Well, I planted some of all of the seeds you sent so they all will be a nice surprise for me.
Jeanette
General Discussions - Chapter 21
Many years ago I grew a couple of Tree Tomatoes, I hope they were something different from we are trying now. Totally Tomatoes send me some free seed. The ones I grew years ago were as I remember not very tasty or large. My plants from TT are about 10 inches tall now.
Russ , yes I think you need a larger fan and higher. My exhaust fan is above the entry door on a temperature timer, and the vent is diagonnally across the gh (my gh is 10 X 14 feet). In hot or at least warmer weather I keep the vent propped open with a rock, it is just about 10 or 12" above ground level. My exhaust fan has just come on a couple of times this spring as usually since I am home most of the time I just leave the door open.
My gh is jammed full of plants, several of which are brugmansias from15 to 14" tall, and take a lot of room. None of my tomatoes are in the gh now, they are in the passageway between the house and garage. A good area for acclimating plants to outside, but that area, with my two mall mini gh is also full now. I have been moving the tomatoes in and out of the house for the past several nights, due to very cold night. I would love to be able to plant them out in garden but much too cold yet.
We got only 1" of snow yesterday and it melted almost immediately.
Donna
Well you are doing pretty good getting the tomatoes out at all. It is just too cold here. 29 last night. I am not going to even try to harden them off yet. They don;t go out until the end of May anyway. The problem is that I don't have room for them to get big so I have to just give them enough fertilizer for food. Nothing to grow on. I probably should have waited.
Jeanette
Jeanette; I know I started My tomatoes way too early as well..
I find it very hard to wait, untill the time is exact time.
Just think of all the enjoyment we would have missed out on, had we waited. Then we could have had an early spring, and we would have been late.
Barb don't really want me to take over any of the space in the kitchen;
but she don't mind too terribly either. It would be nice if we all had the were with all, to have either the room, or money to handle these situations.
I won't put my tomatoes out ( as in the garden) untill after the RU.
I wouldn't know if they would need to be covered or uncovered for that weekend. However for the time being, they are out in the GH, such as it is.
Donna; I will be looking into a temp controlled automatic switch for an exhaust fan. I would greatly appriciate any additional advice you could give me, on what you have found on using your GH.
It was easy to understand the reason for having a vent that low to the ground level.
I used an old storm door with the sliding window for my door. then I used a crank out window from an old camper for a window at the other end. I found that to be too small to help keep the mid day temps down.
And had to prop the door open and have the fan drawing in the cooler air from ground level. to get the temp down from 115 down to just 100.
The outside temp at the time was only 40.
The approximate size is 12x10, I have a slanted roof with the low side being 6' and the other being another 18" taller. My BIL has a GH, but is not have Internet service. so I would have to run back and forth a quite a bit untill I understood everything. Guess I really don't have to know it all but a little more would be helpful.
Russ
Russ, what I know I have learned mostly from experience, so what info I might pass on would be own learning. I have had a gh of one size/kind or another since early 1980s. Thr first one I had was quite small 8 x 10' and walls and roof were made of dbl-thickness polycarbonate. It got way too hot (as in full sun) and actually the walls deteriorated quickly. From that I graduated to one a little larger and different wall material, but not good enough ventilation and still in full sun.
The one I have now is built on north east end of garage, and was built about 14 years ago. I forget exactly what the material is called used for walls and roof, but I remember it is for greenhouses. I had the fellows use 2 x 6 for the framework as I planned to use 6 mil plastic type on the inside to create a dead airspace for insulation. It has been satisfactory since being installed but I think I will have to replace the 6 mil material soon.
The fellows just poured a solid cement floor for the garage and gh. If I had it to do over again I would have drainage holes in the gh floor. I also bought and installed a misting system from Charley's gh supply which does a really nice job of creating mist-moisture, but I don't leave it on, just turn on when needed. I also don't keep plants in the gh once all the seedlings are planted. But in the fall everything I want to keep goes back into the gh. It is heated with a 120 volt gh heater, new this year, also from Charley's.
