Canadian Gardening: Garden Catalogs, 0 by Weezingreens

Weezingreens wrote:
Yes, you do have a full greenhouse there, don't you! First of all, we don't grow tomatoes, peppers or cukes outdoors. They have to stay in the greenhouse all summer and I can only use the early varieties. Some people bring their plants indoors to finish out in the fall, but I find they often bring aphids in with them.

My husband has to dig his way through the snow to the greenhouse in late April. It is not attached to the house, but we install a Toyostove oil heater in it for heat. I do not keep soil bins in the greenhouse, only wooden or wire shelves for the flats. That way, I can keep the environment sterile for incoming flats of seedlings.

I have three tiers of shelves on each side with a walkway down the middle. Upper shelves hang from the roof, then there are counter shelves with lower shelves under them. The light under the counters is marginal, but with the barn stype design and the slant of the spring sun, I can get by with it. I even have hooks for hanging baskets from the roof.

Sometime in mid April, I can begin putting the most established seedlings out in the coldframes. By mid to late May, they are set out on tables with row cover to begin the hardening off process. I generally open for business in late May or early June... generally Memorial Day weekend. When most everthing is out of the greenhouse, I put my tomato plants, etc, into large pots with ringed supports in the greenhouse for the summer. I use fans to keep it cool in there, but I've never had to use shade cloth. Our temps seldom get above the 70's here.