Outdoor growing conditions

[winder]

My 6 salvia plants from a California vendor are outdoors in shade almost the full day.  Only at the end of the day do they get a hint of some direct sunlight.  As such, the soil below their containers is relatively damp.

I measured the RH with a digital device from Radio Shack - 56%RH.

I expect they will do fine when they come indoors, as the basement is at 60% RH and will be 65-80 deg F.

[laughingwillow]

How many hours of light/day are you shooting for in the basement?

Keep us posted, eh?

lw

[winder]

12 hours/day.

Cacti will be there with them.

This has worked before, cacti and salvia in the same dwelling space.

[laughingwillow]

Keep in mind, the RH in your basement will prolly change with the seasons, but that shouldn't bother sally to much. Turning on the heat should dry out the house, but I doubt that will be a deal breaker.

lw

[winder]

True, the RH is usually lower in the winter.

However, in the basement with the MH, I have that covered.
A cool wicking HUMIDIFIER will be running 24/7.
Furthermore, the air exchange with the basement is all unforced; there are no vents or drafts.  If the RH gets to high, the DEhumidifier will be available to back it down.

The min and max readings for the outdoors were checked today.

39-93% RH
57-87 deg. F.
The low temperature goes with the high RH.

What the basement will lack is the range of the outdoors and dew forming on the leaves.  I noticed this evening that the leaves were drooping slightly, but did not look overly stressed or about to shirvel or fall off.  But the striking contrast was the view late last night when the leaves were glistening and pointed upward.  I had never seen that before, so now I know what happiness for a salvia plant looks like.  COOL!

[plantshaman]

Sally grows good in all conditions if its warm . I find humidity mostly affects the textrure of the leaves. Just keep the soil moist and don't worry about it too much .

[Wakinyan]

I've had luck with Salvia freezing to the ground and then sprouting back during the warmer months in Northern Florida. I find that many plants can do this if you place a few nodes beneath the soil. Cappi lends herself to this especially well. You can even pull up sections of the cappi vine and see that they have rooted...The nodes don't always send up shoots, but if they are cut back or experience a freeze this will definitly send a clear signal to many of them to start sending up new plantlets.

[winder]

I am getting the outdoors bed ready again for salvia.  Rather than just putting the pots outdoors though, this time the plants are going in the ground.

I am making a raised bed.  To contain the bed, I bought a 4' x 8' piece of plastic lattice and cut it with a grinding disk into 4 peices of 1' x 8' sections.  The grinding disk cut through the plastic easily.  These will give me containment on the front and back of the bed that can be 16' wide.

To the lattice, coarse mesh plastic window screening is stapled to hold the bedding mix inside.  The bedding mix will be compost that has been in the pile since last year, leaves and grass clippings from May-November.  That will be mixed with 6 cubic yards of 3 brands of bedding soil.  I was unsure of which brand was best, so I hedged with a variety of bagged soils.

The prorportions of soil and compost will be 1:1, so the bed will have 12 cubic feet of mix.  With 12 cubic feet, the bed can be 6" high x 16' long x 1.5' deep.  That should work nicely for about 12 plants, as each plant will then have to itself a 1.5' x 1.5' plot, which is the same area as a 20" diameter pot.  The ends of the beds will be bricked.  The plants will probably go into their outdoor home ~ May1, so I have plenty of time to get everything in place and to take new cuttings should a disaster occur and the plants reject their new home.

[senorsalvia]

That sure sounds like a gorgeous bedding spot you've got worked out Winder.....  Makes me jealous of the fun and satisfaction you'll be having by watching our green friends grow....   Good Luck.....       :shock:    Well now; lemme shout out a welcome back to tha' willowy one' !!   Where ya been guy??-----  Missed yer postings'hope all is well-------   sal

[Jupe]

....don't forget the stakes for support and the ladder to get to the tops of the plants this summer!!  and your camera!! Best of fortune to you!!  

[winder]

Stakes are in hand.  They are especially required for BHWR.  I found a set that snaps together with cross rungs to form a standing prism - very sturdy.  I should have bought 6 sets of these, not just one.  And unfortunately the chain that carried them are no longer in business around here.