We had snow today, 39 degrees, still spring.
What's Growing in the Garden
- Thread starter trc65
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I wonder if a green house would work on an elevated deck? Would the cold air underneath defeat the purpose? I'd probably have to make the deck floor solid under that area if I did it. Or maybe put a light bulb in it for those nights when it gets below a certain temperature. I've seen some smaller greenhouse type things made essentially with raised beds with old doors for lids. Of course the doors have glass panels to let sunlight in. But it makes it easy to prop them open when it's warmer, etc.
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- #1,163
I make good use of a cold frame this time of year to harden off plants. It also serves as a good holding area when I need to move seedlings out of the basement when I run out of room on my starting racks.
Mine is about 3x6 ft maybe a foot high at the front and 20 inches at the back. I have hinged covers made from a wood frame and some opaque rigid plastic panels. It just sits on the ground facing south and is pushed up against an old wood shed. Mine is pretty leaky right now, but I've kept tender plants alive when outside temps are around 25° at night. Any colder and I'll add a 60 watt trouble light or an old string of Christmas lights for some additional heat. I will also add a few gallon jugs of water that will capture the heat during the day and hold it through the night.
I'll try and remember to take some pictures tomorrow.
The big advantage of a cold frame is it takes advantage of the ground and building heat in addition to the sun. It is also a "temporary" structure that may not be noticed or even violate HOA type rules against greenhouses.
Mine sits on some gravel, but others will put theirs over tilled soil and will grow veggies in them. With just a tiny bit of management, you could extend the growing season by a month or two on either end of the season depending on your location.
Mine is about 3x6 ft maybe a foot high at the front and 20 inches at the back. I have hinged covers made from a wood frame and some opaque rigid plastic panels. It just sits on the ground facing south and is pushed up against an old wood shed. Mine is pretty leaky right now, but I've kept tender plants alive when outside temps are around 25° at night. Any colder and I'll add a 60 watt trouble light or an old string of Christmas lights for some additional heat. I will also add a few gallon jugs of water that will capture the heat during the day and hold it through the night.
I'll try and remember to take some pictures tomorrow.
The big advantage of a cold frame is it takes advantage of the ground and building heat in addition to the sun. It is also a "temporary" structure that may not be noticed or even violate HOA type rules against greenhouses.
Mine sits on some gravel, but others will put theirs over tilled soil and will grow veggies in them. With just a tiny bit of management, you could extend the growing season by a month or two on either end of the season depending on your location.
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I think you would probably get a lot of cold air from below, but it should not take much to cure the problem. Perhaps a piece of outdoor carpet or astro turf. When the weather warms up just roll it up and put it away till fall. I did run my little buddy hunting blind heater on low 3 night's in mine but I think it would have been ok without it. I may install a small ventless propane heater for next year so I can get going a little earlier.
Night's are still close to freezing here and we are about 3 weeks from the average last frost date. Days have been cold and wet for the past week but the smallest hint of sun warms my little greenhouse past 70.
Peepers predict May 20th as our last killing frost. Wife still wants to wait until June 1st for safety. We planted starters 2 Mondays ago, greens are just breaking ground.
The June full moon is the 4th I will probably wait until after that.
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- #1,168
I plan to get tomatoes in the ground tomorrow and work on getting corn, beans and cole crops in this weekend. Will probably wait another week for peppers.
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- #1,169
Here are some pictures of my coldframe. Made with lumber salvaged from something else, random metal and the plastic covers. Hinged on the back.
Nicely done. We used to use old window sashes
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- #1,171
Old windows work well, but you really have to watch the heat. Even with these opaque panels, it can jump to over 110° on a 65° day. I only use mine for hardening off plants in the spring, so the opaque panels are fine for that. If I was trying to extend the season, I'd use clear panels/glass.
Powdery mildew got the yellow squash and zucchini and is creeping into the cucumbers. It doesn't care about my fungicide... First tomatoes came off today. Got a grocery sack full of green beans in the fridge, more to pick tomorrow. Cucumbers are still making but probably only for another week or two. Green striped Cushaw are doing great and we should have tons of them. I tilled up the purple hull pea and okra patch today and will plant them tomorrow. Red potato vines are starting to die, soooo... but they'll store ok in the ground for a little while.
Alan
Alan
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- #1,173
Powdery mildew and several other diseases are almost impossible to control without some of the newest chemistries/active ingredients. Unfortunately, most of them are only sold in farm "sized" containers, may be restricted use and cost $$$$$.
Pulled up all the squash today and burned it... sprayed the cucumbers again.
Alan
Alan
Might treat the ground in those areas with a baking soda dilution. Seems to be touted as moderately effective against that disease. Otherwise, I would scoop a couple inches of soil and put it slowly through some sort of burn pile before putting it back on the garden.
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- #1,176
While baking soda can prevent infection of plant tissue, it actually has no effect on the disease organism itself. When sprayed on plant tissue it prevents infection by changing the pH on the leaf surface. At a higher pH, the organism can't infect the plant. The fact that baking soda is very soluble in water helps with application, but after the first rain or overhead watering it is washed off the leaf. Once washed off, the pH levels return to normal and infection occurs. Using surfactants can help with retention of the baking soda on leaf surfaces, but is imperfect at best.
Powdery mildew primarily overwinters on dead plant tissue and on dormant leaf and flower buds on surrounding plants. Sanitation of infected plants is about the best you can do from year to year. Down south, I would guess that powdery mildew is active on some plant or another year round.
I just ordered some juice that is supposed to prevent it or kill it. The Copper Bromide I've been using seems to have held it off the cucumbers someI saw some spots and pulled the leaves as carefully as I could. Ran the tiller over where the squash was. Home Depot has baking soda in bulk. I'm going to get some of that and spray it on everything. The copper keeps the fig rust at bay until the figs are done and it is supposed to kill Powdery mildew also. I ordered the stuff below. We'll see how it works.
Alan
Athena - IPM - 1 quart
$52.50
GrowersHouse.com
Alan
Athena - IPM - 1 quart
$52.50
GrowersHouse.com
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #1,178
Looks promising, let us know how it works for you.
The garden where I plant most of the cucurbits is 100 yards from the other two. Sandy soil which usually works well for squash and cucumbers. I guess I need to do a major soil purge this summer when everything dries up.
Alan
Alan
Is it in a safe enough spot to have a few friends over and burn the debris off? That is often quick, kills and recycles while improving soil.