Hi Glo!

You DO want to allow moisture both in and out of the container, so I would put slits in the top, as well as the bottom of the plastic bags. Did you poke a hole or two in the bottom of the styrofoam cups?

If I don't round up some more containers soon, I may have to post an ad on Craigslist, or do some recycle bin raiding!

Bonnie

Hi Bonnie, I poked 5 holes in the bottom of each cup and left an area where the zipper is for air to circulate. No holes in the bottoms because the coke tray sits up a good ways so I figure any moisture is going to recycle. I'll go poke some holes in the tops now too! It looks pretty cool to say the least and I may stay with this setup, but with recycled 4 and 6" pots instead of the cups since I have a ton that I've kept over the years and snuck into boxes before ddh tossed them!

Anyway, happy planting and thanks!
glo

Hi Glo!

I have a question...

When you say "blanket bags" are those the same as those durable clear plastic square-ish bags that sheet sets, blankets and drapes come in?

I have tons of those because I can't stand to throw anything into the trash! I use ONE for my current yarn project but the rest don't do much.

If this is the right thing, I think I'll try it with a few of my seeds. I'm going to try a couple different things this year!

Thank you,

Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,
Yes... those are the bags! They are pretty much heavy duty plastic and seem to work fine! So far, anyway. I can't stand to throw away either. I use the turkey pans that come with the wire handle that goes across the bottoms... I took it off, unbent the handles, then poke my holes in the pan, fill with dirt, then sow my lettuce and put the rack on the top with the handles inside the dirt. Wire acts as a means of keeping the top of the bag from collapsing should we get heavy snow. That's what gave me the idea for my open top containers like the cups. I've also got a couple of bags that are round and I'm going to use it for a regular pot to sow my LIR since I plant so many of those. I thought I was out of them, and while at walmart, I found the storage bags that work so well with the soda flats. While unpacking some of the last boxes from the move, I found three more and one is really huge and I'm going to use it to hold some 6 or 8 inch pots and start some of my climbing stuff like Asarina and canary vine and love in a puff. I'll be able to put sticks in for them to start climbing on. I guess necessity is the father of invention!

hope this helps... I'm going to take a picture of my ghetto this year for sure! I've only done the hardiest seeds and I've already got 37 pots going! Am waiting another month or so for the tenderest annuals and the $50 bucks worth of seeds that are coming yet! Have no clue what's going to come up and what won't at this altitude.

glo

LIR?

I'm sorry, I'm so used to using LIR... it's Lady in Red Salvia coccinea and my hummingbirds back in MD. loved it and I always plant lots of it! I'll probably put most of it in pots on the decks. I love my birds!

glo

Thanks, Glo!

I was wondering about the LIR too but then I scrolled down :)

We use so many strange abbreviations at work and I sometimes forget that no one else knows what they mean!

I must have half a dozen of those bags!

I'm still not sure when to start my seeds. Last year, I started them too late. It said to start them one month before the last frost date but that turned out to be May 15! I think this year I'll start them much, much earlier. And, besides, I don't have to put them out on their own until the weather is ready. Um, that is, if any of them actually sprout for once!

Excited about seeds and tiny, tiny seedlings,
J

I'm not sure when to start most of my seeds, but I went ahead and started the hardiest stuff I have, such as the common milkweed and Bells of Ireland, etc.

I'm feeling like a newbie gardener this year as I'm used to a much higher growing zone and everyone around here says I can't grow anything up here in this altitude and soil. So, we shall see and learn as we go! I have to try whether it's a lost cause or not! We do have a very small green house, so maybe I'll put a few things in it once they've done the w/s time and see if I can jump start some growing. Since I've never had a g/h, it is going to be a hit and miss experiment too.

glo

Well, I would have to disagree with all of those people telling you that you can't grow anything at your altitude Glo! I know that you and J are in the 7,500' - 8,500' range and I'm only around 5,500', but I've hiked several places at approximately 10,000 and there were TONS of wildflowers at that elevation. So I think it's just a matter of you guys picking the right things.

Here are a couple of pictures from a hike I took last summer on Mt. Sopris:

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Did you take a look at those links I gave you on the WS forum? There were plenty of things to chose from. Now if you are determined to grow the same things you grew when you were in zone 7, then I'm not sure I can guarantee your success : )

My GW name says it all,
Bonnie

Those are beautiful, Bonnie!
And yes, I'm at 8500' here and I really think I can grow most of the stuff I want. I may have to baby some stuff along but that's ok, cuz I love doing it! I have Indian Paint Brush and Lupine among other natives so I don't have just Maryland flowers. Have way more than I need and my Valueseeds order came yesterday. Once my T&M order gets here, the DH may have my head! We have a 10X10 upper deck, and a 24 X 28 lower deck, so lots of stuff will be potted and I know it's going to look great! I'm going to order a few things from High Country Gardens, but most will grow by winter sowing.

I'm sure I looked at the links provided, but I have trouble with memory these days... yesterday, I opened the trash can to throw something away, and there were the dish towels I though I took down to the laundry. At least it wasn't the fridge this time!

thanks so much,
glo

LOL! I once put the ice cream "back" into the fridge! That was a mistake!!! End of ICE cream!

I have some links for you for looking up high altitude things, but don't have time to post them right now. I'll be back!

