Runnin' out ...

[Terry Coombs]

of room ! I kinda knew this was going to be a problem , and had several ideas in mind . As I repot my seedlings into 4" round pots it's getting kinda crowded on my window shelf . The square ones oughta be here tomorrow ... which will help some . I'm moving the ones in the smallest cells first , they seem to be laggig and I think it might be because of limited root space . Even with the new pots , I'm probably going to have to enlarge the shelf - and probably the one I added above it today . Hopefully this will be a short-lived problem , I think that by March 1st or so I'll be able to move them into the little greenhouse I'm planning to build onto the south side of the house . The key will be night-time temps . I'll need to maintain minimum 40? to 45? overnight temps before I dare move them out . Insulation may be called for ... because 65? would be much better . I just hope the planned 30" x 96" is going to be big enough ! Got 2 weeks to get it built , better get off my lazy butt . Looks like I'll be getting that head start I was looking for ... the pumpkin I planted for a germ test is about to bloom with male flowers . SaWeeeeet !

[George Shirley]

What materials will you be using for the greenhouse Snag? Many moons ago I built an 8X12 greenhouse from clear fiberglas corrugated sheeting and some scrap redwood from a cooling tower. It worked for about fifteen years until a hurricane blew through and ate it. I put in three four foot by two tube wide fluorescent lights and ran electricity along with a waterproof outlet. Used an electric heater made for such things to keep it warm in the cool Louisiana winters. Even the bench down each side and the back were made from scrap redwood. I miss that greenhouse bu don't have room for one here.

We've still got the grow light on about six toilet paper cups that are growing two tomato plants and a bunch of chamomile for the wife's sleeping aid.

The key will be night-time temps .

I pinched off the many blossoms on the newly planted blueberries today and harvest the last three cabbage heads. Picked the last of the green peas and pulled those plants. Chopped all the leaves and vines up with the battery powered weedeater. Put the stuff in a #3 galvanized tub and went out it with the weed machine. Surprised me, it did a bang up job and the greens went into the compost barrel, which is once again getting full. I may have to get another one.

George, ready to plant in the raised beds within the next few weeks.

[Terry Coombs]

This is more of an overgrown hot box than a green house . The back wall will be the house , it'll be about 8 feet long , 30" deep and 24" to

30-something tall . The material I have on hand is some plywood siding cutoffs from a construction job my neighbor worked on and some old window sashes salvaged from another job . Hinges will be made from strips of leather that useta cover an office chair .

[George Shirley]

Use it up then re purpose it, that's the way we do it too. I built a "hot" box from old window sashes when we remodeled once. Unfortunately a tornado passed through and dropped a tree on it. No other damage, I may have insulted the seedling gods inadvertently.

Our neighbors run down to the nearest nursery or big box store to buy pots. We use the ones that came with plants that went into the ground. Crockery and glass break, plastic is forever. Although we do have several old crocks that we bought at garage sales for next to nothing since they had chips or cracks. Easy as anything to glue crockery back together. I think we have some small pots that used to be part of the first dinner service we bought when we married 54 years ago. I think my wife's family motto is: "Waste not, want not."

[Ecnerwal]

50F is really as far as you need to shoot for night-time temps. Seeds grown "in the house" at 65F have a harder time transitioning to the out-doors when the time comes. If you are around and will get up to move it off not too long after sun-up, some insulation over the glass at night will help. You can use row-cover fabric if you might not get to it for a while in the morning - not as good insulation, but better light transmission than a blanket, old quit, paper mill felt, bags of leaves, etc...

[Terry Coombs]

Part of the reason for doing this is to have the ability to harden the plants to outdoor conditions so there won't be a shock when they go into the garden .

[The Cook]

Keep a close eye on the temperatures in the greenhouse. On a sunny day the temperatures can reach over 90°F. We have a remote thermostat in the greenhouse and a display in the kitchen. Even with below 30° outside temperatures it can reach that high. They did yesterday.

[Terry Coombs]

A few months ago I bought an indoor/outdoor thermometer with an outside probe on a wire - it'll be moved over to the hot box for monitoring purposes . It saves highest/lowest for whatever period you select - the only way to reset is to pull the battery . The sashes I will use for tops will be hinged to the wall so they can be opened for venting when needed and so they can be left open as the plants get hardened off . I'm considering putting an unused space heater out there for the possibility of really cold nights ... I've already got a lot of time invested , hate to lose my seedlings due to a lack of foresight .