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Old 04-08-2014, 01:00 PM
 
Location: Somewhere out there
18,287 posts, read 23,116,551 times
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That is an awesome idea Lisa I may have to do that with my carrots.

Here's is a great blog with pictures of gardening & other stuff.

Mike and Lisa's World: Planting Pine Seedlings, Prepping The Gardens, And A Baby Donkey
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Old 04-09-2014, 02:53 AM
 
Location: North Carolina
1,764 posts, read 2,852,082 times
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Originally Posted by mjd07 View Post
I found these online today at my local hardware store. I think they would be perfect for me since they are on casters. I already have a bunch of individual pots from last year so I think between those and two of these I'll have enough for our sprouts.

Resin Raised beds

The kids and I so excited. We are going to get started after lunch!
Hi CD gardeners,

I have two of these now and they are set up and ready for our sprouts.

Can someone look at this and explain the purpose of the cover, please? The instructions say to punch holes in the top. I know the plant will grow toward the sunlight. Does the cover help them grow stronger in order to do that? Why is it there? <look of utter confusion>

Thanks!
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Old 04-09-2014, 10:29 AM
 
Location: Somewhere out there
18,287 posts, read 23,116,551 times
Reputation: 41178
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjd07 View Post
Hi CD gardeners,

I have two of these now and they are set up and ready for our sprouts.

Can someone look at this and explain the purpose of the cover, please? The instructions say to punch holes in the top. I know the plant will grow toward the sunlight. Does the cover help them grow stronger in order to do that? Why is it there? <look of utter confusion>

Thanks!
I am not familiar with this but my guess would be to help hold in moisture since it is a self watering container. Maybe somebody else that has used them an chime in too.
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Old 04-09-2014, 11:54 AM
 
Location: North Carolina
1,764 posts, read 2,852,082 times
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Originally Posted by Jaxson View Post
I am not familiar with this but my guess would be to help hold in moisture since it is a self watering container. Maybe somebody else that has used them an chime in too.
I was overthinking this. ;-) I bet you're right. There is a plastic tube on the inside edge and the drainage underneath is said to hold two gallons of water.

Thanks!
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Old 04-09-2014, 12:05 PM
 
Location: Somewhere out there
18,287 posts, read 23,116,551 times
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Originally Posted by mjd07 View Post
I was overthinking this. ;-) I bet you're right. There is a plastic tube on the inside edge and the drainage underneath is said to hold two gallons of water.

Thanks!
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Old 04-09-2014, 07:05 PM
 
Location: Interior AK
4,729 posts, read 9,904,385 times
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Originally Posted by younglisa7 View Post
I just saw this what a great idea for those deeper crops and it can easily be made:
The stacker boxes work great for deeper rooted crops like carrots, parsnips and taters. It really helps keep construction and soil costs down because you don't have to make all your beds 12+ inches deep just to grow and rotate your deep crops. If you don't want to build wooden boxes, cardboard boxes will work for a season or two, or cutting the bottom off a #10/gallon can or bucket also works well. Most 2-6 gallon buckets are a foot in diameter, only the depth changes, so you can easily adjust your soil depth with different volume buckets... and it's a great way to repurpose empty cans and cracked or damaged buckets. Plus harvesting from one of the stackers is soooo easy, just lift it off and then sift out the bounty when the soil collapses... no digging and no accidental bruising/cutting.

I even started doing some onions and garlic in bottomless stackers placed on a saucer/tray. I split some cracked (flimsy) nursery quarts down the side and then taped them back together to plant in. Harvesting those has never been simpler, just pop the tape apart, remove the "collar", let the soil dry out and you get virtually dirt-free bulbs. (I hate trying to get the dirt off the papery skins when you absolutely shouldn't ever get them wet!!)

Last edited by MissingAll4Seasons; 04-09-2014 at 07:19 PM..
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Old 04-09-2014, 07:16 PM
 
Location: Interior AK
4,729 posts, read 9,904,385 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mjd07 View Post
Hi CD gardeners,

I have two of these now and they are set up and ready for our sprouts.

Can someone look at this and explain the purpose of the cover, please? The instructions say to punch holes in the top. I know the plant will grow toward the sunlight. Does the cover help them grow stronger in order to do that? Why is it there? <look of utter confusion>

Thanks!

The cover does 4 things:
  1. Acts as a mulch to help retain moisture
  2. Acts as a mulch to discourage weeds
  3. Acts as a barrier to discourage pests
  4. Acts as a solar collector/reflector to help maintain proper soil temp (color is important -- black collects/retains for warming, white/silver reflects for cooling and underlighting to discourage beasities on the bottom of leaves, red promotes fruiting for tomatoes & peppers, green supposedly does the same for cukes, squashes and melons)
The reason that the cover doesn't come prepunched is so you can use it for different plant spacing. I normally just use black plastic with an X slit in it where I want to plant my seedlings. Since I made my own self-watering planter out of a plastic tote, I cut the center out of the lid so it's just the snap-on rim to secure the plastic underneath that way I can change plant spacing or the "mulch" color whenever I need to.
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Old 04-09-2014, 07:25 PM
 
Location: North Carolina
1,764 posts, read 2,852,082 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MissingAll4Seasons View Post
The cover does 4 things:
  1. Acts as a mulch to help retain moisture
  2. Acts as a mulch to discourage weeds
  3. Acts as a barrier to discourage pests
  4. Acts as a solar collector/reflector to help maintain proper soil temp (color is important -- black collects/retains for warming, white/silver reflects for cooling and underlighting to discourage beasities on the bottom of leaves, red promotes fruiting for tomatoes & peppers, green supposedly does the same for cukes, squashes and melons)
The reason that the cover doesn't come prepunched is so you can use it for different plant spacing. I normally just use black plastic with an X slit in it where I want to plant my seedlings. Since I made my own self-watering planter out of a plastic tote, I cut the center out of the lid so it's just the snap-on rim to secure the plastic underneath that way I can change plant spacing or the "mulch" color whenever I need to.
Ah, I understand the purpose better now. Thanks for explaining it to me. I guess I will just get a system going and try to stick that year after year so the same holes will suffice.

Thanks again!
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Old 04-09-2014, 08:09 PM
 
Location: Interior AK
4,729 posts, read 9,904,385 times
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Originally Posted by mjd07 View Post
Ah, I understand the purpose better now. Thanks for explaining it to me. I guess I will just get a system going and try to stick that year after year so the same holes will suffice.

Thanks again!
If you decide to change the plants and/or plant spacings from year to year, you can always cover up the old or unused holes with tape
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Old 04-09-2014, 09:16 PM
 
Location: North Carolina
1,764 posts, read 2,852,082 times
Reputation: 1900
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissingAll4Seasons View Post
If you decide to change the plants and/or plant spacings from year to year, you can always cover up the old or unused holes with tape
Okay. I'll probably need to cross that bridge later. I think I might be getting to anxious about the whole thing and just need to do it instead of stressing about it.

Thanks again for your advice.
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