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February 13, 2008

Greenhouse Time

About a month ago we seeded some spring vegetables that got put into the farm's greenhouse. The trays that the tiny seeds get dropped into are twelve inches wide by eighteen inches long by three inches deep. This black piece of plastic is divided into 231 cells, each of which gets one seed dropped into it. When the freshly planted trays were put into the greenhouse is was cold and cloudy; I was pleased to see that it had taken only a few days for the broccoli to be visible. As small as the plants were and as cold as it was I knew I could get away with watering them every few days.

However - watering a greenhouse every few days is risky business. In the beginning it is okay; the plants are so small and the amount of water held in their cell of soil is enough to support the plant getting one hundred times larger. The risky part is that the farmer gets into the habit of watering every other day or so.

This past week I was busy and enjoying the sun and opportunity to start getting some work done outdoors. The greenhouse was in the back of my mind and I finally went to water it. Opening the greenhouse door I was met with a wave of warm, humid air that immediately fogged my glasses to zero visibility. Stepping inside the greenhouse I took my glasses and sweatshirt off before inspecting the progress of my little plants. My first glance at the greenhouse made me nod my head in approval to the progress the plants had made in the last few days. Walking through the center isle I inspected the tables of plants on either side of me: tomatoes, lettuces, basil, okra, parsley, Napa cabbage and broccoli at the end. Everything was planted at the same time, which makes it interesting to watch each plants progress relative to each other. The basil and parsley were still tiny little green plants, the tomatoes and lettuces were about an inch tall and the broccoli and Napa cabbage were already four inches tall.

The broccoli at the edge of the table had started to wilt due to lack of water, but only the first four inches or so, the other plants in the center of the table were fine. Had I waited another day it would have been ugly. By this time the top of my head had received several large drops of water that had built up enough mass to let gravity free them from the rest of the water that had condensed on the plastic in the greenhouse. As I watered the greenhouse I paid special care to give the broccoli and cabbage enough water to fill up their tiny little root zones and I made a mental note that the watering schedule now had officially switched to daily.

The following day the little broccolis at the edge of the table that had wilted were fine. The event definitely traumatized them, they stand only two-thirds the height of their neighbors, but eventually they will all reach the same point. Right now, tugging on the plants results in their roots getting ripped right out of their little cell of soil but it will not be long until a tug of the plant cleans out the plastic cell of roots and soil and this will mean it is time for planting. If this sunny weather holds up, it may only be a couple of weeks until the broccoli and cabbage find their way to the field.

Enjoy your box this week - Thaddeus

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