If you have any questions, I will try to help.
Donna
Donna; Any information at this point will be a big help. I know I won't be able to get the good GH material for a while. But I may for the time being get some more fiberglass, for the outside walls. Then use the 6 mil plastic on the inside. I guess right now I need to find an exhaust fan and invest in a thermostat to control it, as right now that is probably the biggest problem.
The misting system you just use for watering???
I will have to watch it fairly close for now as all I'm using it for is to get some of the plants out of the kitchen. After the RU It will most likely be empty of all but a few plants that I would normally sow direct in the garden, I want to give one or two plants like melons and squash a head start of the ones sown direct. Hoping to have some ripen a little earlier.
Garrett ( Gary) and I went out to see if any mushrooms had popped up yet. No they hadn't. so we got some exercise but came back empty handed. It may be about a week early for them as the May Apples and Trillium's are up but not fully leafed out. But the blossoms were there.
Nice walk though.
Russ
Russ, what are the mushrooms you are after? Morels? I wonder if we are even going to have a season this year. It is really getting late for them. Our ground is so cold. Bob went out the other day and looked but not a thing. It could turn real hot all of a sudden. We burned slash piles from logging last year and found a lot of them in the burned area. Should be again this year if the weather would just cooperate.
Jeanette
Boy oh Boy, would I ever like to have a fresh Morel mushroom fry!!!! Haven't even gone out to look for any. Been too dry and cold. We did have a more than usually snowy winter but not much water content. Hasn't rained here at my place for almost 2 months.
Russ I just use the mist system to raise the humidity in the gh. I also use it with a pvc small pipe extension to go around the outside of the garage to my Mist Room. Sure feels good in hot summer to walk through the mist and keeps that area about 10 to 15 degrees cooler.
Here is a picture I have posted before.
Donna
Don't know what happened in trying to send the photo. Donna
I just had 2 replies with photos disappear- is that what happened to you, Donna?
Suz
Yes, that is what happened. I have been having trouble with computer just putting pictures wherever it wants. The person who helps me doesn't understand either.
Donna
Hey guys Mine likes to do the same thing. It even does it when I type in where I want them.
Can't do any thing about it while on line. Have to go off line and locate all the picture files then move them where I want. Then it may or may not work. I think I may have too many pictures for it to sort out. When we got this computer I asked if it had a burner. They said yes they all have burners. Well let me tell you, it aint no burner. When I finally looked at the paper work, it don't say any thing but CD.
I have to save up to get one, so I can burn them onto a CD.
I could put them on floppy's. But they don't do as good.
I wonder if they meant downloading to a zip or something like that. No, that is not what you are talking about. I think they cost about $40 don't they?
Jeanette
Well I got one of those flash drive stick things, just wasn't big enough.
Guess Yall just have to carry a big stick, He He He
Kent or someone else who knows......I left home for a few days and my bales didn't get watered...seem very dry
will I need to start over again or do you think a dose of compost starter will restart the poor things
or just carry on as if they didn't get dried out?
Foggy
Foggy: just get those bales re-saturated! Moisture! Moisture! Moisture! :-)
Kent
thank you....... :-)
Foggy
My bales haven't heated up much either and they are quite moist as we finally got some rain, but the weather continues very cold. But as someone said that does make daffodil blooms last longer. I have hundreds of blooms. Wish I could share more with you all.
DonnaS
Donna: my bales didn't get much past 80 this year. I had them stacked up outside under a cheap tarp that leaked. So a lot of them got damp and started the slow route to decomposition. Plus we had some cool nights when I had them sitting out.
Kent
YAY! I saw my first black mushrooms today- I must be ok!! I'm gonna start planting in the bales this weekend. I'm thinking of direct planting my lettuces in the bales (instead of starting them first- make sense?? I'm so excited! I'll try again to post pictures later- I think the problem's with the site, because I didn't have any trouble posting them before.
Suz
Suzan, other people have had trouble with their pictures also.
