Gardeners Go Green By Starting Their Own Transplants
Today's emphasis on going green is made to order for the home gardener.
With little expense it is possible to be right in the middle of the movement to reduce, reuse and recycle while having a great garden.
One of the best places to get started is by growing your own transplants.
Transplants need only a few things to be well taken care of, growing medium, something to grow in, water, food, sunlight and warmth.
Each of these can be supplied from renewable or recycled resources.
Peat moss based products are excellent growing mixes and peat moss is one of those products that are easily renewable.
In fact, in Canada, one of the major producers of peat for agricultural purposes, more than seven times the amount harvested will be produced by natural peat bogs in most years of harvest.
In addition, if a bog is exhausted due to over harvesting, it is easily renewed by over seeding with peat from the next bog and allowing it to lie fallow.
It is inexpensive and renewable, plus it will hold more than its own weight in water and still remain healthy for growing roots.
Containers are needed for sowing the plants and almost anything can be used from tin cans to yogurt cups to cut down milk cartons.
As long as it will hold planting medium and some means is available to put a hole in the bottom, it will work fine.
Strips of newspaper can even be folded to hold the medium and when placed in flats will make great growing containers.
There are commercial molds available for shaping newspaper planters but a nesting set of measuring cups will work fine.
A strip of newspaper wider than the cup is tall is wound around one cup and the excess is folded along the bottom.
It gets pressed into the other cup and the tight creases make a planting cup.
The holes in the bottom of the planters serve as watering access.
It is best to water from below so the planters are placed in a container such as a plastic tub, thus making it easier to move several at a time, and to allow water placed in the tub to be wicked into the growing medium.
A south facing window should provide enough light for the plants to grow well and prosper.
While room temperatures comfortable for people are also good for most plants, the heat from a window on a bright sunny day may be too much and the flats may need to be moved a bit.
In this scenario, only the growing medium needs to be purchased but do not hesitate to look at professional growing flats and containers.
These can easily be washed and reused to join in the recycling program.
Most gardeners in fact will have some pots, flats and cell packs that have been left over from other years.
These should be cleaned well to prevent possible diseases moving to new plants but should also be reused.
There is great opportunity for gardeners to go green not only in the garden but in the preparation.
With little expense it is possible to be right in the middle of the movement to reduce, reuse and recycle while having a great garden.
One of the best places to get started is by growing your own transplants.
Transplants need only a few things to be well taken care of, growing medium, something to grow in, water, food, sunlight and warmth.
Each of these can be supplied from renewable or recycled resources.
Peat moss based products are excellent growing mixes and peat moss is one of those products that are easily renewable.
In fact, in Canada, one of the major producers of peat for agricultural purposes, more than seven times the amount harvested will be produced by natural peat bogs in most years of harvest.
In addition, if a bog is exhausted due to over harvesting, it is easily renewed by over seeding with peat from the next bog and allowing it to lie fallow.
It is inexpensive and renewable, plus it will hold more than its own weight in water and still remain healthy for growing roots.
Containers are needed for sowing the plants and almost anything can be used from tin cans to yogurt cups to cut down milk cartons.
As long as it will hold planting medium and some means is available to put a hole in the bottom, it will work fine.
Strips of newspaper can even be folded to hold the medium and when placed in flats will make great growing containers.
There are commercial molds available for shaping newspaper planters but a nesting set of measuring cups will work fine.
A strip of newspaper wider than the cup is tall is wound around one cup and the excess is folded along the bottom.
It gets pressed into the other cup and the tight creases make a planting cup.
The holes in the bottom of the planters serve as watering access.
It is best to water from below so the planters are placed in a container such as a plastic tub, thus making it easier to move several at a time, and to allow water placed in the tub to be wicked into the growing medium.
A south facing window should provide enough light for the plants to grow well and prosper.
While room temperatures comfortable for people are also good for most plants, the heat from a window on a bright sunny day may be too much and the flats may need to be moved a bit.
In this scenario, only the growing medium needs to be purchased but do not hesitate to look at professional growing flats and containers.
These can easily be washed and reused to join in the recycling program.
Most gardeners in fact will have some pots, flats and cell packs that have been left over from other years.
These should be cleaned well to prevent possible diseases moving to new plants but should also be reused.
There is great opportunity for gardeners to go green not only in the garden but in the preparation.
