Looking for greenhouse info.

[Special Agent Melvin Purvis]

My first attempt at growing vegatables in a small greenhouse, 8x10, was a complete disaster. Nothing to show for it at all last year.

With a new year coming up I would like to start with a clean slate and do it right. Can someone direct me to a book or a website that has reliable information about greenhouse growing techniques? TIA.

[Omelet]

What happened?

[Janet Conroy]

[Hedda Lettis]

is an excellent source of information on greenhouses and growing veggies in them. I had no luck growing veggies in my GH either. Can you tell us what went wrong? Insects? Funguses?

[Special Agent Melvin Purvis]

[e-mail]...

The greenhouse is located in a coastal area in Northern California, near the Oregon border. Cold nights and cool days are typical through the summer. The atmosphere is usually humid.

In an effort to maintain warmth in the greenhouse I closed the vents at night. When I opened the vents in the morning the windows would be covered with condensation. To provide a heat sink I filled ten five- gallon sealed containers with water where they would warm in the sun and then release heat at night.

I thought that the sunlight beating on the pots might be overheating the roots, so I constructed a plastic shade which kept the pots in shadow. Insects were not a problem as the place was infested with ravenous black spiders.

I was trying to grow tomatoes and planted several varieties in five- gallon pots filled with sterile garden soil "optomised for vegetables". The plants were spindly and did not set fruit.

[Omelet]

Tomatoes do not do well in any kind of shade. You also may have had a soil problem?

[gunner]

The SA caught my eye so I had to answer. read these:

Recommend you research Hydroponics, Its been growing GH tomatoes/cukes( and many others) for years. The current state of Hydroponics have given us many interesting innovations & practical information for many plants. So while the tricks and tips given here are valid, they are so old school. ie. A 100 watt bulb is a great heat source for a small area, say a dog house, but it is worthless on a green house of any size except in the immediate 2-3 feet. If you are keeping the top of the plant(s) warm with a light (& @ a safe distance to keep from cooking the leaves) and knowing heat rises.... what is keeping the roots warm?

look at something simple like an ebb and flow or NFT system with a reservoir that you can use an aquarium heater to maintain proper and constant root temps, then you can cut down on trying to heat a large leaky (by design) structure by heating the roots, not the air.

Example Pics:

Agent Purvis, You are hereby remanded to remedial Basic Agent report writing class ;). Gather and document specific facts using the basic interrogratives on your next GH adventure, what were the ambient/ soil temps? Humidity? The type, quantity and schedule of nutrients?

Factual information will help you improve GH production.

Supervisory Special Agent Gunner

[Special Agent Melvin Purvis]

cannot survive." -- Dalai Lama- Hide quoted text -

Dear Ms. Lettis,

The POTS were shaded, not the plants.

The soil was designated for vegetable growth and even had a picture of a tomato on the bags. You couldn't put that on there if it wasn't for tomatoes, you see. It's the law.

[Special Agent Melvin Purvis]

Thank you, Janet. My copy of "The Greenhouse Expert" arrived today and I set to work to read it. It is a colorful book, written clearly, and has a whole section on tomatoes.

Now that I know how do do this growing thing right I can approach the new season with confidence. I will name the first tomato plant "Janet" in your honor.