Greenhouse Hothouse

Well, I verified that the greenhouse can get a bit too warm when the sun is shining. Even though the outside temperature was only 37 F at 2 pm yesterday, the surface soil temperature was 95-125 F! I promptly cut a slit in either end of the green house to allow some air to flow through. When I checked again at 7 pm, the temperature was down to about 50 F with an outside temp of 40 F. I pinned the opening closed and when I checked this morning at 8 am, the soil temperature was 40 F with an outside temperature of 30 F and an overnight low of 28 F.

I started two microblock trays of veggies and flowers Sunday evening. That is 180 blocks per tray, about 360 seeds. I am trying to start zinnia, delphinium and alyssum from seed. I also started several varieties of tomatoes and peppers, celery, basil, tatsoi, choi, mizuna, and lettuce. Everything has bottom heat compliments of a 6' strand of incandescent rope light. That appears to be sufficient to raise the soil temperature to 72 F.

I decided that having the greenhouse, I will sprout the peas in a jar and then just plant them directly. I will also direct seed lettuce, carrots, beets, radish and spinach.

Update: the following day, I checked the temperature inside at noon and found that it was back up to 125 F on the garden frames. I cut the plastic all the way down and opened it wider to allow air to flow freely through the greenhouse.

Greenhouse Cleanup

I ventured into the greenhouse this week. There were quite a few leaves that needed to be trimmed and raked out and I watered everything. There was quite a lot more brown than the last time I checked. I wonder if it became too hot when we had the thaw several weeks ago with temperatures nearing 50 degrees F? I am planning to start tracking the temperature this weekend.

I am hoping to get some seeds started tonight or tomorrow night. There is kale and parsley that will be harvestable soon and garlic that will be ready mid-summer. The kale looks pretty sad, but will continue making new leaves for a little while before shooting up a flower head. I think that if I chop a few kale down to just a few inches, they may continue to produce for another season.

Panorama of interior before cleanup

Some sad looking kale

Parsley and kale getting going again

Late season parsley from last year, restarting

Plant Cold Tolerant Crops

I have been feeling the pull to start planting for several weeks now, but today I received an automated email reminder from myself. It said "Plant cold tolerant crops". I guess I can't procrastinate any longer... It just so happens that a friend asked me to help make soil blocks this weekend for a community garden that she is helping to start. I wrote her an email describing my experience with soil block making and thought that I would copy it here since it provides a good summary of the equipment and methods that I have adopted.

Dear Kristin,
Do you know what will be planted in the 1200 blocks? I plant different seeds in different sized blocks for optimal use of potting soil and grow light space. For instance, peas work well with the 1.5" blocks because they can be transplanted immediately into the garden as soon as they get a few inches tall. The 1.5" blocks are too small to receive the 3/4" blocks, so anything started in 3/4" blocks will need to go into 2" blocks as the next step.

I have four different models of soil blockers:

3/4" blocks 20 blocks at a time, 224 to a tray ($29) - this is where I start with smaller seeds. However, the seedlings quickly outgrow the small block and need to be transplanted into 2" blocks. (http://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/seed-starting-supplies/soil-block-makers/hand-held-20-soil-blocker-9528.html)

1.5" blocks 5 blocks at a time, 48 to a tray ($33) - this is great for peas and anything else that just needs a start under optimal conditions and then can be planted immediately into the garden. For larger operations, you can also purchase a (http://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/seed-starting-supplies/soil-block-makers/hand-held-5-soil-blocker-7001.html)

2" blocks with 3/4" square dibble 4 blocks at a time, 20 to a tray ($33) - these receive seedlings started in the 3/4" blocks that need to grow on under lights. These can then be transplanted into the 4" blocks or 1 quart yogurt containers when the seedlings get a few inches tall. They can also be planted directly into the ground if appropriate. (http://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/seed-starting-supplies/soil-block-makers/hand-held-4-soil-blocker-9527.html)

4" block with 2" square dibble 1 block at a time ($92) - I just got this at the end of last season and haven't used it yet. This is typically used for receiving the 2" blocks once the seedlings have reached a few inches. This would be for plants that need a long start indoors before planting out, such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

(http://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/seed-starting-supplies/soil-block-makers/hand-held-1-soil-blocker-9016.html)

For commercial operations, Johnny's makes soil block makers that make medium sized blocks 12 and 35 soil blocks at a time.
 - http://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/seed-starting-supplies/soil-block-makers/stand-up-12-soil-blocker-9015.html ($204)
 - http://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/seed-starting-supplies/soil-block-makers/stand-up-35-soil-blocker-7465.html ($235)

Here is the tray that I use: https://www.amazon.com/Carlisle-CT121603-Standard-Cafeteria-Black/dp/B07895KXHK/ref=sr_1_5

For a large operation, it might be better to use a tray like this: http://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/seed-starting-supplies/trays-domes-and-flats/soil-block-propagation-trays-5-count-9397.0.html

Working very efficiently with the 35 soil blocker, two people could make 1200 blocks in an hour (34 stampings). One person would need to be mixing soil while another is stamping and placing the blocks. In my experience, it takes me about 10-15 minutes to fill a tray working by myself. Doing rough math, if we were making all 1.5" blocks, that would translate into using 25 of my small cafeteria trays and would take about 6 man-hours. So, with 3-4 soil block makers (depending on whether we choose to use the smallest one), we should be able to make 1200 soil blocks in about 2 hours.

Here are my posts from last year where I felt that I developed a good system for starting seeds for my garden:
- http://southtownsgardener.blogspot.com/2017/04/seedling-setup.html
- http://southtownsgardener.blogspot.com/2017/04/seedling-progress.html

I am looking forward to working with you all!

ST Gardener