It's about the end of the growing season in the greenhouse.

Back in January and February we planted some seeds to see if we could harvest in May.  Plants that have started to produce are the new broccoli plants, a few nicely formed beets, a couple turnips, we still have onions and the chard is still growing.  Cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, peppers are flowering with some fruit forming but not all flowers are setting fruit.  One thing we've noticed about the plants now is that they are maturing closer to the noted days to maturity that are listed on the seed packets compared to the days needed when planted in September.  Those months of November and December appear to really be a down time for plants due to the lack of sunshine.

Vegetables that have been noted as good producers for us throughout the winter are the beet greens, chard, tomatoes, broccoli, onions and peas.  Plants that need the flowers to set into fruit didn't seem to yield much.

Seeds that were planted in February are beginning to grow and some items are being transplanted into larger pots.  We're also starting new flower seeds for outside and propagating geraniums for outdoor use.

Having a fan moving the air around in the Greenhouse has helped with some of the germination.  The Blueberries and tomatoes are starting to set more fruit and the chard, beets, potatoes and broccoli are growing well.  Some of the items that we're noticing that have been hard to grow are:  spinach, Chinese stir fry mixes and good crisp lettuce.  We're thinking that some of the "bad luck" on these items have to do with too much heat during the day and stress from the aphids.

Broccoli planted last fall is still providing us with some side shoots, onions grown from seed are quite large, peas, 8 plants, are yielding a nice cereal size bowl each week, chard tastes good and is one of the better growers and producers.  A medium size cereal bowl of tomatoes are being harvested once a week and potatoes surprised us!  The potato plants were great bug food and when we decided to pull the plants there were a few potatoes that had formed.  Some beets and turnips are starting to form too.

Tasks have been pretty routine the past couple months.  To help with the aphids, we decided to try some Neem Oil which like the pepper spray knocks the aphids back for a couple days.  We have increased the fertilizing to one time per week.  Plants seem to be drying out quicker lately along with them growing better due to the warmer nights.  The sun is also starting to move out of the greenhouse.

The plants have experienced a cold past month. Overall, they're doing ok.

On December 29th the plants received their second dose of fish emulsion and molasses mixed. A week later, January 5 the lettuce had grown considerably. The 1st broccoli buds have been cut, some volunteer red peppers were picked, the scallop, a couple onions and a handful of peas, chard, beet greens and lettuce were picked. Actually, quite a nice little crop. It appears that the plants like the fertilizing mixture.

The first week of Jan. 2009: Started extracting worms from one end of the worm bed.  A screen was put on top of the dirt, additional dirt was laid on top of the screen, food compost was added, a top layer of dirt then leaves and the whole layer was watered. After one week a lot of worms, but not all, crawled up through the screen and into the layered dirt/compost mixture. The mixture and worms were distributed at the opposite end of extraction and the screen with a new layered mix was put in place to extract worms for another week. At the end of week 2, not a lot of worms were left in the area being extracted. About 4 gallons of dirt were then taken from the bed and replaced with new dirt for the worms to move into.

Week of Jan. 5, 2009: Still a lot of aphids on some plants and still spraying with onion/garlic/pepper spray a couple times a week. The spray knocks the aphid count back but doesn't totally get rid of them. Also sprinkled a couple of the bug ridden plants with wood ash. Seemed to help a bit too.  About 100 Asian Beetles were released in the greenhouse, they all disappeared after a week.  We're hoping they'll reappear over time.

Week of Jan. 14, 2009:  Started replanting in bin 1.  Added some of the extracted worm dirt, a little clay, bone meal and blood meal to the areas to be planted.  Watered the seeded row with fish/molasses.  Seeds planted are radish, Bloomsdale spinach, 2 types of lettuce, a few pea plants, Chinese chives and Chinese stir fry greens.

Tried a foliar spray of fish/molasses on some of the older lettuce, peppers and blueberries.  The "california blueberries" are currently blooming along with the zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash and peas.  Every once in awhile, a fan has been pointed towards the blooming plants in hopes of helping them to set fruit.  Some fruit has set but not the quantity as would set outdoors in the summer.

