Applestar’s 2021~2022 Winter Indoor Garden

[applestar]

It’s time to start my Winter Indoor Garden thread

I have a bunch of plants in containers that “vacation” outside during the warmer months and are brought back inside during the cold/freezing months.

More recently, I’ve started to dabble and experiment with concepts and techniques for aquaponics.

I do intend to set up outdoor, full scale grow beds linked to my pond and hopefully rain barrels at some point, but for now, I scale way down to a couple of small tubs of guppies, etc. and growbeds to learn how the system should function. I’m particularly intrigued by airlift water pumps, so I’ve been trialing different designs in small scale as well.

I just finished linking a 2nd growbed tub (LEFT) to the single one (RIGHT) that I had been just cycling the fish tank water through all summer. (The summer plants have been removed/replaced with some of this winter’s grow projects already)

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I got the siphon connection to operate to fill the 2nd tub, and the drain system to trigger the 1st tub’s drain once the 2nd tub fills to a certain height and begins to drain.

First independent/unassisted run to fill both tubs and initiate the drain system took 13.5 hrs. I think that’s close enough to 12 hrs which is what I was aiming for. This means the first tub soaks for over 6 hrs while waiting for 2nd tub to fill, and then it only took a little over 20 minutes to drain both tubs.

This will dictate what kind of plants go in which tub. More water/soaking tolerant in 1st tub, less tolerant in 2nd tub. And I’ll be moving some of those plants in the 1st tub accordingly.

[applestar]

Sooo excited!

I looked over as I was passing the set up and it had filled and started to drain shortly after noon — cycling after 5 hours.

This means I was mistaken and it must have filled and drained during the night all by itself.

One of the resources I’ve been working from said the system should cycle at least 3 times (every 8 hours) a day and drain within 30 minutes. Since my last year’s design airlift pump only pumps up in dribbles, I really didn’t think it could manage to fill both tubs to the currently set measure in 8 hrs, so I set my first target to 12 hrs and had been happy enough to think it managed in 13.5 hrs.

This means I COULD consider raising the fill line and also adding another reservoir container — either 3rd fish tank or a vortex settling tank/filter….

[applestar]

I’ve started to experiment . Waiting for those seedlings to grow 4-5 true leaves, and also trying to get some old lettuce seeds to germinate. If they’re not up by the time my order of new seeds arrive, they’ll be replaced (are you all listening? )

[applestar]

I started some seeds two days ago on 12/19.
Winter Lettuce Mix and Kohlrabi are starting to come up already.

Other started seeds are
- Viola
- Chinese Cabbage
- Turnip

…and Littleleaf cucumber as an experiment

….. my aquaponics experiment is on-going …
- Turnip, radish, and daikon
- Looseleaf Chinese cabbage and other greens
- Mint cuttings
- Sweet potato
- Pineapple top and Zebra Plant
- Pepper plants
- Carrots
- scallions, cabbage and daikon scraps — will they regrow?

[applestar]

[applestar]

Yesterday —

* cucumber and onions, most of the 10 viola seeds sprouted
* true leaves starting to grow on earliest seedlings
* sowed ‘Flagpole’ scallion seeds from 2020 in empty/failed cells marked with toothpicks

[applestar]

I have some seedlings for greens and maybe the peas in the Patio Hoophouse that I will start moving into the Sunflower (hoop) House. These seedlings will get uppotted and spend their first few weeks in the unheated GarageV8 nursery set up, then (maybe the more easily accessed Patio Hoop House for initial acclimating, and then) eventually to the Sunflower House.

Now that I know the cold weather crop seeds happily sprout on the exterior top (Penthouse) of the Greenhouse vinyl-covered shelves (dubbed the Winter Paradise) with the aquaponics experiment inside (guppy tanks with a seed tray thermostat controlled heating mat plastered to one side, and all those lights), I can keep successively starting them until I need to switch over to warm weather crops.

[applestar]

On Sunday, I checked on the container figs that are being overwintered in dormant state in the unheated garage.

This method has been the routine for many years, and for the first time ever, I found THIS kind of damage.

Two young cutting grown ones were completely severed, and a couple of the medium ones were half girdled.

Suspecting vole, I set traps (baited with last scrapings from used up jar of Nutella I save for this purpose). Today, I heard scrabbling sounds and the plastic container trap had been successful. (The other plastic snap trap had been sprung).

…Yes, I reset the snap trap, and will be setting more.

[applestar]

One of the snap traps in the garage caught another vole— looks smaller than the other two.

I wonder if it’s safe now to move some of the older lettuce and kohlrabi seedlings out to the Garage V8 Nursery lights and auto irrigation set up….?

[imafan26]

Applestar. You germinate all these plants every year and you have saved plants that you brought indoors. Where do you put them all? Will they grow inside the whole time or do you put them out in your tunnels?

I garden year round, but I run out of space. Even when I plant succession plants, I often have more come up than I need and have no where to put them.

[applestar]

LOLOL!

Well, @imafan, for the big containers I have one small room that is designated plant room “The Green Room” where I have a 4 t8 tube shop light, a vertically positioned 1 t8 tube, a clip on CFL utility light, and a floor standing torchère lamp fitted with a studio photographer’s giant CFL… plus the double ceiling CFL light and SE-facing window which gets the nearly horizontal rising direct sun shining in during the winter. This is a cool room for most of the “hunker down and survive” semi-tropical s that are mostly in winter hibernation that would survive in Zone 9~11.

Then there is the “Winter Wonderland” window-side counter/table and “Cool Gang” corner in the back of the family room with same 4 t-8 tube shop light, a vertically positioned two-tube t-12 shop light, and a hanging utility light. This is a brightly lit, warm area for winter show plants like the orchids, still fruiting peppers, and citruses that might bloom, and others that I want to keep growing instead of going dormant.

Deciduous plants like the container figs and pomegranates that are rated for Zone 7 or 8 and freeze tolerant can go in the darker part of the unheated garage once dormant, and and hardy rosemary sits by the “Garage V8 Nursery” which is set up along the door to the laundry room (closest to the insulated interior wall). This is an old large dresser and 2 wire shelves above it with cobbled together shoplights providing the lights sufficient to grow seedlings and they also hold hardier over-wintering, shorter plants that need the light but can manage the temperatures that can get down to mid-20’s°F in the depth of winter. I have an experimental semi-auto irrigation set up that just needs to be regularly topped off with water and checked that the trays have drained properly (won’t auto-drain if the buckets are under filled).

One more “regular” is my “Winter Paradise” set up from one of those ