Tupperware containers

I just couldn't wait to run out of milk anymore. I'm becoming addicted to WS! I bought 15 tupperware containers (I plan on using them for as many winters as I can). Yesterday, I WS aster, marigold, sweet pea, sunflower (Teddy Bear), baby's breath, and celosia. Tomorrow I'm going to do columbine, Allium cernuum, bachelor's button, sunflower (Mammoth), coral bells, pansy, and some mixed wildflower seeds. I'm going to have a REAL problem if these all germinate! ;-) Happy WS, Tamara

Tamara,

which ones (tupp.) are you using? I know they can get expensive... I was thinking about using "gladware" or those cheaper, thinner ones.

I do have quite a few milk jugs (my kid brings them home from work) though I'm not sure or not if I like'em or not yet. Really had to struggle with them to get the tape on to close'em. I may try a different route than what i used yesterday.

So far i've SW'ed
Babys Breath, Holly Hock, and lavender... and I have a TON left to do.

OH -- yanno those 2# containers you get from the deli, for salads and the sort?... i have a bunch of them and i'm thinking about using them... say 4 or 5 sunflower seeds each. I'll see how that works out.

Terese

I went to a "dollar store" and bought aluminum foil roasting pans - 2 for $1. I covered each with two plastic shopping bags and then dumped some marble chips in the bottom for drainage. I used paper pots for the plants. I then enclosed everything in a white drawstring garbage bag, which was supported with a bent coathanger to keep the plastic lifted off the pots. I put several slashes in the garbage bags for ventilation.

I hope to be able to store and reuse the aluminum roasting pans.

I also used milk jugs, and placed tall paper pots in baggies.

I will let you know whether anything germinates :-)

This message was edited Feb 10, 2007 3:30 PM

I got my tupperware at the Dollar General. It's those "throw away" types, not the really nice Tupperware. And, I will not be buying them anymore. They don't like to have holes made in the bottom--they crack. I'm going to line the ones that cracked the worst with coffee filters to keep the medium from running out. I don't like taping much, either, but I some good music on, and it makes it go by faster. Tamara

LOL -- the DH and kids are all out this evening. I'll crank it up to make the time pass.

Tamara,

i did a few more milk jugs this evening, and I found a neat tip on the other garden site
where you use a hole punch and twisty-tie the top & bottom together... worked MUCH nicer.
Only 1 i had a big gap, so i put it in a clear bag.

tips & tricks with milk jugs

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/wtrsow/msg011108165022.html?11

Thank you! Great idea! I'm going to try that! Tamara

tamara, try using an electric drill....or my favorite...I heat up a meat skewer or small screwdriver (this will panic you husband until he sees it's an old one) for several seconds on my stove burner and it melts right thru all the different plastics I have tried.

Oooo! Another great idea! Thanks so much, Tammy! Tamara

I use the twist tie method because that tape drives me crazy! If I have a big gap, I usually leave it open, but on some I put a piece of tape just over the gap. If you put it in a plastic bag, they won't get watered when it rains.

And you know to use the wood burning tool or hot poker on the plastic OUTSIDE only, right? You don't want to breathe the fumes, so stay upwind. You also don't want those fumes in your house because, well, they stink!

Suzy

Thank you, Suzy! I didn't think of that...but since the wind chill is -10 today, I think that I will save the burning holes for another day. ;-) Tamara

the one I put into a clear bag... I rubber banded it at the top, just under the hole...

tcs,

Yes, I figured you knew that, I only brought it up because for every person posting here, there are over 200 who are reading only (lurking). I thought I would just sort of dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s. (And I'm sure you put drainage slits on the bottom, too.)

Suzy

Another thing about burning the plastic, the fumes are TOXIC. Some of you have already read my song and dance about this. One of my professors in University singed his trachea and part of his lungs from the fumes of melting plastic. It was the fumes not heat.

I have just done 13 more containers that makes a total of 64 mostly gallon milk containers. I get friends and family to save them for me. I think that I will keep the ones that I can to use again next year. I had been just getting new ones, but that cutting and making holes is getting old. I have 15 more draining the excess water and then I can plant them. This is getting so exciting.

I don't know, Zen, it's a pain in the butt to wash them out, too. LOL! At least you have the excitement to make the cutting and hole making tolerable, but when it's the end of the road and you're dog tired getting all your babies planted, I think the last thing you're going to want to do, I know it's the last thing *I'll* want to do, is wash the darn things out! Oh, and they'll have garden aoil splashed on the outside, too, so it's washing inside and out!

Will they nest at all? I wonder about the sheer VOLUME of jugs I have here and trying to save them....if they'd nest, then I could probabaly swing it, but if they don't nest, plus I have to clean them, it would be easier to take them to the recycling station.

Suzy

THANKS for the warning about melting holes in the plastic; I will be careful. I usually do just one container at a time when it is emptied.

Suzy,

I am wondering about the washing as well, but it has been nice having a few of last years containers so as not to have to do all of that cutting and drilling. They might stack with them open and stacking bottom to bottom and top to top. I will see when the time comes.

The thing here is that to recycle them they have to be cleaned so if I don't clean them they have to go into the trash. I know what you mean about being to tired to wash them after all of the work getting the plants into the ground it is like cleaning up after a party.

As far as the cutting and hole drilling goes DH has to do that because I can't.

Pauline

BTW,

My husband bought a pair of great socks from our local hippy health food store and they were made from plastic milk jugs (recycled plasrtic)! He said they were really nice....felt good on...as opposed to polyester or nylon or whatever cheap socks are made from. I think a pair costs $12.00, but he likes to wear real thick socks, previously wool, with his gum boots.

