Ideas for heating

Still doing some reading on solar heating and came up with a few ideas. 

One is for the greenhouse. Since the greenhouse faces east/west, if I place black plastic on the north side of the greenhouse, it should help capture and retain heat. If I lay down black plastic on all the unplanted areas, it will turn the entire greenhouse into a solar heat collector. In the spring, I can just roll up the black plastic to throw away or store for next winter, depending on condition. That will also help kill off some weeds and compost the soil beneath the plastic, if left on all winter. 

I also came up with an idea for using solar heat for the house for under $50 (when I have $50) and no structural changes. Kind of a large heat grabber for the bathroom window, which would draw cold air from beneath the house. More on that in the future.

Dug up

This morning, I removed the cold covers from the raised bed as usual. Let the sun and air in as much as possible.

Tonight, about 90 minutes ago, I recalled I had not put the covers back. Went out to replace them and saw dark soil where things had been growing. 

We had let the dog out by himself to play today. He has been corrected several times about the raised bed. Yet, he had dug up nearly every single thing which was living. Only about six things left, from what I could see. 

This dog is becoming more and more of a problem. As he gets larger, he is getting more aggressive and less disciplined, rather than more. 

I now have a 15 ft galvanized steel chain attached to the picnic table (which is around 200 lbs). He will no longer be allowed in the yard unless chained up. He will be chained up whenever we are gone or asleep. If his behavior gets any more aggressive, he will be returned to the shelter we got him from. 

He has gotten aggressive enough that my daughter is losing trust and affection for him. She spends a lot of time avoiding him. Not normal for my intensely affectionate and loyal daughter. I am restraining myself from some drastic measures with this dog but my patience is tissue thin now. One more incident may be enough to get this dog chained with his nose inches from his own poop or his mouth wrapped with Coban, either one for a couple of hours, until he gets the message. If those don't work, to the shelter he goes. I don't even trust for my daughter's safety with him now. 

One of the reasons dogs are popular pets is because they are loyal, affectionate and show a form of respect to their families. This dog does none of that. He is simply needful and vindictive. He has pulled my daughter's hair and took her favorite stuffed animal from her grasp. Poops on the floor in multiple spots, multiple rooms. (He even picks a particular area in the yard to go, not all over the place.) He started tearing pieces of clothing from the line. Began taking my blanket from my feet while I'm asleep for him to lay on. (Yes, he has his own blanket.) Has stolen various toys and other items to chew on and destroy. He seems to target things which we are most attached to. Some dogs hoard, he destroys. He has been given love, attention, affection, warmth, rewards and more. He was given up by one person or family and I now believe it was likely for his behavior. He was healthy and well fed when we got him, no overt signs of abuse or neglect. It looks like he just may not learn.

The solution!

Could not find any glue which purports to work on plastic sheeting with any reliability. Same with tape, at least for outdoor use. Not much of a greenhouse with holes running laterally across the roof where the plastic overlaps.

Came up with the solution this evening. Duct tape will work! But not just taping the pieces together. I have enough overlap that it would work to tape one or both edges, then roll them together and fix them to the sides. This would probably work without the tape but I think the tape will help the rolls lay flatter and add strength to the fixation points, which would be more prone to weather stress. 

It will require some disassembly and reassembly but not taking the whole top down. No more hardware needed and I have the tape on hand. Can get this done in two hours or less.

It does rather amaze me that there are no glues or tapes made for this use.

The top is up!

Got the top up on the greenhouse this afternoon. Still needs a bit of work where the plastic sheets overlap but seems solid, otherwise. Went out after dark and the temp had dropped and even with some work needed, it's noticeably warmer inside than out.


Granted, this is not a very fancy greenhouse but for 20 ft x 25 ft, under $200, built by one person who has not formal training in engineering, construction or gardening, I'd say it's not bad.

I will probably add some additional supports in the future, though more for aesthetics than anything else.

I can already tell that at least two of the compost pits are producing some level of heat. Not much but I'll work on that.

Still using the cold row covers for the moment, until I get the remainder of things firmed up. Temps are below freezing most of the next week, so guess I got this done with good timing.

Almost there

Even though my daughter and the dog were around, I managed to get 10 of 12 roof supports in place on the greenhouse today. I miscalculated and cut the last two very slightly short. I'll have to find something around here to attach some additional length to those. I know I have something which will work. 

