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| Well, I've been busy in the garden today!
I Finally planted the lettuce seeds, phew! Silly thing is, I'm watching them to see when they sprout! yeah, two hours is enough time, right? I did mark the labels with the planting date so I'll be ready when two weeks is up...so I can welcome the new sprouts! I'm afraid to water them though, won't I just disturb the area and the seeds?? I decided to put them directly in the tub so now I have to water from above. Do I need to put gravel or mulch on top along the sides of the rows in order to not disturb too much? I only have cedar mulch, is that okay to use? I have an endless supply of pebbles though. Am I babbling? I've never done this before and I'm real excited about getting these to sprout. I did follow Skybird's advice and avoided vermiculite. But, that is really all I know about this process. Thank you!! J. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Never done what before? Babbled??? ;-) Do you have a watering wand with a "breaker" on it? If you don’t, you should! If you have one, turn the water on full force, stand back a ways, and move it fairly quickly back and forth over the tub—pretend it’s raining on them! If you don’t have a wand/breaker, I’m not sure what the best way to water would be. There are cheaper wands than Dramm, but Dramm is far-and-away the best. The cheap wands fall apart quickly, and the breakers put out a much "harder" spray than the Dramm ones. You can buy the breakers separately, but I recommend getting a long wand to. Just makes watering everything easier. And washing the car too, if you use the hose! Especially for short people! ;-) If you don’t have a breaker, find whatever you have that puts out the finest mist and go back and forth over it till it’s saturated. I mulch over the veggie seeds with the grass after I cut it. It’s fine enough for things to come up thru, but it also keeps the surface moist and soft. Skybird |
Here is a link that might be useful: Dramm Magic Wands!
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| Thank you! Now, are you trying to say I'm short and I babble? Hee, hee, you'd be right :) I don't have any good watering devices and I've been wanting one of those wands for a while. Whoever lived here before us left an old, plastic breaker and it just irritates me. Thanks a bazillion! |
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| Short and babbling! Hmmmm! Let’s see! Who else around here might fit that description!!! If you’re going to invest in a Dramm Magic Wand (that’s what I always called my watering wand when I had it permanently attached at the hip!), I strongly recommend spending the extra to get the brass cutoff valve (see "I"). The plastic ones fall apart VERY quickly—and it often takes two hands to work them! Ideally you should be able to turn it on and off with the same hand you’re holding it with. I can’t tell you which garden centers will have them (Paulino’s does), but you should be able to buy the whole thing as one—wand (recommend the 30" one) with the (blue) breaker and the brass shutoff. It’ll probably be about $30! You can also buy the wand with the cheap plastic cutoff and buy the brass one separately, but that’s even more. And, if you’re interested, you can buy a red breaker (see "N") with smaller and more holes for the softest and most gentle spray for seeds and seedlings, but if you hold the wand back a ways and go quickly over whatever you’re watering, the blue one works too. There’s one other thing you’ll see in the displays—it’s the Touch ‘N Flow shutoff (R)! I DON’T recommend that one! I got one once, and I couldn’t get the full flow of the water with it. Used it once, and now it’s just laying around! Got it because my brother back in Illinois has a really, really good commercial brass version of that kind of a cutoff, and it’s wonderful, but in this case the Dramm version isn’t even remotely close to whatever brand he has. If you go to get one, you’ll probably find that wherever you are has the wands in the bright colors now, rather than the plain silver—just so you know what you’re looking for! Happy watering, |
Here is a link that might be useful: Dramm Accessories!
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| The thing I like most about your responses, aside from the accuracy, is that you are so darn thorough!! You do the research, you provide the links, you just make it easy!! I really appreciate that! Not that I can't do the research, it just isn't the same if I don't have the experience to know what I'm looking at. Guess what. I have $30!! And, I'm going into town Friday anyway, so I'll stop at my favourite shop in Boulder and pick one up. Now, what was that called again? The Touch 'n' Flow with the plastic parts?? Hee!!! Just kidding. And, yes, you know it! You are such a little babbler! But everything you babble about makes darn good sense. :) |
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| Thank you, Jennifer! "Research" is easy when you know what you're looking for! :-) |
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| Are the Dramm wands sturdier at the base? I desperately want a watering wand that won't break off at the base where it screws onto the hose. For some reason, no matter what brand I buy, within a year of using one it breaks! |
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| Dramm is the gold standard when it comes to watering wands, Jennifer. And, yeah, the connection where it screws onto the hose is where the cheap ones always break--some of them almost immediately. Dramm will start leaking there eventually, but for just home use, it should be good for at least 3 or 4 years. And like I told (the other) Jennifer above, the plastic cutoffs that come with some of the Dramm wands won't last very long either, and I very much recommend getting a brass one. Happy watering, |
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| Thanks. Most of the ones I've had were extremely thin aluminum. I think brass would definitely be a step up. |
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| I have some very teeny tiny sprouts peeking up!! AND, I used my water wand for the first time today. There was so much rain, it wasn't needed yet. I just wanted to brag about my sprouts... |
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| Sprouts are good! |
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