Greenhouse update pics

[begreen]

Good tips. We have a dehumidifier in the greenhouse to control moisture. Have not had any mold issues, but we did get fungus gnats before the dehumidifier. You might want to try Muncher cucumbers. We are on our second year with these seeds. It's early, self-pollinating and incredibly prolific. Good quality 8" cukes too! We grow this and Orient Express. I'll check out Sweet Success for next year.

 

[bogydave]

Alaska Green House cucumbers:

Since I have to grow cucs in a Green House here. Next year I plan on trying
parthenocarpic cucumbers:: (seedless, no pollination needed)
Sweet Success is on the top of the list so far, Camilla a close 2nd.
I spend time every day searching out females & pollenating,
Am getting to be a good pollinator but I alway miss a few females
or sometimes have no male blooms for pollen.
This year I'm growing a (beta alpha) Gynoecious variety ( produce mostly female flowers) with 2 normal monoecious variety for male blooms (& fewer females) for a pollinator.

Beta-Alpha: (mostly females )

Pollinator: mostly males (but a few females)

 

[bogydave]

Eating cucs, Toms still growing

 

[bogydave]

Pics 6-16-11
getting some sw 100 turning red. lots of cucs.

 

[SolarAndWood]

That's awesome Dave, almost looks tropical.

 

[bogydave]

Thanks S&W

Todays pics
some ripe tomatoes soon

 

[begreen]

Yum, that's looking good. Your greenhouse continues to be about 2 weeks ahead of us as we battle June gloom days. Our tomatoes in the greenhouse are half that size. Still we are harvesting carrots, lettuce, broccoli, beets, chard, kale, leeks and some yummy new potatoes. The greenhouse cukes are almost ready to start picking. Oh, and I forgot, we started picking strawberries and our first artichokes of the season. I'll take some shots for posting soon.

 

[begreen]

Here's a shot of the greenhouse with eggplant in the foreground. There is a tiny 2" eggplant starting. The cukes are 4-7" and will be ready for picking soon. The artichoke is a violetta.

 

[bogydave]

Been eating some ripe 4th july & sw 100s. Early girls, Mom's yellow & pink brandy wines turning.
Cuc's going strong, eating lots. Pepper plant is blooming.

 

[SolarAndWood]

The fruit looks great Dave, I'm jealous. Hopefully our tomatoes will catch up with you soon. We will start picking beans this weekend.

 

[begreen]

Dave, my cukes have reached the rafters. At 8', it's going to mean a step ladder to pick fruit up there. Do you train them sideways, or back down to the bed at this point?

 

[lukem]

Dateline Indiana:

Been eating lettuce and spinach 2x daily for about a month now, and giving a ton away.
Snow peas are producing heavily.
Green peppers a few days out, jalapenos are ready to start picking.
Eggplant this weekend.
5 gallons of broccoli in freezer, side shoots coming on strong now.
Carrots and onions looking good, but not ready.
Okra just getting started growing, long way off from picking. Same for beans. We got both in late.
Will have squash and zuccini this weekend.
Cuces, butternut squash and pumpkins underway.
Cherry and roma tomatoes underway, but no where near picking. Others just in bloom. We planted way too many plants (24)...just starting to realize.
Potatoes just got done blooming, both red and white.

Couple gallons of cherries and blueberries in the freezer, picking about 1/2 gallon a day. Early transparent apple tree in full force, 5 gallons of applesauce made already, probably 25% of apples harvested. Rebuilding year for strawberries since we moved them. Golden delicious apple tree LOADED but won't be ready till fall. Red raspberries rebuilding year...next year will be strong.

 

[bogydave]

Dave, my cukes have reached the rafters. At 8', it's going to mean a step ladder to pick fruit up there. Do you train them sideways, or back down to the bed at this point?

I train them horizontal over the rafters. Then prune them when they get that long. New vines are always branching off, so new fruit blooming until frost in late August/1st of Sept.

 

[begreen]

Oy, that is going to be a reach, over the bed. How do you prune them? At the terminal end or ?

 

[bogydave]

Oy, that is going to be a reach, over the bed. How do you prune them? At the terminal end or ?

I go back about a foot from the growing tip & pinch it off. I also pinch off several of the "suckers" & leave 1 or 2 back where it starts over the rafters.
I also prune some of the leaves to keep reasonable air circulation so I don't get too much mold.
Cucs hang down & easy to pick. (Pollenating I have to stand on a bucket)
Last years pic:

 

[begreen]

Love it! Thanks. I will start rigging for these guys this weekend. Fortunately my guys are self pollinators.

 

[bogydave]

Getting lots of ripe toms, lots of cucs
False bottom bucket tomato doing well.

 

[begreen]

No ripe tomatoes here with temps still in the 60's. But we are getting a steady stream of cukes now and we have a few small eggplants too.

 

[bogydave]

Lots of ripe tomatoes . Cucs still producing.
Getting crowded in there
Real hot day today, 76°. Almost a record.

 

[begreen]

Do you have any problems with bugs like spider mites or white flies when it gets that densely packed in there?

 

[SolarAndWood]

That is really cool Dave. It seems like the greenhouse has a number of benefits in addition to just extending the growing season: more variety, longer access to fresh produce throughout the year etc. A small greenhouse seems to compliment the garden nicely.

 

[bogydave]

BG: I've had an aphid problem a few times but the biggest issue is mold. As the nights get cooler & less sun, the condensation inside gets bad & mold starts growing on all the plants that are touching the sides, dead leaves & blooms mold. So I'll thin out the foliage in about a week to reduce the crowding & hope for sunny days.

Thanks S&W, longer season is nice. Without a GH here, tomatoes & cucs here just won't grow into much.

 

[begreen]

Well, it sure looks great. We were gone for a few days and came back to a massive spider mite invasion that did lots of damage. The first year it was white flies and aphids. How did you handle your aphids?

 

[bogydave]

Soapy water kept them down some. They attacked the pepper plants the worst so I pulled them.
That fall I poured boiling water in the soil boxes to kill any eggs. Now I plant one pepper & watch it close for infestation & attack early if I see any.
I put screens on the air intake louvers, keep the screen door closed & never walk though the birch trees (aphid love birch here) before going in the GH.
Has been a dry warm year, so aphid not as bad as normal.
Hot yesterday, 76°. Forecast for 3 -4 days of rain starting tonight.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Nice looking greenhouse Dave, looks like you're getting good use out of it.

We had a greenhouse attached to our house in the last place we lived. Five years ago we moved and started renovating this new house. I've been contemplating building (or buying) a new greenhouse for a few years now , but I'm sad to say I may have missed that boat. Our lot here is limited size, and with our parking space, garden space, woodshed, and the courtyard we build last year, etc,,, I'm afraid we've literally run out of room. I have one possible last option I could pursue if I really want to put one up, but it will mean tearing down a multipurpose shed. If I do that I'd have to incorporate a the stuff I have in that shed into part of the greenhouse, which in itself would be OK, only problem is it makes the prospect of putting up a greenhouse 10 times more complicated and least twice as expensive. Maybe one day.

BTW we use to run a circulation fan in our old greenhouse to keep the air moving, found that helped a lot with the mold and aphids and stuff. Only ran it for a month or two in the fall when those things were a problem.