Is anyone else starting their GH early? How do you keep you plants warm?

Here's how the seedlings look today - they are doing well under the grow lights and I should be able to move them to the GH in about 4 weeks regardless of the weather!

Brandywine Pink Sudduth Strain

Big Beef Hybrid

New Big Dwarf

It's cold outside!

This the third planting of 20 seeds since January 1st - we planted these a week ago. We will move them to 4X4 - 5" high pots today. If there is room (there usually is) we leave them on the seed germination heated mat in the pots for another week. The second planting was Golden Dwarf Gypsy, Brandy Boy, Sweet 100, NBD and Pineapple. This planting has more Brandy Boy, Brandywine OTV, Super Sweet 100, and Rapunzel. The germination time and rate is excellent with this method.

I had the day off so no better time than the present to get the GH ready for these seedlings! It was 25 degrees F outside today but even though we never saw the sun it was still a strong 60+ degrees in the GH. I added a sterile compost, vermiculite and coconut coir - then tilled it all in by hand with a shovel and rake - watered it down and there you have it! We are ready to go!

Looking good. I still need to order seeds. We will be starting here as soon as the seeds come. Probably end of January. I will be aiming for a mid march plant out into the high tunnels.

My wife agreed to me building a small 8 by 8 room to dedicate to seeding production in the basement, so now I have to build it. I have been just using a storage room for 9-10 years. It will be nice to have a dedicated area and the storage room space back.

Jrslick - Please post photos of your basement seeding room when you get it done. My wife has been unhappy about the grow light fixture in our living room for the past few years and has been requesting that I move my seeding to the basement. I have been reluctant because I walk by the grow lights several times a day in the living room and it is easy to monitor the needs of the seedlings where they are. I'm probably worrying about nothing - but I would like see how you have it organized.

We planted our first batch (12 plants) of Tomato Seedlings in the Greenhouse on January 27th this year. The seeds were planted under our Grow Lights on January 1st in our house so the seedlings are only 27 days old. We use a GH winter growing method that we started several years ago but have never tried planting them in the GH this early in the winter before. In the past, we have moved them into the GH the middle of March. We don't heat the GH because it would not be worth the cost. But we are able to plant early by planting the seedlings and cover them with a frost blanket kept warm by light bulbs on a timer.

Greenhouses are Awesome !!! These seedlings are thriving in spite of the subzero outside temperatures! Some of the seedlings are showing their first blossoms/buds of the season already in the middle of February! Such a pleasant sight with so much cold and snow this time of year !!

Wow that's excellent! You'll have tomatoes in no time. There's about 30 days till spring, I believe. Seeing your tomatoe plants gives me an urge to try some in the yard. I usually grow watermelon or melon.

Thanks for the updates.

Mark

I am very surprised how efficient and in-expensive our Modine Propane heater operates! I may GH all year long now that the heater is installed! I was running the light bulbs under the frost blanket about 12 hours a day on a timer. At our electricity rate that amounts to about $50 a month. I removed all frost protection and light bulbs from the GH and set the thermostat at 55 degrees F about 2 weeks ago. It was 4 degrees F outside last night and colder tonight. Using the Modine heater it appears from what I have used so far - that my cost will only be about $35 a month to heat the entire GH! Most of the plants are over 2' in height now!

I am trying a cattle panel cut into two "H" formats - side by side for our cherry tomatoes this year. I plan to tie them in two directions and they will meet in the middle of the "H". I will have access on both sides so my grandkids can pick on all sides. We have planted three cherry tomatoes - Sweet 100, Super Sweet 100 and Rapunzel - so there is plenty of room for them to grow! I have never tried this before. It will be interesting to see how it works.

On the other same sized center bed I have four indeterminate tomato plants - Big Brandy, Brandywine Pink SS and two Big Beef - each with their own cattle panel support. I may make these "H" supports also - I haven't decided yet, but I better decide soon!

At each end of the center bed we have two indeterminate Dwarf plants - two New Big Dwarf and two Golden Dwarf Gypsy with their own cattle panel to climb. The Modine heater has made GHousing so much easier and fun. We can now take advantage of the winter daytime sun. Today is February 23 - we may have ripe tomatoes the end of April ! I won't mind spending a $100 a year on heat to run the GH year-round if we can manage to keep around that cost! We have the min set at 55 degrees and the max set at 80 degrees and the temperatures are maintained automatically! I just hope the power doesn't go off for a long period of time during the night!!

Hey Hudson, how are your plants doing? Did you already pick your first tomato of the season?

Mark

Hi Mark - thanks for asking - It won't be long! Here is an update on our plants. How about you - I bet you have ripe tomatoes?

Wow, those are coming along nicely! No, no tomatoes yet. This is my first year growing tomatoes and I just planted them in the ground yesterday. The weather has been strange. The plants are about 5 inches tall right now. How often do you fertilize?

Mark

Hudson, how do you pollinate? By hand, fans? Have you ever tried to attract bees inside your GH?

P-town - I currently use an electric toothbrush almost daily.

Tell me about what you are doing - it appears you are using bees? what size is your GH including height? Is your GH enclosed (screened)? Have you compared vibration to bees? Pros - Cons? I am always interested in better ways to do things. We have great success with vibration but I am interested in your experience!

