ironmaskduval
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Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 8:07 pm

Crash course: Start Seeds and/or Baby Plants?

I know this is a bit of a double post, but I didn't think too many people visited the introduction forum, and I need some guidance.

I think the last time I planted and grew something was back in third or fourth grade. It was one green onion. ONE!

I decided it's time that I started to garden. I built my wife a large greenhouse late last year with a solar powered aquaponics system. I actually finished it last winter, but my wife kept baby chickens in there until spring to keep them warm and alive. She started to grow but then kind of lost motivation, and it is now deathrow for roosters awaiting their sentence to be carried out in the chicken and dumplings pot. I worked so hard and spent so much money on this thing only for it to look like it's been dead for years. I'm not mad at her. I just want to bring this thing to life and motivate my wife to take it over.

I built this thing large enough so that my family can have some fresh home grown produce and also enough to sell at the weekend, local farmers market. I just don't know where to start. I'm an active and participative learner so pointing me to a book won't help much.

Can someone give me a quick crash course on starting some seeds? Should I start with seeds or baby plants?

And if you're curious, here are some photos of the greenhouse build. We salvaged palettes and old windows from craigslist, but it still ended up costing us over $1,000.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/118939597 ... 702760099/

Rairdog
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Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 4:46 pm
Location: Noblesville, IN Zone 5

Add your zone to profile so we know what climate you have. Nice GH! Do you have pics of the AP setup. I would start with plants from a reliable nursery. You can fire up the AP without fish and still have plants growing. Just make sure to wash the roots well to remove ferts. I put flowers and started flower seeds in the GH(dirt pots) to get my girl into it. I also take her around the neighborhood to collect new growth branches to root in the AP system. Then she likes to watch the progress and fruits of her labor. Next I fed her fresh salad with chard and spinach....she was hooked. You can check out my thread about GH/AP. If you need help on the AP side just ask away.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 50&t=56955

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Check out the thread on seed starting basics here: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 48&t=44183

It will tell you all you need to know including what equipment is needed.

You need to tell us where you are located. In most areas of the US, this is the wrong time to be starting most things from seed. You could still plant some of the quicker growing, warm weather stuff from seed like beans and corn and cucumber. Later you could plant seeds for cool weather crops for a fall crop. Do you plan to heat your greenhouse? You could do pretty much year around gardening in a well heated and well managed greenhouse, but for most people in cold winter climates, the energy costs would be pretty prohibitive.

You put the cart before the horse a bit, plunking down a grand for a fancy green house, before even finding out if you or your wife can grow things/ like to grow things/ have the temperament for it.

" I just want to bring this thing to life and motivate my wife to take it over." Building a greenhouse for someone else to grow things in seems pretty doomed to failure. If it isn't what she loves, nothing you can do will motivate her to "take it over." Work on your greenhouse if YOU want to grow things in it.

I've been a serious gardener for over twenty years and have never had a real greenhouse. In my opinion, in cold winter climates, they are really only useful for a few weeks in spring and a few weeks in fall. In winter it is too expensive to heat them and in summer you don't need them. In warm winter climates, you don't need them at all.

imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

You are ambitious. As a novice gardener, I would have started with a raised bed and a sprinkler system.
There is a lot to learn about hydroponics and aquaponics. I am still learning about it.
Hydroponics you need the nutrient solution, need to do regular testing and adjusting unless you have an automated system to do that. You will still need to deal with the algae and you need to follow strict sanitation procedures. Once you have insect or disease problems it is very difficult to cure without starting over.

Aquaponics, you need to get the fish, you will be crowding them so you need to test the water regularly, fish get ick and bacterial diseases too. They usually are fed an aquaponic fish food. Fish do not provide all the nutrients required for most plants so you will also need fertilizers suitable for aquaponic systems that won't kill the fish. And there are some varieties of beets, lettuce, kale, tomato, etc that do better in aquaponic systems than others. Each type of plant will have its own nutrient needs. There are lists for those requirements on the web. Aquaponic growing systems are hard on the fish.

Unless your wife is really into that kind of thing. I think this is maybe something you may have to do yourself.

ironmaskduval
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Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 8:07 pm

Thank you, everyone. I am in Atlanta, GA-- just a bit north. I was a former curator for NOAA, so I'm familiar with water quality for life sustaining purposes. I hope that transfers a bit. I think I will take the advice and start with sprouts rather than seeds. For the winter, I have actually installed a wood burning oven inside the greenhouse that keeps it very warm. That's how the chickens survived the winter, and we have ample firewood to keep it going.

I have a picture of the system when it was up with my wife. It has since been neglected and looks like death. I'll post when it's back up.



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