-outside this weekend?

 

[Chiliac]

Damn, I envy all you guys with your backyards, gardens.... i.e. lots of room for plants (and a dog!)....!

 

[AlabamaJack]

You life will be so much easier so very soon...
but I'm worried about your pots not being level. You will lose a lot of dirt when it rains. I'm sure you've already thought about it. Good luck with the plant out and seeing all those teenagers out of the house.

Yup...easier, but then again it will take me several hours to water the containers and I won't set up a drip irrigation system until next year...

I am planning on using old 6 foot tall wooden privacy fence cut into two foot widths that are level to sit the containers on...

one of the many uses of poly tarps. move a bunch of containers onto the tarp, pull out old plants then plant in new plants, collect spillage as needed. it's just a little extra back-breaking labour but, from what i've seen, AJ doesn't seem to mind that sort of thing...

I did the back breaking labour thing until I got smart one day and got an education and now have a desk job...but I still don't mind the labor part...it is refreshing and I actually get a rush after I finish and sit down...

Looking good to the weather AJ I'm getting that storm tonight. I watched the weather fore casts and next week its going to be in the 70 and just above 50 at night so I am looking at next weekend...

If the storm has arrived, it has skirted us (as usual)...have gotten just a small amount of rain and some wind...but the temperature has dropped from 72F (22C) at 2 am to 58F (15C) now and still dropping...I don't remember where Ok you are but some places up there are getting hammered...

Damn, man. You're dedicated!

Are you still following the Almanac and going all-outside this weekend?

Heck yeah, this is a hobby...

going to try and keep true to the almanac...am kinda concerned since the 46F (8C) that was forecast for this morning has moved to tomorrow morning...I can always just transplant in my garage and leave the plants in there until tomorrow when it warms up....

Damn, I envy all you guys with your backyards, gardens.... i.e. lots of room for plants (and a dog!)....!

And sometimes in mid August with the temperature not getting below 90F (32C) at night and I have to do yardwork, I envy those with no yards...
----

I am as stiff as a board this morning...all my old joints ache...time for some medicine...

 

[Chiliac]

And sometimes in mid August with the temperature not getting below 90F (32C) at night and I have to do yardwork, I envy those with no yards...

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence I guess!

 

[AlabamaJack]

I just checked the radar and the storm just skipped us...this happens a lot...we live on the west side of fort worth pretty close to the highest point in Tarrant County....the Brazos river basin is west of us and a valley cuts to our north making a upside down "V" shape...when the storms move in from the west or northwest, they 90% of the time split and follow those valleys...I have watched this for the past 20 years and is the reason we moved to this location....

Looks like we will have sunny cool weather today so I may just go ahead and start transplanting...any guesses how many I will get transplanted today? I can transplant until about 2PM and will start about 8AM....so 6 hours....I am figuring 60-70...

Okie, did you get any bad weather?

 

[okie joe]

AJ we got luck it rained like a cow peeing on a flat rock. Alot of wind the big storm missed me by 10 miles so we got lucky again. Its 44 right now with the wind chil in the 30s rrrg I am still looking at next weekend so cross your fingers I like to see the night temps up to 60s would be better I am still going to put my mators out today and hope they make. Got to run catch ya later

 

[AlabamaJack]

Later Okie...put them "maters" out, they will like it...

just checked the rain gauge...got 0.3"...little over 1cm...which is exactly what I wanted...that wet the soil in those containers just right and its RAIN water...yipeeeeeeee

 

[willard3]

Your return on labor would have been higher if you made an hydroponic garden....material costs would have been similar.

 

[DrHavanger]

Your return on labor would have been higher if you made an hydroponic garden....material costs would have been similar.

I've heard that hydro just doesn't have the flavor or taste that soil growing does, your thoughts?

 

[AlabamaJack]

probably so Pablo, but like the MH or HPS lighting, I have started down a road and am too far to start again...that is unless the pepper seedling sale thingy I have in the back of my mind comes true....16 months and 8 days to retirement...but who's counting...

 

[LUCKYDOG]

Good luck in planting out.... Here in the Northeast its more or less a rule not to plant out before Mothers Day to avoid late spring frost.Last year was the worst it didnt warm up around here till mid June-July

 

[Pam]

I just checked the long range weather forecast, and we're looking to be past the late freeze danger zone, so I'm moving the rest of the peppers out to a cold frame for hardening off. I had already moved some Corno Di Toro plants out to the hoop house because they were getting too tall for the shelves.

 

[AlabamaJack]

I do believe spring is here for us "southerners"

I may not get 30 planted today much less 60-70...I am fiddle fartin' around and piddlin'...but then again, I worked yesterday and today is a piddle day..got some people coming by today to get some pepper and tomato sets....