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I knew the soil temp would be cooler than air temp outside. However, I made the assumption (maybe a poor one) that the soil in a 3oz starter cup would be about the same temp as the air temp in a house. How much different could the soil temp be?
Thanks again for all the responses :)
How much different? The thermal conductivity of soil is very different from that of air. How much difference and the duration of that difference depends on the type of soil, the degree of compaction, the volume of soil, and the type of heat used. In a container outside the average is 5-10 degrees cooler than surrounding air temps, indoors can be as much as 15 degrees cooler. If watered with cool water then it will be even colder.
Dave
If you post in a discussion, you will be automatically "following" a post, such that notification of comments will be e-mailed to you, as per the frequency directives that Humsi was talking about. Those directives are for ALL e-mails, from ALL discussions. But at the bottom of the discussion that you have posted in, there is, in little green letters, a clickable link "Click to switch off notification about new comments >". If you simply want to turn off notifications for that discussion. Click that. This seems to work fine. As noted above, I just wish that the default was that you DON'T follow a discussion you contributed to, and select if you wanted to. That's the way it was in the old GW.
Agree with sunnibel7 and find that the main causes of problems with hardening off is either (a) plants that were started far too early and so are less tolerant of hardening and transplanting, and (b) starting the hardening off process far too early. It isn't the size or age of the plants that should determine when to harden-off, it is when is the planting time?
Planting dates are determined before seeds are even started and other than weather at that time which we can't control, you start hardening off a few days to a week before planting time. If you can't plant until May 15th (for example) why would you start hardening off May 1 ? Rather wait till May 12th when the weather will likely allow the plants to go in the shade and just stay there until planting time. Bringing them in and out and in and out only stresses the plants and defeats the point of hardening.
Check out the FAQ here that describes how to use various containers like a laundry basket under a shade tree to harden off. Even a cardboard box works. The goal isn't direct sun exposure, it is air temp, UV, and wind acclimation.
Dave
Here's what I do and it generally works pretty good.
I don't babysit the plants. I simply refuse to do it. When it's time to start moving them outdoors, they go outdoors all day starting day number 1. I put them in a real shady spot for the first couple days then a spot that gets dappled shade, then partial sun, etc etc. I don't play the "hours" game I don't have time for that lol. All day, everyday (unless the weather turns sour).
As I said in my previous comment, I do have other beds elsewhere that I haven't shown. :) And while I do enjoy drawing up the plans and try to stick to them as best I can, there is almost always a some kind of problem.
Rodney
I must admit I did most of it just to get through winter. The biggest thing it did was let me know how many different plants I should get. Before I made the diagram, I had about 5 more different pepper seeds, and about 3 more tomato seeds. After making the diagram, I knew I had to eliminate some choices, which wasn't easy :).
your answer can be found on following thread.
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/2833511/sincere-question-why-participate
In order to identify the female plants I think you'd have to grow them to seed bearing age (3 years?) - and you might want to make sure they don't get a chance to drop potentially-female seed before weeding them out. Some writers suggest you don't want any seed to drop anyway, to avoid overcrowding the bed with new volunteer plants.
As for shipping across borders, many US companies do ship seed to Canada but I haven''t found any willing to ship asparagus root. Whether that's because they're prohibited, and whether it also applies to other plants, I don't know.
The front of my house faces east, and none of the plants that require full sun do very well in the front. Those that can stand partial shade do better.
My guess is that you would get some harvest, and that might make you happy, but if you have other options, might be better to invest the money for the raised bed somewhere that gets more sun.
One other point to note - the front beds take much longer to dry out after a rain - again, this might be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on what you plant, and your drainage.
The location of the sun sounds good to me. My garden sits in a similar position. I just wanted to add that raised beds need more water because the soil dries out faster in hot temperatures. Also, if the yard slopes away from the house, your water will presumably run off as well (I assume the landscaping is designed for this). So be sure to water with some frequency.
We love Clemson Spineless - out here in IL, we plant straight from seed, after last frost. The spacing seems right, we plant ~20 plants in two rows of 10. Last year we were trying to harvest weekly at our community garden plot, and we were having to toss quite a few as they were too small one weekend and overdone the next. Harvesting about once every 2-3 days would probably be best as donnabaskets suggests.
We put in an elevated raised bed for a salad garden last summer -- it's 2x8 and 30" tall, with a false floor 10" down from the top (cedar slats & landscape fabric on steel brackets). (The two boxes at the ends are 2x2 and 15" tall, no false bottom.) It looks good and it's easy for people with bad knees (i.e., me!).
12" spacing is pretty standard so in 4x8 bed I'd plant 20 as you can't plant right next to the frame edges and you want to leave some room for replacing any that don't survive.
I started with a dozen, got antsy, planted another dozen and all are doing well. Just saw my first baby come up the other day! Nancy