Crickets Greenhouses 2008

I am growing my tomato produce sooner than I normally do. I am so scared that the heat is goin to go out during our winter months. I have no wood burning heaters for back up. Looking for one now.
Mean while, The tomato house will have two heaters. One is back up incase the thermostat goes out on one like it did last year. I lost 3 weeks of growing time due to thermostat goin out on heater.
The reason I am growing sooner is cause it is easier to Heat than it is to Cool. Our Spring is hot and Summer is unbearable.
Started my seeds Nov 23rd. Growing 480 plants They are 17 days old in plug flats and just about ready for transplant.
The plug flats are "288" cells. The reason I am using plug flats is so the tap roots have a lesser chance of being damaged during transplant.. This is best especially if someone is trying to grow a Giant Tomato on the vine. I am growing Big Beef, a garden variety as always. It has a much better home grown flavor than the greenhouse varieties. But also some greenhouse hybrids will produce better in lower light conditions of winter. (20% less light). New experience to find out how these Big Beef do in the dead of winter.
They should bloom end of January 1st of Feb. Our coldest winter dates are Mid Feb. I should have ripe tomatoes 1st week in April. We shall see.
I will start new seedlings mid Jan just incase something happens to this 1st crop.

Im so smart. I added the wrong picture.

I'll add the right one later

Cricket,
I don't wanna mess with growing my seedlings inside the house under flourescent lights this time around, and am thinking of winter sowing the seeds in milk jugs, etc. outdoors. I did not notice a flourescent light source over your seedlings. Do you use any artificial light, or do they get enough inside your greenhouse with natural light?. Also, they look pretty stout to me. My 17-day-old seedlings were rather leggy, and all the advisors said I needed more light. How do you do it?

Any advice is truly welcome. Thanks.

Linda

I do not use any extra light in the greenhouse. The natural sun light is enough down here.
I also have to use a portable small electric heater at night.
For germinating my seedlings, I built a small mini greenhouse inside the big greenhouse so I wouldnt have to heat the big greenhouse.
If you have a small mini greenhouse outside, you could cover it with a blanket at night when temps are way below freezing.
I took pictures , gotta hook up my camera pod. BBL

this is a 4ft x 20ft mini greenhouse inside the big greenhouse.
It has 4 8ft heat pads. One small portable electric heater for now.

These tomatoes were transplanted Dec 12-13th. They were transplanted 19 days after sowing in the plug flats. If sown in a open flat, I would have transplanted them 14 days after sow date.

they were transplanted in 1801 shallow flats for their first transplant. Thats 18 cells per flat. This gives them plenty of space between each plant to receive enough sunlight to keep the stems stalky instead of leggy. They can grow in this flat for 2 1/2 weeks depending on the weather. The warmer it is the faster they grow. The cooler it is the slower they grow. If they grow too fast, I will have to trim off the lower leaves to allow more sunlight to the stems so they dont get leggy. Trimming off the lower leaves also slows down the upward growth by making the plants concentrate on stem growth.

If grown under lights, the lights should be Grow lights , not just flourescent lights. The lighting is differant.
Always keep the grow light as close to the plants as possible.

If you have no lights, grow the plants in a south facing window. For even more light, switch the plants from one window to another: East window in the morning, South window at mid day, West window in the evening.
If you have a Swing Frame ("A" frame style) throw some plastic over it and secure the plastic with cinder blocks or soil and put your plants out there during the day , leaving an air flap at the bottom of the plastic near the ground for air circulation and to reduce over heating. You can leave them out over night with an electric portable heater or bring them in at night to "total darkness".

As far as winter sowing seeds, this does not give you a head start. Winter sowing means you just put them out in the natural weather and walk away. Which gives uneven germination and if they decide to germinate on a week when temps are nice, they could freeze and die the next week when temps drop to freezing. Then you dont know what you are goin to end up with in the end. Winter sowing is good for annual flowers that reseed themselves and germinate in the spring when you dont really care how many you end up with. Or how few.

You can build a mini greenhouse outside with just about anything.
Examples: A wheel barrow or mower trailer with plastic thrown over it.
Swing set with plastic thrown over it. cheap swing set is $100.
Pallets can be used to build four walls then throw plastic over it. That may look weird but its better than indoor lighting by long shot.
If you have an old pickup truck sitting in the drive way out of commission, throw some plastic over the bed and put an electric heater under there.
Also, weird but has been done, Make a greenhouse wall with 5 gallon buckets spray painted black and filled with water then cover with plastic and secure plastic to ground with bricks or blocks and use portable electric heater if needed.
The possibilities are endless for temporary mini greenhouses.