Skybird

Well, I can't remember how to make clickable links within the text, but here are some sites to check out. You'll have to cut and paste them.

http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/search/products/?query=high+altitude&x=11&y=12

http://www.denverplants.com/hialt/herbaceous.htm

http://www.phelangardens.com/Community_Info/High_Altitude_Gardening.htm

Bonnie

I can sympathize Skybird because our fridge sits right beside the pantry and I keep trying to put ice cream in there. One of these days, I probably will, knowing me!

Bonnie, yes, and thanks for posting these site. I've been to all of them and and have lots I want to order from HGC so my fingers are really crossed for dh's job interview Friday. Retirement is nice, but it won't keep me supplied in plants and seeds and of course, my books!

glo

Hi Glo,

Here are links to some places you may want to check out!

LetÂs start with this!

"With over 1,100 species of hardy perennials, and 150 native plant species, the Alaska Botanical Garden is the place to experience the abundance of the summer sub-arctic growing season and to learn about flora native to southcentral Alaska." Unfortunately they donÂt seem to have a list of what they grow, but, uh, if Anchorage can have a Botanical Garden, You can have a Glo Garden!

HereÂs a link to the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in Vail, and you CAN look up info on the different plants they grow!

This is a link to the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society. I suspect the Indian Paintbrush on the front page is the same species Bonnie posted a picture of above. There are some really good links on their Resources pageÂbut there are some duds there too!

HereÂs a link to a really good site. ItÂs the Jane Hendrix site. If you click on one of the four (green) Rocky Mountain Wildflower links, you get a list (down the left side) of all kinds of plants that grow at HIGH altitude. If you click on the individual pictures, it will tell you at what altitude they were found. (Jane Hendrix, BTW, is near Breckenridge, and welcomes visitors to her gardens, with advance notice!)

Then the problem becomesÂwhere can you find them???

A lot of them can be found at Rocky Mountain Rare Plants! But, fair warning! ItÂs VERY dangerous to do much looking on this site!

Alplains carries some unusual seed too, but watch the zones! ItÂs Al-PLAINS, and a lot of their plants are for warmer areas on the plains!

And one more! IÂve never tried this company, but they do carry a lot of zone 2, 3, and 4 perennials! ItÂs Gardens North

ThereÂs LOTS of things you can grow! Have fun planning!

DonÂt put any of the plants in the pantryÂunless you put a light in there too,
;-)
Skybird

Glo, I'm sure there's a good selection you can grow in WP, especially if you have some sun in the yard (our friends that live there have nearly all shade). There's someone here who I think lives in Manitou Springs, but I don't remember who it is...

I'm at 7000' out east of you a bit, but I'm just starting my garden, so I'm not much help.

Glo,

I gotta say that I am not quite as high as you but we go hiking just behind us and it goes from about 9k to 12k and there are tons of flowers on that hike!

So...I wrote Rocky Mountain Rare Plants to ask for help picking seeds for my altitude and here was their prompt response:

"Thank you for your inquiry. Most of our seed will grow ideally at your altitude. Some exceptions may be the ones from California. Dianthus, Draba and Eriogonums are some of the easiest to get going and keep happy. Hope you enjoy picking."

I looked on Dave's Garden to see if there were any negative posts and there were none. 6 positive responses. They did say that the order process is a bit slow, but sometimes that's just how things are!

I'm planning on trying some of those alpine seeds!!

Also, even though we are about 250 feet lower, my neighbor grows everything. She has flowering trees and vines and ground cover and who knows what else. I figure, if she can do it, I can do it.

Thanks so much Skybird and Bonnie!
I used to live in Alaska.... you should have seen my veggie garden there! The radishes were so big my dad wouldn't believe they weren't apples!

I've got Edelwiess and hope it takes off! I also have a couple of rock garden plants and several other things I want to try!

There are several things in HCG's high alt. pages that I'm planning to order. And I am planning to get some of the trees and shrubs that are suggested for here. Especially the ones that provide berries for birds. They are my other passion!

So, with research and y'alls help here, I'm sure I'm going to have one heck of a "new" yard!

Jclepine,
I think we have to keep the "can do" attitude! I have tons of seeds, so if you want to try something different, let me know! I have to try...if they don't work the first couple of years, I'll try something different! I want to get some trumpet vines going and then I've got several other climbers to try too. I know I'm going to get some peonies and for the shady part of the yard, some ferns and some bleeding hearts and astilbe. I'm ready
!!!
greenbean08, If there are any seeds you need, let me know and I'll see if I can help. We might as well learn together.

glo

Glo,
Where in AK?
We moved here from Wasilla last winter.
Were you there for long?

greenbean08,
I'm sorry it has taken so long to get back here. Had the grandboys for the week and I was really busy...playing! The little one was getting a cold and kept waking up after short little bursts of sleep unless I was holding him. Anyway, I lived on Eilson AFB for a year, then in Fairbanks for a year and another year in Anchorage. I'd have stayed there if I could have done so without my ex! I loved it there. It's so beautiful and so different than anywhere else I've ever been! Was there from '84 to '87.

glo

I was only there for a little while (1.5 years). It's beautiful there, but we decided we're not meant to be Alaskans long term. DH got a job offer here, so we took it. Winter here is so much more my style...