My daughter was no problem. The dog insisted on first standing, then lying down on the drill cord. Not once, not twice but at least ten times. I'm rather certain that if this dog were human, he would be permanently institutionalized if someone didn't kill him first.

Once the last two pieces are in place, I can put the plastic sheeting up. All that will be left then is making doors, which can wait a little while. I just have flaps in place right now, which I can Velcro. That, repairing dog damage and tightening up loose ends. 


I have known this greenhouse would be a temporary one and would be replaced in the future with one more permanent. It does appear this one may be a lot more temporary than I had thought, if things keep going the way they have with it. One major goal with this was experimenting to get different processes and routines down, to figure out the major needs of a more permanent structure before building it. Right direction, yard placement, least environmentally and financially costly heating and cooling methods, etc. I have learned a lot in a short time and continue to do so. That makes me want to keep the temporary greenhouse up even longer, not knowing what I may learn in the future. 


However, I do intend to design and build a more permanent greenhouse myself. One thing I have a history of is making designs which are adaptable over time. I have debated whether to build several smaller greenhouses instead of one large one. I've already decided on making it one large greenhouse. However, I will design it with multiple rooms and movable walls. This will allow for different temperature ranges and lighting levels in different rooms for different crop needs. It can also ramp down during winter months if necessary or allow for easier rotation and isolation. The most difficult considerations are ventilation and pollination. But I have plenty of time to work on those issues, as I won't be even starting solid planning of such a thing for at least a year.

No such luck

Tried to get the top on the greenhouse yesterday. No luck. With my daughter and the dog vying for attention, just couldn't manage it. No way I'll be able to get the top up unless the dog is locked in the house, any way. 

It was so windy yesterday that I had to reinforce one side of the greenhouse, to keep the PVC from snapping like twigs. I tied some ropes around the top sections and pounded some stakes in the ground with one nail near the top of each. Tied the other ends of the ropes to those. That did the trick. Can dispose of that when I get the top up.

Then I forgot to put the blankets over the cold row covers when I went to work. This on the coldest night we've had so far this season. Luckily, the covers did their job and no extensive damage was noted. 

One thing I did manage to get done was finally putting the shed in proper order. Much easier to get motivated with the new window in place. Hard to organize a place when you can't even see well inside. This will make it much easier to get the rest of the house in order at long last. 

Took out the Halloween decorations and brought in the Christmas decorations. They're still boxed up but my daughter and I will put them up this weekend, after Thanksgiving is over.

Bust

Going to call the current compost experiment a bust. May try again at a later date, as too many factors could have played in. Low or no bacterial count in the soil added? Too much N? Not enough carbon? Too wet? In any case, I added the remainder to the outside pits, which are progressing well, especially since mulching leaves and dry grass this week. Took off like a rocket after that. 

I have small sprouts springing up in the raised bed but they're tiny and I'm not sure if they're things I planted or weed/clover. I was careful with the soil I put in place but the dog could have tracked things in I didn't want before I put the sunroofs in place. Hoping for positive but ready to be pulling things out if necessary. 

Pea Green Soup

Colder weather is always good for a big pot of split pea soup. Made a pot tonight. Unfortunately, not with peas from the garden, as things are growing but rather slowly. However, it's inexpensive to make and really good. Lots of onions, potatoes, bacon and, in my bowl, lots of freshly ground black pepper. Daughter hasn't tried it yet but I'll force at least one spoon down her tomorrow and hope she likes it enough to want more. 

Finally got the plastic to finish the roof on the greenhouse. Won't be working on it for a few days, since my daughter is here and I don't want to leave her feeling neglected on her two days a week with me. 

The sunroofs are working well over the raised bed, especially with blankets on top for subfreezing nights. Things are still growing, though slowly, as stated above. Had hoped to harvest some lettuce and green beans for Thanksgiving but it just wasn't to be. Should have better luck by Christmas, though. The sunroofs also offer the advantage of keeping the dog out of the raised bed. Though the disadvantage of not being tall enough for a trellis for green beans and peas. That's okay, if the dog tore them out or they froze then they would never get tall enough to need a trellis. 

Been doing some light reading on solar heating. Need to do some heavier reading on the subject before taking any action. Decided to use the greenhouse and maybe even the shed as test platforms for different trials on solar heating, maybe even solar water heating before attempting anything with the house, itself. The greenhouse and shed can be altered more readily and less expensively, plus I can isolate the results more without interference from the heat sources inside the house. 