You will use some potting mix if you decide to plant direct right? Funny, I never got the black mushroom until after my plants had been growing for a while. Sounds good.
Jeanette
Donna;
Sure glad you mentioned, a dead air space. I lined the inside walls yesterday. It is 30 out right now. The temp in the GH is 35. All I have right now untill I can run good wiring is a heat lamp on a drop cord.
I will still need to put plastic on the under sides of the rafters. I didn't take any chances with the sweet potatoes though, as I have most of them traded, and only 7 days to the RU.
We had a cold front come in bringing rain that changed to snow. Thank goodness the ground wasn't cold. No snow on the ground Yeaaaa!
Russ
Hi All,
I just found the new chapter 21, no wonder my thread watcher has been so innactive lately! I hope you are all getting some warmer weather by now. Out temperatures here in Palmerston North have plummeted recently. 4'C over night, with frosts threatening to hit soon. They have had some snow further south already.
My garden is hanging in there, but production of tomatoes has slowed alot. A few big green ones still to ripen, they will be among the last. The plants are still growing alot, I should probably top them soon. Some tomatoes have made an arc, as I have had to tie them downwards within my reach. I have just let them go recently, given up pruning and feeding, and only tying the most necessary. The bales have almost disapeared in some places, Im amazed at how much they shrink and shrivel. The compost/ mulch provided by the leftovers is just superb though! Once the frost claims the tomatoes and basil, I will have even more to play with.
College is keeping me very busy, and the summer season is over for me. I have picked, eaten and preserved more than enough tomatoes for a year. Im ready for winter. I have planted winter veg like spinnach and cauliflower, and lifted, divided, and replanted all my spring bulbs last week. Some of them had begun to sprout already. I grow Iris, Tupil, Daffodil and fresia. Almost Garlic planting time too.
I have already began the hunt for some affordable bales for next spring. I can imagine they will cost even more this year than last. NZ has suffered some major dry spells this summer. Feed crops and pasture have been ruined. A major food shortage for farm animals is likely, driving the priced of hay and straw even further up. Best get in early!
Happy gardening to you all. Ill post some new pics soon.
Lena
Lena, so glad to hear from you. I was gone for a few days and then had my daughter was here so I meant to D-mail you but just been too busy. So glad you found the forum.
Why don't you cut the tomato plants off above the highest tomato you want to keep growing? Or have you? That would put more energy to the plant for ripening the rest. Actually, if it were me, I would take everything off but the tomatoes or even take the tomatoes in so you don't lose them to frost. Ripen inside or make fried green tomatoes are wonderful, relish, there are a lot of things you can do if you have the TIME. lol
Sounds like you have little of that valuable commodity. You make good use of the compost the bales left you don't you? If you get bales now for next year be sure to cover them or they might compost by spring. I don't know what kind of winter weather you have. Then you could take the cover off in time to prepare them for planting in the spring.
Sure sounds strange to me to be talking about winter coming. Hopefully we are about into spring.
Russ, I am using my portable greenhouse, which is just a framework with a cover of whatever they sell them with, and a small milkhouse heater. The heater has 3 amp settings. 500, 1000, and 1500. And then it has a dial that goes from low to high. No stops, so you can turn it to wherever you want. So, Bob put it on 500 amps, and dialed just a little higher than low. It keeps it at from 37 to a steady 43 at night. The outside temp is 30. I don't want to run my light bill up too much, but I might turn it a tad bit higher.
I have no way to make the "dead air space" you guys are talking about because my frame is just metal and the cover is not solid. Stiff. But, I only plan on using it thru maybe May, depending on this ever unpredictable weather.
Jeanette
Russ-
I was glancing over the stuff for trade at your RU and wow! I came to your name and this enormous list of things you are trading came up.
I don't know how you do it! You have my greatest respect for all that work. Just sorry you aren't close enough so I could trade with you, too.
