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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Where has the time gone? Isn't this always the way? Life gets busy, the garden needs planting, the grass needs mowing, the house needs to be spiffed up and longer days mean more projects.

Here in the north woods the garden is in. We start our garden earlier than a lot of people with the mindset that if you don't lose some of your crop you are not planting early enough.

It has been a rainy and wet start to the growing season and we are thankful that our plants had a good head start before the deluge of rain over the past couple weeks. I lost some cucumbers but I had some others ready to plant so no real loss.

Other people waited until after memorial day to start their gardens and due to the rain, lost their seedlings and other seeds directly planted rotted in the ground or washed away.

All winter I save empty milk jugs and yogurt cups to use in my garden. Yogurt cups make a great cut worm collar. Just cut out the bottoms with a sharp knife. If you have ever had a problem with cut worms you will see the neccesity of a collar. My first experience with cut worms was last year when I planted some broccoli. It was just starting to look good when one morning to my horror it was all laying on the ground. On further inspection I saw that it had been chewed clean through at ground level. The dastardly cut worm then moved in a straight line to the next broccoli plant and chewed through it too!!!! I dug around in the dirt until I found the worm and sent him to his maker! Now all my plants have collars.

I use the empty milk jugs as mini green houses to protect my tomato plants. I cover my plants with the jugs after I cut the bottoms off~ remove the caps during the day and put them on at night until all danger of frost has passed. This allows me to plant earlier and I usually have ripe tomatos long before other people.

Looking at every day objects and wondering what use they serve after the initial use is a prepper mindset. Recycling items and not immediately throwing them into the trash clutters up my front porch but I am likely to always find a use for an empty mayonaise container, coffee can, milk jug etc.

3 comments:

  1. i love this post MainePatriot and will definitely use the milk jug idea next year!!! (i first learned of the mini-greenhouse/mobile greenhouse from Humble Wife over at the New Mexico Preppers Network...and like i always say - if they are doing it in Maine and New Mexico then it's good enough for me - bahahaha!)
    also a great tip for the cutworms...i haven't experienced them in my garden yet but i will keep a look-out for them. and finally a use for all of the yogurt cups my husband has been saving for the past 20 years!!!!

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  2. Glad to help you in finding a use for empty containers!!!! they do tend to accumulate rather quickly!!!!! The milk jugs will allow you to plant earlier and will protect your crop from an unexpected frost.

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  3. Thats great work thanks for sharing...
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    Susana
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