Still in debt but made enough money to buy the stuff for Thanksgiving tonight. I am thankful for that, as last year I was broke before TG and had to race around TG morning, looking for one place that was open and still had a turkey left. Found one but at a premium price. This time, got it at the pre-TG special price and have all the stuff on hand, ready to cook, including homemade pumpkin puree in the freezer. 

Gotta get to bed. Daughter will wake me early. We have plans for the day, with no work involved. Brownies to make and walks and the playground to burn them off. 

On call again

Got the greenhouse more secured today, so the plastic isn't falling down or blowing around. Though I am considering surrounding the whole structure with punji stakes to keep the dog at a distance. He's run into the sides of the greenhouse so hard that he has broken some of the clamps.


It was cold outside this morning, so I waited until it warmed up a bit to get out there and get things done. I do find a difference between motivation and masochism. I'm all for the former. I'm single and gave up on dating over a year ago, proof that I'm not into the latter. 

Had intended to install that window on the shed but it got late. Took a nap, since I was scheduled to work tonight. Then got called. No work. I'm on call. So, I got up and went out to install the window. Got the basics of it done just as it got too dark to see. Power tools and darkness. Not a good combination. It's nothing fancy and I still need to put a frame around it, so it doesn't look too tacky. I did put sealant around it and bolt it down well. Least I have enough light to see in there now, long as there's any light outside. Future plans are to get more lucite for one more window and a light with a separate solar panel. No power going out there as of now, so if I go out to the shed at night, I pack a flashlight. 

The compost experiment goes on. After adding compost to the mush last night, no heat produced, which should have at least started by this morning. Think it was too wet. Added more dry compost today, so I'll see what happens now. Worst comes to worst, I can toss the mush into the regular compost pit and let it continue in normal fashion. 


Guess I'll go watch TV and cut the rest of that PVC.  Ran out of weatherstripping but cutting is the most time consuming part of making the clamps. 

Experiment continues

So, aside from the clover mush, I've added some blended apple and orange peels, now added some leaves. The one thing not from the kitchen or yard so far is that I added some Epsom salt to the mixture. Got the whole mixture currently sitting in a covered 5 gal bucket in the kitchen. Going to go out in a little while, bring in some compost and see what happens. 

The process is not attractive. The mixture tends to look a bit like vomit. However, with the blending, it's well oxygenated for the moment. 

Some people have suggested vermicompost. I may well do that in the future but right now I'm trying to come up with a mixture that makes the most heat possible, so bacterial activity is the way to go. It also means high N content. 

Next shift I work, I'm going to get the plastic to finish the greenhouse before paying the bills. If the greenhouse has any success, it should provide some amount of food which will help in the long run. Right now, the greenhouse is a shambles. Have to work on it tomorrow and get it in better condition or it will be useless to put a roof on it, as it'll just collapse eventually. Supposed to work tomorrow and the following night. 

Clover soup

Today, my daughter helped me pull some of the clover today for use in my current experiment. I didn't even ask her to help, she just suddenly showed up at my side while I was gathering clover and started helping. I told her I was making soup for plants to eat and that got her excited. Not so excited after I ran some through the blender and asked her if she wanted some of it. The mixture came out of the blender a dark emerald green. Looked like something out of a sci-fi or horror movie. Pretty sure this stuff should have an extreme amount of Nitrogen in it.

I still haven't been able to positively identify this clover. It's not unattractive, has no thorns or anything like that. Only grows a few inches tall and grows well in shady areas. Some of the plants have sprouted tiny yellow flowers. I've tentatively identified it as a member of the mustard family of plants. (Sounds about right, judging from the odor when I blended it.) If I can control and confine it, I won't get rid of all of it. If it is the mustard plant I suspect, it's considered a winter grass and should mostly go dormant when warm weather returns. I'll have to research further, as it could have serious beneficial properties, here and well beyond my yard. 

I'm actually a little glad the greenhouse isn't finished yet. Between weather, normal wear and the dog, some parts of it have shown weaknesses in my design up to now. Sheets of plastic falling down, duct tape coming loose, various overlaps proving faulty. Got the drill back out and secured a few places today and it looks a lot better. Have to do many other spots later in the week, when I'm not neglecting my kid to do so. 


