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re: 2024 Spring Garden Thread

Posted on 2/18/24 at 9:34 am to
Posted by thirstyfish
Member since Jun 2017
130 posts
Posted on 2/18/24 at 9:34 am to
quote:

Does anyone have recommendations on grow lights? The durolux that I got a few years ago is discontinued.


I'm in the same exact boat. Funny thing is I was looking for the durolux lights 30 mins before your post. I was looking at these as an option.

Barrina 4ft Grow Light
Posted by PillageUrVillage
Mordor
Member since Mar 2011
14830 posts
Posted on 2/18/24 at 11:11 am to
quote:

The durolux that I got a few years ago is discontinued.


Amazon

This looks almost identical to the 4’x2’ LED Durolux that I have.
Posted by LSUJuice
Back in Houston
Member since Apr 2004
17684 posts
Posted on 2/18/24 at 3:02 pm to
What are y'all using for tomato cages? I'm only planting determinates this year because I won't have time to prune every week. But I really don't want to spend a bunch of money on cages either.
Posted by rooster108bm
Member since Nov 2010
2915 posts
Posted on 2/18/24 at 4:02 pm to
Mars Hydro, Spider Farmer, and AC Infinity make some great lights. Yes they may cost more for one light but are usually worth it.

Just because a light is 4ft long doesn’t mean it has the same coverage as say a1ft square light may have.

While full spectrum is a must it also must have enough ppfd. If it's not putting out enough ppfd your plants will be leggy.

I've been running 2 mars hydro ts1000s for around 4 years now and they are worth every penny.

Info on plant light requirements growlightmeter.com

They also have a app on playstore to measure both par and dli with your phone that you can check your lights with your phone.

Posted by Mr Sausage
Cat Spring, Texas
Member since Oct 2011
12902 posts
Posted on 2/18/24 at 6:33 pm to
You have one child and now you’re too busy to prune? :) I’m too busy to weed!


Potatoes are in!

This post was edited on 2/18/24 at 6:34 pm
Posted by Saskwatch
Member since Feb 2016
16618 posts
Posted on 2/18/24 at 6:48 pm to
Was at Home Depot this afternoon with my daughter and picked up some seeds. Put some Boxcar Willie Tomato, jalapeno, bell pepper, and poblanos in potting mix this evening and set by kitchen window. Will see what happens. May be too late in getting them started.
Posted by Capt ST
Hotel California
Member since Aug 2011
12902 posts
Posted on 2/18/24 at 7:24 pm to
I did that last year and plan on doing all determinates aside from a few cherry plants. Cages do okay with determinates, but I’m slowly moving to rebar.
Posted by bluemoons
the marsh
Member since Oct 2012
5530 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 10:08 am to
I'm building my garden area and boxes this weekend. Here's the bed plan:



I'm building a 20x24' area surrounding the two boxes as a base and in case I need to build a fence sometime in the future. I'm going to border the area with landscape timbers and fill with 3-4" of mason sand for drainage. The area is uneven bare dirt right now with some low spots and I may sod over there in the future. I also don't want to create a low spot if I sod in the future. Once the mason sand is squared away, I'm going to build the boxes. After that, I will cover the whole area with weed barrier, fill the boxes, and mulch the area with straw.

Any thoughts/critiques of my plan? Hoping to get it knocked out this weekend since we'll be dry all week and I can use my tractor to move the sand.

Also, ignore my incorrect placement of W/E on my compass .
This post was edited on 2/19/24 at 10:09 am
Posted by AlxTgr
Kyre Banorg
Member since Oct 2003
81794 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 10:45 am to
quote:

so I basically started over on both tomatoes and peppers
I obviously did something wrong the first time, as I have plants coming up like crazy now-even all the peppers. I think it was too cool and I added the warming matts too late.
Posted by PillageUrVillage
Mordor
Member since Mar 2011
14830 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 12:07 pm to
quote:

ignore my incorrect placement of W/E on my compass


Posted by AlxTgr
Kyre Banorg
Member since Oct 2003
81794 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 1:40 pm to
quote:

What are y'all using for tomato cages?
I just use those cheap green sticks you find at garden centers and train the plants around them.
Posted by PillageUrVillage
Mordor
Member since Mar 2011
14830 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 2:49 pm to
I've been using the same galvanized wire tomato cages that I got from Lowes for years. A couple of the welds on a few of them are starting to break, so I'll probably need to replace a few.
Link

They used to be a good bit cheaper.
Posted by AlxTgr
Kyre Banorg
Member since Oct 2003
81794 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 2:52 pm to
I have a couple of those and use them for the bush variety I grow in pots. The raised beds get the green sticks.
Posted by ChenierauTigre
Dreamland
Member since Dec 2007
34544 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 5:06 pm to
Just get a plastic zip tie to mend the broken welds. Tons cheaper. Plants don't care.
Posted by Devious
Elitist
Member since Dec 2010
29178 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 7:31 pm to
quote:

What are y'all using for tomato cages?
Florida weave...makes managing 40 of them a breeze.
Posted by tiggerfan02 2021
HSV
Member since Jan 2021
2945 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 8:27 pm to
quote:

The people that put the recommendation on the back of the bag didn't test your soil.



This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Those recs are for maintaining soil, not correcting a deficiency.
Listen to your ag extension agent.
Posted by PillageUrVillage
Mordor
Member since Mar 2011
14830 posts
Posted on 2/20/24 at 7:04 am to
quote:

Just get a plastic zip tie to mend the broken welds. Tons cheaper. Plants don't care


That's a good idea. I'll do that if I need them. Looking through my garden plan and it looks like I'll only need 4 cages for the Roma's. I have way more than that and I know I have more than 4 good ones. So I'm covered for now. I'm growing mostly indeterminates this year.
This post was edited on 2/20/24 at 7:06 am
Posted by Loup
Ferriday
Member since Apr 2019
11559 posts
Posted on 2/20/24 at 7:10 am to
I normally use bamboo but I think I'm going to get some 20' lengths of rebar this year and hack them in half for my tomatoes. Some of the indeterminates I planted last year hit 10' tall. My wife's dog chews the bamboo like a damn beaver.

20 ft. #3 Rebar is about $9. Anybody know of anything cheaper that's as sturdy and 9 to 10' long?
Posted by bamarep
Member since Nov 2013
51817 posts
Posted on 2/20/24 at 9:13 am to
I built cages out of hog wire about 10 years ago. It's expensive but they last a long time. I use 5ft of 3/4 pvc to hold them steady.

I tried the weave last year but I didn't like the results of that.
Posted by Devious
Elitist
Member since Dec 2010
29178 posts
Posted on 2/20/24 at 9:28 am to
Rebar is fantastic. It lasts forever, and even if you bend it, you can bend it back without too much trouble. That's what I've used for years.
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