2021 Small greenhouse and garden grow

[Socksnsandals]

Well, the 20th seems an auspicious day to start a diary of a modest small greenhouse / garden grow.  I plan some pictures and weekly updates when I'll reply to any comments.  When I was learning from this site a couple of years ago even really basic and obsessive detail was useful.   This diary aims at the novice grower who likes fussing over a few plants in the garden, not someone who is doing half a field in a big GG, nor the indoor guys measuring ppm etc.

As Captain Mildred might say, the plan is for a) a couple autos in pots to move around the garden to get as much sun as possible, topped and low stress trained for fun and to keep them stealthy, b) three autos in the greenhouse without topping but some training later to open them out when they are bigger and c) a photoperiod topped and LST'd in the garden.

All are feminised seeds; barring any casualties the autos will be HSO Lemon Juice Express with one Sensi Seeds Superskunk.  The photo is a S6. 

I put the seeds to germinate last week.  A little plastic food tub of the kind you get with a takeaway curry containing chutney with a piece of kitchen roll doubled over, wetted until wet, but not swimming in water, seeds added and then two more layers of damp kitchen roll.  Close lids, put in a warm dark place and check morning and evening.   Larger containers work just as well.

Make sure to label the tubs and only have one type of seed out of the packet at a time to avoid mix-ups as a photo planted in the greenhouse in late April or early May would grow like Jack's beanstalk and be difficult to keep control of.  The plant erupting out of the roof vents and a plant too big for the space would suffer almost certain bud rot in September / October when nocturnal humidity in greenhouses hits 90%+ unless you have a dehumidifier running at night.

100% of the LJE and the S6 sprouted in 36hours, while the SS took an extra day, possibly because it was a 2017 seed.  As soon as you see that the rootlet is out, between 1 and 5mm long, I gently place them about 5mm beneath the surface of high quality damp coco from the growshop, the root pointing down (not essential) and leave them on a warm windowsill.  

The pundits say that autos do not like being re-potted, though I have never worried too much about that.  The ones destined to be rotated round the garden went straight into their final 20cm diameter, relatively deep (25cm) pots which hold about 7 litres of coco.  I am not convinced that they need to be so deep as the plants grown in them were nowhere near root-bound at the chop last year.  I pre-drilled the tops of the pots at about 5cm intervals to anchor LST wires later (Figure 1).  

The ones for the greenhouse and the S6 are in (labelled) 10cm "pots".  The late and ongoing frosts this year and consequent inability to plant out tomatoes, peppers, sweet peas etc mean my proper pots are all still occupied so the seedlings went into cut-down 1 kg / 1 litre yoghourt pots which have had holes drilled for drainage.  The issue with those pots is that they are not very rigid once the thicker rim at the top has been removed so handling them might theoretically disturb the roots.   You can always pick them up by the base which is stiffer.  Figure 2.

Once the sprouted seeds are beneath the surface in their pots I minimise disturbance by lightly spraying with a little water if the superficial layer of coco dries out - spraying rather than watering because the coco is fairly fluffy and drops of water thundering down from a watering can are bigger and heavier than the sprouting seeds so I do not want to risk exposing them or their roots.  The seedlings appear above the surface after a day or three.  When up, if absolutely necessary you can use tweezers or a couple of toothpicks gently to open the hard seed shell (testa) to help them out, likewise you can gently tease off the seed membrane (tegmen) if it looks as if it is preventing the two cotyledons (the little ovoid first "leaves") from opening out but generally they will do their thing without assistance.  Figure 3.

Once they are up I use one of the brands of three-bottle nutrients to make up the feed recommended for seedlings.   Root stimulant is optional.  Take care that you use the concentrations appropriate for hydroponics/coco -vs- for soil depending on what medium you are using as they have markedly different requirements.  I water with the diluted feed only when the surface has dried out and try not to allow the coco immediately adjacent to the stem to become wet (Figure 3).  Avoiding watering the base of the seedling and not covering the pot with a plastic bag minimises the risk of "damping off"  which is a fungal attack on seedlings in warm humid conditions.  It makes the stem just above the growth medium shrivel and the seedling keels over and dies.