Really happy with the screws I purchased, which are "lath screws" by Phillips II. They cost around $7 for 170 of them, have broad heads and drill points, eliminating the need for drilling each hole. They also have a positive grip head and come with a special drill bit which engages the texture in the head. 


Supposed to freeze tonight. Still haven't had the money to finish the greenhouse, even though I need less than $30 at this point. But I have three domed plastic skylights I got for free, so I placed those over the raised bed and covered them with blankets for tonight. Works well for an improvised row cover. 


Okay, off to bed. Daughter will wake me early and I have no real idea what the day will bring after breakfast.

Leaf piles and a new compost method

My daughter has been excited about autumn. She's always enjoyed kicking leaves around but this is the first year we've had our own yard. Turns out she was excited about the idea of jumping in a huge pile of leaves! So far, the leaves have been falling slowly. I managed to rake together a moderate size pile of leaves but nothing all that big. This weekend, the temp is dropping and leaves are falling heavily. When she comes over this weekend, the leaf pile should be about three times larger than last weekend. I don't mind raking the pile back together for her, long as she's having fun.

Of course, as she becomes bored with it and the leaves atsrt breaking down, I'll run the composting mower over them and add them to the compost pits. 

Like most compost pits, my own looks like it may be lacking in Nitrogen, now that it's autumn and heading into winter. However, right now I'm actually happy for all the clover in the yard. It's still bright green and there's enough of it to up the N content to a decent enough amount to keep the pits working well for some time. I also drink lots of coffee and grind the beans to powder (turkish grind), so that should help, also.


I've also been looking around for what items can be placed in the pits to maintain and maybe increase the N in the compost. Found that parsley has a very high N content (and not too expensive). So, one or two bunches here and there while shopping would be an affordable way to add N to the compost.

Ran across an article and website which went into the subject of colloidal humus compost. With some minor knowledge of chemistry, the name made sense. In truth, all fertilizer is a colloid (suspension) of sorts. The website tries to sell an e-book for $35, which I don't have and probably wouldn't spend that much on, any way. However, it did get me thinking. I generally follow the usual process of cutting items up fairly small before composting them. Wouldn't it be more efficient to place things in a blender? If I turn compostable scraps into a colloid before adding it to the pits, it should speed the whole process along.

Considering trying the above, placing already mixed compost in 5 gal buckets and adding the blended mixture to it, just to see what happens.

I'm also looking into designing a mulching barrel for leaves and grass clippings. If I can get hold of an old electric motor (like a lawnmower motor) blades and a metal drum, I could devise a drum which would grind things up enough to make the process faster and more efficient. Later, I could probably combine that with solar power to run the motor. I know, chipper/shredders exist but I'm thinking of reducing the particles more than that does. If things are reduced enough, composting may not be really necessary. Long as the raw materials are mixed together well. That would be something for a later limited experiment. It does seem to me that spreading well broken down materials would have the result of turning the entire yard or garden into a compost heap. Only the heaviest and most compacted residual material would have to be composted.

Weed fabric

Composted the main garden a couple days ago, all raked out and such. Then laid out weed fabric, some mulch on top (need to buy more). Then, of course, the dog started pulling it around. Got it back in place and had a strong talk with the dog. May seem strange to rake off the top layer of soil into the compost pit, then apply compost from another two pits but I had a big problem with clover overgrowing everything. I'm hoping the weed fabric deters that. Want to give it a little time before planting anything else. If that doesn't work, I'll probably have to use black plastic, instead. I'd prefer to avoid chemicals if at all possible.


Original plantings in the raised bed are growing well. However, the broccoli seems to have simply disappeared. Think it's the dog again. I know he dug more garlic out.

Got a reprieve in the weather and it's been rather warm. Supposed to drop below freezing again this weekend or early next week again. I should be able to get some, if not all the roof on the greenhouse by then. Or I'll have to devise a temporary cold cover for the raised bed. Not too hard as yet, since most of the plants are still small. Though I'm going to have to install a trellis for the peas soon. They're ready to start creeping now but not tall enough for a trellis.

Potted tomatoes are growing rather well. I transplanted some of the larger ones to bigger containers and added some of my own compost. They look like they're taking to it much better than the bagged stuff, as they became greener and growth accelerated within like two days.

Okay, have to get moving. I have a test to take for a new job application today. Hoping to get this. More stable and within walking distance from my house.

