Eithman
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Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2015 4:07 pm

Beginner looking for general tips on first greenhouse

Hello everyone! I just planted my first few veggies a month ago and have had most of them spring up. But a few didnt and I know I am making a lot of mistakes. Below are a couple pictures of sick looking plants and my green house. Also, here are the mistakes I know I am making.

1. The door is left open because it gets way to hot on sunny days. I am getting an air conditioner to correct this.

2. There are a few holes in the plastic about the size of a silver dollar. Will this matter? Should I cover it with clear tape?

3. The soil I am using was gathered when I dug a very large hole in my back yard for a separate project. The dirt is from 8 feet down or so and because of that I thought it would be nutrient dense. But based on my sick plants and its very light brown color, I am beginning to suspect otherwise.

4. I often forget to water them and they will be bone dry by the time I get to them. I suspect this is causing a lot of the harm to the sick ones and may be the reason some of them did not come up. I set an alarm on my phone to correct this.

If anyone has the time to look at my pictures and give me any advice that you can, I would very much appreciate it! Thank you all for your time and help!
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applestar
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Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Please indicate where you are located and what your weather has been like. Depending on the climate, and in most areas, a greenhouse would definitely get too hot. Some of what you are growing are better suited to growing in cooler season while others will need a lengthy summer season to mature.

I would call soil from 8ft below ground "subsoil" -- it could be mineral rich but not "nutrient dense" because of lack of necessary biological activity which only occurs at the upper few inches.

When growing in a container, you need to use growing medium that is well draining. Unless your subsoil was sandy, it is not likely to be well draining. You will need to blend it with suitable ingredients to make into potting mix. Suitable mix and nutrients will also depend on the plant.

Also, the size of the containers are way too small for most of the plants.

This all looks like a fun science/gardening project/experiment though. What are your goals?



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