I made a few more blocks today–very fun. We haven’t built more grow lights yet, and the ones we have are pretty full, so I was wondering what to do with these newly planted seeds until we make the new grow lights. They don’t really need light until they germinate, but I need to keep them away from the cats. Aha! I put them on TOP of the current grow lights. They should benefit from the warmth of the lights, too. The trays of soil blocks look like brownies at first glance! Soon there will be little plants coming out of the top–basil brownies perhaps?
At night we’ve been covering the seedling area with the blankets tacked on top, to keep the cats out overnight, and that’s been working. The next shelf for our grow bench here will be underneath the current one, so we’ll have to create some way to keep the cats out….some sort of screen or something.
It seems like the costs keep adding up: we need this, we need that… So this first year will definitely be our “investment” year. After the initial costs, each year in the future we’ll be able to count our savings by growing our own food.
I ordered the 4″ blocker today. I got a call later to tell me it’s backordered until May 1. Dang! So I ordered it from another company and hopefully their’s aren’t backordered. I haven’t heard yet.
It sure is tempting to over-plant the seeds. I’m getting smarter and not planting so many all at once like I did with the first batch of tomatoes. I’m sure I’ll be giving away some of those seedlings, if they live. I’m a little concerned–they are looking sickly since I transplanted them. Hopefully they’ll perk up.