Our plastic jugs do not have to be cleaned here.

Suzy

we don't have to clean our recycling either, though i normally rinse stuff out.

amazing what is done with recyclables

I was my local HD this morning, lookin' fer stuff... and right near the check out they had these Rubbermaid "shoe box" sized containers for 0.89

so i grabbed 2. I was in the basement drilling holes (DH hates it when i use his tools) then it dawned on me that the lids were a solid blue, where the container itself is a translucent blue.

so, now i'm in the process of cutting a huge hole in the top (doing like the ice cream container thing) and i'll use clear wrap to cover it.

but -- the holes drilled nicely -- no cracking. Rubbermaid is a "softer" plastic than steralite (sp)

anyhoo -- i'll post a pic when i'm done.

I am sure that the warning about burning plastic is valid...but using a soldering iron to poke holes in milk jugs really just melts the plastic a little. Every once and a while I see a small bit of smoke from a piece that gets stuck to the soldering iron tip but I have to admit that I am not too concerned.

BTW, I gave the twist tie suggestion a go with my latest batch of milk jugs...GREAT IDEA! I do have to admit that I punched the holes for the twist tie with my soldering iron.

- Brent

Brent,

the lil bit of punching holes with a hot poker (meat thermometer heated at the stove)
i did it under the exhaust fan, and i wasn't doing many at a time.

didnt smell anything noxoius.

i dont think i have an soldering iron - and if DH does, i dont know about it.... he has a rough enough time with me using his drill!!

well, i got the 2 boxes done, 1) 2liter bottle and various other small sw'ing containers done.

here is the box with the cut-out lid.

Very clever, tcs1366!

I am not one ready to take any chances with my brain or my lungs so I will not burn plastic inside my home. If you have children or pets please don't expose them to it.

That shoe box looks like it will work very well.

I've got a good exhaust fan over my stove, so that's where I poke holes in my containers with a hot skewer. I also do high-heat cooking with very hot peppers and other things that make noxious fumes, so I know my exhaust fan (squirrel cage blowers, vents to outside) is effective. I think it's like working with spray paint, or with any solvent... good ventilation is important.

Yup, good ventilation is important.

The first year I did winter sowing I took the advice I had read and bought an inexpensive soldering iron. I make holes in the botton and make a hole near the handle of the jug tomake a place to put the scissors to start the cut. After four years the soldering irons is still working.

OH -- I've been meaning to comment on the "shoe boxes" i used... they are not tall enough.

the one that has the cosmos - the siran wrap top hits the top of the seedlings, and they started turning brown, so i've had to remove that.
the other one, i have the soil so high, almost 4" deep, where the other one I used peat pots and about 2" soil -- and there is NO room for any growth... so basically i've taken both the boxes and put them in that zippered "blanket" bag.

I will have to look for larger boxes for next year.

tcs1366: Definitely remove the saran wrap once your seeds germinate. The plastic is reflecting the sun and baking your tender sprouts. Also, move you sprouted containers to an area that receives morning sun. The afternoon sun is to hot and will bake them.

How are you keeping peat pots moist enough? I would worry that they would dry out to quickly. As you mentioned, no head room for the sprouts either. Definitely get larger containers next year....a good lesson learned.

for some reason, my peat pots are staying nice and damp. I haven't had to water them yet.
I also have soil in there.... 12 peat pots and added soil where i have other seeds to fill in the extra room...maybe that is how they are not drying out.

as for sun... i really only have the south side of my house to put my containers. If i move them all farther back (west) they will get shade from my clematis (the brown "dead" stuff) but other than that.. there is no shade... but i'm home all the time and check on them frequently. After today we are expecting 3-4 days of clouds/rain....

OH the only other place would be full shade... how would that work? They'd get absolutely NO sun.

terese

Shirley,

your comment about "baking the tender sprouts" has me questioning if i need to remove ALL the covers once there are sprouts.

some are loose -- like the milk jugs, but others are like the #2 deli containers with lids that i just poked holes in... should those lids come off too?

Terese

Terese,

It really depends on how much sun you have and if it is still cold at night. I have several holes in the plastic where I had to use it as a cover. Last year I didn't remove the covers or open the milk jugs until the sprouts were well on their way. I monitored them, but wanted them to be warm like a green house. Nothing fried. They get sun from sunrise until about 1:00 pm.

Terese: You're lucky that can monitor your peat pots on a continuous basis. Right now the temps are still cold & moisture is abundant. As it gets warmer, the peat pots will dry out more quickly, so you really need to be vigilant. What type of seeds do you have growing in the peat pots? Can they be planted in your garden soon?

In regards to your tender sprouts, I would increase the size of the vents in your deli containers and keep making them larger until you decide to remove the covers. Also increase the size of the vents in the milk jugs. Some people prop their milk jugs open with plastic utensils where you made the initial cut.

If you have germinated shade loving seedlings, then I would move them to a more protected area. It doesn't take long for those containers to get hot.

>>What type of seeds do you have growing in the peat pots?

they are cosmos. And since this is my first year doing anything from seed -- I am completely winging it. I just figured when the soil is ready to be worked, and we shouldn't have any more hard frosts -- I'd start planting if the seedlings are big enough.

>>If you have germinated shade loving seedlings

i think everything i planted is for sun.

checking the long range forecast -- it looks like we will be 40's for the low for the rest of the month... with the highs being mid-50-mid-60.

I'll just keep keeping an eye on things.