Showing posts with label greenhouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label greenhouse. Show all posts
Thursday, March 02, 2017
End of February in the greenhouse
These warm sunny days bring our passive solar greenhouse temperatures up over 30C, and it's such a joy to go in there and feel the heat. The microgreens and baby greens are thriving - we have our raised growing bed that runs along the south-facing greenhouse windows filled with sprouts of lettuces, chard, kale, mizuna, arugula. The counter is full of small seedlings growing quickly, soon ready for transplanting. The grow rack is full of trays of luscious pea shoots and buckwheat sprouts (grown with seeds from our favourite Canadian sprouting seed source Mumms), everything growing full force and a pleasure to eat in mid-February.
Saturday, April 02, 2016
Grow Your Own Microgreens!
Oooh, the delicious sweet spicy savory pungent and fresh tastes of microgreens at this time of year! The trials in the new greenhouse have worked out really well - our greens are now the perfect microgreen cutting size, grown both in trays in our house (which can take 7-21 days depending on the seeds and growing conditions), and grown in soil in the greenhouse grow bed. The seeds were off to a slower start in the greenhouse (than in our house) since the nights are still very cool in there, but with longer days of sunlight things have really picked up and now the greenhouse is out-competing the house greens.
Doing especially well - mizuna, arugula, chard, kale, and cold hardy lettuces. Maya also planted carrots (a few have germinated) and I planted cilantro (also moving along slowly, since it's such a heat loving plant), and a few days ago Greg added beets (i.e. old sprouted beets to grow now for their tops). It's a mish-mash grow bed, and fun to have different family members adding their own suggestions.
We all crave these fresh greens at this time of year - to renergize our bodies and detox from winter sluggishness, giving our livers a boost with the dark leafy greens (more talk about wild dark greens like dandelions and nettles soon).
What are microgreens -
Microgreens are immature (baby) versions of vegetables, herbs and edible flowers. They are larger than sprouts, but are harvested when still much smaller than the full-grown vegetable. Easy to grow microgreens include broccoli, chard, basil, kale, cilantro, radish, buckwheat.
How to grow your own microgreens:
You will need:
2) Sprinkle your choice of seeds evenly across the soil, pressing in lightly with hands (add enough seeds to fill the tray, but not more than one layer thick).
3) Cover with plastic wrap, damp newspaper or plastic lid - and leave covered until seeds germinate. Then remove covers so mold doesn't develop on the soil.
4) Mist seeds at least 2 times a day. Try not to let the soil dry out in between if possible, but do not over-water. Soil and seeds should simply be lightly damp.
5) Growing period will take anywhere from 7-21 days, depending on seeds you are growing and your growing conditions (e.g. light levels, temperature of house, humidity, how often you water, etc). During growing period the trays can be left on a kitchen counter - they do not need grow lights or direct sunlight.
6) To harvest - usually microgreens are harvested after the second set of true leaves has emerged. Remember, microgreens are larger than sprouts, but smaller than the full grown vegetable. Shoots, stems, leaves and even roots are all edible. Harvest with sharp kitchen scissors. Store in a sealed container in fridge for several days, but ideally harvest just before you want to eat! Enjoy!
Doing especially well - mizuna, arugula, chard, kale, and cold hardy lettuces. Maya also planted carrots (a few have germinated) and I planted cilantro (also moving along slowly, since it's such a heat loving plant), and a few days ago Greg added beets (i.e. old sprouted beets to grow now for their tops). It's a mish-mash grow bed, and fun to have different family members adding their own suggestions.
We all crave these fresh greens at this time of year - to renergize our bodies and detox from winter sluggishness, giving our livers a boost with the dark leafy greens (more talk about wild dark greens like dandelions and nettles soon).
What are microgreens -
Microgreens are immature (baby) versions of vegetables, herbs and edible flowers. They are larger than sprouts, but are harvested when still much smaller than the full-grown vegetable. Easy to grow microgreens include broccoli, chard, basil, kale, cilantro, radish, buckwheat.