The case for harvesting seeds

I've read many places that harvesting and saving seeds from store bought produce is a bad idea, blah blah blah. Most typically, the advice is published by someone with connection to the seed industry. I have no doubt there are times this advice is quite valid but do not believe every single seed I plant should be purchased. 

Right now, I have cherry tomato seeds growing, which were store bought seeds. I also have beefsteak tomato seeds growing, which I harvested from produce bought across the street at the produce market, then fermented and dried. So far, the beefsteak seeds are germinating at an approaching 100%. The plants are also surviving well. The cherry tomato seeds are running 50-60% germination and a number of the  plants have died off. They were all planted at the same time and have been treated exactly the same. Now, maybe the cherry tomato plants are a much more fragile species of plant. Plus, production is still to be seen, as the beefsteak plants could well be sterile and produce no fruit. Have to wait and see. I still find it worth the effort to try saving and growing seeds from produce.

Cooked some pie pumpkin today to make puree and saved the seeds from that. Has a really good, sweet flavor to the pumpkin with no sugar at all. So I'm hoping the seeds will be viable and I can reproduce the same kind of pumpkins. Seeds are drying now.

Back is still a bit sore but recovering well. Haven't done a job like that on my back in years.

My daughter's dog managed to tear down the top section of the plastic sheeting on one side of the greenhouse. Running into it, then trampling it. It's along a side between the fence and greenhouse. Guess I'll have to use some spare PVC piping to erect a fence at each end to keep him out of that area.

I direct planted some new seeds yesterday in the raised bed. If it gets too crowded, I should have the main bed in planting shape by the time some plants are big enough to transfer. The dog had also dug up some of my garlic, so planted more of that. (He's learning to leave the raised bed alone.) I also planted more peas, broccoli, romaine, green beans (earlier plants failed from frost or strangled by clover) and some jalapeno seeds I harvested. No great hope for those through winter but maybe I'll be surprised. Mulched the raised bed with cedar, which I'm hoping helps discourage the dog, among other pests.

Going to empty out two compost pits this week and get the main bed ready for planting. One pit is still outside and I used a bucket of that to kick-start the culture in three new pits. Going to use the weed fabric I've had sitting around for a while once the main bed is set up. Then I want to get some carrots and potatoes in the ground.

Light day

Yesterday, I did some rather extensive hoeing with a hoe and pickax, then raked well in the greenhouse. Was expecting to work, so stopped to take a nap in the afternoon. Got called off from work again. So, I decided to go ahead and dig out some of the remaining bamboo roots in the yard. When I moved in there was a lot of running bamboo, with evidence that bamboo once covered as much as one third of the back yard. 

I dug up roughly 100 lbs of bamboo roots, which is hard work and a lot of bamboo root. Ask anyone who has ever tried this. Bamboo is rhizomatous, so the root (singular) grows forever and must be chopped apart with a pickax to remove it piece by piece. It also grows on multiple levels, one over another, so you can get through one layer to find another beneath that. In my yard, I've found as many as three layers I could identify. Still not done but made considerable progress. 

Along the way, I pulled my lower back. Walking like an old man today and writing with a heating pad on the chair behind me. I also found my hands were swollen and visibly bruised. That's an odd thing, as I do not bruise with major trauma. 

I had been taking a protein drink lately because I have gluten intolerance and therefore higher protein needs than most. Maybe I was taking too much? Did my research. No, not too much protein, I was taking too little protein! 

Some possible effects of not having enough protein in your diet can be: Fatigue, depression, anxiety, lowered immune response, bruising easily (capillaries become more fragile), long healing time, anemia and muscle wasting (short list). I knew some of this but not all. May have known at one time and forgot. 

Now, my protein intake is probably sufficient for normal activity but I have been doing some hard physical labor on and off for some weeks. Then had some digestive problems this weekend from something I ate at work. So the end result was that my blood thinned out and capillaries became weakened. (Also kept wondering why I was getting tired so easily while working.) So, I had a protein-heavy dinner. Going to take it easy today, let my body catch up.  

Dug out

Got one more compost pit dug out earlier in the day. Soil was so hard I broke my garden fork and had to move to the pickax to loosen it. Finished that one, was tired and expected to work tonight. Got canceled from work, so went ahead and dug out the last pit. So, I now have one compost pit in each corner of the greenhouse. Though it will take a while to have enough material to fill them with proper material. There is the issue of three large piles of dirt to deal with..


