She really was! She swam all day every day of our trip there, so almost two full weeks straight. Living her best life! lol We can’t do that here cuz there’s almost no water above ground in the summer…
lol that’s fair, but I have two things that make me pretty excited about Michigan winters: If you’re within 15mi of the Lake Michigan coast between Pentwater and Manistee (where we’re targeting), according to the farmer’s almanac and the USDA, the average last frost is beginning of May, and average first frost is end of September. That’s a full month more growing season than Boulder/Denver. And the average amount of snowfall in that area is very similar to Boulder/Denver. In three years here in Boulder, I’ve seen it snow 8" on May 26th one year and 7" on September 8 later that same year. We got thundersnowed on one July 4th up in the mountains…and it gets down to -20F real temp every winter here (with -30F wind chills pretty regularly)…I’ve also seen over 150" of total snowfall in a season here, and I weirdly love shoveling, so…I’m all in!
While there wouldn’t be as much sun in between snowstorms in the winter in MI compared to CO, I lived in Portland, OR, for a few years and LOVED it, even though it was 9mo straight of clouds and rain. Oh, and my gf grew up in MI and her whole family lives in MI, but on the colder side of the state (Huron side), so I’ve heard all the horror stories but also know that climate change has meant that MI is about 10F warmer on average than it was just 20-30 years ago. We went there last Christmas for a couple weeks and we saw several sunny days mixed in with cloudy/rainy/snowy days.
Thanks man! Yeah, we were at the beach near Oscoda on the Lake Huron side, then up at Sleeping Bear Dunes near the top of the mitten, and then down at Nordhouse Dunes between Manistee and Ludington and there was nobody at any of the beaches. Even on weekends! It was pretty incredible.
It’s funny you mention that! I actually did a cost analysis of buying my soil recipe’s organic amendments in bulk (20lb-50lb + sizes) versus buying BuildASoil’s Craft Blend in the 44lb free shipping bags a few years ago, and the Craft Blend came out cheaper per cuft amended. It’s an even bigger difference when it’s on sale and 20% off. I only started using the Craft Blend exclusively this year, and I have to say the results are impressive…Also, I suspect the quality, sustainability, and provenance of their ingredients are actually better than what I can get on my own in bulk. That’s an important part of what fancy people call the “beyond organic” ethos.
It’s super close price wise when I calculated for me found some quality cheepish bulk where I’m at so didn’t have to get barely anything shipped to save costs there got enough bulk for a couple of years of runs and even though I like my results when I run out I plan on switching to bas after everything I’ve seen for ease of things
Where do you think everybody was? Haha. Seriously, though, why weren’t there people at the beaches? That seems odd to me. Did you ask any of the locals, like,”How come nobody’s at the beach?”
The only problem with that is that most people still have to order the Craft Blend from BAS and have it shipped. And we all know the environmental impact of shipping stuff all across the country and around the world. I mean, I ordered a 44-pound bag of it myself a month or two ago haha!, so I’m not one to talk, but it does seem to me that if you can source shit locally (even if the individual ingredients you’re using weren’t sourced locally) to create your own “Craft Blend,” it’d be beneficial, if for no other reason than you’re supporting local businesses.
Yeah, and the answer is that the non-city beaches in the northern half of Michigan only get a lot of traffic during holiday weekends in the summer. There’s very low population density in the whole state from approximately north of a line from about Grand Haven to Flint. The water gets a LOT cleaner when you go north of there on both sides, too. There’s just fewer people. That happens to be one of the BIG draws for me. I don’t want to see, smell, or hear neighbors…cuz that’s how I grew up.
I agree with that in principal, but I feel like the carbon footprint of a 44lb of BAS Craft Blend shipped on budget UPS/USPS is going to be the same or less than the smaller boxes of DTE and other organic amendments, but you’d actually be supporting companies (that BAS buys from) with much more sustainable practices, so I bet it’s a wash in the end. I pick mine up at their main store in Montrose, but I guess another option would be to convince your local growshop to carry it or bring it in for you. But then you’re just transferring the carbon footprint to someone else…
Like a few people here are doing, the best bet is to start your own worm bin and grow your own inputs (comfrey is dang near perfect!) or use your own composted scraps. That’s probably the most sustainable thing we can do for our gardens…I wish I had the space to do it. Gotta buy a house…and that won’t happen here in CO cuz we can’t afford a million dollar+ mortgage.
Turns out, life is a lot of compromises…and this is one of them.
You can do a lot with comfrey or other dynamic accumulators like borage, dandelion, yarrow, and stinging nettle (to name a few).
-Use the plant material as a green mulch, top dress, or mixed into the soil allowing it to break down into organic matter.
-You could make a concentrated comfrey tea by adding the leaves to a bucket, filling with water to the top of the plant material, let ferment for a week (stirring every day), once the bubbles cease, strain and use the liquid at a 1 part concentrated tea to 10 parts water or 20-1 ratio for foliar sprays.
I have mostly use it as a mulch layer/ top dress or added to my worm bin.
Believe it or not, the last frost date in the GR metro area averages May 15 and the first frost date averages Oct 15, even though it’s further south and further inland than the area you’re looking at.
I hear ya. Admittedly, I was born in this area and haven’t lived more than a couple hour drive in any direction. So, I remember it being a lot colder and snowier 30+ years ago, Until I was in college, it was rare not to have at least a couple inches of snow for Christmas. The last 10 years or so, it’s been more rare to have any snow for Christmas. It’s hard to think of more recent weather trends without also including weather trends that I recall from my formative years.
So far the Emsco City Pickers are my favorite over the earthboxes and earthbox JR’s. The plants look far healthier but I’ll say the caveat is I got the plants in the earthbox way too big. The City Pickers give you wiggle room in 1.5 cubic feet in my opinion.
I figured let it roll to get its true structure. In addition, I haven’t had the best of grows re-learning SIP’s so I just am rolling with it since it’s healthy.
Hey @CrunchBerries looking at your guide , you mentioned to flip fast in new soil. I’m in half older soil, half new soil. Too soon to flip this air guitar? It’s at the point the roots hit the water after hand watering for a week, and they’re starting to take off. I definitely take them larger 99% of the time when they get a few more nodes. .
The caveat is I top dressed during transplant and they’re probably now just breaking down the amendments . That’s why I’m a little unsure on your method. I almost thought let it veg a bit like another week or two so I can train it better , then amend once I flip .
With new soil, flip small with threeish top dresses total. One when setting up your sip, one at planting and one at flip. Water with microbial inoculate from there. You don’t want your engine to run out of fuel.
Do you! You could probably let it go another week before flip. Depending on the stretch you might not need it. Im just relaying the information that has worked for me.
No it’s awesome information and I can’t thank you enough. I’ve been guilty of underestimating the horsepower of a SIP and wind up in trouble. I might go another week, then top dress lightly at like half cup per amendment , and see how it does. Coming from large pots to earthboxes , it’s a learning adjustment . I won’t be mad with two EB’s if they got rather big, with a lot of training but 80 inches tall gives me some leeway . Can’t wait to see how this oyster shell going forward helps.
Not to discredit mr @CrunchBerries in any way but fwiw i flip when the plant is the size i want it. I veg for a while so i add one more topdress than the listed method. After i transplant into the sip i do a topdress at 4 weeks of veg, then veg for 4 more weeks, top dress and flip 2 weeks later. I have ran out of space on a few of my girls so i might go to 3 weeks, topdress, 3 weeks, topdress, then flip 2 weeks later. I run big solo girls in 40gal bins and a 4x4 tent per plant though so i am kind of an odd duck but try to max out our silly plant count limit
