Throwing caution to the wind

[JohnC]

Ok, I threw caution to the wind and decided to plant some of my bamboo seedlings outside with protection. Sure enough a few days later it went down to below freezing, however that looks like the last were going to get that cold for some time.

I'm testing milk jugs versus "Kozy kotes":

Milk jug method:
<a><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/245 ... e23767.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0826"></a>

Inside the jug:
<a><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2089/245 ... e652fe.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0827"></a>

Kozy Kote method: These are plastic and have channels that you fill with water to make it rigid and provide thermal protection and re-radiation at night. I think they were designed for tomatoes but as zone benders we've been using them for all sorts of stuff

<a><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/245 ... 312e05.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0828"></a>

Inside:
<a><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3212/246 ... de0076.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0846"></a>

So far it's pretty clear with the freeze we had that the "Kozy kotes" are far better than the milk jugs but the milk jugs will probably be great for above freezing weather to protect the seedlings with far less hassle.

I have some H. Falconeri seedlings (not pictured) on a bit of a slope inside milk jugs and they survived the freeze which was very surprising, I thought they were ultra sensitive.

I have a lot more that I'm hardening off and now that the weather has definitely turned the corner on that freezing at night crap (fingers crossed) I'm going to start mass planting soon.

[Brian_K]

Its hard to verify the true identity of seedlings until they get big enough. They could be anything really. But your setup looks great!

[JohnC]

Its hard to verify the true identity of seedlings until they get big enough. They could be anything really. But your setup looks great!

True enough, though the Mosos are *very* distinctive even as seedlings.
I have a farily high degree of confidence in my supplier for the seeds but time will tell.

[GrowingHabit]

Gorgeous woodland path. If everything has finally leafed out, I bet its even more attractive.

[JohnC]

Gorgeous woodland path. If everything has finally leafed out, I bet its even more attractive.

Thank you. We've been putting in trails by hand since last fall and over the winter. The idea is to have a woodland bamboo area in that section.

We're also working on a funky grass area, a wetland / swamp area, a tropical area, a pond and funky trees area, an orchard and a deep dark forested area and possibly a mediterranean / desert area next summer.

All mini because we're only on just under 3 acres but it's a lot of fun.

Unfortunately with the horrible spring we've had on the west coast it's only starting to leaf in now, this is representative of what it looked like first day of summer last year before there was a trail in a similar section:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23716568@N ... 625021196/