getting ready for spring seed starting

Earlier this week Nikole ordered our seeds and they arrived on Friday.  These are seeds for our summer gardens and some for the next winter's greenhouse crops.  Last year we started a few tomatoes early and transplanted them into containers that they would stay in for the season.  We were able to keep the tomatoes in the greenhouse until it was warm enough for them to go outside.  we also planted some seeds for transplanting at the normal time.  It worked out pretty well, so we are going to try it again next year.

The greenhouse was not ready for massive seeding activity but after a quick trip to Runnings and a couple hours in a toasty warm greenhouse we are a little bit closer.  Out greenhouse will accommodate two kinds of plantings.  We will have some of our plants in four foot long gutters which can be hung from the rafters and some of our plants will be in planters on the tables.

I have been experimenting with ways to hang the gutter planters.  I had purchased some chain and and some fasteners and had one gutter hanging for awhile.  Then I tried a different fastener and added two more gutters to the chains.  Today after my trip to Runnings to purchase more chain and fasteners I was able to hang more gutters.  All but two of the gutter planters that are currently seeded are now suspended from the rafters soaking up at that sun.  Some of those planters had been on the big germination mat so that is ready for the next wave of seedlings.

The planters hang in the center of growing area which redirects the traffic flow and creates a need for some tweaking of the arrangement of the tables.  The tables are now arranged along the south wall. 

 There is more work to be done, more hangers to install and we have the materials to build seven more tables.

hanging planters

The greenhouse plants are seeded into planters made from recycled rain gutters.  Above is pictured an attempt to suspend the gutters using chain and double end bolt snap hooks.  It seems to be working so the plan will be to hang more of the planters.  The multiple thermometers were recently added to allow for greater monitoring of the temperatures in the greenhouse.  Near the bottom of the glazing it was nearly 20 degrees cooler than along the north wall or in the suspended planter.  It will be interesting to scatter the thermometers around learning the greenhouse's hot spots and cool spots and where are the best places to put the planters in the different seasons of the winter.

snap hook and chain

When this picture was taken it was single digits above zero outside and partly cloudy.  Earlier it had been sunny and this thermometer was reading 85 degrees.

Arugula