Ducks4you for 2022

[heirloomgal]

Window shopping for spray paint that will glow in the dark (for the top of the posts) OR reflect light.
Glow in the Dark paints for exterior metal are Brutally expensive, for the ones that work.
I am thinking of this, instead, bc it reFLECTS light:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Krylon-Silver-Glitter-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-32-fl-oz/1002601780

I passed on the Gold and the Iridescent. I would like that look you get when your car headlights hit one of those reflective signs/driveway posts, and you can see them in the dark with a flashlight.
What is fascinating about the ones that truly glow in the dark, is that the paint itself soaks up light and then releases the light at night, but doesn't need batteries like my "fairy lights."

That is pretty neat.

 

[heirloomgal]

Just read this article--referenced it in Pea Growing, 2022--and it is a thorough explanation of Fall Planting.
I haven't started this so far, but I fully intend to be on top of it this year. I have known for several years that Brussels Sprouts don't taste good as a Spring Crop, and it is recommended as a Fall Crop. I didn't know that last Fall is Would have been warm enough for me to have started spinach from seed in September. I thought that I had lost my window, but the weather just wouldn't cool off, so I could have had a harvest. Here is the article:

When to Plant Crops In Fall (Autumn Planting Guide)

Wondering when is the best time to plant crops in the fall? Find ideal planting times for your favorite crops for an autumn garden at Gardener’s Path.

gardenerspath.com

You have to get a notebook and do some figuring and Planning. You will need to know:
1) Last average frost date for YOUR property. Early or late won't matter bc cool weather crops are tolerant
2) How many weeks ahead you need to start your fall crops
3) Direct seed or indoor starting
4) IF indoor starting, soil temperature is critical bc SOME cool weather crops won't sprout weel if the soil is too warm
I hope to master this in 2022 bc I Really want to grow/harvest and freeze Brussels Sprouts
This winter I froze onions and the last of sweet pepper harvest. They have worked well for cooking, albeit the sweet peppers tend to dissolve in the food, taste remains but you cannot see them, like in chili!
I have bought frozen Brussels Sprouts before. As long as I blanch them, they should keep.

I had a friend who left her brussel sprout plants in the garden over the winter, right in the snow. She said they kept perfectly that way. They even had them for Christmas dinner, when her family begged for it to stop.

 

[Zeedman]

Window shopping for spray paint that will glow in the dark (for the top of the posts) OR reflect light.
Glow in the Dark paints for exterior metal are Brutally expensive, for the ones that work.
I am thinking of this, instead, bc it reFLECTS light:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Krylon-Silver-Glitter-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-32-fl-oz/1002601780

I passed on the Gold and the Iridescent. I would like that look you get when your car headlights hit one of those reflective signs/driveway posts, and you can see them in the dark with a flashlight.
What is fascinating about the ones that truly glow in the dark, is that the paint itself soaks up light and then releases the light at night, but doesn't need batteries like my "fairy lights."

Maybe reflective tape? Sealed in place with clear lacquer?

 

[ducks4you]

That's a good thought!

 

[ducks4you]

Back, aGAIN, hopefully Last day of house sitting. I wanted to talk about plant labeling. I have learned that Sharpies are not the best to use for labels. I never knew that they could fade outside. I think the sun gets to them, And nobody has invented sunscreen for a Sharpie.
Some gardeners swear that cutting up milk jugs into strips and labeling those with a common pencil works the best.
I happen to admire small and painted wooden stakes and wooden signs the best.
One year I happened to have some red spray paint and I coated purchased plant labels/stakes with the red, to label the hot peppers, as opposed to sweet ones.
As it turns out, I now have NOT problem telling them apart, so I don't need to do this anymore.
I think some kind of color coding could work in my garden.
Thoughts?

 

[ducks4you]

Home yesterday. Put away 25 pounds of flour, and here's how I did it. I cleaned up two sun tea jars (which I will NEVER use again,) a 2 gallon pickle jar, a cleaned out plastic "bar party mix" canister, and filled a 1/2 gallon and three Ball quarts jars. The 1/4 cup left went into my lazy susan flour container.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Gosh! I saw all sorts of sun tea plastic jars at the Vancouver WA Goodwill today. Too back I didn't know then. Thanks for the idea.

