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  • From: "Beth Spaugh" <lists AT rhomestead.com>
  • To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Seed starting greenhouse
  • Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2008 16:58:02 -0500

There is a way to moderate the heating costs. I don't know if any photos are
available on the web (I think I have some I can post somewhere though), but
Ed Persons of Ledgewood Farm Greenhouses uses a greenhouse within a
greenhouse to start plants. He has wire covered benches, with plastic
hanging from their bottom to conserve heat. A small hot water heater and
house fin tubing under the benches. The end of each bench (and these are
large benches) is a half circle. A piece of wood stretches end to end. Row
cover and clear plastic are hung over it, and can be rolled up on a probably
1x2. The top board that spans the length slides to provide ventilation
without rolling up the sides.

I have photos of Ed's. Anyone else on the list have one they'd share photos
of. I want one. Don't have yet. I am so tired of flourescent fixtures (8
shelves - 16 tubes) that I plan to buy a 400 watt metal halide lamp that
will light an 8x8 foot table of plants. I still will the flourescents some
to provide alternate light duration, but I am hoping this will make life in
the basement easier and be useful if I get a plant starting greenhouse. My
plan is to use this until mid-April, then make a small heated space in the
hoophouse and move larger plants out there.

I make a small space with greenhouse plastic or cheap one year plastic,
though the light isn't as good. First year we hung a huge piece vertically
to cordon off about 1/4 of the hoophouse. Actually two big pieces
overlapping to make a door to the rest of the hoophouse. We do have a
furnace at one end, sized to heat half the hoophouse, or all in warm
weather.

Now we take a large piece (or more than one piece) and hang it from the
perlins, enclosing one side about 1/3 of the way down. To hang the plastic
we take fence wire and make a hook to hang on the perlin, then take a fist
sized rock or tennis ball type object and put it under the plastic in the
appropriate place and wrap the wire around the plastic and rock. We do that
along each side and the end. To enclose the furnace we put fire-retardent
dry wall horizontally over the flue pipe between the pipe and the plastic
-yes the flue gets hot enough to melt plastic. We also put these rocks/hooks
along the bottom edge of the side by the aisle and the far end. We can use
those hooks to hook the sides up for access and ventilation. I don't know if
we saved more fuel dollars than we used for the plastic, but I feel better.

If the weather isn't unusually cold, I will start using the small heated
area about April 1. I only use it for a month or less. By that time I have
the more cold hardy out in the unheated part of the hoophouse due to
tomatoes overflowing the heated area.

Last year, I don't remember why, probably because we use it such a short
time, but instead of draping the tent area by the furnace (or yea,and I had
salad mix in the ground still going strong down by the furnace) I stacked my
big pickle barrels full of water in a U, draped plastic over that, and put
an electric heater in. It was such a pain to crawl around in, trying to not
crawl on a flat, that I decided to not do that again. Also, too much shade
from the barrels.



Beth Spaugh
Rehoboth Homestead
Peru NY
http://rhomestead.com

"How we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used." -
Wendell Berry

"Without power over our food, any notion of democracy is empty." - Francis
Moore Lappe

-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of
cjmaness AT juno.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 1:05 PM
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Cost to start plants

I'll be starting the Cole crops next week, around the 15Th. We used to try
and set out the transplants of those early things around Feb. 15Th, but we
never really gained anything. So, now we shoot for March 1st. We do
broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts and lettuce. If we can get
stuff in the ground by March 1st, we can be harvesting the early broccoli by
May 1st.
About Feb. 15th I start peppers and eggplant.
March 1st I get the tomatoes started.
About April 1st I start the squash, cukes, cantaloupes, okra and
watermelons.
We added cut flowers about 2 years ago to our veggies and they all get
started at various times. They are not as easy as the veggies. Some need
8-10 weeks in the greenhouse, others just 2 weeks. Some need light to
germinate, others don't.
Our market opens April 1st, and we have struggled every year to be there on
opening day with something! We have about 1/2 acre of asparagus. Last year
was the first real pick on the asparagus.
We do the Cole crops again in the fall. I start most of those around the 1st
part of June, and try and transplant by the 1st week or so of July.
Brussel Sprouts were a big hit at our market. We cut the whole stalk,
stripped off the leaves and sold them like that. Our customers had no idea
that was how brussel sprouts grew! Last year was our first year to try
those. We put out about 200 transplants and could easily have sold triple
that amount. As for broccoli, we have increased the amount we grow every
year, and still haven't reached the point of bringing any home. We are the
only ones who grow any kind of Cole crop at our market though.
Last year we put out 1800 broccoli plants. We cut the main head, and then we
keep going back and cutting the side shoots until we are just sick of doing
it! I think we could probably double production this year and sell all of
it.
Carla

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