Happy Gardening
Cricket

Thanks, Cricket.

I think I'm beginning to understand "winter sowing." I'm only sowing a small amount of tomato seeds, some okra, eggplant, bell & banana peppers, and maybe a few more of something else. I'm thinking I could do a small mini greenhouse out of some sawhorses the DH has, with the plastic draped over, anchored, and vented, with a small portable heater for the chilly nights. Also, I want to do some marigolds, zinnias, caladiums, sunflowers and coneflowers in containers for the Springtime. I could probably sow the seeds directly into the large pots and cover with the same clear plastic, right?

Thanks for the clarification!

Linda

If you use plastic directly flush on the pots in full sunlight, it could bake your seeds so make sure they have ventilation too.
Yes you can sow seeds directly in large pots. If it is the pot that you want to grow the plants in all season, then dont fill the pot completely full of soil. You want to add more soil to it much later to support the plant base

I took a few pictures during the holidays.
This was Dec 21
Slowly but surely.

They started getting a little tall and bushy so I cut the lower leaves off Dec 31 - Jan 1 to let the sunlight to the stems. Now they are bushing out again. They must be spaced out right now so they dont get leggy and I will transplant some of them again today and some on Jan 8th.

some are tall, some are short.
thats why some will be transplanted now and some later.

Cricket, I found that big beef tolerates the cold the best of most plants. Last year I had plants under row covers and had a bad freeze hit. Morning temp was below freezing, my big beef plants were at least all 16'' high under the covers and were all nipped the top 10 inches. Those plants all did very well and produced lots of maters. The early girls i had planted for my early maters all bushed up but produced so many little tomatoes that they were sold as canners.

I am diffinately a big beef fan.
I read an article the other day that a northern greenhouse company was experimenting with several varieties in the greenhouse.
From what I understood, Big Beef out produced Trust .
Big Boy use to be an old time hobby greenhouse favorite , crossed with beefsteak to get our Big Beef. Thats why I chose Big Beef to begin with plus it has total disease resistance. I am no expert, but i just cannot find a better produce tomato that gives real home grown flavor, acid, perfectly round, clean shoulders, red in color and can be grown in greenhouse if need be.


I put a new door on my seedling house this past week. It use to be a plywood door.

Its time to start some of my hanging basket and 6 inch pot plants.
I will be growing the hanging basket and potted plants in Batches so they are not all growing at the same time. I need new fresh ones for Mothers Day.
Since I do not have alot to start right now, I set up a temporary heat table in my laundry room with grow lights.
double cascade midnight blue petunia
double cascade Orchid Mist petunia
double banaza mixed petunia
double red pirouette petunia
double purple pirouette petunia
double Sonata white -lacy petunia
wave pink petunia
wave midnight blue petunia
tidal wave silver petunia
geranium maverick orange
geranium Orbit red

it is now 12 to 13 weeks before first Sales Date

nice surprise this morning.
sowed the geraniums Jan 3
it takes geraniums 14-21 days to germinate
some have germinated in less than 3 days.
be my luck the rest will take 21 days.

The greenhouse tomato plants have tiny tiny bloom clusters, Dots.
I was hoping to transplant into the greenhouse Jan 8 since the weather is warming up for a few days around that date. Will be cloudy and light rains. The almanac says good day to plant on Jan 8.

I have a lot to do in the next few days. Just got the poly back on the tomato house yesterday. Gotta rake and sweep it clean, spray ground with bleach solution, till in compost manure and fertilizers relay the soaker hoses and put down black plastic.

Raked, Tilled

some petunias germinated in 3 days.
too tiny for pictures.

everything looks great
my one ? is what did you till around on the left side of your GH?

Cricket,
Who is your supplier for the hooks and strings you use to grow you tomatoes up?

Do you find that using black plastic gives you quicker tomato growth and sooner ripening? Also have you done any experimenting on any increase in yields. The catalogs all promote how much better it is growing through plastic and I just wondered if you feel it has that much of a difference. How about a review or testimonial on black plastic?

Also what have you found is the best method for laying down the black plastic. I see in some catalogs that there is a machine that works real great but I don't know if I can justify the expense at this point.