 

[heirloomgal]

Back, aGAIN, hopefully Last day of house sitting. I wanted to talk about plant labeling. I have learned that Sharpies are not the best to use for labels. I never knew that they could fade outside. I think the sun gets to them, And nobody has invented sunscreen for a Sharpie.
Some gardeners swear that cutting up milk jugs into strips and labeling those with a common pencil works the best.
I happen to admire small and painted wooden stakes and wooden signs the best.
One year I happened to have some red spray paint and I coated purchased plant labels/stakes with the red, to label the hot peppers, as opposed to sweet ones.
As it turns out, I now have NOT problem telling them apart, so I don't need to do this anymore.
I think some kind of color coding could work in my garden.
Thoughts?

In my experience, not all sharpie type markers are created equal. The good ones will last all summer, but the poorer quality ones will dim considerably or even disappear with rain and sun on them after awhile. And I usually write up over 200 label markers a summer so keeping my labels intact is really important to me, especially as a seed saver with hundreds of varieties to keep separated. I feel like I've tried a lot of different labelling strategies, for economy, re-usablility, time considerations (quickest way to make one) and for resistance to the elements.

Wood - the most degrading of them all and prone to rot if not treated/painted. If treated though, the chemicals/paints that preserve wood are generally not good to have around food, nor water. (Popsicle sticks are the worst for pot ID's - they can get mouldy pretty fast and kill the plant.) I also think organisms in the soil eat at the wood along with the damage water does. The best luck I ever had with wood was drilling holes into large tongue depressor size popsicle sticks and using a tie wrap to attach it to a small post next to the plant or mesh fence behind - way up off the ground. I used sharpie on the wood, and on the day those tags were removed they were in just as perfect condition as the day I tied them on. But it isn't re-usable and is VERY time consuming to do. I also broke $everal using the drill at too slow a speed while figuring out the technique. But I must say, it was the prettiest and most lasting setup for labels I've had yet. If you want to use wood labels I suggest something that will keep them off the ground. I have a ton of hollow metal 3 foot poles that once were part of a small greenhouse, I drive those in next to plants and put the label on it, instead of in the ground. You can see the label MUCH better that way as the plant grows (tomatoes always eclipse their ground labels it seems) and they don't get lost or trampled either like those teeny ground labels often are.

I think Bluejay has a great idea though with his stake numbering system - if you use a numbering system on stakes (instead of actual plant names) that corresponds to a notebook then you can use those labels forever on whatever you want. As far as re-use as a priority that is a great option. But I'm yet to come up with a plant stake method that covers all the basis.

 

[flowerbug]

to help me out the most what i try to do to remember what i've planted and where is to write down for each garden the rows i plant and how many seeds i put in. then i also try to make sure that i do not plant too many things that are alike so i don't have a hard time keeping track of things after i've picked them. one thing i do not like about using just numbers is that if the sheet of numbers to plant varieties gets lost then i might not be able to figure it out again easily in case something gets mixed up or moved. it is always better for me when harvesting to write down the garden number AND variety name and put that slip of paper with the harvested pods. that way even if i lose the garden map or don't have it handy i can still get things done without having to spend time trying to find the map.

 

[meadow]

Back, aGAIN, hopefully Last day of house sitting. I wanted to talk about plant labeling. I have learned that Sharpies are not the best to use for labels. I never knew that they could fade outside. I think the sun gets to them, And nobody has invented sunscreen for a Sharpie.
Some gardeners swear that cutting up milk jugs into strips and labeling those with a common pencil works the best.
I happen to admire small and painted wooden stakes and wooden signs the best.
One year I happened to have some red spray paint and I coated purchased plant labels/stakes with the red, to label the hot peppers, as opposed to sweet ones.
As it turns out, I now have NOT problem telling them apart, so I don't need to do this anymore.
I think some kind of color coding could work in my garden.
Thoughts?

The painted wooden stakes sound nice! I've also heard that a plain #2 pencil or carpenter's pencil works well, along with recommendations for grease pencils (aka China marker).

This year I'm trying grease pencil on Tyvek labels for particular* labeling. The labels do come in different colors, and I thought to use color-coding in some manner but haven't figured that out yet.

I may try grease pencil on reclaimed plastic (yogurt container lids) for general labeling in the garden, although mostly I rely on a garden map. I'm finding the map tedious though when I'm in the garden admiring the young pea plants and trying to figure out which one I'm looking at.

*I have some seed saving projects that involve identification of each plant and what it produces. The Tyvek tags are being numbered so that they can be used year after year.