Thursday 29 December 2011
Reflecting at -32 degrees
The greenhouse is holding up, despite the four feet of snow on the ground and a virtual avalanche of snow along the sides of the high tunnel. (That fence buried in the snow in this picture is four feet high.) There were many successes, and a few failures, along the way in 2011, and I'll be spending the next several months updating what I have here.
The first reflection is that it is difficult to come in at the end of the day in the late spring or summer and actually writing something down. The work is so intense, and it is enjoyable to be outside, so when I'm done it's already time to go to sleep. (However, the sun's still high in the sky, which makes me want to do more stuff outside, not sit at the computer.)
I'm a little embarressed by the sudden disappearance of the bees. I probably did something wrong, although the list of what I could have done is pretty long, so I'll just have to try it again next year. I'm also amazed at how long it took to put up that greenhouse - several weeks of consistent effort.
In the realm of stuff that worked well, the plastic bags over the eggplants in the greenhouse was a genius move. The plants were huge and luxurient. The lesson in the upcoming year is keeping the plastic bags on the eggplants right through the season. I took the coverings off the plants in July, as they were growing too big for the waste-can sized bags, and then the cool weather struck and the plants never produced more. Next year, I have trash-can sized bags at the ready. The peppers can't take the high humidity inside the bag, though. Didn't try it with the tomatoes.
Another great idea concerned the yellow sticky fly traps. I used the store-bought versions and spread out about a dozen throughout the greenhouse. The first infestation of aphids occurred in late July on a pepper plant near the door (and it does seem that proximity to the door means something with how the insects spread). I got rid of that and didn't have bugs for another month.
I think I picked up spider mites from the departing science teacher's pepper plants, and they popped up here and there throughout the summer. I need another way of dealing with these, as they are immune to yellow.
New flower of the year: bacopa. Very nice lobelia-liks displays with a lavendar flower that has a yellow center. The herbs (pictured here for the hilarity of the Pineappple Express crowd) also came out very, very well. The pesto is becoming a hit here in town. We're going to grow a bunch more in one of those flimsy greenhouses we got for cheap at Sam's Club.
Paul