Happy to hear that I'm not the only one trying to find a way to outsmart my touchpad. The weeds here are ridiculous. It's mostly different kinds of grasses and even my pots are loaded with it now!! Just resorted to buying "Grass Getter". I paid too much for it, but if it works I'll buy it on EBay where there is an offer for 2 16 oz containers for 50.00 with free shipping. Hopefully, this will save my back and knees a bit when I go out there this week.

And I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who's fighting weeds in my containers! Ouch! I have just a tiny container of Grass Getter concentrate and I think we paid about $15 for it. That sounds like a pretty good deal you've found there on eBay. I have more of a problem with weeds in the walkways (can't believe the stuff is growing so well in just a couple of inches of gravel!) Gonna have to get out the RoundUp. And then going to have to do some major revamping of a couple of raised beds. Sigh, tansy is so pretty.....but it's like The Blob....swallowing up everything around it!

Chelle..I'm a bit confused over your lunch bag planting..Why did you take them out of the milk jugs? It looked like you had a flat planted in toilet paper rolls or are my eyes playing tricks on me..then I see all those lunch bags planted with plants..did you plant inside the lunch bags? How did you keep the lunch bags from falling apart from rainfall or snow? I'm puzzled..Do you mind explain how and why you did the lunch bag planters?

Sure thing, Pippi21.

Since I needed those seedlings to grow on as separate plants and not have their roots entwined, I just separated them into the bags to grow them up a bit more while waiting for my garden soil to get warm and dry enough to plant them out. I make the bags up over the wintertime - they're cut (to make them slender, but as long as possible) doubled, with the edges taped to make a rather cone-shaped cup, and they last just long enough to make sure there's a firm plug of handle-able soil for transplanting into the garden. These work great for plants that don't normally respond well to transplanting; like poppies, larkspur, pansies, morning glories, and anything else with a long taproot. I just plant the whole thing; what's left of the bag, and all.

I've still failed your bag growing class..and can't figure out how the lunch bag doesn't fall apart when it rains and it must take a lot of potting mix..How much potting mix do you add to each bag? Why not use cow pots or peat pods? I just can't understand how this works..seems like you're having to make a lot more work for yourself..I'm not knocking it because it obviously works for you but just don't understand how you make it work. I'm afraid I've failed this class.

I know for me.. the cow pots stayed too wet inside the plastic bin.. and some grew a bunch of mold .. but it was a super wet spring that year.. I haven't tried them again after that.. but even though we drilled holes all over top, bottom and sides.. I don' think the air circulation was good enough in there .. was tough to keep them upright if they were not in the bin

Pippi21 said:I've still failed your bag growing class..and can't figure out how the lunch bag doesn't fall apart when it rains and it must take a lot of potting mix..How much potting mix do you add to each bag? Why not use cow pots or peat pods? I just can't understand how this works..seems like you're having to make a lot more work for yourself..I'm not knocking it because it obviously works for you but just don't understand how you make it work. I'm afraid I've failed this class.

As far as it being more [work]...
-Making up the little paper pots in the midst of February's blizzards is therapeutic for me, and it gives my son and I a purposeful project to do together.
-Potting up in the paper pots frees up time later in the spring so that I can get all of my planting areas ready while they grow on and get themselves ready to go out in the gardens. As the soil in the paper pots gets watered, the sides of each compress against its neighbor's sides, and the sides of the tray; this means that there's basically no air between each pot, thus reducing watering needs. The damp paper also helps to retain moisture longer. After the first 2 weeks, I don't need to worry much about them drying out and dying off. The paper pots also allow perfect drainage; not to fast, not too slow.

[Falling apart]
-The paper pots do decay, but they're supposed to. In the end, they're just a dividing line between soil cubes.

[Planting out]
To do this successfully the soil in paper pots must be moist to drier, not wet.
Once the first partially decayed paper pot with rootball is finessed out of the tray, the rest are pretty easy. To loosen one soil cube from the others I just hold my opened hand against the (opened) side as a brace, and wriggle a finger (or a butter knife) between the opposite side and the next cube to move it over into my supporting hand. They will fall apart if you grab them in a squeezing motion.

[Amount of potting mix]
This is minimal because at the time of filling the paper pots are only about 2" in diameter on the bottom, 2.5" in diameter at the top, and about 4" tall. They'll only expand after they settle in with about a week's worth of watering.

>>Cow pots, peat pots and even plastic pots dry out much too quickly for me. I have more losses than gains using those with a fast-draining seed starting medium.

I've tried paper pots, cardboard, peat- they are dried out way too fast and got moldy in rain or when watered. It's milk jugs for me all the way.

Karen

Milk jugs are the best

...And I'm too lazy to pot anything up. Everything goes from jug to ground. It either makes it or it doesn't. Survival of the fittest.

Karen

that it's a lot less effort to just remove the whole clump and plant it in your yard.

I have 6 jugs for winter sowing and more to come. I sow want to try! Sure will free up room in my greenhouse.

I'm really getting stressed because the milk gallons in the local stores are beginning to show up in white containers rather than the translucent ones!!

We were on vacation in Florida last week, with temps in the upper 80s. Returned home Sunday night to cool weather. Low tonight to be 44°.

I hope my coleus survive that. I haven't done my cuttings yet, and won't get to it today. I don't even have the potting mix yet.

So much yard work to do too....

Karen

We had temps a bit lower than that a week or so ago and none of my coleus were damaged. The zucchini got a bit zapped around the edges and the cucumber plant is toast, but my coleus are fine. Of course, they're all in pots close to a wall. Hope yours are ok!

I've got my coleus covered tonight--temps predicted to get down in the 30's tonight and tomorrow night. I just need some time to get cuttings!!!!

Lots of jugs saved for WSing. Hope I can get more done than I did last year.