Saturday was spent cleaning up beds 2, 3 and 4. Raking out leaves and pine needles and turning the soil.
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| Bed 2 before |
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| Beds 3 and 4 before |
We have only had a few days of rain this Winter so I was expecting the beds to be really dry. I was happy to see that only the top few inches were dry. Weatherman says we are in for a day of rain on Tuesday. I have been holding off watering in hopes of getting some rain soon.
Today was spent trying my hand at making soil blocks and can I just say why didn't I do this sooner?
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| Soil blocking station |
Watching the video before hand really helped to get down the technique.
Wallah... first block of 20. I think a tray with a small grid would work better for the micro 20's but this will do just fine.
Tray 1 with spinach, carrots and lettuce.
To keep track of what I planted and where I made a soil block tracking grid.
Trays were placed on heat mats. Since these first two trays are cool weather crops as soon as they sprout I will remove them from the heat mats and give them a few days in the greenhouse and then plant out into the garden.
It must have been nice to work in the garden this weekend. So glad you liked making soil blocks. A layer of an old screen will provide the micro soil blocks a little more support.
ReplyDeleteSee this is why I blog. I get great ideas from you all! Thank you Muse!
ReplyDeleteYou've been a very busy girl! Don't you just love the soil blocks? I was just going to tell you to put a screen under them, but Rachel beat me to it. I don't have the trays that allow for drainage, and I only have a home made 2" single block maker, but I still think it's fun to play in the mud and come up with something so very useful. It's still six weeks away for my fun to begin, other than the onions and parsley that are already done. Water won't even come on here until mid-April. It's 30 degrees outside right now...brrrr!
ReplyDeleteGranny - Yes I do. I hope they work well for me. I can't wait to give 2 inch blocks a try this week. I'm going to have to find me some screen... I don't think I have any laying around.
ReplyDeleteHi Liisa,
ReplyDeleteYour soil blocking station is really cute! And I like your greenhouse setup with all your equipment, it is so neat. Did you mix your own soil mix or purchase it?
Oh one more question, What kind of electrical cord are you using to plug in all your light and heat mats? I'm a little concerned about plugging a little electrical "station" to mine so I can have more than one item plugged in.
Hi Daisy, Good to hear from you!
ReplyDeleteNo I did not mix my own soil this time. I bought two different kinds from PottingBlocks.com. One for the micro 20 and another one for the 2 inch blocks. I will be posting photos of the 2 inch blocks and you can see the difference in the two soils. For Soil blocking mix here is a link to the recipes if you want to make your own. http://www.pottingblocks.com/blocking_mix_recipes.html
I just popped over to your blog and I love your greenhouse! If I ever get a bigger yard I would build the same one. As far as getting power into mine I just run a heavy duty extension cord from my outside wall socket into the greenhouse and plug in a power strip. I attach the power strip on to the bottom of the top shelf with zip ties and then place a thin board on the top shelf to keep the condensation from dripping on to it. The heat mats are low voltage so they are not pulling much and the light are just cheap shop lights. I also plug in a fan and have had no issues at all. I'll post photos for you.