23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
I use basic shop lights, as well. One alternative to hanging them from the ceiling is to mount them on an open shelving unit. I repurposed a set of 3' wide sturdy plastic shelves that I'd originally used to store kid toys by setting a 4' piece of 2x4 across the top and attaching hooks to the bottom of the 2x4. The 4' shop lights hang on a very short chain from the hooks so that the top surface of the lights is just under the top shelf. (Think of a sandwich - wood on top, top shelf in the middle, lights below. The shelves are an open weave so there is plenty of air-flow.)
With this set-up, I don't adjust the lights up and down as the plants grow -- I adjust the seedling trays up or down by stacking books, shoe boxes, etc., under them. As the seedlings grow, I remove a book from the stack to keep them a couple inches below the lights.
This isn't a high-volume operation; it's easy to run out of space in late spring when everything is getting big. But it's quite space-efficient. The shelves fit easily in a corner of my dining room. Add a small fan and a timer and it's pretty low maintenance.
Incidentally, you can buy smaller all-in-one set-ups like you describe online and they look very cool. But they are very expensive and you can't fit very many plants at one time. For comparison, mine was less than $50 -- a basic shop light fixture, one cool & one warm bulb (not fancy grow lights), a couple strong hooks, and a timer, plus scrap wood from my garage and existing shelves.
This post was edited by kathyb912_IN on Thu, Jul 25, 13 at 18:10
Nice little setup lilydude.
Uscjusto: I do it sort of like kathyb. I have some book shelves in an insulated room in the garage(not too cold or hot ambient temps). I bought a cheap fluoro unit and a couple "daylight" bulbs from Home depot for $30 or so. Attached the chains to the bottom of one shelf and I do the book "roulette" thing like kathyb does on another shelf below the top one. It's easier to do the book thing since not all veggies grow at the same height and rate.
Kevin
Sprayed all my squash again with the Neem. Really want to get back on top of this powdery mildew stuff. Already today the squash look so much better than they did on Monday when I last sprayed them. So today being Friday that means 4 days in between sprayings. Now I should be able to go back to weekly spraying. Actually I would like to keep to a spray in just under a week. That should work well.
I had to wait until late in the day, I just came in from spraying. Not that it is hot. I could have sprayed in the middle of the day as temps are really mild. But the bees were out all over the squash all day. Lots and lots of honeybees. I don't honestly know what they were doing but they were at it ALL day. Not in the flowers, they were landing under the leaves and then looking like they were eating or vacuuming along under the leaves. And only on the leaves that had powdery mildew. How really strange. I guess eventually they had enough and went home or it just got late.
I was using my battery powered wand sprayer again. Found a spray setting that works really well and the spraying didn't take as long to do this time as it did the first time I used the sprayer.
I don't intentionally tressil any of my heavy vines, but they always climb my fence. When they do I "sling" them with really cheap knee high panty hose. I slip the fruit in the sock and tie the to to the fence. The panty hose expand with the growing squash or melon and I have yet to have one tear open. I started doing this with ones that had runs in them when I needed a quick sling, now I buy a pack at the store every year just for this purpose.
Ye, sorry. Link below is to same question from earlier in the week with more info.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: To late to plant corn?
I did see a few insects that looked like red ladybugs but moved faster a week or so ago. Trying to remember if they were on the beans or something else, but I'm sure it was somewhere down in that 3000sf area (or the edamame just across the road from it). Not sure if it was Mexican bean beetle or bean leaf beetle. I haven't seen any eggs or larvae.
http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/fieldcropsipm/insects/bean-leaf-beetle.php
Raining right now, but maybe I can get out to spray this afternoon. Rain expected Sunday too.
Here is a link that might be useful: Mexican bean beetle
@uscjusto nothing strange about it. There's always that one post from the "holier than thou" person.
I don't see that as "holier than thou". I was wondering about such a quick move myself? Usually you have a minimum of 30 days, and usually you know ahead of that time.
I haven't rented for a long time, but most of those rules are the same, unless you get a 3 day eviction notice. Nancy
My Blue Lake bean plants usually go full tilt until about now. They are slowing down as of late. The Mexican bean beetles set in about now as I noticed a few leaves today that had larvae under them. Grabbing all that I can before the carnage begins.
I yank them all up and put them in a trash bag and then start the 2nd crop before Fall.
My beans have yet to get vigor.
Not quite sure about that. Planted seeds June 1st. Vines are over 10' & look healthy, but are just (barely) starting to flower.
Ash, maybe next year try some pole beans along with your bush beans. That's what I do, & usually it works...just not for me this year.
Its a bag worm. Ussually found on pine trees and if there is a lot of them they can strip a tree of all its needles really fast. Check out your spruce and yews they like the short needles best. I've seen them strip a 6ft blue spruce in a couple of days and crawl dragging their bag to the next tree. They are bad news if not dealt with.
Watermelons only flower on new growth. If you don't keep them growing with at least moderate vigor they stop any meaningful flowering. I need to fertilize every 2-4 weeks because my soil is very permeable. That means nitrogen leaches away quickly.
Properly done I can harvest fruit off the same plant late June until October. But two plantings make it easier. About 2 months fruit off each.
I assume you have already explored much of the online resources on Mexico gardening and even tho Cozumel has a very different environment much it might still apply?
And that you know that since importing seeds and plants is going to be heavily restricted by customs you may be dependent on what seed crops you can find locally. Corn obviously, local varieties of dried beans, peppers, tomatoes, and squash.
I'd also suggest contacting the various universities that have agricultural programs for information on irrigation needs, fertilizers, planting dates, etc.
I did find one publication titled "VEGETABLE GARDENING IN
THE CARIBBEAN AREA" I linked below (although it is dated 1967). Be patient, it takes forever to load.
Good luck with your project.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetable Gardening in the Caribbean
If it is limestone, it is basically the same mother rock as Yucatan, so take a ferry and go look at the markets and buy seeds on the mainland. Not sure how close a seed store will be, the area is a tourist trap, but there are numerous villages on the road to Merida, you should not have to travel far. On top of what Dave suggests, chayote, malabar spinach, amaranth, eggplant, sweet potato, okra, watermelon and melon should all be available and easy, some in the rainy season, some in the dry season.