Crickets Greenhouse Part 2

Early Girl maters

flower bed with:
strawberries, marigolds, liatris, dahlias, one amaryla, upright elephant ears.

Whew! that was a close one. I was trying to hold out - just getting by looking at previous pictures. Did'nt want to bother you on inspection day. OK - I'm feeling better now.... Let me mop the sweat up....

So - do me a favor. Pick one tomato plant and shoot pictures to show me how you are holding those plants up on those strings..

You've got them suspended from the top of the GH - how - a wire running from one end to the other? Then the string comes down to the plant - do you tie the plant to the string as it grows? Curious minds wanna know.....

will get picture shortly.

yes--clothes line twine is ran from one end of greenhouse to the other--looped through the hoops.
Then twine is tied to the base of each plant and the twine gets tied or hooked to the upper support twine. As the tomato vine grows taller---you wrap the vine around the twine. (dont get tongue tied reading this)
tied , line, twine and vine. looped through hoops. : )

Cricket

ok first the big picture lines that run down the gh---that the twine is tied to----my twine is on Tomahooks.

showing some later tomato plants that I put in pots cause they were root bound. Twine tied near the base then ran up to the upper support. Vine is wrapped around the twine.

The twine is hard to see.

trying a close up

HOW am I suppose to make myself trim the blossom stems. Too many blooms on the blossom stem. I do not have the heart to trim it.

OK - I"m "getting the picture" hahaha. I may need to use this kind of technique soon. I knew you could grow maters up on twine - just was'nt sure how things worked together... Last time I planted toms - put them in raised beds and build a wood lattice frame that was about 5 foot tall. Crisscrossed supports and tied the tom plants to the supports as they grew. Trust me - your way is much neater - but what I did back then served the purpose. Plus the wood was free.

Thanks for the lesson... and the fix..

I used this support method this past winter and it worked really well. SB

Waited 4 years for this one...

bird of paradise? nice---or is that heliconia?

i ordered 210 five gallon pots to grow tomatoes in this summer and fall. The greenhouse they are goin in has gravel floor and the roots will fill up the gravel so have to use something else under the containers. My grow bags will not sit well on pallets---so using blow molded pots that will sit on pallets.
I had some flats that was not on pallets in the gravel floor house and a lady baught some Salvia this a.m. and --my gosh---they rooted into the gravel---I had to shake them loose. They had roots 6 inches into the gravel. The lady just said thats ok---I will cut the roots off. ( shes from germany)
I had one very unpleasant customer this week. An older lady.(65 maybe) I think she was stuck on PMS dial. pms 24/7.

Well I was afraid to grow too much ---but instead did not grow enough. I have sold out of Vinca, sold out of Marigolds, Sold out of peppers, and almost sold out of Coleus. Grew too much salvia and wont do those again. The petunias are half gone.
I grew too many tomatoes at one time and not enough sections--crops--new plants.
I grew too many 6" pepper plants. They are not selling very well yet. they are big and pretty.$2 each. Gotta push them out the door.
Thinking about growing my bedding plants in two differant sections next year. 4 weeks apart. Have fresh ones just before mothers day.
Did not grow enough hanging baskets. Did 176 hanging baskets. Half are sold.
Will deffinately do wave petunias in baskets next year.

Need to find a good geranium plug or cutting company.
Need to find a ground cover plug company--like creeping phlox, liriope-monkey grass-verigated, and some pampas grass. Any suggestionssssssss?????

Lot of notes to make

later

cricket

Cricket, do you need liriope? If you want liriope spicata, I have all you could possibly want! I planted this entire area by digging up and transplanting one little section about 10 square feet in size. This isn't grass, it's all liriope spicata.

A couple of new GH pics. Sophora japonica seedling, about 5 months old. Will overwinter these in cold frame and plant out next spring.

A friend brought back 5 macadamia nuts from a Central America mission trip. Three have germinated.

that macademia seedling brings back memories..makes me laugh...when we lived on the big island it was in Puna in which Hilo is, and right outside Hilo is the Mauna Loa Macademia Factory. It is situated well inside their macademia groves. The groves start at the highway and there is a main road that goes there the groves to the factory. Many tour buses go there. Anyway, when I was much younger and unafraid of anything-let alone jail, we would go there and pick up the macademias off the ground. The trees grow low to the ground and once you leave the car and go to a tree, you vanish. My ex-husband would drop me off at the top, drive down to the factory and come back up-about 15 min, and I would be busy picking up those nuts as fast as I could into a box. When I heard him come back, I would reappear and hop into the car. We only did it twice-took probably 2 lbs (unshelled) each time, but it was a rush-both times were with a friend visiting from the mainland.. I don't steal anymore lol-that was the only time, but I think the punishment was getting the nuts ready to eat. You had to roast the shelled nuts slowly, and it was easy to burn them, and then crack them all open with a hammer without busting your thumb-not easy considering how small they were.
They were pretty good, but too much work. Like making fresh cocoa from the fruit of the cocoa tree with fresh coconut milk-only did that once, or coffee from the grove near my house. We really take for granted these things that are so easy to get in the modern age!

