Greenhouse update

Well, after a few sunny days, it became apparent that having the sun block on just one side did reduce the temps in the greenhouse. It kept it from going over 100 but, just barely. The temps were still consistently hitting the upper 80's to low 90's. That is a big improvement but still wasn't enough. So, I cut another 4 pieces for the other side. I proceeded to cut them Monday so about 25% of the upper windows were blocked and after a few days, the temps moderated to the upper 80's on a 93 degree sunny day. Here is an inside view of what the greenhouse looks like now. Once the temps drop a bit, this should allow for a better result with the plants. It is supposed to be mostly in the mid 80's for the next week so that will definitely help.

I have been getting the various planters set up for seeding in the fall crops as seen below. The two larger planters in the foreground were given to me by my in-laws as they no longer had any interest is using them. They are Garden patch grow boxes that they purchased a few years ago. They are quite ingenious as they operate with a water reservoir underneath where the plants grow. The soil you use wicks the moisture up to the plant roots. This prevents all the problems of wet plants and the myriad issues this causes. This is the first year I have attempted anything with them so it is yet another experiment.

Here are a few detailed pictures which show the units parts. The first is the bottom reservoir. It has two channels which you fill with the mix. This allows the soil to absorb and wet the ground slowly from the bottom from both ends as can be seen here.

Once you load the two chambers, you then proceed to fill the upper chamber with the medium to the top. I had to overcome two issues with these. The first is that I did not have the overlay planting guide that comes with the unit and secondly, I did not have the fertilizer tubes that you normally lay into the soil. My in-laws did not see the need to keep the guide and naturally, the fertilizer tubes dissolve in a planting cycle. I looked up the planting guide which gave me an approximate feeling for where and how spaced apart my plants should be. As far as the fertilizer tubes, I had my own fertilizers that are for the specific types of veggies I will be growing. With that in mind, I decided to forego buying the tubes at $9.00 plus shipping each. I have a pretty good feel for what the plants will need and when given my experience with them.

After I finished loading those two units, I then filled the two narrow planters with my mix. The bigger units will be used for lettuce and spinach initially. The smaller units will be for planting carrots. All of these will be staggered so we won't be overrun with a ton of the various harvests all at one time. I also have plans to plant chard and onions in a few other planters. I will look for other plants that I can grow that we eat. I'm thinking of growing Peppers in my basement over the winter as I have read it can be done with a few modifications. Just another experiment. 

My mix for all of these is an adaptation of what I have used in the past years plus a few amendments that I think need to be included. I started with 2 parts of a lightweight potting mix I have used previously. I added 1 part of a garden soil mix to the potting mix which had nutrients the potting mix didn't. Then I proceeded to add 1 part of vermiculite(vegetable variety) for water retention and creating spaces in the soil for root growth. And finally, I added 1 part spaghmum peat moss to soften the soil for easy root penetration.

I filled all the units with the same mixture so I could control the need for water. Fertilizer will be mixed in to the planters based upon the needs of the specific plants being grown in them. I will need to get the plants started along with seeding in the Winter Rye in each of my beds. There is a lot to do. I do have several tomato plants that have begun putting on tomatoes - much to my surprise. They have just really taken off in the last 3 weeks so there is, after their poor starts - hope. 

Well, that's all for now. As the weather outlook looks very favorable over the next week, I hope to be able to get a good chunk of the planters and beds seeded. I will update my progress in the next few days. So, until next time - Happy gardening everyone!