Foggy
Foggy; I have kind of an ulterior motive. The more people I can help to start eating more sweet potatoes, I feel I am giving them a start toward a more healthful diet. I also will give a piece on the nutritional value of SPs. Then they can make up their own minds on whether they like them or not. But the ornamental ones are just mainly for pleasure. Then of course I like the EEs. I just brought them down from upstairs, I have to find some of the larger ones as I have some of them traded too.
I do feel like I am getting a good value back as well. If not so much in plants, it is another gardener friend.
I really had plans to have more variety of ornamental SPs but all I got to sprout was the blackie and one other one. Since they got mixed up I am not positive which one it was. It is beginning to look like an Ace of Spades. Which has kind of a plain heart shaped leaf that is nearly black, or a really dark purple.
I could ask, how far is Marshville from Raleigh. We may plan on visiting with a sister in law, who lives in Sanford. Of course if we can make the trip soon we will have to take time to visit Kent, the Straw bale man.
LOL. Love to tease him some.
Russ
Russ: if you get to Sanford, definitely feel free to come by my house in the Wake Forest area, or we can at least meet in Raleigh and go out to eat.
Kent
Sounds like a party in the making. lol, the last one you all started didn't pan out. To Lena's. Somebody didn't get their pilot's training/license. And I had even gotten my stewardess uniform. And the bags of peanuts to throw at you guys.
Speaking of which, we didn't even get peanuts on that flight to Seattle a couple of weeks ago. They are getting pretty darned cheap. I remember when they use to even serve a meal on that flight and it is only 55 minutes. Then they still served champaign the last time. No more.
I did see some guy walking around pouring bottled water tho. Good grief. He didn't even offer it. Guess if you wanted any you had to tackle him.
Jeanette
Hey Kent! - - -We would even smile at the Stewardess, Right???
Jeanette; I finally got my garden tractor together. Even hooked up the tiller on it. Got all three dirt patches tilled up. 6pm, come around and DW was out there waving me in for supper. Now if it will warm up, I can get some more planting done. The ground is a little cool for some things to germinate yet. Got onions and radishes popping up though.
Need to get the bales finished up yet.
You sent that cold wave my way. It got down below freezing last night. I'm hoping this is the last of it.
I am going to have to put up row covers up to help the ground warm up, I've got kohlrabi ready to go in, but before I do too much, I'm going to put chicken wire around the garden. Then I'm going to plant Castor beans around the outside of the fence, " evil sinister grin" Give them bunnies something to think about. During the winter when the snow drifted, they got above my tree guards and done a lot of pruning that I didn't like. especially on my Apricot trees and blueberry bushes.
Well here's warm weather to ya take care.
Russ
Hey Russ and Jeanette- what does "I was glancing over the stuff for trade at your RU and wow! I came to your name and this enormous list of things you are trading came up" mean? What's an RU? Don't mean to br nosey, but this sounds interesting.
Big day for me- OI planted in my first 3 bales today! Hope I don't regret it! It has been cooler this evening- low 50s. They keep promising rain- it's been weeks! I'll try to post a photo- 6 cucumbers and 6 Ceookneck Summer Squash. I must say, the hay sure is alot easier to plant into, but I imagine that the straw bales will hold up a lot longer.
So good to hear from you, Lena! I fidured you were bogged down with school. Rhose tomatoes can be wrapped in newspaper and put them, tops down, in a box in a cool, dark place, and just take them out 1 or 2 at a time and ripen on the windowsill (or make my favorite fried green tomatoes1!!)
Russ, I sure hope you are right about it being the end of it. I am still afraid to put anything but the new roses out in the greenhouse. I just don't trust it. The weatherman was even using the "S" word again tonight. Yup!! Almost May.
Sure wish I could help with that tilling. But then that is the reason for the bales right?
Suzan the RU is round up. I do believe it is somewhere in Iowa that Russ is talking about. Where a lot of DGers meet to trade/swap plants and lies. LOL
That is what Russ is saving all of those cuttings etc. for. TRADES
Your plants look right at home in those bales. Keep them fertilized and watered.
