Thrown Out Into the Cold Cruel World Today! (pics)

[rnewste]

It was time for them to go (as I tried to convince my 26 year old son, a few years ago.....)




So out they went, into "real life" - - wind, fresh air, sunshine, and the chance for them to make their mark in the World.....







I planted them as deeply as possible with just the leaves above the surface:





As with any offspring, I will be taking "fatherly" care of them, until they reach adulthood. For the Cold-frames I used the left-over Rubbermaid container pieces and fitted with Plexiglas tops to permit sunlight to enter:




Berkeley Tie-Dye: (Red, Green, and black striped cherry)
Big Beef
Black Krim
Bloody Butcher
Carmello
Celebrity
Cold Set
Cuostralee
Dona
Druzba
Earl’s Faux
Ed’s Millennium
Goose Creek
Gregori Alti
Hege German
Indian Stripe
KBX
Marianna’s Peace
Momotaro
Neves Azorean Red x BW F3
Opalka
Paul Robeson
Prue
Purple Haze F1 (from suckers)
Purple Haze F3
Red Robin
Spudakee


So now, I'll sit back and see if my "parenting" was all worth it.

Ray

[geeboss]

So Ray,

Nice setup I've a question on how the Plexiglas hooks to the Rubbermaid Containers? Also, do you have the ability to vent the Plexiglas or do you just raise the container handle to vent warm air?

George

[rnewste]

George,

I used 1 inch "L" brackets (4 total) and 10-32 machine screws to fasten it all together. Last year, I cobbled something similar using duct tape to attach the plexi to the container, and that earned "bad reviews" from my friend Ami.

He was the one who suggested the "L" brackets. Much cleaner looking setup this season.

Ray

[amideutch]

A great improvement from last year. Very sanitary indeed. Ami

[recruiterg]

Being a Minnesota Irishman, I can't purport to be able to provide "German Engineering" advice like Ami can, but how about one suggestion.

Maintain a flat section say 6 - 8 inches, then make an angled cut in the sacraficed Tainer. Attach one piece of plexiglass to the flat section using L brackets, then connect the other piece of plexiglass using hinges over the angled cut. Then you could open/close it more easily and let more sunlight in. Maybe next year?

Ray, I saw in another post you were offering Goose Creek seeds...you hav some left over. If that is still the case, I am looking for some. Can you PM me?

[Barbee]

Ray,
Sending good vibes from Ohio that your mater babies go out into the world garden and make you proud

[duajones]

looking good there Ray!

[stormymater]

Be sure to do a "grow baby grow" dance (or jig if you must) out & about them!

[rnewste]

Stormy,

I am actually going to do a Rain Dance, as we face mandatory water rationing this year. (The joys of living in a State with a $40 billion deficit).

Ray

[stormymater]

rnewste - does your house have gutters or the kind of overhang that would handle a rain chain? In your pics your deck looks wet now - blue plastic 55 gallon drums go for $5 apiece in Raleigh - I had been sawing them in 1/2 lengthwise for containers (holes drilled in bottoms) but am planning to spend $30 or so & get a bunch more to daisy chain together & catch rain water off our roof. We don't have gutters (nasty how they can rip your soffits off in hurricanes) but I plan to place some angle iron on the roof to direct water to the western corners & have rain barrels (aforementioned cheap blue drums) in place.

[rnewste]

Stormy,

geeboss has been trying to motivate me to incorporate rain-barrels. My 30 'Tainers consume 20 gallons per day. We get no rain for 180 days (May-September) , so trying to collect enough rainwater is not practical.

Also, I would have to give up 'Tainer spaces for the rain-barrels as I have virtually no unused yard space in our postage stamp sized yards out here.

Ray

[geeboss]

[stormymater]

wow dude - I see your problem - 600 gallons a DAY! OMG it's cistern time for you! In Bermuda an island w/o any fresh water springs, folks collect ALL the rainwater run off from their roofs in underground cisterns - they're roofs are specifically tiled & whitewashed to keep the water sweet - by law people have had to collect that water.
Thinking you need a Bermuda-style setup!

[rnewste]

stormy,

Sorry, my 30 EarthTainers consume a TOTAL of 20 gallons per day.

Having said that, to last me for the May through September growing season, I would need to store about 3600 gallons of water by April of each year.

Ray

[stormymater]

Hmmmm... that makes more sense now doesn't it? Like alot ... Serves me right for trying to watch "Patton" (OMG one of my fav movies) & surf.There was a wee little island off Guanaja (one of Honduras' Bay Islands) that was being sold in the mid-90s (before Hurricane Mitch hit them) & it had a 5k cistern for fresh water - all rain water as the cay did not have a source for fresh water otherwise. Have not gone back since Hurricane Mitch but I bet that cistern got moved...