Plant update

So, due to strange weather and convenience, I haven't actually been using the greenhouse yet.  I have been starting the seeds indoors, and waiting til they are out of their domes and are a few inches tall.

This is the light table I built.

Two metal shelving units side-by-side, with four fluorescent light fixtures.

This was working pretty well for about a week.  But I was planting new seeds pretty well everyday.  I had to re-plant the geraniums that died.  Re-plant the begonias that died (though, there may be more to that story), and continue planting all the stuff that should be sown 12-16 weeks in advance of outdoor planting. 

As I continued to plant more flowers that require a 6-8 week head start, and I got a few vegetables underway, I had trays all over the floor and it was becoming impossible to get to the shelves, as I had 3 old hockey sticks with 3 more light fixtures dangling from the shelves to various chairs and things in the room.

So, since I had purchased a bunch of 2x2 lumber to build the greenhouse shelves with, I just brought those boards inside and reconfigured my shelving unit into a more functional light table.

I've placed the shelves 6' apart, facing one another, and stretched the 2x2 boards across the gap to make rudimentary shelves.  The lights were re-hung to span the gap.

The new shelving system took a lot more intricate planning than it appears.  It looks like a cheap dummy threw planks of wood across two old shelves, but actually, they are highly functional.  The light fixtures don't spray the light wide enough to satisfy the growing plants.  What you get is about 1/3 of the tray that is looking good, and the rest of the young plants are growing too leggy and leaning into the light. 

By having the boards in their pattern, I can move the trays around twice a day so that each side of the tray gets 12 hours of good direct overhead light, and the rest of the time, they lean a bit to the side.  I don't really mind the leaning because I figure it kind of replicates what would happen in natural outdoor conditions when the sun moves across the sky.

These are the impatiens that were my first sprouts.  You can see the little brown dot--the husk of the seed.  In my previous trials with geraniums, I had not been prepared for two problems: first, I had not set up lights yet, so they became weak and leggy; second, the husks were sticking to the leaves and beginning to rot and collect fungus.

 One thing I have been very diligent about for the last week or so has been to make sure that as I am inspecting the trays, any husks that remain on the leaves must be removed.  For first-timers, I would recommend trying seeds that are sown on the surface.  With some of my dahlia seeds that are planted 1/2" deep, they were pushing up soiling that stuck to the husk and made the rotting and fungus much worse.

Marigolds in front, Celosia in the back

Red & White Geraniums

Marigolds on the right, Impatiens on the left

Zinnias - Oklahoma Blend

One thing I would definitely do differently next year:  do not mix seeds.

I have many trays where there are a couple dozen ABC seeds growing side-by-side with a couple dozen XYZ seeds....Now that I am beginning to remove the domes, it becomes more challenging to deal with trays where one set of seedlings is ready to grow free, and the other set would benefit from another few days under the dome.

Initially, using the peat pods was supposed to handle this problem.  They could easily be shifted around to suit different growth rates.  But because I am up against the wall with limited space available on the shelves, I am not really able to separate trays.

I'm putting a few finishing touches on the greenhouse this weekend.  Re-install the windows after they were sanded down, install the weatherstripping, install shelving, paint a few spots, pull the loose flap on the front under the frame.  After that, I'll be able to move the plants outside as they no longer require the 24-hour direct overhead light.

Fitting my shelves together has given me a great idea for building a real light table for the future, so I am looking forward to this fall/winter when I tackle that project.

Greenhouse construction completion

Frame is complete

The cover is about half-done here.

Cover complete.

Canna lilies and greenhouse construction

Just to update on all the canna lilies I have been keeping this winter, most of them have stopped growing after I moved them all into the spare room at the window.  Because they were so big and I had to space them all out across the floor, it became nearly impossible to properly water them without it taking a lot of time, so I allowed them to dry out a lot and it was interesting to see how they responded.

First, they let some of their lower leaves brown and dry out.  As the soil dried up, they also started to lean over because they were so tall and the soil was too dry to hold them upright.  I will be curious to take a look at the root systems soon to see if the rootlets were sacrificed in order to preserve moisture in the bulb.

My plan is to cut most of them down (I have already done this today), wet the roots and then put the bulbs outside for the rest of the winter.  I am a little concerned that by not letting them go dormant for a few months, they might be under stress.  So, given that we haven't had any extreme cold temperatures so far this winter, and that forecasts look good going forward in March, I am confident that the lilies will not be in any danger outside for the next 4-6 weeks.

I have salvaged a few of the rarer lilies I have and will continue to grow them, as well as a couple of the better looking red lilies I have just so that I have a few that are mature by the time planting season rolls around.


As for the greenhouse construction, I learned a very important lesson last week:  paint the lumber before you construct the frame.  Luckily, I still have some construction to do and the remaining lumber will be painted and ready before it is added to the frame.  Getting into the corners and bottom edges is a pain to deal with, especially when the ground is soggy and cold.

There is a little hiccup with the construction due to recent weather and because my recycled 6x6 end-piece was evidently too weathered to be recycled afterall.  So, in keeping with the past couple months, the costs of the greenhouse project continue to spiral--though fortunately costs are not spiraling completely out of control; all the expenses are manageable in spite of their inconvenience.

Planting annuals

Two canna lilies sprouting in the peat pods.
More importantly, two Strelitzia - Birds of Paradise - sprouting in the coir cells
The third Strelitzia is sprouting as of today as well, and they are probably the most lucrative plants
long-term, so hopefully they continue to do well!

These are geraniums that I planted on the 23rd and have sprouted.
A handful of them are too weak and are unlikely to grow, but the bulk of them
are doing well.

A second tray of different geraniums, a different breed, are not doing so well.
Only a handful sprouted, and have not done well once moved into the light.
The bulk of the tray remains to be seen.  They are supposed to take 3-15 days
to sprout, so I am still hopeful they will do well enough to recover the costs.

This is my ricinus sprout.  The other two died off, though I left the stalks.
Unfortunately, the plants have trouble shedding the seed pod from the leaves, which causes
moisture and rotting on the leaves, and kills off the plant.
If you look closely, you can spot big white dots that represent 3-4 more sprouts emerging.

Bottom -- transplanted canna seedlings.  As opposed to the previous batch, I have
planted these sprouts in much deeper soil.  The last batch grew very tall, very quickly and were
stringy and sometimes unable to stand straight.
I'm hoping that in thicker soil, watering deeply, I can encourage the roots to grow stronger before the
plants shoot upward very much more.

Top, in individual containers -- These are one of my prizes: Alstroemeria Ligtu hybrids, aka Peruvian Lilies
The growing process is very complicated, and for most people, unsuccessful.
I have planted the seeds in two different batches in the hopes I will at least have success with one.

You probably can't make it out, but it appears the daylily sprouts are growing stronger root systems
and beginning to develop a bulb .