Time Saving Growing Tips
IT"S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN
With violet shipping season over, it really quiets down in the fall and winter. But the violets keep on going. They don't take a break from blooming. They do bloom better in the spring and summer for me but they are still very much active in the winter because of climate control and humidifiers.
I've learned over the past few years to be more selective in what I grow. I am propagating only my favorites now. When I first started to grow violets again, I wouldn't throw out a sucker or an under grown puny plantlet. I couldn't bear to chop off a violet at the neck or toss a whole plant into the trash.
So that's really how you know you're becoming seasoned as an african violet grower. You must do what you must do to protect and enjoy your collection. Out with the weaklings and in with the healthiest and strongest, best blooming violets you can grow.
It's a learn as you go mostly motivated by saving time. The more violets you grow, the more time they take to care for. So here are a few of my favorite time saving tips for new growers. Hope they help you too.
FAVORITE TIPS
1) Mix your own soil if you have a growing collection so you can control the ingredients and test what works best. Don't waste your time with pre-mixed violet soil in the stores. I can almost guarantee you that it is too heavy to grow your violets to their full potential and you will waste a lot of time trying to figure out why your violets aren't doing well.
2) Put your violets on a wicking system so you don't have to constantly check for dryness and water them. If you have more than a dozen plants, it really does free you up and it's better for the violets too. They stay constantly moist so bug problems all but disappear. Many bugs feed off of dead and dry plant material.
3) Use a good algaecide to cut down on algae. You can get it at any fish, pet or pond care store. Some people paint their containers black, some line them with plastic but the best deterrent is a good algaecide. Most plastic containers marked "5" can be safely dishwashed on the top rack.
4) Put your lights on a timer if you can. I have several places in my house I grow my violets but if you have one or two areas you can save time and be more consistent by putting the lighting on automatic timers.
5) Test and treat your water. Bad water will kill your violets faster than bad soil. Filter and use additives in your water and let it sit before use. Contact your municipality for water information or use additives to take out chloramine. You will spend a lot of time trying to figure out problems that can be attributed to just having bad water.
I'm sure there are a lot more time saving tips for violet growers but these are the ones I've learned along the way and now I have more time for my other hobbies. In the winter months I like to do needle arts like quilting, crochet, knitting, doll restoration. This year it's going to be quilting so that means my violets will keep on happily growing and blooming this winter practically on auto-pilot freeing up some time for other hobbies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 1, 2018 - First blooms for my Queen of Elves today! I'll add her picture to the gallery later. AND I finished my first quilt of 2018 yesterday. YEAH!
With violet shipping season over, it really quiets down in the fall and winter. But the violets keep on going. They don't take a break from blooming. They do bloom better in the spring and summer for me but they are still very much active in the winter because of climate control and humidifiers.
I've learned over the past few years to be more selective in what I grow. I am propagating only my favorites now. When I first started to grow violets again, I wouldn't throw out a sucker or an under grown puny plantlet. I couldn't bear to chop off a violet at the neck or toss a whole plant into the trash.
So that's really how you know you're becoming seasoned as an african violet grower. You must do what you must do to protect and enjoy your collection. Out with the weaklings and in with the healthiest and strongest, best blooming violets you can grow.
It's a learn as you go mostly motivated by saving time. The more violets you grow, the more time they take to care for. So here are a few of my favorite time saving tips for new growers. Hope they help you too.
FAVORITE TIPS
1) Mix your own soil if you have a growing collection so you can control the ingredients and test what works best. Don't waste your time with pre-mixed violet soil in the stores. I can almost guarantee you that it is too heavy to grow your violets to their full potential and you will waste a lot of time trying to figure out why your violets aren't doing well.
2) Put your violets on a wicking system so you don't have to constantly check for dryness and water them. If you have more than a dozen plants, it really does free you up and it's better for the violets too. They stay constantly moist so bug problems all but disappear. Many bugs feed off of dead and dry plant material.
3) Use a good algaecide to cut down on algae. You can get it at any fish, pet or pond care store. Some people paint their containers black, some line them with plastic but the best deterrent is a good algaecide. Most plastic containers marked "5" can be safely dishwashed on the top rack.
4) Put your lights on a timer if you can. I have several places in my house I grow my violets but if you have one or two areas you can save time and be more consistent by putting the lighting on automatic timers.
5) Test and treat your water. Bad water will kill your violets faster than bad soil. Filter and use additives in your water and let it sit before use. Contact your municipality for water information or use additives to take out chloramine. You will spend a lot of time trying to figure out problems that can be attributed to just having bad water.
I'm sure there are a lot more time saving tips for violet growers but these are the ones I've learned along the way and now I have more time for my other hobbies. In the winter months I like to do needle arts like quilting, crochet, knitting, doll restoration. This year it's going to be quilting so that means my violets will keep on happily growing and blooming this winter practically on auto-pilot freeing up some time for other hobbies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTES
December 1, 2018 - First blooms for my Queen of Elves today! I'll add her picture to the gallery later. AND I finished my first quilt of 2018 yesterday. YEAH!
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