I am so thankful for the greenhouse, especially during winter when outdoor gardening is a bit limited. I started preparing the greenhouse in September by adding a thick, 3″ layer of sifted compost on top of all the planting areas. I’ve started incorporating no till methods, and this is the first year the greenhouse hasn’t been tilled at all. The compost I added was full of worms and just gorgeous. I just can’t get enough compost! LOL
About a week after I laid down the compost, which I kept nice and moist, I planted my first planting of lettuce, rapini, Swiss chard, spinach and broccoli. Once the first seeds were growing into nice looking plants (a few weeks after planting) I sowed another batch of lettuce and Swiss chard and some purple kale. I mulched everything thickly with straw. I also brought in 5 gallon buckets of water and filled chicken feed bags with compost to help hold more heat during the night. Plus I filled glass jugs with water and set them up against the back wall and around the greenhouse. I made sure to surround the most delicate plants (the potted Moringa trees and the potatoes especially) with compost bags and water buckets.
The same weekend I planted the first seeds I also planted the garlic. I use garlic in just about everything, so I make sure I’ve got a good supply on hand. I also had some stray onions that hadn’t gotten too big, so I replanted them on one side of the greenhouse. When I dug up the potatoes in the fall I replanted those that were too small to eat, along with some nice roots. I hope to have an early potato harvest in the Spring. I made sure to provide steady moisture and keep everything well mulched. When temps dropped below 30 degrees I covered everything with floating row covers just to be sure nothing got damaged. There have been a few nights as low as 17 degrees, but the only things that seemed to show damage were the potatoes that had already started growing.
So all this has kept me busy during the winter, and now, nearing the end of February, I’m starting to plan for Spring and Summer veggies. What a gift to be able to grow what I eat!
During the winter, in an unheated (aside from the water filled buckets, and bagged compost) greenhouse, I’m able to grow most any type of lettuce, spinach, garlic, onions, kale. broccoli, Swiss chard, beets, a wide variety of greens, arugala, and even potatoes if I give them extra protection when it gets around freezing. And then in late winter and early Spring I can get a jump on planting and get my seeds started in pots. I’ll continue to experiment and see what I can grow at different times of the year to make the most use out of the greenhouse.
Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle
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