Late April Greenhouse Tour

It’s time for another tour of the greenhouse to show what’s happening there in late April. Quite a bit has changed since I last did a tour back three weeks ago. It’s always a busy place this time of year, and 2020 is no exception.

view inside the greenhouse

For one thing, I now have a lot of seedlings out there. I have planted the brassicas that were there, and moved some of the warm season veggies like cucumbers, tomatoes and a few of the peppers to the greenhouse shelves. The cucumbers will get planted in the greenhouse beds here in a week or so.

cucumbers

The petunias have started putting on blossoms, and I have begun potting them up for planting outside. I started these back in mid-February, and they have grown into good sized plants now. They are all Wave varieties, which do extremely well for me in containers and provide lots of color all summer long. They are also popular with the swallowtail butterflies. The dark red bloom you see is Easy Wave Burgundy Velour.

Wave petunias

The tomatoes were started back in mid-March, and they should be ready for planting in early May once the soil is warm enough. The danger of frost should be past here now, but I generally rely on soil temps to guide my spring plantings. If you plant the tomatoes and other warm-loving veggies in cold soil, they will just sit there and sulk. These these tomatoes are in a 50 cell plug flat, which is where they will stay until I set them out.

tomato seedlings

The lettuce I planted in the salad boxes a few weeks ago has grown quite a bit from the last tour. It should be ready to start cutting in about two weeks or so. The ones in the below photo are mostly Salanova varieties.

lettuce in salad boxes

And the zucchini I set out in grow bags a few weeks ago has also grown a lot. I started these a full month earlier than I did last year, and that means I could be harvesting the first fruits a month earlier too. That would be mid-May, which would be exciting if it happens. I am sure by mid summer we will be less excited about any of the summer squashes, but the first few are always a big hit for sure.

Astia zucchini

It’s my first time growing the Tuscan Baby Leaf kale from Renee’s Garden. The leaves stay small and tender, and we’ve been enjoying them in salads mixed with other greens. I’ve got the plants growing in a planter where they seem happy for the time being. This one appears to be a keeper, and I look forward to growing it again.

Tuscan Baby Leaf kale

Another green I have growing in a planter is Mizspoona Salad Select. As the name suggests, it is a tender green suitable for adding to salads and other dishes like stir fries and soups.

Mizspoona Salad Select

I have most of the planters sitting at one end of the greenhouse. That spot was previously occupied by the purple sprouting broccoli, which I pulled and put on the compost pile. I put down cardboard under the planters to keep the weeds from sprouting, and they can stay there until I need the space for cucumbers.

planters with greens

I have more lettuce ready to plant in the greenhouse, and it will likely go in containers. I do have bed space available, so it’s possible I may plant some both ways.

lettuce seedlings

I also want to show the lemongrass plants I rooted in water and planted in a pot about a month ago. They are ready to be set out in the garden once it gets a bit warmer, and they will grow into a large clump by fall and keep us well supplied of the lemony leaves and stalks.

lemongrass

I made a video for Earth Day giving a quick tour of the greenhouse. If you’re getting this post via email, please visit the blog to see it, or click this link: https://videopress.com/v/hyy9s8vm

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