Ararat Greenhouse Action Group | Community organisation

Ararat Greenhouse Action Group

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24.01.2022 Time to leverage for some change- for the better.

12.01.2022 How do job opportunities compare? Here's an answer for you-

12.01.2022 More insight from our friends at Juice Media.

08.01.2022 Here's a worthy Wannon electorate action for us all to support. Would be worth considering carpooling with friends too.

06.01.2022 Shared from my group Relocalise food and find your Niche. I would love to see you over there, where I share my Permaculture inspired, real world experiences an...d how they all relate to the next step in our human evolution, the Relocalisation of the food system. - Carolyn Gemmell Making Pots and Punnets work for you. As home gardeners, whether we want to grow for our own needs or do something larger scale, there are a few myths and mistakes we need to overcome with regards to starting with seeds. As I have already touched on, buying seedlings in punnets is not something we should be looking at long term. Its a bit like buying Fast Food. Some is better than others, but it should never take the place of cooking at home. We have got so use to the look and feel of little plastic punnets that we have come to think that's how all seedlings should be, the truth is much more complex. We need to understand that the way punnets are grown is in an intensive way, with thousands if not millions of punnets in a highly controlled setting. These controls are the soil texture and sterility, nutrient inputs, controlled temperature, protection from the weather, and continuous water supply by dippers, sprayers or water bath. Seedling production companies have long known that the tiny bit of soil in a punnet is just enough to hold the plant upright, long enough for you to buy it. The smaller the amount of soil, the better their bottom line. Also, because the seedling business is a business, we have seen the expansion of seedling ranges to include things in punnets that should never ever been grown containment, let alone a punnet.Firstly, anything with a large seed should always be sown direct into the soil, it is detrimental to sow these things in pots and transplant them. It will contribute to the ultimate failure or low success rate of productivity. For example, pumpkins, melons, cucumbers, peas and beans are all large seeds and all they require for success is good soil, appropriate watering and targeted timing for when they are planted. This target timing means too early they can die, too late and they will not have enough time to do what they need to be productive, its like Goldie locks, it need to be just right. And we can all learn about this appropriate timing, its not difficult. The next group of things that come in punnets that should never be seen in them is root crops, specifically carrots and parsnips, but also beetroot, turnips and radish. Vegetables with long tap roots do not work in punnets or pots because by the time you transplant them into the soil they already needed deeper soil underneath them, the roots twist and wind around each other looking for space, you eventually harvest a tangled mess. The more shallow rooted crops simply don't need punnets because they are faster and simpler to grow from seed, they don't need a two stage care system, they don't need the controlled environment, they will burst out of the soil like weeds if sown in prepared soil and watered. The next group of things seen in punnets un-necessarily are all the leafy greens. Lettuce, Asian greens, spinach, silver beet and everything from the brassica family. These plants are all hardy annuals. This means they have a wide range of tolerances, both hot and cold, and if over protected they become weak and do not do well. It is not so much that starting in pots or punnets is detrimental, it is just un-necessary. However sometimes it can be convenient to start them in pots, simply for timing reasons, you may not have bed space ready, say at the end of summer, while you wait for summer crops to finish. You can have some things ready to go in as others come out.This all brings us to the things that do work on pots and can work in punnets. Those are the tender annuals. We are talking about, Tomatoes, capsicums, chilies and eggplant. You can take the time to sow individual seeds into cell trays, as long as you are prepared to control all the inputs, excellent soil, constant appropriate watering, weather protection etc. or you can simply plant them into a large deep pot and set in a warm sheltered position. The trick with this group is always about the timing. All these plants came originally from Central America(where day length is constant) they were then taken to the Northern Hemisphere (where summer days are very long, over 12 hours of sunlight per day) and developed further, then we brought them to the Southern Hemisphere where the summer is shorter and sharper. So, to get a productive crop we have to 'cheat time' a little. We start these plants early with plenty of protection, in a modified climate niche, so that when the soil outside is warm we can transplant out semi advanced seedling. If we did not try and cheat time in this way, we end up with what everyone knows as the disappointment at the other end of the season. We waited all simmer for the plants to grow and they only start to produce as Autumn hits, the next thing the nights are cool, the soil temperature drops and it's all over. We stand back and wonder what the hell happened. All that time, all those input, and little reward that comes late if at all. There are niches to be found for sure, if you want to produce plants in punnets and pots for the convenience of yourself and others. But keep in mind your local context and where you want this all to fit in the Re-localisation picture.