You mean like this, right? https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/...-ksY6vd9VU8-6xsPzDLvF1NlP3nAL9dydaYc&usqp=CAE So, short answer is yes, they are decent. Long answer is that I'm a cheapass and they are pricey for what they are. It also depends on how long the plant is going to be in that cowpot. I am working with seasons here and cannot take my plants outside without killing them, so they need to live in the pots a little longer, so I prefer to reuse plastic pots. If I used cowpots for the time I needed, the pots would have roots growing through them and would be mushy and falling apart. You can use pretty much anything for a container. Solo cups are a popular choice. Some of those cowpots are just tiny and you'd need a larger size, which is even more $$. The manure thing is negligible in my opinion. More of a selling point.
Yeah they would be going into an outdoor garden rather than pots. Still not sure if I wanna build a standard raised bed or a more involved wicking bed.
Compost > Manure. There's not much actual manure in those pots anyway, that was the point I was trying to make. The main draw to the cowpot is that you don't have to take them out of a container to put them in whatever hole you drop them in since they are biodegradable. And there are a lot of other options for your initial pot rather than those, which can only be used once. Popping a small plant out of a plastic container is easy and has none of the drawbacks I mentioned those to have. And if you're using them for such a short time then they are an even bigger waste of money. Obviously, just my opinion. I found a bunch of them at goodwill once so I have used them before in my previous warmer climate.
Yeah I think I'm just gonna start them in that seed starter container thing and then move them to a raised bed I'll build on our back porch (sprinklers in the garden). The starter looks legit. I was just gonna steal my wife's heating blanket and not tell her but that came with one. Final seed tally is: marjoram, savory, dill, red/yellow/purple bell peppers (they didn't have the green and I'm not doing the mixed thing per your suggestion), spacemaster 80 cucumber (cool name), bush pickle cucumber, ancho grande chili, jalapeno. To go along with my existing strawberries, one each red and green bell pepper, thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, mint, cilantro. **edit** added chervil, sage, anaheim chilis, TAM jalapenos (trial, website says they're jalapenos minus the heat), easter egg radishes, cherry tomatos... all because my wife said "if you're doing it anyway, you know the boys eat cherry tomatoes." And I had a shit load of seed starters so might as well add more variety. Welcome to my ADD brain. I'm looking up greenhouse plans now because I figured if I have to build a fence for the animals, fuck it let's go whole hog!
for those of you who don't like pesticides, here's a natural solution I almost want an aphid infestation so I can drop a 1500 ladybug bomb on them and watch the destruction.
Started the seedlings for the raised bed gardens today. We are making 5 3'x11' garden beds to go along side our chicken run. Did a full pack of 3 tomato varieties (two types of cherries and a heirloom), cukes, brussels sprouts, eggplant, carrots, onions, squash, and leafy greens (bok choy, spinach, butter lettuce). We also have a couple "postage stamp fruit trees" coming in about 3 weeks which are going into our orchard. A lot of the plant sellers have dwarf fruit trees in a variety pack that take up a 10'x20' space and you get like 6 fruit trees. We will have apple, pear, cherry, peach, and plum trees. On the far end of the orchard where it starts to get a little shady we will have our berry bramble. Lots of raspberries and blackberries with a row of blueberry bushes. We are also getting some kiwi vines to run up the side of a 100' long barn that backs the orchard. It's a hardy kiwi that grows without the fur and you can eat them whole. We've been trying to find a bunch of cold hardy plants that fit the overall look of the gardens we are trying to make, so these were very intriguing as we needed a non-invasive vine to cover this massive structure. For our raised beds, we are making them out of cedar fence pickets which are super cheap at HD, but are actual cedar and will work well for this specific application. We'll use KDHT posts for the bracing and then run the cedar pickets along the edges. It should look really good once it's all finished. We are currently working on the chicken run and these things are around the area of it so I'll post some photos once we get a little closer to completion. If you are looking for a good greenhouse which is super easy for set up and is rated pretty well, we are going with this one. It's the cheapest of it's kind and it's able to be modified to make it look nicer. You can't build this piece by piece any cheaper and anywhere you try and find a greenhouse this size it's like $2000. https://www.harborfreight.com/10-ft-x-12-ft-greenhouse-with-4-vents-93358.html They also have a smaller version for like $300 after coupons.
