photo credit: cliff1066

Once started the cotton plant is not that hard to care for. I started my seeds in four-inch pots with rich fertilized soil. You can also use regular potting soil but add plant fertilizer to enhance the soil.

Place 4 seeds in each four-inch pot. Water the seeds and place in a sunny area. I often will cover new seeds with a plastic cover to keep in the moisture. It acts like a greenhouse and helps the seeds to sprout quicker. When the seeds begin to sprout remove the plastic so that the plants can breath.

Once the seedlings have begun to grow, leave the healthiest looking seedling to grow in each pot. I remove the smaller ones and repot them. My nephews always enjoy these plants or I will take them to a retirement home for them to grow.

When the plants outgrow their original pots transplant them into 12-inch pots. Usually when the plants are developing their second set of full sized leaves they are ready to be transferred. After you transfer the plants, water them well and add some fertilizer to help with transplants shock. I give the plants a few days with less sun to recover then move them back into a sunny area.

Cotton plants thrive with a typical tomato feed that can be found in most garden centers, nurseries or online stores. The tomato feed is high in nutrients, which benefit the cotton plant.

Water the cotton plants regularly, usually once a week. I grow my cotton plants on my patio and bring them in the fall at night when the temperatures start to cool. Cotton is more of a warm weather crop so if your climate is a cool climate they may benefit from being brought in at night.

When the flowers of the cotton plant begin to die off, the ‘bolls’, which hold the cotton seed, begins to form. Cotton plants that are grown outdoors will drop their bolls at the end of the season when the plant is dying. Indoor cotton plants need to have the bolls picked.

Cotton plants are fun and unique, particularly the pastel colored cotton, but the plants have prickers and can scratch you so you need to take care around them.
photo credit: chadmiller

I remember my first time I picked cotton at my cousins farm in Georgia. The cotton took a little getting used to in order to pick it properly without scratching yourself and ripping the boll. But it was a fun adventure and a field of cotton is a pretty site.

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And there has always been a decision on whether to start your own seedling for the garden or to buy transplants.
photo credit: Maria Keays

There are three answers to that question. One is the experience you have in starting seeds. Do you have the right soil, lighting and know where to look for information on how to grow strong healthy plants. 

The second is cost of starting seeds verses buying plants. You will need seeds, soil, and containers for your seedlings. There is also adequate lighting, space for plants and possibly a cold frame or greenhouse for storing and protecting plants. Do these costs balance the costs or buying transplants in the spring?

And the last is plant variety and plant health. This is usually the reason I start seeds. There are varieties of vegetables and flowers that are not available in my area. I like heirloom plants and they are not as popular and many plant varieties are impossible to find.

You also do not know how the plants were handled before you buy them. If they sat in a cold climate they may have suffered plant shock and will not be as healthy or produce flowers or blossoms well. They also may have suffered from lack of water or have insect infestation. Bringing an unhealthy plant to your garden could set back your harvesting and may even hurt your other plants.

The decision on starting seedlings will be based on the answers to these questions.

• If you decide to start seeds, follow the directions on the back of the seed pack and ask questions. The Internet has almost any solution you need and remember you favorite garden center. They will be more than willing to help.

With that said, here is one of my quick tips for starting seeds. I use this method with seeds that germinate slow or need a warmer climate for germination. and for my shrub seeds. This week I am starting Rose of Sharon Shrubs and they flourish using this method. All my shrub seeds do better with the Milk Jug Hot House

Milk Jug Hot House

The milk jug hot house works well for slow starting seeds and is a great project for children for any seedling.

Rinse out a clear plastic milk jug with hot water and dish soap. Make sure it is very clean. It may not hurt to rinse it out with vinegar and to let it totally dry.  Using a knife or sharp scissors, carefully cut the jug in half. Fill the bottom half of the jug with three or four inches of good quality potting mix. Plant your seeds and water gently – you do not want to over water the seeds and soil. A very light mixture of water and liquid fertilizer will also help the seeds germinate quicker. Close the jug by placing the top back on and taping it into place with clear tape.

Place in a sunny place. The jug will create its own mini hothouse effect and take care of itself. Watering will not be necessary. The seedling will be healthy and strong in two to four weeks, depending on the seed variety. When the plants look crowded, you can transplant they into their own pots. I often use homemade newspaper pots at this time so that I can place the plant into the ground in a few weeks and not disturb the root.

You can also use clear plastic pop bottles instead of milk jugs.

Starting seeds can be a fun project and will save you money but you need to ask questions to ensure a healthy plant crop.

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photo credit: quinn.anya

Today I started my tomato and pepper plants. Normally you start both of these plants six to eight weeks before your last frost but I like large plants to set out and I trade my plants for perennials so I start my plants now and use the tomato and pepper re-potting method. In my growing zone you normally plant your tomatoes and pepper plants from May 15 to 31. Even in May its wise to be prepared for a late frost and cover you more tender plants at night.
photo credit: rudy.kleysteuber

I also collected more milk jugs from friends and family to fill with water and lined another wall of my greenhouse and one side of the mini greenhouse I setup inside the larger greenhouse. The smaller greenhouse is for my perennials that are requiring a little more heat to grow and this should supply the extra heat needed.

