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Post by macmex on Jan 14, 2021 7:36:43 GMT -6
Yesterday I took off work to prepare for the arrival of our new greenhouse. It's been my wife's dream to get me one, and the front end of the garden has shown the marks of her previous preparations to build one for me. I have to admit I haven't been as fired up about getting one, as she has, to get me one. Finally, we ordered a Yoderbilt greenhouse , which arrived yesterday. Okay, so I wasn't that excited.. until it arrived. Wow! I went to bed last night with fleeting visions of sweet potato slips dancing in my head. They were fleeting because I was so exhausted from the day's work, getting ready. Here's picture of the greenhouse being placed on it's platform.
It's 9' x 16' and has automated vents, which open when it gets hot inside. Yesterday was about 50 F. and it was in the upper 70s inside the greenhouse.
Here's a picture of the interior.
Looking at it, now in place, I am very excited about starting sweet potatoes and other plants in there. Our sun porch has been too shaded for some years now. I can also anticipate setting a chair in there, so I can sit and enjoy the presence of the plants. At least, I hope I can do that. Time is always so pinched around our homestead.
I think I'm going to try planting something tall on the West and, possible South sides of this building, to provide some shade in summer. Need to be thinking about this.
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raf
New Member
Posts: 42
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Post by raf on Jan 14, 2021 14:15:55 GMT -6
Super nice! It'll open alot of possibilities to you!
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Post by macmex on Jan 23, 2021 6:34:27 GMT -6
An update on the greenhouse. It took me over a week to get a digital thermometer to put in the greenhouse. I wanted one which would record the high and low temperatures in a 24 hour time period and, found one for under $8, but I had to order it from Lowes. What I've learned is that without any inputted heat the inside temperature of the greenhouse gets nice and warm during the day, even with some cloud cover. At night, however, the inside temperature will reach the same as the outside temperature. If it's 29 F. outside, then at 5 am, that's what it'll be inside the greenhouse.
Last night I put a oil filled radiator type space heater in there, setting the thermostat on its lowest setting. When I checked this morning (5:15 am) it was 29 F outside and 31 F inside. I turned up the heat setting and will report back soon.
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Post by theozarkan on Jan 23, 2021 23:44:31 GMT -6
That's really nice. Congrats.
Last year I built a small high tunnel out of cattle panels. My tomato starts did really well in it. I was amazed at how warm it got in there with just plastic sheeting covering it and it was nowhere near air tight. I think maybe they did better in there because they were out of the house where my boys couldn't terrorize them.
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Post by macmex on Jan 24, 2021 5:33:25 GMT -6
LOL! I saw where someone had just planted all their tomatoes and peppers and their toddler got into the trays and "helped." It was a jumbled mess!
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Post by denweave on Feb 7, 2021 0:15:22 GMT -6
Wow. That is a great looking greenhouse. Let us know how the heat is working out for you. And how the sweet potatoes get going.
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Post by denweave on Mar 6, 2021 5:26:33 GMT -6
How are you liking that greenhouse after a month ? What have you been using it to get started?
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Post by macmex on Mar 6, 2021 8:05:09 GMT -6
I have some potatoes, started from seed (true seed, not root clones) started in a tray in the greenhouse. I also have a sweet potato started that way too, seed. Today I plan on starting tomatoes and regular sweet potatoes (by root). I have about 12 varieties to do, some multiple trays for each variety. I would like to get our Irish potatoes planted in the garden as well as onions and peas. I know I won't have time to do all of that.
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Post by macmex on Mar 8, 2021 10:09:26 GMT -6
Saturday I spent several hours, working in the greenhouse. It's time to start sweet potato slips as well as tomatoes. I only started Baker Family Heirloom and Heidi, as far as tomatoes go. At the very least, I'll start Black Cherry yet. I managed to bed Becca's Purple (two dishpans), Gunlock (two roots, as this is my first year to grow this one), one dishpan with Brinkley White and a long wooden tray of Red Wine Velvet (RWV). I need lots of RWV, since it is the variety most in demand when I sell. Brinkley White, on the other hand, has little demand, even though it's absolutely amazing for sweet flavor.
I potted up 13 of the Irish potato seedlings I started February 6, exactly one month ago. There are ten more to pot up and I decided to pass them along to Ron, so he can grow them out.
Sunday afternoon I bedded two dishpans of Oklahoma Red, another very good orange fleshed sweet potato. I started three more sweet potato seeds, all from Grand Asia, and I repotted my one seedling from Red Wine Velvet seed.
Here are two photos of the back end of the greenhouse, after I had been working for several hours.
When it's sunny, yet slightly cool outside I find it very pleasant to be working in the greenhouse. The heat in there feels radiant and I have to open almost all the windows in order to keep it from getting too hot. Yet it is very pleasant. I've even taken to doing some of my Bible studies in there. It's quiet and very nice.
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Post by john on Mar 9, 2021 6:21:29 GMT -6
That is a really nice little greenhouse. I start my sweet potato slips in a little greenhouse that is similar. I start them under the shelves in five gallon pots. I staple plastic to the shelves which creates a little greenhouse with in a greenhouse, then I put a little heater in there, It creates a very warm humid environment which gets them sprouted quickly. You'd be surprised at what you can do in layers in a small greenhouse to maximize your productivity. It took me a while to really learn how to get the most from it.
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Post by macmex on Mar 9, 2021 6:58:13 GMT -6
I can believe it. It's taking time to get a feel for temperature regulation, for sure.
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