24 Growing Vegetables in the Greenhouse

Youll notice that my greenhouse vegetable list is not arranged in alphabetical order. The vegetables are, rather, ranked in order of my personal preference - a quirky system, perhaps, but one that tells you what Ive concluded from experience. My choice are based partly on results and partly on food value. I have plenty of good tomatoes in jars and beets in the root cellar, but the fresh, nutritious, unsprayed cucumbers and leafy greens are hard to come by a winter, and we eat up all we can grow. Cucumbers . We love the taste of cucumbers, and they make us feel pampered when the greenhouse vines are loaded, while outside trees are bare. The new European-type cucumbers that produce all-female blossoms are my favorites. The fruits are long, tender, and sweet - better

quality than those I grow in the garden. Two good varieties are Dynasty and Superator. Pandex, which I havent tried, will set fruit at lower temperatures than others. Greenhouse cucumbers likes the good life - warm soil, weekly fertilizing, and frequent watering. (About every day when in fruit. I use warm water). They prefer temperatures above 600F (160C), but if they get plenty of light and warmth during the day, they will be more able to tolerate the cool night temperatures in the average solar greenhouse. I grow two cucumber crops a year, planting in August or September for a November to December harvest and again in February or March for harvesting during May and June. To support the vines, I suspend a length of wire fencing from two nails driven into the framework. I dont always get my vines probably pruned, but according to Colleen Armstrong, staff horticulturist at the New Alchemy Institute, you should remove every sucker from the six lowest leaf joints to make the vine stronger. The next eight shoots should be cut back to a single leaf, and the remaining ones permitted to develop two to three leaves. Over-production weakens the vines and reduces fruit size. These special greenhouse cucumbers produce fruit without pollination; in fact, any male blossoms that develop should be removed to keep the cukes tender and free of developed seeds. (Even before they open, female blossoms lack the baby cuke end that characterizes female flowers). Swiss Chard. This is the most reliable and long-lasting leafy green I grow in my greenhouse. It is deep rooted, so it will survive (if in a deep-soiled bed) even if you forget to water it some week. The leaves are low in calories and high in vitamins, and the flavor is considerably milder than that of outdoor chard. I plant seeds in August or September and start picking the succulent seersuckered leaves in December, continuing all winter till spring greens take over. Sometimes my chard gets a plague of aphids or whiteflies in midwinter when cloudy days keep the greenhouse closed and cut down on the ventilation that helps to discourage these pests. However, once I start opening vents regularly again, the bug pox clears up, and the leaves are clean and green again. Chard is a winner! Chinese Cabbage and Oriental Greens. Loose-leaf varieties of Chinese cabbage will grow better in the greenhouse than types that form heads. Ive had good luck with Prize Choy and Spoon cabbage. I sow seeds in a flat in August or September and again in December or January. I plant some seedlings in the growing bed and keep some in the flat for later transplanting as space becomes available. Ive also gotten nice winter crops of Chinese cabbage from plantings made in five-inch-deep rectangular plastic wash basins and refrigerator crispers. Another Oriental green, Mizuna (also called Kyona), is first-rate greenhouse crop from which I can always count on repeated cuttings of tender, mild-flavored fringed leaves. Ive had no trouble with Mizuna going to seed, but the heading type of Chinese cabbage will go to seed when days turn along or temperatures stay high. I was surprised to discover, though, that when grown in the greenhouse, the stalks and flower of the bolted Chinese cabbage are not bitter and tough as I had expected them to be. Lettuce. With its delicate, buttery soft heads, Bibb lettuce is perfect for the greenhouse. I also like Kwiek, Magnet, and Mescher, a wonderful heirloom butterhead I obtained from a fellow member of the Seed Saver Exchange. Leaf lettuce is fine, too. Ive grown head lettuce, as transplants rescued from the outdoor garden when black frost threatened, but they were basically being kept on hold and didnt grow much in the greenhouse. I wouldnt count on head lettuce as a greenhouse crop; it takes too long to develop, and besides, its vitamin content is much lower than that of the leaf and butterhead types.

