Midwestern Garden

As you can see I have had good germination. The chard, scallions, pimiento peppers, tomatoes, and egg plant have done the best. I am running the air temp close to 80 which is causing, so far a failure with the leeks and Cole family plants. The bed soil temps have run much warmer than I expected. Next year I think I will start about February 15th. That would allow me to run the bed at cooler temps closer to 70. Then later on I could bump things up to 80, or have a separate bed for the night shade heat loving plants. The outdoor soil temperature is 31 and next week we should get a night of 18 . I am still covering it at night with a blanket and it looks like the night temp inside drops to about 65. So far purchased tomato seeds have not sprouted, but the ones I have saved have done great.

Tweaking my Hot Bed

2013-03-11T21:20:00.000-05:00

I had to make a few adjustments today. We had a lot of rain over the week end, and the weight of the accumulated rain pulled some of the plastic loose, so I cut some boards to better support the insulated blanket It is very cloudy with highs of about 35 degrees until Thursday. With the bed covered with the blanket the soil temperature at soil surface was 60 degrees, a little cool for tomatoes and peppers. Since I am not getting any solar support I placed a small space heater inside, which raised the temperature about 10 degrees.

2013 HOTBED PLANTED

2013-03-09T15:14:00.000-06:00

I battled wind, rain ,cold, and sleet to get my seeds planted today. It has been 12 days since I put in the manure, packed it down, watered it and put compost on top. The soil temperature has been 110 degrees until it finally cooled down to about 80 degrees today. It was 38 degrees air temperature at the time of planting. It is supposed to warm up this week, but until then I have placed an insulated blanket over the top. I also have a thermometer laying on top of the soil so I will know what the temperature is at ground level. I planted about 50 linear feet of seed.

I would have liked to have gotten some seeds in a week ago, but it was too hot. It might be a little early for the tomatoes and peppers, but I put them in as well.

Hotbed on the 5th day.

2013-03-02T13:14:00.003-06:00

It has been cloudy and even though it was only 20 degrees this morning, the soil temperature is about 90 degrees. When I opened one of the sash to take the picture steam just rolled out.

Hot bed prepared and ready to go. Ready to plant seeds.

2013-02-26T13:27:00.000-06:00

Here you can see I removed the manure I had been storing in my pit. Then I began to fill , water and tramp it down as I went. The hot bed is 3 feet by 12 feet. It took three pick up loads or three cubic feet of manure. Then I took compost and screened it through hardware cloth. It took about half a yard to fill it with 4-5 inches of compost to start the seeds in. I raked it smooth and put the covers on top. What I have read is that in 7-8 days the weed seeds will have sprouted. The bed will have heated up and cooled down to a temperature suitable for seed germination. After the weed seeds sprout, they can be killed and the garden seeds planted. So some time next week I should be able to start seeds. Today it is snowing very hard and we might get 8 inches, so I finished just in time.

Another Load of Horse manure

2013-02-16T12:32:00.001-06:00

I went and got a second load of manure today. It is now covered and protected against the elements. I don't really need it for about another ten days, but now I am about ready. When the time comes to water it and pack it down I will probably need about one more load. It is just piled loosely, with the cover it won't be frozen when i need it no matter how cold it gets in the mean time. It is so much easier to do this work when there is no snow, so this week was a good opportunity. Now I have to hook up my electricity. You can see the romex I ran from inside the house. Also I am going to hook up a vent fan and install a vent for fresh air to enter.

Horse Manure and Straw for the Seed Starting Hot Bed.

2013-02-14T20:35:00.000-06:00

I went and got a load of manure and straw from some race horses yesterday. It will take at least one more load. I am stockpiling it, so I have it ready to "charge" the bed on February 26th. I will have to dig it out of the pit, water it and tamp it down as I go.

Hotbed/Hothouse progress

2013-01-26T15:15:00.001-06:00

We have an ice storm coming and I wanted to build the hotbed structure before the lumber got covered with ice and snow. Right now the ground is dry here but it was about 25 degrees outside. The official soil temperature is 26 degrees, and next week it is supposed to be pretty cold. I covered both sides of the windows with plastic to have an insulation layer. I still want to run electricity to it, and have a vent fan to keep it from overheating, and a little electric heater for back up heat. I have an insulated blanket to cover it on real cold days or nights. The insulated blanket is what concrete workers use. About February 26th is when I want to fill it with manure and soil.

When to plant and why hoop houses might not work well in the winter.

2013-01-26T07:22:00.001-06:00

Spring has sprung or is about to spring in some parts of the U.S. and some are wondering about what is the best date to plant plants. Often time seed packets have suggested months and dates or certain vague timing related to frost averages. The true determining factor is soil temperature. All plants have temperature parameters in which they thrive. 50 degrees F. is a basic benchmark for plant growth. Below 50 degrees and above 32 degrees many plants can survive but will make very little active growth. To bring a little science into planting equations and less guess work, one needs to buy an inexpensive soil thermometer. You might have a meat thermometer with a probe in the kitchen already. Begin to monitor what is happening with your soil. As they begin to approach 50 your getting close. On the internet you can observe ten day weather forecasts. Begin to combine the highs and lows. When the soil temp hits 50 and the ten day forecast averages 50, put your plants in the ground. If the ten day forecast is "good" except it might show one night with a hard frost, watch out. Some plant varieties require 55 and some 60 degrees before they should be planted. Lima beans need 65 degrees to germinate. Where I live at this moment soil temperature is 26 degrees. Do a little research regarding the various varieties. This concept affects hoop houses as well. Even with auxiliary heat, surrounding soil temperatures outside can be 20-30 degrees. This cold soil mass surrounding the hoop house will migrate, perhaps three feet into the hoop house rendering the perimeter area unproductive. It probably is recommendable to dig a 2 to 3 foot trench on all 4 sides and put in vertically panels of insulation foam 2-3 inches thick around semi permanent structures to eliminate migration.

I bought the lumber for the hothouse today.

2013-01-25T17:03:00.001-06:00

So far with the old doors I bought and the lumber I have $80.00 invested in the project.

My 2013 seed starting hotbed.

2013-01-23T12:49:00.000-06:00

I don't like starting seeds indoors, it takes up to much space, all the lighting etc., problems with damping off, and memory's of children filling cribs with plants and dirt during nap time. So I am working on this years hotbed, in a different location and dimensions that last. I made mine 4 feet deep last year which is too deep to reach in safely. So this year it will be 36 inches deep. Also I bought some old screens today for $15 that I will cover with two layers of plastic. Last year I used glass windows. Some broke, and I thought they were dangerous. I only dug 2 feet deep last year, and I have gone 30 inches this year. The length is 12 feet. I plan on using a squirrel cage fan for ventilation, and perhaps a small auxiliary heater connected to a thermostat. I found on the "net" a rather simple design for the frame.