How long did it take for the seed to germinate Stressbaby? Did you have to soak or stratify them? They were in the shell?

Stress baby. Yes i need more liriope.
I just ordered some veriegated liriope off ebay.
200 bareroot plants for $89.99 plus $22 shipping.
Is that the blue liriope? Gets the nice dark lavendar flowers in summer?
Thats a huge area of liriope. I am assuming since it is in an isolated area that you do not have to deal with grass much. ?

I have to make a bed for my liriope. Or put it in pots. Just hate the thought of watering it every day.
Or I could put it in some barrel planters. When it seeds in the fall, could start new barrels with the seeds.
I just did a barrel planter of STella Lilies.
One barrel has 25 individual stellas. should multiply by next year to make nice small pots.

Cricket, the bed is separated from the yard by that berm. Mine is plain old liriope spicata, pale lavender flowers. I planted out the little plants 6" apart through that area and it filled in completely within about 2 years.

TL, funny story! I was keeping track of days to germination, because I was told that it would take a long time. 34 days until the first one came up, 47 days until #3, and the last 2 haven't shown (yet). The shells were cracked when I got them, so I removed the shells, soaked for 24 hours, then planted about 1.5-2" deep. Evidently they take 8-10 years to start producing, and then the nut quality is variable from seedling plants. Fun to grow anyway as a conversation piece. SB

8-10 years!!!!!!wow.

I have been desperately trying to figure out which is the best method of growing a tomato plant to get the most production.
After getting two differant answers which one was untrimed tomato plant produces more than a single stem tomato plant---I finally figured it out.
Now lets see if i can explain it to where others can understand it.

In your mind, picture a 3ft by 3ft area for an untrimed tomato plant. It will put out numerous suckers and many tomatoes. Lets say an estimated 18 suckers and you let them all grow. That tomato plant is not goin to get as tall as a trimed single stem tomato plant. The trimed tomato plant is goin to grow much taller in the same amount of time.
Twice as tall.
Now Picture A trimed single stem tomato plant in a 3ft by 3ft area. Lots of room isnt there. Naturally you can put many more single stemed tomato plants in that 3ft by 3ft area.
Technically if trimed correctly you can put 18 single stem tomato plants in that 3ft by 3ft area.
Most tomato stems will have a cluster of tomatoes every 10-12 inches if they get the right amount of sun light.
Follow me so far?-----------
The single stem tomato plants are goin to be almost twice as tall as the untrimed tomatoe plant. That means you have 18 single stem tomato plants twice as tall which means you will have twice as much tomatoes in the same amount of space.

Did that make since.

Guess you know how I am growing my tomatoes.
Single stemed.

I've never been disciplined enough to keep up with the pinching for this.

Tam

18 plants in 3' x 3' area? That's 8.5" x 8.5" per plant!

Yep.
Now how close do you think the stems are in an untrimed tomato plant? Much closer. Like a spider web.

Whats even more scarier is --I actually plant my single stem tomato plants in a double row . There is about 15 inches between the double row to allow air flow in between them. So ---My single stem tomato plants are actually 4 inches apart.

Tammy, this is what I do for a living. I am very commited.
I water every single day. About every 3 days I go out and pinch the new suckers off and wrap the vines around my twine. It takes about 4 hours total but I don't do it all at once. I may do half today and half tomorrow.

Last year I grew 2 tomato plants in one 5 gallon grow bag. They never got root bound. And I also had put my grow bags right next to each other in a straight row.
This year I put 4 tomato plants in a 5 gallon grow bag and put the bags one foot apart. IT still gives the vines the same amount of room to grow---just less soil , less bags. So far they are doing great. The differance may be that I will have to water them twice a day by summer.
It takes me an hour to water one time. Yes I want a drip system but that means I will have to change the way I fertilize. I use 13-13-13, Mittleider magic nutrients, epsom salt, and calcium nitrate. If I switch to drip system that means I will need a Holding tank of nutrients and a pump and meters to keep those nutrients the same all the time.
I was told that I could still use the fertilzer that I use in a holding tank.
Lets say I use a large Trash can as a holding tank.
I would put all my fertilizer in the holding tank and let it dissovle. Not all of it will dissolve but the nutrients will.
Use a pump that puts out certain amount per min .
I would have to do the Math.
I know how to do it for a small tank.
The pump will cost alot. The drip system will cost alot.
I have two greenhouses. One greenhouse has a crop goin. I am starting on crop #2 for the other greenhouse. So when one crop is nearly ending, the other crop is just about to ripen in Late Summer and will extend into the Fall.. Gas prices are so high right now that I have decided not to heat for early winter. No one is goin to pay the price for ripe tomato in the winter. I wouldnt anyway. I figure I would have to sell the tomatoes for $3 a pound. Thats $1.50 for two tomatoes possibly 3 tomatoes. EKKKK.

