permaculture

[mIEKAL aND <dtv@mwt.net>]

I row-plant species that I can choose when to plant, but a big part  
of what I grow is given away to young gardeners & folks wanting to  
add to their plantings, & there is nothing more portable & giveable  
all summer long than a potted plant.

Another issue for me is that I grow species that are marginally hardy  
in this zone (4b) &  putting away everything the first winter in an  
unheated basement reduces winterkill markedly.  For instance, I lost  
all the seedling paw paws that I planted out in a row, whereas the  
ones that got potted & stored in the basement did really well.  &  
anything row-planted here in the land of ten thousand rabbits needs  
to be caged as well.

~mIEKAL


On Jul 18, 2007, at 12:09 AM, Paul Cereghino wrote:

> Nope they tend to degrade over time and dry out too fast... I'd say  
> only
> for annuals.  I have started doing more clean cultivation in rows and
> beds for my cuttings rather than containers.. Watering is much easier,
> by mid summer I switch from hoe to mulch, then transplant in fall.   
> May
> be 6 of one half-dozen the other, but I have been much happier with  
> the
> health of my cuttings and not had to worry about fussy pots.  I have
> been sprouting perennials in flats, then pricking to the same row crop
> arrangement... we'll see how it goes.
> Paul Cereghino
>
> mIEKAL aND wrote:
>
> > Most of the perennials that I grow out from seed, spend 2 years in
> > containers, getting planted the 2nd autumn, & they are in 1/2 gallon
> > to 2 gallon containers.  Not sure soil blocks would work with that
> > type application.  I've used soil blocks for starting garden annuals,
> > but that's a small part of what I do here.
> >
> > ~mIEKAL
> >
> >
> > On Jul 17, 2007, at 11:28 AM, Lawrence F. London, Jr. wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > > mIEKAL aND wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > I have yet to buy any potting trays in the 20 years I've been
> > > > growing, but I get trays & pots free from landscapers, roadside
> > > > pickup & what people bring me.   If you put them away for the  
> > > > winter
> > > > I've managed to reuse some of them for 10-12 seasons...
> > > Have you tried soil blocks?