9
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Accepted
Can I prune a grape vine in near-freezing weather?
You can also prune when it freezes, without problems. I do that regularly under snow and have never had a problem. It is also done regularly in my region.
Just:
don't prune too much early: wait a ...
- 14.1k
8
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Are household LED bulbs suitable as supplemental light for plants?
There is very little good information about the actual wavelength spectra and intensity for household LED bulbs and they may differ by model/brand and color temperature (ie. 3000K vs 5000K) to some ...
- 81
8
votes
Solar driven LEDs to offset electricity for mass growing in a basement
The cost effective solution for quite some time is and has been and probably will be to move further "towards the equator" and ship "away from the equator", or for a few things that don't ship well ...
- 22.7k
6
votes
Accepted
What is the tall plant in these photos?
As you're in East Anglia, UK, the plant growing at the base of your banana is Fatsia japonica rather than anything more exotic. This is quite the strangest planting combination I've seen - banana ...
- 132k
6
votes
Solar powered electric help for winter roof garden?
If you're worried about freezing, keep them warm somehow (heat mat/cold frame/both). If you want to boost photosynthesis use lights (not UV, but red and blue). So the first thing is to decide what ...
- 1,162
6
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What edible plants can be grown in cold climates?
Minnesota can have a 20 degree temperature range in the winter, depending on where you live; here's the map. I'm assuming that you're in or near Minneapolis (Zone 4a), where it might hit -30 F in ...
- 18.2k
6
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Can I prune a grape vine in near-freezing weather?
Pruning during winter is just fine. Make sure you use alcohol to clean your bypass pruners (avoid anvil types) before, in between different vines and after you have finished.
pruning grapevines
- 40.1k
5
votes
What color should a greenhouse be?
Several of the answers here are incorrect. Green plastic absorbs green light or reflects it which is why it appears green. Green is chosen because if you want to reduce the light intensity to the ...
- 23.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Solar powered electric help for winter roof garden?
Plants, like us, need a specific amount of daylight and nightlight, rest and adjustment to seasons. You will be putting a strain with the extra light on your plants, in addition to their attempts to ...
- 3,586
5
votes
Accepted
Take care of gap in lawn before winter or wait until spring?
Leave it as is until sod is available in the spring. Just don't walk in that area during winter, to avoid soil compacting.
In spring, some minor work will be needed to prepare the area for sod, but ...
- 5,810
5
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Accepted
What edible plants can be grown in cold climates?
The first things you should do are these:
For long-lived and/or expensive perennials, in cold areas, I personally recommend looking for plants that can survive hardiness zones that match the record ...
- 18k
5
votes
Can my vegetables grow indefinitely
I once volunteered at a greenhouse that tried to provide fresh tomatoes to local restaurants throughout the winter. We were able to keep the tomatoes growing, but they stopped producing after a few ...
- 18.2k
4
votes
Accepted
Is my crepe myrtle dying because of winter season?
Those are the cotyledons, the first set of leaves and this is totally normal. Your plant looks very healthy. How big is this pot? I am having trouble with scale. This has been a bit of work for you ...
- 40.1k
4
votes
Accepted
Why would a broccoli plant have grey patches on only a single leaf?
That leaf is the oldest leaf and is in the process of dying. Totally normal. Cut it off so that plant can concentrate its energy making its flower!
- 40.1k
4
votes
Solar driven LEDs to offset electricity for mass growing in a basement
To beat USD 0.109/kWH you'd have to create a very DIY system, possibly including auction lots of seconds (damaged goods) from eBay or a similar source of solar cells from China, and install them ...
- 143
4
votes
What color should a greenhouse be?
Green filters, such as the green colored plastic, allows more green light than other wavelengths to pass through. For plants, the blue and red part of the spectrum are the most important. Since plant ...
- 49
4
votes
What color should a greenhouse be?
While looking for an answer to this question myself, I came across this article which talks about actual studies that have been done regarding the colour of plastic greenhouse covers. In particular it ...
- 141
4
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Are household LED bulbs suitable as supplemental light for plants?
You can grow plants with white LEDs. The bulbs sold at hardware stores are slightly more efficient than 23 watt CFLs, however they are less efficient than T5s or metal halide bulbs. I have tried LED ...
- 41
4
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Are household LED bulbs suitable as supplemental light for plants?
I use led lights for a planted fish tank, and all of the plants have very high light requirements, and it works fine. Mind you- each fixture (I have two of them), costs around 175.00 dollars, but if ...
4
votes
Accepted
How to protect pea plants from cold?
I live in Wisconsin, where we also plant when the temps can get below freezing, and I think that you're right to be concerned - 9 F is awfully cold for your plants—according to this sustainable ...
- 18.2k
3
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Are household LED bulbs suitable as supplemental light for plants?
It seems like CFLs or fluorescent tubes would be a better option. That's what most people use and they provide the broadband blue-violet and UV light that LEDs can't provide.
- 31
3
votes
Are household LED bulbs suitable as supplemental light for plants?
I have multiple 28w LED "grow" lights. They work wonderfully well to keep leafy-green and succulent house plants robust in -very- low light situations. Plants used to die in the same locations. ...
3
votes
How tall can Boxwood Green Velvet really grow?
The link you've given does indeed suggest a possible, very mature and eventual height of up to 6 feet. However, every other source on the net says 2-4 feet high and wide, so the odds are with the ...
- 132k
3
votes
What color should a greenhouse be?
There are other questions to ask. Where are these Green covers coming from and which market were they designed for? Perhaps for example these green plastic greenhouses were made in China. Now since ...
- 31
3
votes
What flowering plants could I keep outdoors in pots in winter in Holland?
In the Netherlands bulbs are very popular. If you choose different plant bulbs, and put them together in a pot, the one will bloom after the other. The earliest bloomers are for instance Galanthus ...
- 13.1k
3
votes
Take care of gap in lawn before winter or wait until spring?
You can put soil in if you find a good deal, but don't bother with sod or seed, this is not the growing season for your area. (Michigan here.)
- 1,726
3
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Take care of gap in lawn before winter or wait until spring?
I reckon put off today what you can do later to give yourself more time to think about it and consider your options. There's no rush and who knows you make wake up in the middle of the night with a ...
- 61
3
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Is my crepe myrtle dying because of winter season?
Stormy's recommendations would work well for you. In addition, to your comment about the cotyledons getting lighter, you might be over-watering your sapling.
Also, be sure that you can confirm they ...
- 3,586
2
votes
Solar powered electric help for winter roof garden?
Sunlight at 100 watts per square meter for 8 hours is a wild overestimate for cloudy NY winters.
50% efficient photocells are likewise an overestimate.
85% inverter, for conversion to 120v AC is about ...
- 2,379
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