SEED STARTING... CRAZY STYLE!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  Yeah, WonderCon's over and done with and while it his sad, that just means even more cool stuff is on the way and back to full strength no less!  But before we can do any of that, we gotta take care of some stuff at home, like our gardens!  What's that?  You have trouble getting seeds sprouted?  Well kind reader you just happen to be in luck, for I know a good method of starting seeds, especially in climates and seasons when it would be more difficult to do so?  Wanna learn how?  Scroll down and see!  Enjoy...

STEP 1: Get a CLEAR plastic, lidded cup.  As you can see, this particular cup came from McDonalds and yes, it had a Shamrock Shake in it.  What can I say?  They're freakin' delicious!  It's important that the cup be clear because it helps create the greenhouse affect that keeps the soil moist.  Any fast food joint that sells milkshakes will likely have clear cups though Taco Bell uses them too.  What makes the cups at McDonalds and Jack In The Box Particularly appealing is that they are domed and already have a large hole in the top which, once again, helps create the greenhouse affect.  It's also helpful for any watering that might need to happen, so if the lid doesn't have a hole in it, cut one in about the size of a quarter.

STEP 2: Drill about 4-5 holes in the bottom of the cup.  Some folks drill holes in the sides too, which is perfectly fine, but keep in mind these are fast food cups and thus don't have much flex to them.  It also goes without saying that Steps 1 & 2 should be done WITH parental supervision if the youngsters are the ones giving this a try.

STEP 3: Take some potting soil or seed starter and wet it to the point where it's moist, but NOT soaked.  It should be formable in the hand, like clay but still crumbly.  This is kind of a winging deal, but any left over soil can simply be dried out and used for other plants.

STEP 4: Place soil in the cup and gently compact it.  You'll want between 2in-3in.

STEP 5: Next, place the seed in!  For this particular cup, I'm sprouting a pumpkin!  Be sure to cover the seed with soil/seed starter and lightly compact.  You don't need a lot on top, maybe about 1/4in of soil tops.

STEP 6: Lightly water the seed and lid the cup!  As you can see, the inside is already fogging up as the water evaporates, and these pics were taken in the evening time, so this method works quick!

STEP 7: Lastly, place the cup in a sunny spot and wait for nature to take its course!  As you can see, the sun ups the evaporation, which causes more condensation, keeping the soil moist and thus helping the seeds sprout!  You shouldn't need to water much, but the top of the soil can dry out, so lightly water as needed.  The above pic has the seeds of watermelons, cantaloupes, zucchini and two different types of pumpkins sprouting!

In a few days, sometimes just over a week, you should see some results!  Once they outgrow the cup, plant in the ground or a larger container!

Results will obviously vary, but I've had a lot of success getting seeds sprouted using these mini greenhouses!  And best of all, this method not only helps plants, but it also finds new uses for old plastic cups, thus keeping them out of landfills!  We are all about conservation here at the CRAZYVERSE!  I hope this tutorial has been helpful and that y'all will feel inspired to give a mini greenhouse a try!  Good luck and share any results you might have with me on Twitter at my handle @JonsCrazyTweets!

And that's all for this week, but never fear!  I promise we'll end April on a very colorful note!  So be sure to come back and see what I'll be pouring out!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

PLANTING THE PERFECT PUMPKIN PLANTER!!!

 

Welcome back!  Halfway through July and halfway through Summer!  Normally, I would've been hyping Comic Con this week, but fate just won't give us any breaks.  So instead, we'll be taking a look at a really labor intensive project I worked on towards the end of May!  It involved some bricks, sand and an awful lot of bad words!  What project was this you ask?  My above ground pumpkin patch!  I mean, the pic above should've been the dead giveaway here!

A little backstory before we dive in.  For a better part of 18 years, I've tried to grow pumpkins, having only had one successful, sizable pumpkin grow, ironically enough from a seed that had sprouted inside of another pumpkin!  Two years ago, I dug out a pit in my backyard and lined it with chicken wire in an effort to keep gophers out.  For the most part, they grew, though none ever got any real good size to them. Things were looking really good last year until some bastard gopher actually went up and over the chicken wire and laid waist to my entire patch!  Of the 14 I had, it killed eight of the vines right away while the other six eventually withered, giving me six piddly little pumpkins.  This year, I decided I'd beat the gophers at their own game.  With a few supplies and a LOT of patience, I built an above ground planter!  It took roughly five days to do, and two of them was just buying the bricks and sand.  To see just went into this little endeavor, scroll down and read along!  Enjoy...

First off, I had to dig out the old soil and chicken wire and then refill the entire pit and tamper it down.  This took some doing, and actually led to me really hurting my back.  Kept me in bed for three days even. But the journey was under way!

Next, I picked a new spot for the planter not far from where the old one was.  I wanted more walking room around the planter so I could more easily water and tend to the rest of my plants.  Once the spot was found, I got digging and trenched it out!

With the trench dug, I filled it halfway with paver base, which is sand with a lot of stones and gravel mixed in so that structures eventually going over it will have stronger footing.

After that, I filled the rest with sand so that when the bricks were laid, they could simply be tapped level with a rubber mallet.  A task the should've been easier than it was!

After that, I laid out the the chicken wire and covered it with river stones to help with drainage.  Then I began laying out the bricks!  Leveling these things was a pain because even with the sand there, my lumpy ass yard just wouldn't cooperate!  It also didn't help that NONE of these bricks are the exact same size as advertised.  For those of you planning your own projects involving bricks, just know that perfect level is pretty much impossible because of the aforementioned size deal I just spoke of and close enough really is the best you'll get.  And that's okay.

Lastly, I filled the planter in with soil and planted my pumpkins!  The pic at the top of the page is much more recent and shows just how far they've all come!  In all, I got four different types of pumpkins (Jack-o-lantern, Connecticut Field, Casper and Giant), two types of cucumbers, (Sumter and Spring Burpless), marigolds and a zucchini growing and thriving in the planter!

The pumpkins even have a staunch defender, Igbeer, the Fence Lizard!

Not much gets past ol' Igbeer!

And that's how it was done.  It was a LOT of work and I probably sweated off about 20 pounds while doing it, but the effort was well worth it.  I'd like to see a gopher scale two feet of solid concrete without getting caught by an apex predator, of which there are quite a few roaming in my yard!  I got a good feeling about my crop this year!

That's all for today!  Be sure to come back next time so we can wrap up July in a "Berry" fun way!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!