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.