Thanks for the link. I was just gonna do some raised beds and then run PVC piping onto some rebar tied to the outside and put greenhouse canvas over it.... though those pre-fab ones are pretty slick at a good price. Didn't even think to check harbor freight. I've got a bit to think it over. Doesn't have to protect against much other than a few hard freezes in Texas winters, mainly keeping animals out and shelter from the storms. I'm gonna start the seeds as soon as they arrive. Where I ordered them from, it's some delayed shipping due to everyone getting the same idea at once with COVID. Not sure when they'll get here, but when they do I'll have the seed starter ready to go as well as a grow lamp I just ordered. We're going to quarantine at the lake next weekend so I got a drip irrigation system on a timer for my current potted plants. Supposed to get here in a few days and doesn't look too difficult to get setup. I'll move that to the garden once I get that going and expand it of course. Trying to get everything I need on hand and ready. Do it right the first time so there isn't a second kinda thing.
dumb question: so do you then plant them in the ground in those pods, or does the cheese cloth looking stuff need to be cut off?
fair enough. Another dumb question: at what point do you remove them from the tray and plant them? Is it entirely weather-dependent? Rain finally let up and I did some measuring. I have two great areas I can build the raised beds in, and both are a lot larger than I anticipated. One is about 15X30, on level ground but has a lot of old trees overhead that's going to be an issue as far as leaves and small branches and stuff if there's storms. The other is about 10X20, isn't on level ground but has a great, strong canopy above it. I'm itching to start building the beds, and hopefully all this COVID stuff will be gone by the time I need to go to home depot for lumber. I'd rather pick it out myself than order online and have them deliver.
@Revengeofthenerds size and weather dependent. You want them big enough to be able to survive and the weather to be warm enough as well. You can cover with floating rows or clear plastic covers to retain humidity and protect from borderline nighttime temps to jumpstart the season a little or help acclimate to the outside temps. In your case size of plant will be more of a factor. I have a sister in TX and from what I can tell, it's already in the upper 70s, so you're probably in the same ballpark. If you put them outside at too small a size or too poorly acclimated they'll struggle, when you could have just let them get a little bigger inside before moving them. Or the slugs or cutworms find the baby plants and your shit is gone in a night. BTW, be prepared for pests. They WILL come for your shit. Neem oil, theracide BT, beer traps, whatever your poison you choose. Especially when your plants are small, the damage can happen really fast and be too much to recover from. @Nettdata , love the baby plant pics. Outting myself as a plant nerd here, but they are cute. I love the fuzzy leaves on baby plants.
I have some permethrin concentrate and a gallon sprayer, figure that should nuke 'em right? I also go the natural route and feed the turkey around here, they're just starting to return but I can count on a solid 20-30 patrolling around the house during spring and fall.
I wouldn't use that on stuff you're going to eat . I won't even use 7 dust but at least that's rated for vegetables. Dunno about turkeys but ducks will eat my plants. I have no idea how effective turkeys are with pest control but I do know that pests are great at hiding. I know people with chickens don't keep them in the garden because they scratch too much.
Gotcha. I'm thinking a 1-2 punch of neem oil and copper fungicide then, hit it from both directions. Figure defense is better than offense. I fucking hate bugs.
FYI about the greenhouse I linked earlier, it needs modifications to really work well, but the money saver is in the panels. That material for some reason is really expensive pretty much everywhere. I have no idea how they are making money on the kits because buying the panels separate are like 3x the cost of the whole thing. You can go a cheaper route and get plans online to build an 8x10 structure and cover it with thick plastic, but most of those look pretty ghetto. With the raised beds, make sure you don't make them too wide or you'll have to screw around with walking into the bed to do anything in the middle. 3-4' wide should be the maximum. It's better to have a few smaller beds in the area then 1 giant bed you can't easily work with. Home depot trick with placing orders, order everything to the store online and then pick it up curbside. Their online ordering for delivery to your house is terrible. If they have to acquire the things you need from multiple locations, they charge you a shipping cost for every individual item. Surprisingly, HD is really bad at doing D2C order processing.
Every year I like cruising the Agriculture (Farm) Show in town. They have quite a few professional greenhouse suppliers that have demos. I've found them to be the best source for that stuff, by far. Like 1/4 the cost for a single panel compared to HD.