How to grow your own microgreens:
You will need:
- potting soil, lightly moistened
- trays to grow in (garden plug trays, or upcycled food trays like plastic or styrofoam from grocery or take-out)
- plastic wrap, damp newspaper, or plastic lid to fit your trays
- seeds (non GMO, organic), soaked for several hours (follow package instructions)
- water spray bottle
2) Sprinkle your choice of seeds evenly across the soil, pressing in lightly with hands (add enough seeds to fill the tray, but not more than one layer thick).
3) Cover with plastic wrap, damp newspaper or plastic lid - and leave covered until seeds germinate. Then remove covers so mold doesn't develop on the soil.
4) Mist seeds at least 2 times a day. Try not to let the soil dry out in between if possible, but do not over-water. Soil and seeds should simply be lightly damp.
5) Growing period will take anywhere from 7-21 days, depending on seeds you are growing and your growing conditions (e.g. light levels, temperature of house, humidity, how often you water, etc). During growing period the trays can be left on a kitchen counter - they do not need grow lights or direct sunlight.
6) To harvest - usually microgreens are harvested after the second set of true leaves has emerged. Remember, microgreens are larger than sprouts, but smaller than the full grown vegetable. Shoots, stems, leaves and even roots are all edible. Harvest with sharp kitchen scissors. Store in a sealed container in fridge for several days, but ideally harvest just before you want to eat! Enjoy!
Saturday, October 03, 2015
Planting the winter garden!
We are a little late this year with our winter garden - the season just got away on us. But yesterday we planted up the cold frame grow tunnel with winter hardy greens, and several days earlier the greenhouse bed was filled with new seeds as well. We hope to have a good harvest of fresh greens from the greenhouse all winter long, and the grow tunnel will give us a head start in late winter with new greens coming up ahead of the rest of the garden.
We are always trying to experiment with stretching the growing season. In our climate, we need to use hardy greens and vegetables for winter growing but it is definitely possible - not to mention the huge variety that we can provide. Eliot Coleman suggests over 30 varieties to grow in the winter, as well as innovative planting methods, scheduling ideas and garden designs for winter, in his inspiring book The Winter Harvest Handbook. There are the usual suspects - kale, chard, spinach, arugula - but then also many other interesting options such as mache, claytonia, cress, tat soi, mizuna, scallions, garlic greens, turnip greens, beet greens, hardy winter lettuces...
Yesterday we started with 3 kinds of spinach including a "winter spinach", wild arugula, mizuna, tat soi, 3 kinds of kale (red, green curly, and lacinato), hardy winter lettuces, beets and turnips for their leafy greens, mustard greens, mesclun mix. The grow tunnel still has baby chard, kale, spinach, mustard, chives, oregano, red and green lettuces, and arugula already growing, so that is a nice head start. We'll be keeping regular updates here on the status of the winter greenhouse and winter garden so please continue to read (and grow) this winter with us.
We are always trying to experiment with stretching the growing season. In our climate, we need to use hardy greens and vegetables for winter growing but it is definitely possible - not to mention the huge variety that we can provide. Eliot Coleman suggests over 30 varieties to grow in the winter, as well as innovative planting methods, scheduling ideas and garden designs for winter, in his inspiring book The Winter Harvest Handbook. There are the usual suspects - kale, chard, spinach, arugula - but then also many other interesting options such as mache, claytonia, cress, tat soi, mizuna, scallions, garlic greens, turnip greens, beet greens, hardy winter lettuces...
Yesterday we started with 3 kinds of spinach including a "winter spinach", wild arugula, mizuna, tat soi, 3 kinds of kale (red, green curly, and lacinato), hardy winter lettuces, beets and turnips for their leafy greens, mustard greens, mesclun mix. The grow tunnel still has baby chard, kale, spinach, mustard, chives, oregano, red and green lettuces, and arugula already growing, so that is a nice head start. We'll be keeping regular updates here on the status of the winter greenhouse and winter garden so please continue to read (and grow) this winter with us.
Sunday, November 09, 2014
First snow today - beautiful and fleeting
Thankfully this morning's beautiful dusting of snow has already melted. We still have so much to do around here! The barn/greenhouse reno needs to be closed up - the roof is on, the greenhouse glass is being put on today, one door is framed, a few others need to come...
