Late last spring I did an experiment with some tomato seeds and my own version of a greenhouse. It was a successful experiment, so I decided to try it earlier this year with tomato seeds and some of the nasturtium seeds I received from Renee's Garden as part of the Seed Grow Project.
First I have to make my "greenhouses". I take water bottles and cut the spout end of with a hacksaw or scissors (depending on thickness of plastic). I then take either a nail or a drill and put holes in the bottom of the bottle that will allow air and water in. Ta Da, you have a miniature greenhouse.
Then it's time to pick a sunny location and work the soil, plant the seeds, and water them well.
Then place the "greenhouse" over the top of the area where you planted the seeds. Water as needed, and then remove the "greenhouse" cover and harden off plants when there is no longer a danger of frost.
11 comments:
That's a cute idea...I have used milk jugs before. I have to worry about plastic things blowing away though. Have fun growing your spitfire nasturtium!
I bury them pretty deep in the ground so they don't blow away, but it's also a pretty protected area. Not sure what would happen if it was a windy location.
What a great idea! I never seem to have much luck with direct sowing flower seeds -- I should give your mini greenhouse method a try. Maybe I'll try it with the nasturtiums I don't end up sowing indoors this year.
I went out this morning with my little pop bottle cloches but the "nastie" plantlings actually looked great, so I left them off. As long as it stays in the 50s overnight, I think they'll be okay? Yes?
Good tip in making the cloches out of the bottles. They're a good way to protect seedlings in the early spring when you still might get some frost.
Not a thing wrong with frugal greenhouse building! Nice tip too!
I didn't even think of doing this with mine - what a great idea! I will be watching to see how they do...nice job!
That's a really good idea to make a cloche out of a plastic bottle. I love opportunities to reuse items that we would otherwise throw away.
My husband thinks I am a pack rat, but these worked well last year. You could probably recycle liter bottles for bigger cloches.
I don't usually have good luck direct sowing either, since our growing season is pretty short.
What a clever way to go about building a greenhouse.....wonder how many bottles it would take to build me an acre? :)
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