April Greenhouse Tour

I gave a tour of the greenhouse last month, but a lot has changed in just a few weeks so I thought I would give a quick update on what it looks like in there today. It’s still loaded with trays of seedlings, and there’s a lot of edibles growing in the beds and on the benches. I’ll start with what’s in the beds.

I have had good success growing cucumbers in the summer greenhouse. They actually seem to do better for me there than they do in the open garden. I grow only parthenocarpic varieties that don’t need pollinating, and most are also gynoecious with all female blossoms. This year I’m growing a couple of tried and true slicing cukes I’ve grown before, Tasty Jade and Corinto, plus a new beit alpha type called Socrates. I’m also growing several pickling types, including Harmonie and Vertina. I use remesh cages to support the vines, which is easier for me than putting up a trellis in there given the relatively tight quarters.

I started the cucumbers in 3.5″ pots, two seeds to a pot. Since cucumbers are fussy about being transplanted, I handle them carefully and disturb the roots as little as possible. Most all of the seeds germinated, and I will thin to one plant in a few days once they have started to get settled in. I’ve got five planted in the bed on the right side.

Since the shelves are full of flats at the moment, I also use the tops of the cages to hold a few extras. Some of the petunias have started blooming in the pots. The pink blooms in the photo are Tidal Wave Pink. I’ve already planted a few of these outside in containers.

Also in that bed I have parsley planted. I harvested all but one of the overwintered plants to make room for new ones. I left one plant, a flat leaf variety called Splendid, so that we will continue to have parsley while the new plants get growing.

On the other side, the bed there has overwintered I’itio onions and kale growing. The kale is starting to bloom, and I am harvesting the rapini along with the leaves. I’ll leave these plants for a while so we can enjoy the kale a bit longer.

I plan on setting a couple more cucumber plants in this bed too. Right now I need to find a home for the window box containers which are planted with lettuce, mizuna and pac choi. I can’t leave them outside because the deer would eat them all up in no time. Currently I am taking them outside during the day and then bringing them in at night.

On the benches, I have several salad boxes planted with greens. That’s lettuce in the below photo, and it’s almost ready to begin cutting.

I’ve got two mini salad boxes planted with arugula. Some of that is going on a pizza I have planned for later in the week.

And I just planted another mini salad box with more lettuce. I have lots of lettuce seedlings ready to plant and I am trying to find homes for them.

One of those flats of lettuce seedlings is sitting on the potting bench. My plan is to get them planted in one of the cold frame beds later this morning.

I hope you have enjoyed this tour of the greenhouse in April. I’ll be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!