Every Seed Came Up??

[digitS']

The tomatoes and peppers are out in the greenhouse with the heat turned on.

I'm tired of waiting for sunshine in the South Window! The seedlings have needs that are not being met.

The peppers are developing true leaves, the tomatoes are spindly things ... the eggplant didn't go out there ... It won't be above 64°f unless that sun comes out but we (seedlings & I) aren't holding our breath! Eggplant seeds are still coming up.

Steve

 

[Zeedman]

Late entry I know, but with the long wet Springs that have plagued my area recently, I moved back all my planting dates. I germinate heat-loving seeds in a temperature-controlled chamber @ 80 F. degrees, then they go under 6-bulb high-bay fixtures. They'll have to stay there awhile; although I have a small solar greenhouse, it is much too cool to transfer the plants there yet (frost warning tonight).

Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Man, those tomatoes grow fast... they were seeded April 15th! I'll have to pot them up in the next few days. They really seem to like these lights, I'm still making adjustments to my planting dates. I don't have room to grow monster tomato transplants; if it doesn't warm up soon, they will begin to outgrow the lighted space, and I need that area for the next wave of transplants.

Moringa seedlings. They are fast-growing trees with nutritious leaves. Some grow them in pots, but after doing that for a few years (moving the heavy pots in & out) I decided to grow them in quantity as annuals, just as we do with peppers & tomatoes. These trees will reach 4-5' even in my short summers - provided it stays warm.

I love some of the greenhouses I've seen on this board. Mine is just the smallest HF model, with no heat... I hope to upgrade to something larger - and heated - to accommodate the large number of transplants I use each year. Still have water spinach & all gourds (round two) and limas, yardlongs, and bean backups (round three) to start yet. It can be quite a juggling match if the warmth comes late.

 

[so lucky]

@Zeedman, how do you consume your moringa?
Is it easy to grow?

 

[Zeedman]

@so lucky we mostly use it in a Filipino soup, with coconut milk, chicken, ginger, and a few other ingredients only DW knows. That soup is a favorite for family get togethers. We freeze enough leaves to make several batches during the Winter. This year I am doubling the number of plants, so we will have enough to dehydrate some for tea, and to powder for use in other dishes.

The leaf preparation is no small task, since the individual leaflets need to be removed from the stems. The leaves are exceptionally nutritious, and possess some antibiotic properties. The seed pods ("drumsticks") are also a vegetable, but my season is too short to get pods. The ground seeds can be used to help purify water, and the ground root (in small quantities) can be used like horseradish. A really interesting & useful plant. It is a true tropical plant, though, so it needs consistently warm weather... it will wilt if you say frost out loud.

 

[digitS']

Occupying the center row in the hoophouse this morning at sunrise ...

The greenhouse has natural gas heat but I have to put an electric space heater with a little fan on a crate behind it to move heated air around.

Tomatoes in the flats, mostly bok choy are in the beds.

Steve

 

[Zeedman]

Wow @digitS' you are living my dream right there! If I had a greenhouse like that, I'd probably bring in a chair, read a book, and let the plants recycle my CO2. It's such a joy being surrounded by living things, especially while the weather outside is less than pleasant. I'm thinking of something similar, with a pellet stove for heat.

 

[digitS']

Perhaps, I should have a pellet stove.

The greenhouse furnace failed repeatedly during the final weeks of its 2016 season. I had the furnace guy show up to start it in March. He determined a problem, altho it started okay, ordered a part and made me wait 3 weeks. When he came to install it I told him I could report that it failed about once every 48hrs. And, I'd taken a video of the fail light.

He said that he had ordered the wrong part. It would be much more expensive and almost cheaper to install a new furnace. A salesman would call. Five days later, he called and left a message. I went in to the shop. He couldn't be reached. I left my own message: "forget about it. I will soon have 10 months to make plans for 2018!" I think that the furnace need not fail every 48 hours but more like once out of 48 starts and it hasn't failed in days !

Sitting around in the greenhouse would be a little difficult. DW has enuf room and maybe I could fit ... under the table . Now, the shed-attached hoophouse I built in the neighbor's yard ~ I could just about live in there .

Steve

 

[digitS']

Old picture. I'll have it set up again in a few days.

Steve

 

[Zeedman]

Sitting around in the greenhouse would be a little difficult. DW has enuf room and maybe I could fit ... under the table .

Yeah, I was wondering how you could even walk through there without smashing (or eating) something.

Opps, cross posted... wow, and that is your second greenhouse??? If I had room to start that many plants... well... DW would probably tell me not to.

 

[digitS']

1. Greenhouse, or what could be called a Sunshed, 20 years old
2. Hoophouse, temporary over 2 garden beds
3. Shed-attached hoophouse, thru my back fence in the neighbor's garden. Utilized for about 4 weeks in mid-spring.
4. hoopies on lawn for hardening-off

After those residences, and a plant may spend time in all 4, it's out in the garden to suffer and struggle under the big open sky ... sometimes I hold an umbrella over them .

Steve