Thanks, Janice. I added it to my list for the next time I submit tips to trish (I tend to do them in batches.)
My problem is that most tips I submit are much too long. I should probably extract one "bullet point" from each tip, and resubmit them with the bullet point as the "tip", and the full text of the tip as a post that I would attach to a thread as soon as the tip was used.
Here's my too-wordy list. Almost everything here has been said somewhere else before: almost EVERYTHING has already been said SOMEwhere!
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1. Add instructions to a banner header or Sticky on the "Tips" page, like this:
"To submit tips, send Trish just one Tree-mail with the Subject "Tops". Don't send multiple Tree-mails, just reply to the same Tree-Mail to send more tips."
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2.
When putting out bait for slugs, keep the bait dry by putting a plastic tub or lid over it. Cut out slots to make it easier for slugs to reach the bait. Now you don't have to replace it after each rain.
Cut the bottoms off soda bottles to use as "beer saucers" for attracting and drowning slugs.
Use the rest of the bottle with the cap on as a night-time heat-retaining "cloche" for outdoor seedlings.
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3.
If you find it awkward to bottom-water small pots in trays, cover the bottom of the tray with cotton flannel or rayon batting. This capillary watering mat will distribute water evenly to all the pots. If you use propagation trays or "six-pack" inserts, make sure their bottoms rest on the mats - you may have to trim the edges off the propagation tray.
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4.
To get more warmth from a soil-heating pad, put a sheet of drywall under it (also known as plasterboard or gypsum board). This insulation sends all the heat up to the tray and will keep it warmer. Home Depot usually has 2'x2' squares of drywall for $5-6.
To get even more warmth, cover the trays with a dome or with plastic film tucked under at the edges. Remove the dome or film as soon as any seeds germinate, to reduce damping-off.
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5.
Seed savers can separate seeds from chaff by using screens or seives such as kitchen strainers (usually 18 wires per inch or 30 wires per inch). Spice jars have larger holes for larger seeds.
Window screening has 24 wires per inch, so only small seeds pass through it. Use an embroidery hoop to hold the screening.
Hardware cloth (wire cloth) can be bought in many different mesh sizes. Big seeds can be screened with mesh 10, 12 or 14. Very fine seeds will pass through 30 mesh.
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/...
Make several nesting seed sieves from "PVC DWV Sewer & Drain Adapters". Home Depot stocks them in 3" and 4" diameters for $3-6. Cut a circle of hardware cloth to fit tightly.
For flimsy screens like window screening or 30 mesh hardware cloth, first insert a circle of 1/4" mesh or 10-mesh to support the flimsy screen.
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6.
For long-term seed storage in humid climates, dry them very well first, and then seal them tightly in glass or plastic tubs or jars. Ideally, stored seeds should contain 3-5 percent moisture in a Relative Humidity around 20% . Seeds will lose vigor and viability if stored too wet or too dry.
Buy silica gel desiccant from a craft store flower-drying isle. Put 1-2 tablespoons of silica gel into a paper coin envelope and staple it several times or tape it. Keep the desiccant in the jar and don't open the jar more often than necessary. Silica gel has almost no toxicity, but still, avoid breathing much of the dust.
Replace the desiccant 1-2 times per year if you open the jar once or twice per month. It can be regenerated in an oven at 450 degrees F, but remove it from the paper first because the paper will char.
Relative Humidity indicating cards can be bought from ULINE or Drierite.
https://secure.drierite.com/ca... (small numbers of cards, 20 or 40 cents each)
http://www.uline.com/BL_1002/H... (125 per can)
Seeds may be stored in plastic Ziplock bags within the jar because humidity will migrate slowly right through the plastic, and also through the "zipper".
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7.
To collect seeds from pods that may split or "explode", bag the pods or seed heads in organza bags with tie-strings.
Wal-Mart and craft stores have these in "Wedding Supplies" isles, but these are the best prices I've seen:
http://www.yourorganzabag.com/...
Put an organza bag over flower buds to protect them from insect pollination, if you plan to hand-pollinate them once they open.
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8.
Suggestions for preventing damping off include:
- water seedlings with chamomile tea or 0.1% hydrogen peroxide
- sprinkle the surface of the mix with cinnamon powder before germination
- use sterile mix, fresh each year and stored clean in closed bags
- once seedlings have emerged, avoid high humidity in the air. Keep air moving with a small fan.
- let the surface of the mix dry out between waterings as follows:
- - - - water less often but thoroughly when you do water
- - - - bottom-water
- - - - sprinkle grit or crushed stone or very coarse sand over the top of the mix
- - - - don't use mix with too much peat or fine particles because they hold a lot of water
- - - - replace some of the peat in a mix with coarser fibers like pine bark or coir
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9. When soaking seeds prior to germination, or when watering seedlings, use 0.1% Hydrogen Peroxide. This cleans the seed surface and discourages mold, fungus and damping off.
Drug Stores sell 3% Hydrogen Peroxide, so dilute that 32:1:
1 milliliter Hydrogen Peroxide + 1 ounce of water
or
1.5 teaspoons of Hydrogen Peroxide + 1 cup of water
or
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) + 1 quart of water
You can spray plants sick with fungus with 0.2% Hydrogen Peroxide (double-strength).
If you only have a bottle of strong 35% Hydrogen Peroxide, first dilute it 11:1 to make some 3%:
1 ounce of 35% Hydrogen Peroxide + 10 ounces of water.
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10.
To loosen and improve aeration and drainage of commercial potting or seed-starting mix, mix with Perlite, chicken grit, screened crushed rock or screened pine bark mulch or crushed orchid bark. Grit and crushed rock should be around 1/8 inch.
Pine bark's large dimension should be 1/8 inch to 1/4" or 3/8". Discard most of what will not pass through ½" hardware cloth - those chunks are too big for starting seeds or small pots. Discard most of what passes through ¼" hardware cloth: it's too fine to improve drainage. Reduce the amount of bark dust by starting with medium mulch, not fine mulch.
Don't use pine bark that was stored wet in a plastic bag if it smells bad - anaerobic fermentation products are acidic and bad for root hairs. If you must use "smelly bark", flush it with water and let it air out first.
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11.
Here are some places to ask for free 5-gallon plastic tubs:
car washes
burger joints (pickle tubs)
school cafeterias
restaurants (especially Asian)
bakeries & doughnut shops
delis
supermarket bakeries
supermarket delis
painters & drywall contractors - wash well! (Some use plastic-lined cardboard tubs.)
cat people's kitty litter tubs (maybe less UV-resistant)
It never hurts to bring vegetables, cut flowers or potted plants with you to offer in return.
Home Depot also sells "Homer Buckets" and "Leaktite" buckets, maybe 10 for $30.
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12. The very best way to recycle seed, bulb and plant catalogs is to leave them in dentists' and doctors' waiting rooms.
Pictures of flowers are much more calming than any of the other magazines. And if the seed catalogs you leave there are last year's, they are STILL the newest magazines in the rack.
