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  • From: <sunnfarm AT verizon.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Greenhouse ammonia toxicity?
  • Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 18:28:50 -0600 (CST)

How deep did you cover your seed?. Try again with fresh mix and cover your
seed with never more than a 1mm deep layer of extra fine vermiculite. Do you
have any old plug trays? if you do set them inverted over the seedling trays
this will keep the mice out and provide a good mix of humidity and light.
Then toss a sheet of poly over the top to keep the heat in... BTW next time
you raise pullets in a greenhouse add some dry litter to absorb the ammonia,
dry oak and maple leaves work the best... Bob.
Sunny Meadow Farm
Bridgeton, NJ.






From: Christine & Marlin <glenecofarm AT planetcomm.net>
Date: Tue Feb 21 13:37:12 CST 2006
To: 'Market Farming' <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [Market-farming] Greenhouse ammonia toxicity?


 
Last year’s luck with seedstarting?  I didn’t think it could get any worse! 
I waswrong!  This year I have totally lost 80 to 90 percent of all the
materialand work I have put into seed starting in January and February up to
thispoint.  I currently have 8 flats of broccoli and cauliflower just
comingup which is too soon to evaluate.  It’s the same old story! Stuff
either comes up and stalls for a week or two and then dies or it doesn’tcome
up at all!  Last year I blamed it on the Winstrip trays.  Thisyear I planted
in Winstrips, standard inserts, and open flats with no inserts. Most of it
was lettuce and onions and it all failed.  One evening over aweek ago I had
them setting in the still unheated greenhouse during the day andwas delayed
getting home soon enough to get them back inside beforenightfall.  They were
exposed to several hours of freezing temperaturesbut I don’t think this
should have been enough to do them in.  Theydidn’t show significant freeze
damage the next day but they all steadilydeteriorated over the next week.  I
tried sowing new lettuce seed over thedying plants and as far as I can tell
most of it never germinated.
 
Now comes a possible explanation for themystery.  I raised a flock of pullets
inside the greenhouse during thewinter and took them out around the first of
February.  The following weekI moved in the benches and to save time I
decided not to remove the litter onthe floor.  I noticed some ammonia odor
several days later during the warmpart of the day as I set my plants out to
take advantage of the nice weather wewere having.  If I thought anything it
was that a little ammonia nitrogenin the air might stimulate plant growth. 
At most the plants were exposedto the ammonia air for a few days and other
wise spent their nights inside thehouse on the starting racks.  I never
thought the ammonia inside the greenhouse, though noticeable, was very
intense.  Also many of the onions werenot looking good even before they saw
the greenhouse.  Anyway I spent muchof yesterday taking all of the benches
out of the greenhouse, thoroughlycleaning out all of the chicken poop,
putting down a tarp on the floor, andsetting it all back up.
 
Now begs the question.  Has anyoneelse had experience with ammonia doing bad
things in a greenhouseenvironment?  Would I be safe to go ahead and reuse the
plant startingmedium or should I pitch it all?  I’m thinking of keeping some
of itfor potting up bigger plants later on if I am successful at getting
anythingstarted.  I’m still fearful that something pathological isinvolved. 
I know for certain that I planted fresh seed and I started outwith clean
potting soil, and reasonably clean containers.  To say that Iam thoroughly
POed is an understatement.  The worst of it all is that thiskind of s--- is
still happening to someone who has 15 years of plant startingexperience.
 
Marlin
Virginia

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