We've had a lot more sun during January and most plants are looking pretty good.  We've picked enough salad material for 3 pretty good salads this month.

Week of Jan. 20, 2009:  Planted new seed for some spring plants.  Have been fertilizing plants with the fish/molasses mixture once every 2 weeks.  The brocalli is getting enough new side shoots to pick once per week, some tomatoes are setting fruit, a couple of the summer squash plants have produced small edible fruit.

Week of Jan. 26, 2009:  Some of the seeds started the week of the 20th have started to germinate.   Started cutting some of the geraniums for rooting.  Most plants look good.  Still spraying for aphids and am looking at additional recipes to try.  The plants seem to be drying out a little quicker with more sunny days so will start watering 3-4 times a week vs. the 2 times a week and will re-apply leaf mulch to help hold in moisture and keep the soil in the low to mid 60's.

Beginning of December 2008:  The weather has been pretty dreary for the vegetable growing but.......... they're all still hanging in and considering that it is December, most plants look ok.  Some positive happenings are that the broccoli, cucumber, kohlrabi and scallop are starting to form buds and/or flower buds. Have seeded another large growing bed with lettuce, peas and Chinese cabbage type plants. Seeds are germinating but are spotty and slower. Some older tomatoes have set new tomatoes but most flowers have dried up unset.  Temps are much cooler outside.  The temperature we seem able to control is the nighttime temps, which run 45-50 degrees, controlled by the in floor heat.

The windows now have temperature remote controls on them and open and close in the afternoons when the sun does shine.  We're trying to keep the temperatures in the 70-80's.  So far, this isn't extremely easy but we're getting better at it.

Mid December 2008:  Small seedlings that have germinated are growing slow but they're at least doing something.  The summer squash, zucchini, scallop, cucumbers and older tomatoes are still flowering and some fruit is setting.  There aren't many bugs, with the exception of the continued aphid population, in the greenhouse so I do "tickle" the flowers if they happen to be open during working hours.  More education is needed with regards to the pollination world.

Every 2-3 weeks the plants are being fertilized via soil.  Molasses has been added to the fish emulsion.  The plants are responding well.  Soil quality and plant health has now become a focal point.  The goal is to maintain the soil in the greenhouse from a biological approach.

The refractometer has been used to take a few readings.  The readings are showing that the sugar content in the plants is low, thus pointing to a somewhat unhealthy plant structure which aids the aphid problem and the nutritional value of the plant.  Questions are coming to mind.... is it the soil, the fluctuating temperatures or a combination of all?

November 4, 2008: Planted seeds in pots to hang in front of the south wall. Spinach, stir fry mix, 2 hanging tomatoes, and some lettuce were planted. The nights have gotten considerably colder and germination is slow. Have noticed that the growth of the plants still growing from September has slowed down.

Fish Emulsion has been the choice for fertilizing. Plants have been fertilized 2 times now. Before seeding, I have added in small amounts of bone meal and blood meal along with some additional composted manure. The beets and chard respond well to the above "food."

November 11 - 19, 2008: Planted Nozaki Chinese Cabbage, more stir fry mix, lettuce and spinach. Germination on the seeds planted on Nov. 4 is spotty and slow. The sun hasn't been out much and the greenhouse is around 50 degrees in the morning. Daytime temperatures don't increase much if the sun doesn't shine. The in floor heat has been turned on and is set at 50 degrees. Not picking much since the growth has slowed way down.

Aphids have decided to pay a visit and stay awhile. The plants are being sprayed with a mixture of onion, garlic and hot sauce, about 2 times a week.  A mixture of biodegradable soap and cooking oil has been tried too. The greenhouse smells like a restaurant. Watering is being done on Mondays and Thursdays. The plants aren't drying out as quick due to the lack of sunshine and cooler weather. The broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi are doing well, which is to be expected as they're cool weather plants. Overall, all plants look pretty good.

The hanging pots of lettuce germinated after a couple weeks. Unfortunately they accidentally were damaged. Overall, they didn't look real healthy to begin with. The conclusion regarding Nov. germination is that because it's not one of the more sunny months, it's probably better to not go overboard with seed planting.