Why am I using coco and nutrients?  My seedlings and young plants have been burned by "hot" compost containing too much nutrient in the past.  Coco is almost totally nutrient-free and so nute burn is not a danger so long as you follow the instructions for the nutrient mix appropriate for each stage of growth.   The plants in pots will be fed that way for their whole life whereas the ones in the greenhouse and the S6 will be planted in a mix of coco and the soil, more of which when the time comes.

Subsequent posts will be shorter!

 Figure 1

Figure 2

 Figure 3

[Revive]

@Socksnsandals will be pulling up a chair for this grow.. good luck dude 

[Socksnsandals]

Second entry for the diary.  An unseasonally cold but sunny week.  Trying to keep to the ethos of a greenhouse/garden grow I have kept the baby plants in the greenhouse overnight and when it is not too cold I move them into the garden during the day. I have a greenhouse heater set to come on at about 3 degrees centigrade and from my smart meter data it looks to have been busy but the plants are progressing slowly, probably because of the cold.  Still, that's the point of a diary; it's the setbacks which are interesting and one can always start again when the weather is better. 

All the plants are growing, just.  The SS which took a while to germinate is lagging.  I am keeping them in their pots but have prepared the ground inside and outside the greenhouse for their final grow sites.   Because of the late season I have been forced to plant out French beans, sweet peas, some dahlias and tomatoes.  The temperatures are dropping to 2-3C here at night but the danger of a ground frost seems to be past and the non-weed plants have been desperate to get out of their small pots.   When on the shelving a few weeks ago the peppers all keeled over after a frost outside but revived when the temperature rose and have been OK since I put the heater in to ensure it doesn't drop below 3c.  The SS and two LJEs will go amongst them. 

Apart from the cold, my worry for the week ahead is slugs and snails which have all been hiding in this dry cold weather but will explode into action in the night on which the forecast rain arrives, ravenous after the winter and now a dry month without food.  One disadvantage of a greenhouse sitting on the soil is that they can emerge in force.  I'm not too hung up about slug pellets but have another system which worked last year for my small crop.  If I have to deploy it I will post photos next week.

 

S6, LJE and SS trailing

Three autos will go in this bed between the young pepper plants

LJEs for moving round the garden progressing slowly.

That's all until next week folks!

Edited April 27, 2021 by Socksnsandals

[MJMan]

I'm following. No greenhouse proper here - just a mini PVC thing.

Liking your idea of moveable and fixed planting

I'm a first timer to both growing and LST - so hoping you post pics I can learn from

Good Luck

[Socksnsandals]

Well, not much to add.  All plants are progressing very slowly which I can only attribute to the coldest average minimum April temperatures for 99 years with most of the annuals in the garden and greenhouse barely growing.  It doesn't really matter for the S6 photoperiod as that has loads of time to catch up but the autos are programmed to flower after x weeks regardless of size so I imagine that they will be far smaller than in the last two years.  I may pop some more when it looks as if we're heading back to normal temperatures.  Still, a diary has to cover the rough as well as the smooth so here's this week's photo.  LJEs for moving around in big black pots, LJEs to go in the ground in the greenhouse in yoghourt pots in saucer together with late-to-pop SS and S6 to go outside in separate yoghourt pot.  

[Socksnsandals]

On 27/04/2021 at 11:32 AM, MJMan said:

I'm following. No greenhouse proper here - just a mini PVC thing.

Liking your idea of moveable and fixed planting

I'm a first timer to both growing and LST - so hoping you post pics I can learn from

Good Luck

 

Thanks; in Blue Peter style, here's one I prepared earlier - last year.  The indoor grow peeps are the experts at LST-ing as are outdoor growers like Subspecies and for example Anthony13 in the HSO grow diary section last year. 

This is one of the topped and LST'd move-around-garden LJEs at day 71 with scale to show stealthy size.  All LST-ing wires and rubber bands removed bar a piece of stiff card with notches in either end to splay the stalks on the top two colitas.  There are other pics from last year in my albums.

[MJMan]

55 minutes ago, Socksnsandals said:

 

Thanks; in Blue Peter style, here's one I prepared earlier - last year.  The indoor grow peeps are the experts at LST-ing as are outdoor growers like Subspecies and for example Anthony13 in the HSO grow diary section last year. 