Now I could go buy a wood burning heater. But I do not have the trees to support the supply of wood it will take.
I Might be able to cut trees off other property but now I would also need a Log Spliter. Hubby has hardware in his back and would never withstand the abuse of splitting wood. I do not know how much a load of fire wood is. I am sure the price of wood went up just because gas did but not as high.

I through jabbering.

Cricket

If I planted my toms that tight, it would be a whitefly block party.

Pic from January

Cricket, you can get an injector for your fertilizing sysytem-it will work whether you use a drip system or by hose- I use a dosmatic injector. It has different ratios on it that are very easy to change. I use 1:200 and I mix up 4 gallons of concentrated fert ( 30 oz of 20-10-20/1 gallon of water) and that lasts about 800? or so flats . You can add your Epsom salts and wahtever else that is soluble to the mix (that is compatible). The injector has a tube that runs down into the bucket. You could use a 30 gallon garbage container if you wanted to-just stir it well every day. The injector costs about $250-but it is well worth it. I don't know how you are applying your fert now, but this method will save you a lot of time, and you can use it for your soaker-it doesn't matter what pressure the water is, it comes out the same rate.

OK - this is it - my sis and I open our Greenhouse doors - FOR THE FIRST TIME - today!! We're really excited and nervous. We are VERY small, and offer some bedding plants, maters, some herbs, and specialty things like hoyas, epis, cactus and succulents, and some tropicals. We mostly would like to sell enough to support our own habit!!! We'd appreciate your kind thoughts!!! Thanks - Karen

You go girl!!! Good luck Karen! I hope it goes well for you. Its a great business, theres nothing I'd rather be doing (most of the time!)

yes, good luck karen. Must be very exciting for you.
My first greenhouse was 8x16 hobby house. The next year I had to buy a 12x60 cause all the neighbors wanted to know if I was goin to grow for the public. So many asked that I had to buy bigger house.
Then the third house was 19x80 and had to add on to the hobby house for starting seeds. Now I have moved two times since then. Now the old 12x60 is now my seed house and propagation house. Sold the old 19x80 with the property we sold. But now have one 16x96 and one 16x84. Have plans for a #3 in near future.
Meanwhile--------------

I bought some gavinized pipe---just like the perlins in greenhouses. Its same as gavinized fence rails.
Goin to build a tomato trellis 80feet long and 12 feet tall.
Goin to be an interesting Summer.
I think I want to do another one next year just like it. Then in the future--If i feel the need to have a greenhouse over it--I can just build over the top of the trellises. Thats a maybe.
Meanwhile------the tomato trellis will last me the rest of my life. And that one trellis should help produce and sell over $4000 in tomatoes each year.
I should not count my chickens before they hatch.
How nice it would be if I could do 10 times that each year.
And actually have the buyers for it..... thats the key word.Buyers. I can grow it. But can i sell it?

Wow, Where do you get the energy?

I'm guessing there is a leedel wind up key on your back and someone winds you up every morning ...... JK

Hope you post pics of your 'mater trellis . The more you talk about growing them on strings the more I am thinking that I will switch to your method.

I guess I will need to get lessons on pruning and pinching blossoms too.

Thanks for feeding our tomato lust ;-))

Lessons:
http://ag.arizona.edu/hydroponictomatoes/pruning.htm

also on this site you can learn alot about tomatoes.
even if you do not grow tomatoes hydroponically, the care is just the same.

I get tired.
By 3 pm I am ready to quit for the day but I do not close until 7pm. I take a vitamin---a cup of coffee , and keep goin. Oh and my house is a reck.

see---the kids are home from school---school papers everywhere, laundry on the Kitchen table of all places. I just got through cooking and dread doin the dishes.. Just a big clutter.

and somewhere in this picture is my desk amongs the mess.

Thanks for you nice words! Here's some pictures from the day! Karen
Picture 1 - "grand view!"

Posting the "open" sign!

Close up of the pergola with hanging baskets and shade plants and stuff!

Inside the greenhouse...

Another view inside the greenhouse...