Chainlink Gardeners

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Chainlink Gardeners

A place for chainlink plantophiles to share tips and maybe get a little exchange thingy going.

(fyi guys, we turned off the group message option since Ning doesn't give you a way to respond. So use the comments or forum threads here if you have a message to the group. We are slowly doing this for each group. 9/29/12)

Members: 77
Latest Activity: Jun 28, 2015

Discussion Forum

2015 garden photos 4 Replies

Started by Anne Alt. Last reply by Anne Alt Jun 28, 2015.

2013 Gardening Photos! 11 Replies

Started by Garth Liebhaber. Last reply by h' Zerocats Aug 30, 2013.

ISO plants + pots 1 Reply

Started by Melissa. Last reply by Erin Jun 24, 2013.

Shout Out for Orange Mint! 10 Replies

Started by in it to win it 8.0 mi. Last reply by h' Zerocats Jun 14, 2013.

Volunteer Day and Potluck at the Urban Farm at UIC

Started by Melissa M Sep 19, 2012.

June 2012 garden plant update 4 Replies

Started by h' Zerocats. Last reply by h' Zerocats Jul 4, 2012.

2012 garden photos thread 5 Replies

Started by Anne B.. Last reply by Todd Allen May 29, 2012.

Neighborhood Nutrition Centers Community Meeting

Started by Les Kniskern May 14, 2012.

2012 Plant Exchange thread 3 Replies

Started by Duppie. Last reply by Duppie Apr 17, 2012.

Comment Wall

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Comment by Chuck a Muck on March 21, 2010 at 4:56pm
I would prefer to avoid craigslist due to the flakes and time wasters that seem to be in the majority over there...
Comment by igz on March 21, 2010 at 4:42pm
chuck, i would craigslist that and see if any local composters would share...
Comment by Chuck a Muck on March 21, 2010 at 4:24pm
I need lots of cheap or free clean top soil. Anyone got any suggestions? By lots, I mean about 32 square feet...
Comment by Laura on March 16, 2010 at 12:04pm
I saw that last year you guys were talking about guerrilla gardening rides. did anything ever come of this?
If you guys think about doing it this year I would love to join! I am not claiming that I can garden or that i own any tools but it sounds like a fun idea!
Comment by Anne Alt on March 16, 2010 at 10:27am
I was cleaning up one of my flower beds this afternoon. Now the tulips are unburied. One bed done, two more to go.

For starting veggie seeds, I use a 4 foot fluorescent fixture with 2 40W wide spectrum tubes. That works nicely.

I agree with Todd's tip about cutting peat pots for many types of plants. Something really agressive like green beans doesn't really need it, but it helps for many other types of veggies and herbs.
Comment by Todd Allen on March 15, 2010 at 6:30pm
It's 13.8 watts, so at best about 1300 lumens, probably more like 1000. A single decent 4 foot florescent tube will put out at least twice as much light. Also, you don't want the red light for seed starting.

As for the jiffy pots, they tend to be pretty small and only plants with extremely aggressive roots can penetrate through them. You'll need to cut the peat pots open for many plants.
Comment by Duppie on February 12, 2010 at 4:52am
Family Farmed Expo - March 11-13th UIC Forum - University of Illinois at Chicago.

This is the Midwest's premier Local Grown/Raised food expo.

Besides demo's and vendors hawking their locally grown foods, they also have workshops. Look at the Saturday schedule here
Comment by Todd Allen on January 29, 2010 at 5:51pm
The Horner Park Organic Community Garden Project is hosting a gardening workshop tomorrow from 11 AM til 1 PM in the Horner Park fieldhouse. The workshop is free and all are welcome.

I'll be doing a presentation on indoor vegetable seed starting for transplants and there will be a second presentation on indoor worm compo...sting.

http://www.hornerpark.org/veggie-garden
Comment by nhylc on November 8, 2009 at 7:40am
you are correct sir :)
Comment by Todd Allen on November 8, 2009 at 5:10am
nhylc, if it was salt/mineral build up I'd expect to see a lot of brown tips, not just one. And probably some yellowing too. Although perhaps it is just the first stages of it.

As for our water, the white scale that precipitates out is lime not salt. With salt your flushing solution is the best. But lime can be tolerated so long as you manage the ph of your growing media. Lime makes your soil more alkaline, ie it raises the ph. This is bad for acid loving plants. You can use acid growing media such as peat (but not peat sold with added lime to make it neutral) or you can use acidic additions such as garden sulfur and more acid fertilizers. I make and use an evergreen needle compost that is fairly acidic.

The best though is to use rain water when possible. Rain water tends to be slightly acidic due to air pollution.
 

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