On Temporary Greenhouses




My temporary greenhouse in December

Creating a temporary greenhouse can be quite rewarding as long as you can keep it sanitary and disease-free. I have only experienced the joy of growing normally warm season produce in the greenhouse once. There was a direct correlation between the growing of that tomato crop and my garden contracting Septoria. So since then I decided to minimize my exposure to disease by putting all my tomato transplants in pots. Though I have been doing well in starting tomatoes I am still experimenting with how to get an early start to my cucumbers. I have almost given up on that though – I can only experiment with winter planting so many times before I need to buy more seed.

Regular cucumbers have a tough time taking any cold. It seems that the slightest frost will wilt a cucumber seedling while tomato plants are a little more forgiving to cool weather.

A good location is a very important factor in determining where to place a greenhouse. A place that faces south and receives a lot of direct sunlight is very important. It also helps if you can position your greenhouse to receive radiant heat from nearby structures. That way your greenhouse area can be more resilient to drops in temperature. My greenhouse consists of a sheet of 5 mil plastic that has been placed diagonally against a south-facing block wall that receives full sun exposure. By placing plastic along the upper part on top of the block wall (with blocks securing the plastic on top) and placing the lower part of the plastic along the garden’s edge (with blocks securing the plastic on the bottom) I am able to secure most of the greenhouse. I can continue securing the plastic on the west perimeter of the garden with blocks though I secure the eastern part of the plastic with a piece of rebarb that is rolled up in the plastic to secure it from the wind because the eastern portion of the garden continues beyond my greenhouse. I made a skeleton of wood pieces that lie diagonally from below the lip of the block wall to the edge of my winter garden. These wood pieces help keep the plastic up and keep it from moving around so much in the advent of a mild winter windstorm. Besides the radiant heat from the south-facing block wall, I place clear plastic bottles inside the greenhouse to soak up the sunlight and keep the temperature within the greenhouse as moderate as possible. Water is very good at moderating temperature, though I find that a clear plastic bottle absorbs heat much better than the opaque plastic bottle does.
 

The inside of my greenhouse with waterbottles and tomato transplants in sunken pots.

My 2011 Winter Garden

The Kids' Winter Garden in the Foreground

For those of you who have not had a winter garden in the past let me tell you – it can be wonderful. Some people in Tucson only plant winter gardens because they do not want the hassle and maintenance that summer gardens often demand. Though growing may happen at a slower pace, the watering required is so much less than required during the summer in any arid landscape. Because most insects do not do well in freezing temperatures, if you remove leaf debris you should be able to keep most bugs absent of your crop.  The major setback associated with winter gardening is waiting for plants to get big enough to harvest. This fall I planted mustard greens (for my soil fumigation experiment), Imperial Star artichoke, Little Marvel peas, radish, Purple Dragon carrots (for seed), Chartwell Romaine lettuce, Viroflay spinach.

I try to only plant Patented varieties of vegetables, such as the Imperial Star Artichoke, after the patent has run out. That way, I have full rights every part of the plant I produce. I currently also have some tomato starts in with my winter crop in my winter garden greenhouse.



The rest of my winter garden that is not in the greenhouse.

Developing my Philosophy of Gardening

Scientific Gardener with Purple Dragon Carrot

I have been reading a really good book recently called The Resilient Gardener. The author gives a good perspective on what gardening should be about, or at least gives a good perspective on the importance of gardening in the times in which we live. Here’s the quote: “What is critical isn’t ownership of land so much as the knowledge and skills to use it. When and if the time comes that people in your region need more local food production in order to survive, if you have the knowledge, seeds, and tools, people will make the land available. Up until then, you only need enough land to pay and learn on, and to produce what you care most about and what you most enjoy.” –The Resilient Gardner Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times. by Carol Deppe. The reason I agree with this way of thinking because what matters more than anything else in gardening is having the knowledge and the seeds. Everything else can - and will often - change.

Hahms Gelbe Tomato

A Hahms Gelbe Tomato Bush 3" High with new Blossoms

What can I say concerning the Hahms Gelbe Tomato? Well – for one thing it’s small. Not only is this cultivar a determinate tomato plant (a shorter variety with tomatoes that usually mature at around the same time) - it is also a dwarf tomato variety. It grows to be about a foot tall at most. It fills up with blossoms, then yellow fruit that covers the plant. Resist the temptation to eat the bright yellow fruit! The bright yellow ones taste like unripe green tomatoes. Wait until they turn golden yellow/orange. Then the fruit is at its most delicious state. This is a great variety for indoors – as long as you have a windowsill or a plant light to use. For those living in Arizona – where the temps are too high or too low – this is a wonderful way to get your tomato fix without dealing with all the problems related to the fact that tomatoes don’t do too well in our climate. I have been giving them away as presents to co-workers. There’s nothing like a tomato plant to improve relationships – especially in a region where most people have not tasted on-the-vine tomatoes in years.




A Hahms Gelbe Tomato Bush with Yellow Globes





These were unripe- It's worth it to wait till they turn darker!

 


Hahms Gelbe do well indoors with lots of light




Another Picture just for Fun



Tromboncino – Not perfect, but very good

I enjoy growing butternut squash for the dual purpose of being able to use them as both a winter squash and as a summer squash. Often, during the summer, we will go north for a little while to come home on a day when we just can’t get to shopping. This is when I enjoy going out to the garden and getting the family something to eat. In order to do this I need to know that I can use my food whenever I am ready for it. That is where butternut squash varieties excel – specifically Tromboncino.



The Tromboncino keeps a very nice flesh texture throughout its growth from a small summer squash to a very long winter squash. It is fun to see how long it will become and to see how it will curve before it hardens up. Being a butternut variety the plant vigor and disease resistance are good with this variety - especially with reguards to the Squash Vine Borer. However, if you have any kind of sap-sucking creature in your yard, it may make it difficult for the female flowers to set fruit. Apparently the bugs like it as much as people do. Additionally, if the fruit sets under direct sun while the temperature is very high it may have difficulty setting before the sun shrivels the blossom. Other than that it is an all-around good variety and top rated among many gardeners.

A winter Tromboncino butternut squash is very tasty

As an additional note, since this is an Italian variety, the Italians have taken the growing of their squash to a science. Here is a very good Italian webpage with very helpful information (should you want to translate it) about the Tromboncino squash.



Female Tromboncino Squash Blossom