Jeanette
SuzanSkylark, a RU is a tradition here on DG. In 2 weeks (May 14) my article for DG will be published on the very first Dave's Garden Roundup and how it came about. They are now numerous RU's every year and we even have a Roundup Forum with a sticky at the top showing all scheduled RU's.
See Suzan, someone is always out there to tell you the right way. Thanks Darius.
BTW Darius, how is your place coming along there in the Appalachian Mtns?
Jeanette
Fair to middlin'... I love it and hate it. Actually I love the area, just find so many things lacking...
Russ, I made a trench down the center of my hay bales and poured in some bloodmeal, (no measuring!!) then sprinkled the bales. Yesterday and day before temp. got up to 120, good !!.
The roof/ceiling of a gh. is most important for dead air space as you know heat rises. I use my gh all winter for keeping plants, tender ones, growing and cuttings. Then I plant seeds in Jan. The heater is turned off now and door is mostly open except at night. Last night was one of our warmer nights, only got down to 40 just at daylight.
I took a chance last night since the temp. got up to 65 degrees yesterday, I decided to leave the three flats of tomatoes out in the passageway. It is not easy for me to move them in each night and they are too tall for the mini gh and no room in my larger 10 x 14 gh . It is cloudy outside and weatherman is predicting rain for next 2 or 3 days, which I will believe when I feel it!!!!
Donna
Here is a photo of the tomato seedlings in the passageway.
Donna
Yup; RU ( round up) not for killing plants. LOL
I like to think of RU as a Reunion, not quite like family as everybody is of like mind. Meaning we all love to garden. And it don't matter what type of gardening, be it water garden, flower, vegetable or just gardener wannabes.
And I am not swapping as many plants as some, but trading plants is fun. There is a joy in giving as well as receiving. Of course the trades are not all prearranged. Even if you have no plants to bring, there are always plenty of plants. Those, we usually make a game of shopping for the prized plant of your choice. Usually one table is allowed at a time to go choose 1 plant. Depending on the number of plants, this will go for one or two rounds. Then when everyone has had a chance to choose a plant. Every one is allowed to go grab whatever is left. We also have Door prizes. Also many of the nurseries in the area are happy to give discounts for all DGers that come .I think that this year at least 4 members that live in the area have invited all guests to visit their gardens as kind of a guided tour. Friday evening , as many that show up are invited to a barbeque, at one of the homes. and of course tour their garden. I have been to this particular garden before but there is usually something new, or maybe the flowers just done their best to be beautiful. I know this lady has a passion for a beautiful yard. They both work but she is the one planting and taking care of the flowers. A big grin on this, he mows the lawn but she keeps a watchful eye that he don't mow over any of her flowers. >(:>)
Then of course Saturday is the big picnic and swap. Winding down around 4 or 5 and we still have more gardens to see or shopping at the local nurseries. Many of those nurseries have donated a prize for the RU, ( in anticipation for more business). So it is a fun weekend!
Yes This RU is being held in Cedar Rapids IA. It is in the eastern part of the state. I live on the western side of IA, about 15 miles from the Missouri River.
Donna: Making a trench in the bales?? did you just kind of pound it down, or rip out some of the hay? straw???
I just kind of poured it down the center, and watered it in. but it did like to spread and try to go over the sides.
Getting blood meal is less of a hassle. You don't have to explain why you want it, like you would ammonium nitrate. But Urea works too, so no real problem there.
I'm going to try, ( on one only) using blood meal on a OSPV, to see if it makes more foliage and happy vines. LOL.
Russ
Finally got everything planted this past Friday.
Tomatoes: Better Boy, German Johnson, Celebrity, Parks Whopper, Super Fantastic, Homestead, and Cherry Tomatoes
Peppers - Sweet and Hot Banana, Jalapeno, Cayenne, and Habanero
Cukes, squash, and zucchini.
Deer fence area is roughly 50 x 60.
Kent
Awwww, You'r not even gonna give bambi a chance Grinnnnnnnn
I've checked the RU page. Apparently Ohio people don't know how to have a good time! The closest one in this state is at least 5 hours away!
Lucy