NotMartha: That was a deep rooted clump of grass. I dug it up with a shovel and got rid of it after I tilled around it to loosen the soil. LOL


FarmerGray: I have never used black plastic yet. I use the greenhouse commercial black ground cover. However, I bought some black plastic this year to lay down over the ground cover to help heat the ground up around the tomato roots to increase more yield since I am growing much sooner than I normally do. Plus, I will be laying out hay /dry grass clippings on top of the black plastic when spring arrives to lower the temps of the ground under the black plastic. The hay will then be burned at end of growing season to get rid of any diseases or fungus that may have fallen from the tomato plants onto the hay.. The black plastic also helps prevent diseases and fungus from entering my soil.
I don't know much about the color of the black plastic or red plastic increasing yields. Only that the heat that it provides will increase yields. I have not tried the red plastic either to see if it would increase yeilds.
AS far as laying out the plastic with a machine; I do not need to lay out alot of black plastic and figure at this point , I am better off without it.
I buy my Tomahooks from
http://www.hydro-gardens.com
also bought a pollinator wond and grow bags from hydro-gardens. Its a nice company.
Many supplies for growing in the greenhouse. Request their catalog.

Cricket,
Thank you so much for the great link. Looks like what I have been needing.
FramerGray

So much for sooner. After I transplanted most of the tomato plants the heater stopped working in middle of the night sometime. They all froze. had to start over.

On Jan 15 I sowed more tomato seeds.
On Jan 18 they started poping up out of the soil.
Lets try this again.

Meanwhile. I did get concrete blocks around the tomato grow beds in the greenhouse
The double petunias and wave petunias are ready for transplant, so are the geraniums.
Sowed some pepper seeds and single blooming petunias and more waves.

The new tomatoes

Double blooming petunias:
Purple Pirouette
Red Pirouette
Cascade Orchid Mist
Cascade Blue
Bonanza Mix
Sonata White

Wave Petunias and Geraniums

It snowed just a little bit Jan 16

Hi Cricket,

I was just reminded of you while browsing the net. Check out their virtual tour. This operation may be too much for most, but I was really interested in how they harvested by lowering the plants.

http://chatham.ces.ncsu.edu/growingsmallfarms/sunnyslope.html

Btw, HOW ARE YOU?

JB

Thanks for a great link. What a wonderful bunch of farms.

Its been a cold winter this year.
Had more snow flurries.

Nice link JB
Thats a big small farm with more than one owner it seems.
I don't think I will ever get that big. I only want what I can handle on my own.
Which I have not reached that goal yet. I want 10 greenhouses.
Only have 3 right now and one small seedling house.

I slowed my tomato plants down by lower night temps cause it was so cold for so long.
I cannot afford the heat the big tomato greenhouse plus the other two big greenhouses for plant sales for a long spell. Budget.
I been growing the tomato greenhouse plants in 6 inch pots and 1 gallon pots in the seedling house cause it is smaller and I dont have to heat the big house just yet.

Double Petunias , Wave Petunias are ready to be transplanted to 6 inch pots and Hanging Baskets. They were transplanted and grown in 48 cell flats. Sown Jan 1 or 2nd.

The second batch of double petunias and wave petunias were sown Feb 2. Along with single petunias, snapdragons, more geraniums, ageratums, and double blooming Imaptients.

more seed flats: Coleus, peppers, impatiens

The pepper seedlings for 6 inch pots are ready to be transplanted as well.
Sowed pepper seeds for flat sales.
Sowing tomato seeds for the early bird growers today or tomorrow.
I am goin to travel 2 and half hours to Dixie Green Nursery next Friday, Feb 29
to get my other annual plug seedlings. Begonias, Impatiens, Dusty Miller, Vinca, Ageratum-Blue, Lantana, Sweet Potato Vines, Salvia, ect........

6" double petunias

Seed Flats ready to be transplanted
Petunias, Agerantum, Snapdragons, etc..

picking up some plug flats of seedlings Feb 29. Will transplant those all next week.

Tomatoes for the Greenhouse are growing nicely. Not leggy at all during all these rainy days.

I have been away for a long while from Dave,s..THIS is the reason I could not stay away/.Thanx Cricket.. I got the frames built and the covering bought for my greenhouse..Not gonna by as big as yours but if we build it..they will come. Hmm where have I heard that b4?