Hudson, thanks for the quick reply! I built my greenhouse last May and mainly relied on fans to pollinate, which seemed to do okay but since this was my first time doing any gardening, I didn't have much to compare to. This spring I made the mason bee house pictured above and mounted it near an opening on the south gable end. My GH is 10'x10'x10'. So far, I have seen a couple of bees in the GH but haven't noticed any setting up camp in the bee house yet. I have heard about the electric toothbrush and glad to see that it works so well. Do you try to transfer pollen from one plant to another or just agitate each bloom? I started some tomato's, peppers, cucumber, squash, etc seedlings in January inside and potted them and moved them into the GH at the beginning of March. This is the first time I have ever tried from seedlings as well. Now that some are starting to bloom, I want to make sure I properly pollinate before I have a substantial bee population (hopefully) doing the work for me. I also have marigolds growing inside to attempt to attract the bees. Here's some photos where you can see the opening. Also, have some auto roof vent openers that allow additional access on warmer days.

Nice GH P-Town! You'll find the tomatoes actually do OK and pollenate all by themselves. I never vibrate cherry tomatoes because they set fruit so well. Before I used the Electric Toothbrush I just jiggled the plant and had good success! I started vibrating with a toothbrush to compare. I find the temperature was a bigger factor than vibration. If it is too hot or too cold - you will have a problem with fruit set.

Your plants look great! We hand pollenate squash if we grow it in the GH and always plant parthenocarpic cucumbers. Although I love bees in the garden and I am even considering purchasing a hive or two - I really don't find a need for them in the GH - JMO.

Thanks for the photos - nice GH with a nice setting! I hope you get enough sun with the trees?

I really haven't had a problem setting fruit without bees!

Thank you for the kind comments, Hudson! Your GH is amazing and already has me planning my next (bigger) GH for the future. Your tomato's are also very impressive and seem to be enjoying the care you are giving them! The pictures I posted were taken during the shady part of the day (2pm-4pm), but the GH does get a solid 8ish hours of sun a day. The shade from the water oak above actual helps in the middle of summer when it get's in the mid to upper 90's. That's great to hear that the tomato's should do fine without the presence of natural pollinators. Now I need to find some cattle panels like yours for supporting them. Thanks again and enjoy your upcoming harvest!

Thanks P-Town. I have been experimenting with Dwarfs this year and last. If you haven't grown them - I recommend it. They have been very productive and take up little space in the GH. The two varieties I am growing this year are New Big Dwarf and Dwarf Golden Gypsy. They are easy to grow in 5-20 gallon containers and most grow from 2-6' depending on the variety. They do need a cage (at least the two varieties I am growing). You can get the seeds at Victoriaseeds.com or Heritageseedmarket.com and other websites. Here are some photos:

New Big Dwarf:

Dwarf Golden Gypsy:

Yeah! Our first ripe tomato of 2016! It is a Sweet 100 Cherry tomato - as it always is. April 15th is a new record for us though. The old record was in late May I believe.

Looks excellent! I bet it taste delicious. I am getting my first flowers on my tomatoe plants. I need to find a support for them to grow up on.

Mark

Ever tried trellising your tomatoes?

Check out the "Overhead String" method at this link: http://www.highmowingseeds.com/blog/trellising-your-organic-tomatoes/

Good luck!

Thanks P-Town - I am tempted to try it. Is that the way you grow your tomatoes? Do you have other photos throughout the season that show how they produce? What variety(s) do you trellis?

This is the first time I have ever really "tried" to grow tomatoes( or really growing any vegetables for that matter) so I don't have any previous experience or pictures, unfortunately. Definitely learning as I go. Hopefully it will work out! The varieties I am trellising are Brandywine Red, Big Boy Hybrid and a couple varieties of cherry and grape tomatoes. I'll try to continue to post progress pics!

Gorgeous greenhouses and tomatoes. Are cattle panels easy to cut? I want to use them for Clematis trellising but not sure if I can cut them?

Thanks buyorsell ! Cattle panels are easy to cut with bolt cutters and work great for Clematis - my wife had me cut a panel for her Clematis - see photo.

Hi there! Seems like you're a tomato expert! I'm growing Sweet 100 for the first time and my leaves are getting yellow. Do you have any experience with that?

BTW what is GH?

thank you!

Hi Bellasky - GH is just my abbreviation for greenhouse. I'm not an expert but usually yellowing of leaves is a watering problem (to much or to little) or nutrients lacking in the soil - especially when container grown because watering flushes nutrients. However, their are other possibilities such as a fungus or bacterial problem. Lack of sun could also be a problem if the fence is blocking the sun - it doesn't appear to in the photo.

I would recommend at least a 10 gallon container for Sweet 100 - not sure what you are using.

Thanks Hudson, wow my container is no more than a 2.5 gallon container, Do you think I'll be ok with that?

Bellasky - IMO 2.5 gallon is too small and will restrict your Sweet 100's ability to grow and produce. I would think it will need at least a 10 gallon container. Sweet 100 is an indeterminate variety and requires support. I plant it every year in our GH but never grow Sweet 100 in a container. If you are looking for a tomato plant for your 2.5 gallon container - I would recommend a Micro Dwarf.

http://heritageseedmarket.com/index.php/product-category/dwarf-tomatoes/micro-dwarf-tomatoes/

Or Tiny Tim (yellow or red) Dwarf Tomato plants and Tumbling Tom Tomato.

http://www.victoryseeds.com/tomato_tiny-tim.html

I grow Dwarf varieties like New Big Dwarf and Dwarf Golden Gypsy in a 10 gallon container. They do well in our GH with supports but require water almost daily and more frequent fertilization.

Those are some nice tomatoes! My plants for some reason are dropping the blooms, so far I've seen about 4 tomatoes ripening. I think they might need fertilizer they are still about 2 feet tall.

Mark

and some almost ready in the raised bed attached to the GH