A few days ago I did a
post where I mentioned that I had planted a couple of 6-packs of lettuce and one of basil. They were planted a week ago today and left to germinate (watered daily in this heat) in this setup.
Some things to note in the picture include:
- The bottoms of the mini-flats are almost exactly 6-pack height.
- The bottoms of the mini-flats are topped by a screened box to keep out the pesky squirrels and birds. (The squirrels dig things up and the birds snip off the sprouts.)
- The screened tops are also 6-pack height.
- From this view, you can make out fairly even germination in the 6-pack on the top-right, but less so in the one on the left. (You can't see much of the one in the lower-right.)
In this next photo we again get to see the 6-pack on the left. But wait! There's a
whole bunch of sprouts in the two cells at the bottom. What the...?
If we take a look at the hidden 6-pack from the lower-right, we get a clue as to what's going on.
Ah! The parts that are in the shade are the parts that are sprouting quite vigorously! (Oh, the 6-pack in the top-right that has evenly germinated in the blazing sun? That's the basil. It
likes the heat. One usually plants it in the spring to go with the tomatoes.)
So, what's the solution? How do I get the lettuce to sprout? Give it some shade! So, I've improvised a shade cloth, though I really should go get some real shade cloth or burlap.
So, what do you think of my elephant pot-feet?
Posts
Yay, germinators! Cute feet!
ReplyDeleteOK, I have a brand new Mac. I have a brand new disk drive that I bought in the same order as the mini and I can't use it because the mini takes some kind of *$(@& freaking firewire connector that nothing in this entire house uses. And I can't move the stuff over from my old system likewise. Why the *#&(@* didn't anything anywhere tell me that the mini uses a nonstandard firewire connector? Or am I missing something somewhere? I have cables all over the place with 2 types of firewire connectors and neither of those types fit.
So now I have to unplug everything and reconnect everything to the old computer and figure out what the *@(&#@ I need. And I'm only telling you because I'm on the new machine and have no way of getting in touch with anyone else plus you grok macs.
OK, back to move wires around a bunch more and curse and fume and wait another week to set up my new machine (because even if i figure out the cable and order it and it arrives by mail, I'm gone this weekend. And I'm very busy tomorrow so no shopping trips for me. Grrrr)