On 2/8/2015 6:02 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
George Shirley wrote:
On 2/8/2015 10:08 AM, Michael Evangelista wrote:
I got a heat mat from amazon , comes with a little plastic starter
dome that will probably last one or two seasons, but together less
than a similar mat alone. Now comes the question of light. My workbench
has a regular shop florescent fixture about 5 feet
above the work surface. It is fixed (can't lower it) but I could
hang a separate light below it, or swap out the tubes for super-UV
or whatever bulbs you use, if it would work from that height. It is
also next to a window, which will add some ambient but not direct
sunlight during the day.
I used two different tubes for my grow light set up. One was Full
Spectrum, the other was "Instant Sun," mimicked exactly the spectrum
of true sunshine. Worked well for several years and then we moved and
are now just using a screw in grow light in a clip on medium base
fixture. No longer have a 17X27 foot garden but just three raised
beds, one 4X16 feet, two 4X8 feet. Had a nearly 14K lot in the old
house, have a 6500 square foot property here with a 1960 square foot
house, driveway, sidewalk, etc. Downsizing of a sort I guess.

I miss the soil of the old place, spent 22 years amending that garden.
Plus we had a large fig tree, a large kumquat tree, several blueberry
plants, a Japanese persimmon, and, until the peach borer's got it, a
nice peach tree. Our best tree was huge cherrybark oak, nine feet in
diameter at three feet above the ground. Beautiful shade tree and
never dropped an acorn. Had a 400 year old white oak in front but
Hurricane Rita ate that one. Nice old neighborhood, bunch of old
people like us with a scattering of young families, close to
supermarket, hospital, church, all the fast food joints for when you
didn't want to cook, and a few very good restaurants. All in a 12K
population small town in rural Louisiana. Ran my own consulting
business for seventeen of those years right out of the spare bedroom.
I miss it since I retired completely in 2007.

I guess gardening keeps you young to a certain extent. Someone will
probably find me slumped over my shovel one day with a smile on my
face and the sun shining on me.

There are worse ways to go ... I realized the other day that my garden is
bigger than my "house" ... at just over 1,000 SF .

Then you're doing it right. G

I just bought a food preservation book for my middle grandson, now 32
years old with a wife and two kids. Lad is an elevator repairman. Taught
him to fish when he was about three years old, he took up fishing on his
own, I coached him on hunting and he took his first white tail this past
season. Helped him with his first raised bed garden and share seeds and
starts with him. He's teaching his two boys all those things now.
Already have him started on vacuum packaging excess vegetables and meat,
now is about time to start him on both pressure canning and boiling
water bath canning so therefore a starter book. Notation inside cover by
me: Those who grow, catch, or hunt for their food will never go hungry.
I'm pretty sure he will get the message. Either that or I will quit
loaning him my power tools. G

When we married 54 years ago I never thought I would be the patriarch of
a large family. Two children, five grandchildren, six great
grandchildren, all pretty good people. The two kids both garden, one
fishes, only one grandchild gardens, fishes and hunts. Greats are still
a bit young but eldest great grandson, now eleven, got his first
whitetail while out with his Dad. Can be sure he has the fever now.

72F here today at high noon, expecting more tomorrow. Reckon I will
build that raised bed for the blueberries tomorrow.

Life is good.