Air Pruning how to/why to/benefits of...

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  • EarlKelly
    EarlKelly Posts: 230 ✭✭✭

    @silvertipgrizz , it does a fantastic job. My buddy Sean does it at edible acres. Uses it to grow his plants that he has for sale. Works great for him. He has been trying to get me to do it. Now that I have the time and our master gardener plant sale has been cancelled, started building the planting boxes. Can’t wait to see how I make out. He also has some excellent videos on you tube on how to do it. Have bought a bunch of his plants, they are great. After seeing his plants highly recommend it

  • silvertipgrizz
    silvertipgrizz Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @EarlKelly I sub to him but rarely get notifications of his vids so I just went to his site for a quick look for air pruning and found 2 other topics I've been wanting to: 1 follow up on propagating elder and willow.. 2 permaculture of my yard so I can grow most to all of my own food and stop have to mow, which in my opinion is a total waste of time mowing an entire yard..

    Next stop is watching his vids on air pruning as I got 5 more baskets yesterday and can't wait to get them planted...the baskets have many small rectangular holes and I lined the 'laundry baskets- maybe 4 gallon I think, lined with the small holed black landscape stuff ($5 rolls from dollar store).

    Thanks for the info and for reminding me about edible acres.🐞

  • EarlKelly
    EarlKelly Posts: 230 ✭✭✭

    @silvertipgrizz your very welcome. Send emails back and forth with Sean. Been to his place quite a few times. Very knowledgeable and always enjoy talking to him. Very helpful. Love going to his place to see what else he has done. Love his videos too. Everyone stay safe out there.

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

    Good stuff!

  • Kelley
    Kelley Posts: 140 ✭✭✭

    Never thought of that!

  • silvertipgrizz
    silvertipgrizz Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @EarlKelly What would you recommend for seed starting, sweet peppers with a low 40% germination rate? I got some awesome seeds that a company was pulling for this reason. I didn't think to ask them what method they tried that got the low germ rate.

    any tricks for improving this? Maybe Sean would have some input as well?

  • SuperC
    SuperC Posts: 952 ✭✭✭✭

    I absolutely love container planting as this method was learned from a meeting with a nature conservatory. Place empty old plant containers with hole in their bottoms upside down inside the pot until midway. Then a little planting soil, the plant, and then fill it with your favorite soil mix. The plant roots are allowed to remain white, healthy, get plenty of oxygen and move freely. Enjoy with love

  • EarlKelly
    EarlKelly Posts: 230 ✭✭✭

    @silvertipgrizz you starting them inside? I have always had good luck with a good seed starting mix and then have a clear plastic dome to put over the seed tray. Then I place the tray on a heat propagation mat. It increases the germination rate and gets the seeds to sprout a lot sooner. Hope this helps you. Oh I remove the dome after the seedlings are about 1/4 tall.

  • silvertipgrizz
    silvertipgrizz Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @EarlKelly Actually I always start tomato's and peppers in the house in the same way you do/seed trays and lids, except I've been to tight to invest in the heat trays because I never thought I needed them before for anything I ever started from seed. However 2 years ago I started an entire '72' seed tray full of a variety of my fav peppers..marconi's, esp the purple's, lipstick, big jim, green bell, jalo's to be sure, cayenne, gypsy (the only hybrid)...and a few more I can't remember now....not one of them ever came up and I had a little trouble with everything else. That has never happened before in all the 40 plus years I've been gardening....The tomato's did the best for some strange reason...I'm pretty sure this house is too humid and I think the peppers poss got 'dampening off'? Can that happen before they srpout?

    So, today I"m going to order at least one heat mat, maybe two depending on cost. Any reccomendations on a good brand?

    I really want these low germination seeds to make it.

  • EarlKelly
    EarlKelly Posts: 230 ✭✭✭

    @silvertipgrizz had to go look at mine. It was a MET brand ordered from Amazon. This one has an actual temp controller on it. Keeps it between 70 and 85. This way can be used in an unseated greenhouse which I am working on now. Most come with a temp controller that will keep it 10 to 20 degrees above ambient temp. Which is ok if it is in your house. Unseated basement might be iffy to get good germination rate. Especially peppers which I have always had a tough time with.

    Also to answer your other question. Yes you can get damping off before your seedlings emerge. Always use sterile seed mix and as an extra measure I put a small fan next to trays for a few hours to make sure to dry things out a little so it can’t get a start in my seedlings. Had a terrible time one year with it. Good luck hope this helps you have a wonderful seed growing season. Keep me posted.