This is one of the topped and LST'd move-around-garden LJEs at day 71 with scale to show stealthy size.  All LST-ing wires and rubber bands removed bar a piece of stiff card with notches in either end to splay the stalks on the top two colitas.  There are other pics from last year in my albums.

 

That is a stealthy little blighter! Like the splayed card feature - never seen that before, but a bloody good idea

 

I need to get reading up on the old LST, etc. Not popped any seeds yet as was advised on here to leave until late April / early May - so anytime soon (but as you say, the weather's been far from auspicious

 

Good luck - I'll follow with interest

[HullFeltMashematician]

Enjoyed following you in previous years @Socksnsandals (can't remember which years precisely, excessive consumption over Winter leaves my memory hazy ).. You have a lovely way with words.

 

However, if I may be as bold as to offer some constructive criticism, I know it's uncalled for but nonetheless, could we get some separate paragraphs please?  The blocks of text are as uninviting as a snarling badger in the bush on an early evening plot visit in low light  

 

I know I'm being a moaning Mary, but I don't mean to complain. On the contrary, I appreciate everyone who shares their canna adventures on this site, but I would hope it's not too much to ask for you to hit that Enter button a second time for each time you already hit it?.. Pretty please 

 

Admittedly, this is coming from the guy that ignored readers requests to change my font in last years diary, so I'll understand if you do the same and it shall not deter from clawing through those blocks of text this year.

 

However, it'd make my (and I dare say some others) enjoying your diary just that little bit easier. 

 

Anyway, best of luck this season, I will be pulling up a chair (if I'm still welcome ) regardless and look forward to seeing it play out. May the sun shine on your garden! 

 

Atb

 

[Idicanna jones]

Definitely following.....

Good luck yall 

[OldFord]

Looking good @Socksnsandals ,  will be in & out of this grow sir , very intrigued to see what you do to get the most out of them. 

.Good luck and all the best.  

[Socksnsandals]

Weekly update time.  Not much to report as although the weather is improving it is only in the last couple of days that things have started to get going - dahlias in the more exposed part of the garden got a frost scorching last week.

 

 

Planted out the S6, here with leaves weighed down by overnight rain.  Training wires are in place in a fan-shaped array radiating from a post just to the left.  I plan to top it at 4th node and then train the branches over a 180 degree arc (like those protractors we used to have in our school sets).  As you can see the wires are not far off the ground.  The electric fencing posts to which they attach will allow further, higher wires if necessary.

 

 

The two move-around-the-garden SS are in the black pots.  I think that my worry about damping off and watering away from the stem meant that the transition from "first leaf" to "growing" feed nutrients didn't reach the nearer very young plant's roots for a couple of days later than the other one so it went a bit pale and lagged its sister but has coloured up and is back on track.

  

The two LJEs for the greenhouse remain ahead of the smaller SS which germinated later.  I will plant them in the greenhouse this week as the roots have probably reached the bottom of the pots even though they will be far from rootbound at this stage.

 

I'm only visiting UK420 weekly and briefly (having spent too much time here last year!) so see y'all next week. 

 

PS: When on slug patrol the other morning I spotted and squashed what I assumed to be a mutant albino slug.  Looking up white slugs next day I wonder if it was actually a Selenochlamys ysbryda, or Ghost Slug, an alien species of earthworm-eating slug which is thought to have evolved in caves (hence white colour) and to have been introduced to the UK in soil with plants.  I'm on a similar latitude to that where they were described, albeit in SW England so it seems possible.  Unfortunately the squashed remnants had gone when I went out to investigate.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenochlamys_ysbryda

 

 

Edited May 12, 2021 by Socksnsandals
Clarity

[Socksnsandals]

Right, another cold week, more slow progress to report.

 

 

The two LJEs to move around the garden (except when there is a risk of rain as the nutrient balance would be spoilt).  The effect of a day or two of delay in the "growing" nutrients reaching the lower one is more apparent, with the tips of the lower leaves pale.  It seems happy now but lags behind its sister.  Both are tiny because of the cold weather. 

 

 

LJE now planted in the greenhouse.  This one is in a bed of coco a little smaller than the move-around pots.  I'm feeding with coco concentration nutrients.

 

 

Sister of the one above, planted in the soil (with whatever coco was in the yoghourt pot).  I'm feeding this one with "soil" concentration nutrients.  The difference is for interest as a trial with two subjects is too small to draw any useful conclusions!

