--- "foodscaping"  wrote:
Can someone explain to me how jars are used to make mini-greenhouses?
Thank you, Leon
 
P.S. New to this group, new to organic gardening, and new to 
Permaculture.  Living in the high desert Southwest.
*************
Welcome home to OHG.

I don't think I've posted about using chipped and cracked canning jars as a 
mini-greenhouse as yet. If so it'd be in OHG files found at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/organichomesteadinggardening/files/ 

It's something I've been using almost 50 years to better root cuttings, and give 
some plants a stronger start in life.

We all have our own method of getting cuttings to root: so, I'll skip that 
process and simply say that once your cutting is trimmed like you like it, and 
is treated with your rooting compound such as willow water or that white stuff 
sold commercially in a bottle that's almost all chemical: I poke a hole and 
waller it out using a big heavy duty screwdriver.

Into that hole I carefully insert my cutting, making sure you don't knock off 
the rooting compound if you use that white commercial stuff.
Depending on exactly where you live and garden (I know Leon gardens around New 
Mexico): so he'd want to select a spot out of the wind yet where the new cutting 
will get at least 8 hours of sunlight.  I mostly use an easterly spot with a 
southern exposure.

Over top of that cutting you invert a glass canning jar that fits the cutting: 
leaving air space all the way around the cutting, making sure it does NOT touch 
the glass anywhere. If it touches the glass the cutting inside the jar will 
freeze.

You want the jar imbeded in the soil at least up to the 2nd thread, and if you 
bury the jar completely over all the jars threads, that's okay too so long as 
the cutting does not touch the glass jar anywhere.

Once that is done, again, depending on exactly where YOU live--meaning folks 
other than Leon--you'll want to heap wheat straw mulch around the outside of 
that glass jar to better protect the rooting process as well as seducing worms 
into the soil around that new cutting.

There is no finer "fertilizer" than worm castings.  And under mulch, under that 
glass jar, the soil is warmer providing worms a place to munch compost all 
winter during daylight hours.

I've dug down into the soil a bit, like laying a water line to wee people and 
fairy homes. Into that furrow, add sand or saw dust or shredded leaves or 
shredded newspapers...whatever you can get free.
Water it well with willow water until the bedding is somewhat moist but not 
saturated.  Into this long trench you can insert cuttings. One after another, 
then cover with pieces of salvaged glass found in dumpsters where folks do 
windshield replacements, store windows, or desktop replacement: most will let 
you raid their dumpsters to avoid having the glass hauled off to a hazmat 
disposal.

If you live in a big city, twould be best to know someone that owns or works for 
such a place, or find someone who you know that has an inside contact as 
businesses hesitate to allow folks they don't know to dive into their dumpster 
due to insurance reasons.

Out in the country it isn't that much of a problem.

You can also grow certain vegetables this same way and extend your salad season 
far into winter if you don't have thick snow covers that will bury that glass 
top.

Hope this helps you root your own cuttings, and get more plants cheaper than 
having to purchase them at a nursery.

Jon
