We’ve had good experiences transplanting them during the early part of the growing season, maybe someone nearby would let you take a clump or three to get you started. They can spread pretty prolifically from a start like that. I haven’t noticed them spreading seed very far, but their roots will spread them out readily.

I’m in love with your plans and goals! Something that’s resisted a lot of wear from our dog’s circuits has been wild violets, and we’re seeing more clovers volunteering in those patches alongside them.

It sounds like just the right amount of ambition to me, I’m hopeful you’ll see great results and will share them with us here!

We have a few small welded wire rings, roughly 3 feet in diameter and 4 feet high, that we use around the bird yard. That’s about the minimum size to get the piles to heat to the point of being able to kill off most seeds that make it in there, and it’s a simple thing to lift the ring and move it over so the pile can be turned. You could make it smaller if you’re not too concerned with volunteer plants sprouting. I know a few folks who will line the inside with landscape felt (not the plastic stuff) to have less material fall through the gaps in the wire and make them look a little cleaner, if that’s something you’re interested in.

Not all poly is equally UV resistant. If your roll has branding information on it I would highly recommend checking that before using it. Cleaning up the pieces of the wrong poly is a huge pain because it fragments more while you’re trying to pick it up.

If what you have lying around isn’t up to the task, ask around at your local greenhouses for offcuts from their last greenhouse skins. The box stores will try to sell you rolls from the paint department, and that’s no good for this. You could also try any local dance studios about tulle they didn’t use - plenty of folks use fabric mesh to do their brassica low tunnels.

The cabbage moth solution I see everywhere is low tunnels with a fine mesh to exclude them. We were gifted a hinged low tunnel and I’m planning to use that for our frame, I’ll let you know how it goes

All of this sounds amazing, I can’t wait to see your results!

There’s tons of ways to properly compost! What kind of setup are you considering?

You’re going to do great! And the plants will help to hide things you learned from 💕

Any specific varieties you have in mind? If not, we’ve been really pleased with our ‘Marie du Bois’ cultivar - they’re huge and delicious

That sounds like a great set of goals!

I built up a few new raised beds / sunken pathways for more vegetable production before the ground froze, and used them to heel in dozens of perennials for the winter. We also have some spaces along our property boundaries that have newly opened sun access, so once the soil is workable again we’ll be investing in native hedgerow to replace some of our fencing. We and a few of our neighbors have had tree work done by a friend in town recently, so we’re going to have another 30+ yards of wood chips from the block for pathways and mulching.

That’s awesome, I’m glad to hear that your community is doing one too!

I’ve been preoccupied growing and training up a Juniper (our four month old), but I’ve also got a closet full of Cuban Oregano (Plectranthus). Every time they get tall enough to touch the grow lights I take cuttings to make more. Like Chris, I’m freezing my butt off.

I’m currently soliciting donations for our town’s seed library, and will be getting together with folks in a few weeks to organize and package all the donations. The library also built a greenhouse with a grant this past year, so we’ll be planning some crops and their rotations in there and in the ADA raised beds we built last year.

There are a ton of seeds we collected from our cultivated plants and ones we foraged during the fall, those will be started soon to be ready for spring plantings and for our library’s annual plant sale fundraiser.

I can see why it’s your favorite, this is beautiful

💕

This is an incredibly good point - blueberries often have a hard time rooting without a number of fundamental factors in place. Soil type, how a particular site drains or holds water, whether a host of other organisms are able to support the sometimes tenuous grasp they have to the space; even how acidic or basic a particular plot is will heavily influence how well they can do, let alone whether they’ll thrive there. Finding anywhere else that’s suitable is a monumental task, and daunting.

It’s my belief that everyone who can be a steward should be looking to blunt as much of the disturbance as they can for the blueberries that aren’t able to be uprooted, like a thick protective mulch to prevent the damage that can drive too deeply into the soil, while also keeping those new spaces they find in mind for the ones that can be safely relocated. Preferably in a way that inoculates the soil to provide a resurgence of them, and makes the whole area more conducive to the beauty and nourishment that they provide. It’s that mindset of interconnectedness, with blueberries, that allows for a path for understanding how best to approach the task at hand. It would be impossible to do without respecting the needs of the blueberries in question.

Awesome shots! What an adorable subject

Thank you! And may I add

Thank you for crossposting this here! I sent the original thread to a few friends who have dabbled in hydro setups this morning. Keep up the great work!

I’m not going to lie, I’m jealous of the home automation control and your average inside temps! I’ve got a small grow closet and have the shutoff thermostat in the lowest level of shelving, but am not allowed to have it below 68F because of the newborn and a wife who is always cold 😂

Very cool! Are you relying on your lights and ambient heat for temperature maintenance, or are you supplementing the heat?

Cool ombre, hombre!