 

 

I've seen several hatches of baby spiders in the greenhouse.  They stay together like this until the greenhouse warms up as the sun hits it and then venture out, though they stay together for a couple of days before dispersing.  I'm very happy that they're in there.  Less welcome is the young rat I spied scuttling out today.  I've left it a baggie of red Rentokil "pasta" as a blood-thinning meal.

 

 

S6 in garden with double layer of radial training wires in place.  Again, slow growth because of the weather but it has plenty of time to catch up.

 

Three minor things to add.

 

1) Though lockdowns meant that I had to turn to yoghourt pots they have a disadvantage.  The brand and size I had to hand have sides which are rather too flexible but the base is stiff, so you cannot push the base in to ease the coco and plant out.  If the plant is not rootbound that means you could end up with a lot of the medium falling away from the roots.  I found that cutting down the sides of the pots and opening them up like a sunflower helped.

 

2)  Today in Lidl in the man-bait aisle I saw the large grey plant pots/saucers which I mentioned in a different thread last year.  45cm across the top, 33cm high and saucer 35cm so they hold a lot of growing medium - far more than an auto would need.  I'm using them for dahlias.  £3.99 for pot and saucer.  Drainage holes are not pre-drilled but easy to do.

 

3) Because the weather has delayed / stunted everything and because holidays look dodgy this year I'm tempted to do a solitary late photo in the greenhouse with severe pruning and LST to prevent it becoming a triffid.  I've some RGS Easy Sativa / Skunk seeds and might do one of those to complement the S6 outside. 

 

That's all for this week folks.  

 

 

 

 

 

[AutoAberdeen]

I’ve got 2 photoperiod Amnesia seeds left from last year (when I bought them as autos with a website error) so planning on popping them at some stage. When would be the best time to get them going? Don’t want them getting too huge and have to do any light deprivation so would getting them going next month work out?

[Socksnsandals]

Right, yet another cold week, more slow progress to report.  Sod's law that the first year I do a diary had the coldest April for nearly a century!  I must have a look at the other threads and also see how the GG peeps are faring.  

 

 

The LJE in coco and in soil plus peppers... all creeping along in the cold.

 

 

Likewise the LJEs for moving around.  The lower one lagging its sister as last week.  I left them out in the garden to follow the sun before a (100km) cycle ride and a shower hit whilst they were out which is why they are so damp.  I'm not worried as coco drains very well but I gave them a little of their usual feed to compensate for the dilution caused by the rain.  

 

 

S6 progressing slowly.  The rain has made all the rocket, chard, poppy and weed seeds in its bed germinate.  I'm leaving them for the moment as I don't want to draw too much attention to the S6 but will get rid of them when they start to compete.

 

 

Well, @AutoAberdeen, I don't know the answer to your question, but because the cold-related slow growth means that my autos will go into flower when very small, I decided to do a photo in the greenhouse which will be a first for me.  Put the seed to germinate yesterday.  I plan to top and LST it and if we finally get a summer (!) and it starts going wild will chop it to keep it within size.  The big problem will be mould in the autumn as the greenhouse hits 80-90% humidity in the cooler autumn nights unless one has a dehumidifier running.  The ES/S will be grown at the far end of the greenhouse so that I can put up a plastic sheet at night and keep that section warm and dry with the dehumidifier without 1) using huge amounts of electricity and 2) without warming the part with auto-opening roof vents which would allow the warm dry air to escape. 

 

If the autos start to flower in a week or two then they will never get to a significant size and I will pop a few more.

 

 

[Socksnsandals]

 

@AutoAberdeen This was the S6 I did last year.  I think I chopped it about a month later.  Looking at my notes I planted it out in the garden when it had just two proper leaves and that was on the 16th May, so 10 days earlier than today, but of course we had had a much better Spring last year.  This plant was, as you can see, partly under an apple tree, topped, trained, and still grew to this size so in a greenhouse I would expect a photo to get larger.  Perhaps I will regret popping the ESxS this early, but I don't mind doing some vigorous pruning when it is still in veg to make sure it doesn't get too big.  ETA this plant got to more than 150 x 100cm (x 50cm high despite training when it stretched in flower).

Edited May 26, 2021 by Socksnsandals