The tricks to growing lettuce are to keep some seedlings in reserve, to replant regularly, and to plant the fall crop early enough so that it can finish its growth in the winter greenhouse. Lettuce likes rich soil, plenty of moisture, and good drainage. Radishes . Radishes are a good greenhouse crop because their flavor is so much milder than when grown outside. They form roots best in spring when days are lengthening. You can sneak in a row at the edge of the growing bed without disturbing other plantings, or grow them in tubs or pots. Plentiful moisture keeps them crisp and mild. New Zealand Spinach. This crop surprises everyone who tries it with its luxuriant growth in the greenhouse. Youll be picking the leaves for supper two months after you plant the seeds. To encourage germination, file a little notch in the tough seed coat, and soak the seeds overnight before planting. New Zealand spinach is a good space-saving greenhouse plant because it can either grow in the tub set on a shelf, with its vines spilling down in to the sun, or it can climb a trellis or string to leave bed space free for other plants. Regular spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is not as good a greenhouse crop as you might think. Both chard and Mizuna have been much more productive for me. Onions . Onions wont bulb up during the short days of winter, but onion sets tucked in around the edges of the growing bed will provide a modest supply of savory green spears for winter cutting. Chives makes a good greenhouse plant, too. For continuous production, let the plants freeze outdoors for two weeks before you bring them into the greenhouse. They need a rest after producing all summer. Tomatoes. Tomatoes dont always produce enough to earn their space in a cool solar greenhouse, but the satisfaction of raising even a few ripe tomatoes in the off-season can be worth the trouble. Small-fruited kinds like Presto, Pixie, and Sweet 100 will be more productive and also faster to ripen under greenhouse conditions. Vendor and Packs Greenhouse Hybrid are good tomato varieties to grow if you insist on full-sized fruits. To produce fruit, tomato plants need more light and heat than leafy plants - 600F to 80 0F (160C to 18 0C) is best. To keep at least a few ripening tomatoes in the greenhouse, start with potted plants in the fall from mid- or late- summer seedlings, or rooted cutting from established plants. These should start to bear by early January. Ive also brought bearing plants in pots into the greenhouse in September or October to continue fruiting for a few more weeks. Then, for a spring crop, start seeds in December for May fruits. I often use the cold-tolerant Siberia and Santa varieties for these spring plantings. Tomatoes are self-pollinating, but in the absence of wind its a good idea to jiggle the blossoming plants several times a week to help disperse the pollen. You wont need bushel baskets for your harvest, but the few fruits you do get will mean a lot. Peppers. When I have extra pepper seedlings in spring, I often pot up several of them, each in a two-gallon pot, keep them on the sunny patio during the summer, and then return them to the greenhouse in the fall to keep bearing for at least an extra few weeks. You can also sow pepper seeds in May and grow them in pots until August; then transplant them to the greenhouse growing bed. Since they are perennials in their native climate, peppers are glad to continue leafing and podding as long as they are free of insects. Whitefly and aphid infestations often lead to disease. Greenhouse peppers tend to be small, but are nonetheless welcome salad material when the outdoor garden in frozen shut. Beets and Turnips. Both beets and turnips will in the greenhouse. They may be planted in fall, winter or spring, directly in the growing bed or in eight-inch-deep pots or tubs. Eat them while the roots are small, and use the tops, too.

Beans. Greenhouse beans are fun to grow in spring. Plant them in the beginning of March for early June beans. Theyre self-pollinating, and they like warm soil. You can even plant climbing beans to shade the summer greenhouse, or use them as a green-mature crop to keep your growing bed in good condition. The latter is a good example of crop rotation because the soilimproving beans can be grown after greenhouse greens have been harvested, and they can be turned under before its time to stock the beds with greens again in the fall. This list of greenhouse vegetables is not by any means all-inclusive. There are other vegetables and even some fruits and a good many flowers that you might want to try in your greenhouse. George Doc Abraham, author of Organic Gardening Under Glass , mentions strawberries, figs, bush summer squash, and okra a good greenhouse crops. Shane Smith, author of The Bountiful Solar Greenhouse, reports successful harvests of, among other things, globe artichokes and cantaloupes in summer and peas and fava beans in winter.

25 Starting Wildflowers from Seed

Every time I walk past the patch of forget-me-nots growing by the side of our pond, I feel a renewed sense of satisfaction. No other wild forget-me-nots grow in our area, and because I love them, I decided to start some from seed. The original plants have spread by root extention, and theyve also probably reseeded. I hope theyll continue to spread. It is good feeling to be able to add something to the landscape that wasnt there before. That is part of the special joy of growing wildflowers from seed. If the wildflower you start becomes well established, it will continue to give pleasure for years to come. In many cases, it will also spread, and even, possibly, reproduce to form new colonies. Raising wildflowers from seed is an adventure that can last a lifetime. Start with the easy ones, like lobelia, columbines, butterfly weed, and others mentioned in the encyclopedia section in the back of this book. Ive also included a few highly specialized wildflowers, such as bunchberries, trailing arbutus, and yellow ladys slipper, to guide those gardeners who may be ready for a fascinating - if demanding - gardening challenge.

Site and Soil Preference

Because they have evolved into their present form unaided by people, most wildflowers have more definite site and soil preferences than the zinnias and petunias we grow in our flower borders. Some wildflowers need shade, others thrive in damp places, and many prefer acid soil. These requirements for certain conditions can be turned to your advantage, though. Wildflowers can be the perfect solution for hard-to-plant areas: the shady side of the house, the damp corner, the bare stretches under high trees, the steep slope. The secret of success with wildflowers is to