April 17, 1997
Emergency Plant Care
Keeping it going while you're gone
Well, this spring has certainly not turned out like I expected it to. I had been rather proud of myself, in fact, because of the schedule I was all ready to follow to get plants ready to take outdoors. But not only does Mother Nature give you surprises, so does life itself. Family concerns have taken me away from home most of the last few months, and my lovely schedule is still sitting on my desk along with my lovely drawings and organized seed box. I found myself running in, watering the greenhouse, doing a quick load of laundry, and running back out.
I thought some of you greenhouse folks would be interested in the damage control measures I had to take so that all of my beloved plants didn't bite the dust during my long absences. A greenhouse is kind of like having a child. You can't just take a vacation and leave them to fend for themselves. They are a 52-week-a-year responsibility.
When I first found out that I was going to have to be largely absent, the first thing I did was put a big saucer underneath each and every plant. Ordinarily, I don't keep saucers under the plants, as I don't like them to stand in water. But this time I didn't feel like I had a choice. The plants were getting pretty dried out by the time I got back to them, and the artificial greenhouse mix I use tends to shrink up when it gets dry. Since I never had time to water, wait a couple or three hours, and water again, a saucer of water let the medium have the chance to slowly absorb the water and expand back out to its appropriate density.
I have a few plants that use more than an ordinary amount of water. Those I wicked. I poked a hole up in through the drainage hole with a pencil and worked a little piece of nylon rope up into the growing medium. Then I sat the pot on top of a decapitated plastic milk jug so that the bottom of the rope hung down into it, and kept the jug full of water.
I had already started planting a few seeds when my spring plans were forcefully changed, and I knew they were goners if I didn't make some arrangements for them. Of course, wicking isn't too practical for oodles of little bitty pots. So I did a little improvising and came up with a fairly workable solution. I have a thermostatically controlled propagation mat that keeps the soil temperature correct for me. I covered it over with plastic, and covered that with a piece of a natty old blanket. Once I got the blanket wet, I put all of my little seedlings on it, and left the hose barely dripping on the blanket to keep it damp. Same principle as the capillary matting they use in commercial greenhouses, you see, but not as pretty or precise. The water was taken up by the pots as they needed it, and most of my seedlings were fine.
Of course, now I have to find a few hours to go in and do some overdue transplanting. But Mother Nature is awfully forgiving, and I'll have most of what I need to put into the garden, even if some of it is a little late. And since Tulsa got a couple of very hard, very late freezes last week, I'd have been in a bind if I had put things out on time anyway. Ain't Mother Nature grand?
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Joe and Mindy's Webgarden
My favorite of all gardening sites because I can get info on almost anything by starting out here. Very well done. Pleasing to look at, reviews of links tell me which site to try, and they keep it up to date.
Debbie Teachout-Teashon's Gallery and Gardens website
It has been wonderful watching Debbie's site evolve over the last year or two. Debbie is a gifted photographer/artist, so you can get lost in this site just enjoying the horticultural art. But Debbie has also provided a great deal of horticultural information, and links to even more. Fix a big cup of coffee or tea, and prepare for a real treat.
ICanGarden
This is probably the premier Canadian gardening site. No, I'm not in Canada, but I learn a lot from the resourseful folks who have to grow in such a short season.
Joyce Schillen's website
Joyce Schillen has done a fine job of mixing a commercial site with a very useful information site. She is a gardening author who has been active in many of the gardening discussion groups. On the site you will find archived articles she has written, lovely garden photos, a place to actually get a look at many of the "faceless" people we have all been talking to for years, and, lastly, the opportunity to purchase her latest book.
Extension Horticulture Publication library
My other favorite extension site. Kansas State's fact sheets have particularly good artwork within them, and the list of topics is very broad. These are also .pdf docs (in Adobe Acrobat format), so they load slowly, but are beautiful once they get to you.
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Greenhouse Gardening