Leveled and raked out the main garden. Raked most of the top material into the pits. Still have some work toward the back of the greenhouse but it's starting to look pretty good. 


It's easy to see the difference in the soil from the main garden area from when I moved in. The soil at the entrance has not been worked, so it's still gray, sandy and dry. The garden soil is dark brown, loose and holds moisture well. 


The dog seems to like digging up my garlic. Have to plant more. He's learning and I have plenty of room to plant. 


I had begun having doubts about the size and design of the greenhouse for a while. Too big? Too ambitious? Is the roof too low? Those doubts are fading now that I'm getting it in shape. It's large but not precocious. The roof height should be easy to maintain and make it easier to heat, while retaining higher CO2 levels, once the compost pits are going and the roof is up. It will have plenty of room to grow while not feeling cramped. It's simple but not ugly and, with a few embellishments, should eventually be quite attractive. So, in spite of doubts and late financial constrictions, I think I've made good choices along the way.

Even better

Took another look at the prices of one gallon planters. Turns out one site I had saved does not charge $45 per 100, as I had thought. That price is for 200! How cool is that?! I find it really cool but maybe I'm a dork, okay?

Only one corner of the main garden is growing a few lettuce plants now. So, I dug one more compost pit and started filling it in with surface soil which had lots of clover growing on it. It also has lots of mulch. That one will take a long time to compost but figured the bacteria should feed well on it, over time. There's lots of clover growing all over the garden, but the root system is shallow. So, I'll probably take the first inch or two of surface soil and compost it over most or all of the winter. Everything is now within the confines of the greenhouse and, as I remove clover, new growth should be easy to spot and remove. 

I still need to dig two more compost pits, as I have one at each of the West corners but need ones for the East corners. I'll do that tomorrow. Not much as yet to put in them but why wait until later?

Leaves are falling, though rather slowly. My daughter has a romantic idea of jumping in a huge pile of leaves. Guessing she saw it on TV or video, as she has grown up in apartments until this year, so has never gotten to do this. There haven't been enough leaves to form a big pile yet but getting there. I've been avoiding raking until that happens. The ex made a comment about the work involved but I don't mind it a bit. I'll rake them into a pile several times, if necessary. She can invite her neighborhood friends and all of them can jump in the leaves. What the heck? They just help break them up a bit more before commending them to the compost pits. Um, that's the leaves, not the kids.

Over the winter, I'll build the planned raised beds. Still debating the eventual structure and end design of the whole garden and greenhouse. With the size of the greenhouse, I have room to place work tables along one side, maybe two. The picnic table may eventually wind up in there, as well. (Or a smaller one.) Overall, I'll have to accept my own nature and an evolving knowledge to the fact that the whole thing will be a work in progress for the rest of my life. Not a bad thing at all.

I'm not really much on flowers but my daughter is, so some portion of the garden will be dedicated to various types of flowers. At least starting them there before later transfer to different places in the yard.

Some trees planted

Okay, granted this doesn't look all that impressive as yet. However, I've planted 29 tree seeds and 8 grape vine seeds. So far, these include Dixon Apples, Golden Apples, Bartlett Pears, Lemons and Black Grapes. 

For anyone who thinks my idea is too expensive, here are my costs: Seeds: $0. I don't count the cost of the seeds because they are all harvested from food we ate.  Soil: Top Soil from Lowe's: $1.86. This cost will likely be eliminated in the future, as I'll be rotating at least four compost pits. Cups: $2 from Dollar Tree. Plastic sandwich bags for wintering seeds: Roughly $0.02 each, for four bags. (50 bags for $1, Dollar Tree.) Highest cost was the Sterilite box, $8 at Walmart. If you have something else suitable, that cost can be eliminated or reduced. It is reusable and will likely last for years, though.


So, total cost of planting 8 grape vines and 29 tree seeds was $11.94 before taxes. I'm not counting the cost of water because it really only takes so little that the cost is negligible.

The cost may go up in the future, unless I can talk someone into donating plastic planters. That will be some time away, though. Up to a year. Even then, I've found greenhouse supply places that sell 1 gal containers for about $45 per 100. Assuming a constant cost, at this rate, it will cost me about $0.81 per tree/plant to produce at least 100 plants. Even including shipping and price increases, it should not come out to any more than $1 each. So, that comes out to $100 or less per year to improve the environment and make an ongoing contribution to feeding those in need. I don't find that too expensive, especially since it's split up through the entire year.