Greenhouse in September

It’s been a while since I did a tour of the greenhouse, and a lot has changed in the last month or so. In early September I pulled all the cucumber vines and amended the beds with compost and a bit of organic fertilizer. And I cleaned up the shelves and removed any old flats that were left over from spring and summer plantings. It was a jungle of cucumber vines in there all summer, so it seems a bit bare to me now with them all gone.

greenhouse in September

Once it was cleaned up, I started replanting things for fall and winter. Last year I grew I’itoi multiplier onions in one of the beds, and they did quite well over the winter and early spring, keeping us supplied with green onion bulbs and tops. So I replanted them again in one of the greenhouse beds. After several weeks they are off to a great start, making lots of top growth. I also have some planted in window box planters that I will move into the greenhouse before cold weather arrives.

I’itoi onions

Next to the onions I set out seedlings of lettuce and kale to fill out the rest of that bed. The kale is a cold hardy Red Russian type called Western Front that I’ve grown before. I need to weed in that bed and put down some mulch before the weeds take over. I waited to mulch until the plants got some size on them since I have issues in there with sow bugs and slugs and the mulch only seems to make them worse.

Western Front kale

In the other bed, I set out more kale plants. This time it’s a mix of several varieties including True Siberian, Darkibor and Improved Siberian. At the end of that bed I have parsley that has been growing since spring. I think there are four plants there, and they either need trimming or I need to make some parsley pesto! Parsley does quite well in the winter greenhouse, and usually keeps us supplied until it bolts the next spring.

parsley

On the bench, I planted three of the salad boxes with various lettuce seedlings I started inside back in late August. I can see I planted Salad Bowl, Red Salad Bowl, Salanova Green Incised, Tango and Bambi in the big salad box. The below photo is how it looked two weeks ago.

lettuce in salad box

And here is how it looks today. The lettuce grows quickly this time of year in the protected environment of the greenhouse. I planted some of the same batch of plants in a cold frame bed and they are nowhere near as big as the plants in the greenhouse. Some of these should be ready for cutting in a couple of weeks, if not sooner. I’ve got Tango in my hand in the below photo. I mostly stick with leaf lettuce in the greenhouse, though Bambi is a Little Gem type and I also have Jester planted which will form heads if left to grow on. I’ll likely cut both of them before they are full sized.

Tango lettuce in salad box

Next to the big salad box I have two of the small salad boxes also planted with lettuce. They are making similar quick growth, and my hope is that the salad box plantings will give us a taste of lettuce while we wait for the outside planting to get bigger. Also on the bench I have several containers of chives growing behind the salad boxes. I’ll move a few pots of mint in later on, but for now it’s just the chives.

more lettuce in mini salad box

I still  have a bit of room in the bed where the parsley is growing, so I have started some pac choi and Mizpoona to go in there. I also have arugula started to go in the salad boxes, and more lettuce to replace the ones in the greenhouse once I start harvesting them. I also need to start some cilantro, since it does well in the cool months. Greens of all kinds do quite well in the fall and winter greenhouse, so I like to keep a variety of them available for planting when space opens up. I hope you have enjoyed today’s greenhouse tour, and I’ll be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!

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