But the yard and garden were beautiful none the less, and quite thrilling to our daughter, and maybe even the chickens who were not quite sure what to make of it. Some of the herbs (like the mints, chives, parsley, dill, sage, thyme and savory) are still looking just fine for harvesting, and our cold frame still holds kale, chard, spinach, and fresh cilantro, and we have planted to covered grow beds with meslun and other greens for late winter eating. I also found a few handfuls of the sweetest wild grapes still left clinging to the vines on the back porch. However, it does feel like we are coming to the ending of this season.
But the yard and garden were beautiful none the less, and quite thrilling to our daughter, and maybe even the chickens who were not quite sure what to make of it. Some of the herbs (like the mints, chives, parsley, dill, sage, thyme and savory) are still looking just fine for harvesting, and our cold frame still holds kale, chard, spinach, and fresh cilantro, and we have planted to covered grow beds with meslun and other greens for late winter eating. I also found a few handfuls of the sweetest wild grapes still left clinging to the vines on the back porch. However, it does feel like we are coming to the ending of this season.
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
Greenhouse & Barn Reno
Fall is always busy, but this fall we are especially caught up in the project of completing the renovations to our barn/greenhouse. This old "barn" as we love to call it was really a drive shed for the earliest owners of this property (lots of interesting old newspapers were found stuffed in the walls as insulation). They would have kept a cart, possibly even a horse (!) and definitely chickens in here at one point.
We had already attached a passive solar greenhouse to the barn about 12 years ago when we were first getting settled on this property. However, it was time to reorganize the space, expand the growing area, and fix up the building so it was weather and rodent proof. It's been a huge, and exciting venture, much bigger than we thought when we started since trying to work with salvaging/reusing existing materials and keeping intact the structure of an old building can be tricky. We hope to have this building set up by mid winter, for growing winter greens (lettuces, Asian greens, braising greens, chard, kale, spinach) through the cold months - inspired by ideas from Eliot Coleman's Winter Harvest Handbook, among other books. There will be space for spring seedlings, herbs, sprouting (peashoots, buckwheat, wheatgrass), and using it as a teaching space. Let's hope the cold weather holds off just a little bit longer. Note this is a work in progress, and window, doors, roof, wood siding and a porch are still coming ...
We had already attached a passive solar greenhouse to the barn about 12 years ago when we were first getting settled on this property. However, it was time to reorganize the space, expand the growing area, and fix up the building so it was weather and rodent proof. It's been a huge, and exciting venture, much bigger than we thought when we started since trying to work with salvaging/reusing existing materials and keeping intact the structure of an old building can be tricky. We hope to have this building set up by mid winter, for growing winter greens (lettuces, Asian greens, braising greens, chard, kale, spinach) through the cold months - inspired by ideas from Eliot Coleman's Winter Harvest Handbook, among other books. There will be space for spring seedlings, herbs, sprouting (peashoots, buckwheat, wheatgrass), and using it as a teaching space. Let's hope the cold weather holds off just a little bit longer. Note this is a work in progress, and window, doors, roof, wood siding and a porch are still coming ...
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Seedlings growing, spring in the air
Our house and greenhouse are filling up with vibrant happy young seedlings, getting ready for our annual sale on May 18. We have six rows of indoor grow lights to start the seedlings that need a head start, and then move everything into our passive solar greenhouse for transplanting. Oh, there is a lot of transplanting that still needs to happen in the next few weeks! This weekend it's time to start the last indoor seedlings - zucchini, squashes, melons. With all the snow and cold rainy weather the hot weather crops (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers) are growing slowly in the unheated greenhouse, but we are hopeful the warmer weather is coming. They will certainly be hardy seedlings this year.
As part of our weekly kids nature group, we had a lovely hike at a nearby woods today. The kids dipped their boots into the pond, and we heard an unbelievably loud rukus of frogs mating, so we know that spring is really here.
As part of our weekly kids nature group, we had a lovely hike at a nearby woods today. The kids dipped their boots into the pond, and we heard an unbelievably loud rukus of frogs mating, so we know that spring is really here.
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