It’s been awhile since I gave a tour of the greenhouse. I like to do that occasionally to show what’s going on in there for those who are curious, plus I also like to document it for my own use later on. My greenhouse is 8×12 feet, and in it I have small beds on either side plus two benches. I also have shelving around the top that I mostly use to hold flats of plants.
greenhouse in October
Right about now, there’s not a whole lot planted in the beds. I have four parsley plants on one side that I set out in early summer. They will give us parsley throughout the winter months, and on into spring until it starts to bolt.
parsley in greenhouse bed
On the other side I have a few kale plants I plan on overwintering. They are still quite small, and I hope they put on some size before really cold weather gets here. I overwintered kale in the greenhouse last year, and we enjoyed it in both winter and spring. The variety in the below photo is True Siberian, and I also have a few plants of one called Western Front.
True Siberian kale
Last week I started seeds for lettuce, spinach, arugula and cilantro. Those plants will go in both the greenhouse and the cold frame beds. I didn’t get around to planting lettuce in September, so it will be awhile before we have any homegrown lettuce for salads. I do have quite a bit of arugula in one of the cold frame beds and we have been enjoying that.
128 cell plug flat with spinach seedlings
Lately I’ve been experimenting with different size plug flats to start seedlings. I used one that has 128 cells for the spinach, arugula and cilantro, and one with 72 cells for the lettuce. You can see the 128 cell flat in the above photo, and the 72 cell version below. I think they both work well for things that don’t need to be transplanted before setting out. I will thin to one plant per cell once everything has germinated. When it does come time to set out the plants I will work directly from the plug flat, using my widger to get the seedlings out.
72 cell plug flat with lettuce seedlings
In a few weeks the greenhouse and cold frame beds should be full of plants. Hopefully we will have greens to eat shortly thereafter! I hope you have enjoyed this look at the greenhouse here in early October. I’ll be back soon with more happenings from HA.