Milk jug solar heating has been my primary heating source in the greenhouse for four or five years but I have to admit this winter has challenged the heating. I may have to break down and add a small electrical heater if this cold doesn’t break soon.

My first batch of perennial plants that I am raising from seed are now 3 inches tall. I will move them into the smaller portable plastic greenhouse I put up inside the larger greenhouse and start a new crop of perennial seeds. I have been giving my perennial seeds a cold treatment in the refrigerator as shock treatment to force them to germinate and wake up earlier than they normally would. My first group of herbs are also doing well.

I also have three batches of compost brewing in the back of the greenhouse. They should be ready in a week, just in time for another round of seed planting.

As spring nears I am slowly starting my plants, perennials and herbs first. Next will be flower that require a longer seed starting period, then on to the regular seeds that take six to eight weeks to be ready to set out in the gardens. It feels great to be back out in the greenhouse playing in soil and making plans for the new gardening season.

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photo credit: Nadya Peek

My philosophy is if you save a little money in one area of gardening you can apply it to another area. For me that’s usually new trees and shrubs.

Here are a few suggestions to cut down on gardening costs

• Find the gardening tools you need at garage sales, flea markets or auction houses. At the auction houses I usually can pick up twenty tools at a time for $1. I use what I can, fix the rest and sell them at a sale. The handles make great stakes too, if the tool top is not usable.
• Buy year old seeds. Most will still germinate, but may germinate slower. To make up for this I will soak them in water before I plant them.
• Start more of your seedlings. Purchasing transplants is convenient but adds up quickly. I but my soil mixes at the end of the last planting season to save money on packaged soil. I also add compost to make my mixes go further.
• Use old pots to start plants in. Just make sure they are very clean. I clean with soapy hot water then scrub with white vinegar to kill any germs.
• Old pots or containers can be collected for free at nurseries, many garage sales, curbs and dumpsters. They can be picked up for pennies at sales and auctions.
• You can use toilet paper rolls, cups and old cake pans to start plants in. I also make newspaper planting pots for many of my plants
• Sell your extra plants or trade your transplants for other plants. I do very well using this approach. Have  a garage sale and offer your extra plants up for sale. You could even plan a plant swap among friends.
• Buy your transplants at a wholesale greenhouse. Just make sure the quality is good. You usually have to purchase a few flats to get a food price. You can usually mix plant varieties.
• Make you own garden markers and stakes.
• Make you own fertilizer mixes and pest control sprays. Besides saving you money they can be made with environmentally friendly materials not heavy chemicals that are harsh to birds, butterflies and the water.
• Buy any supplies you need at the end of your gardening season. They are often more than 50 percent off retail price.

These are only a few suggestions. If you have a great money saving ideas for gardening share it! Happy gardening, Denise

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photo credit: wikked one

Once the greenhouse ready for use I let it set for a week to warm up. I use solar heating so the water needs to warm and that takes about a week to take the chill out of any corners.

It takes about two days to clean and organize the greenhouse.

I use the following checklist

• Wipe down any tables and surfaces with a disinfectant.
• Check all corners, doors and windows for air leaks.
• Check tables and indoor cold frames for stability and any needed repairs.
• Clean and fill clear plastic containers for solar heating
• Sort and clean any left over pots and planters
• Check any leftover soil to see if its useable
• Collect my compost and start more
• Check plastic used for mini greenhouse climate control
• Check additional lighting needed for seedlings

Solar heating

I started using solar heating about three years ago. My spring climate is so unpredictable and a cold snap would have expensive gas bills or have to rely on wood heat and go out every three hours to check the fire and temperature. I don’t know about you but the alarm going off at 3 am to head out into sub degree temperatures tends to make me grouchy.

What I did was set up my greenhouse two foot wider on all sides than I wanted. I had my brother dig a trench three foot deep with his backhoe and placed black metal 35 gallon barrels in the ground filled with water. The greenhouse frame and ground heat will keep the water in the barrels from freezing. I cover the barrels with clear plastic after the end of the greenhouse season. This set up keeps the greenhouse at about 40 degrees all winter.

After the greenhouse is cleaned I fill clear plastic jugs with warm water and place on top of the 35 gallon barrels. The sun will keep the plastic jugs at a temperature that is warm enough to heat the greenhouse to a 55-degree temperature. If I need additional heat the use of a small heater or even light will warm the greenhouse another five to 10 degrees.

To insure the jugs get enough sunlight I set the tables I use beside the water containers not on top of them. Later in the spring and summer the tables are placed over the barrels so they do not heat up by the sun.

I will also set up mini greenhouses within the greenhouse for starting seeds that require more heat. I have even used hot beds in the greenhouse for my finicky heat loving seeds and transplants.

One other way I have to heat an area is with a waterbed heating pad. I usually use this only for tomato and pepper plants that germinate better with heat from the soil, but if desperate I will use the heater in the greenhouse.

Greenhouse gardening can be a lot of fun. It gives you a larger selection of seeds and plants that you can grow and extends your growing season.

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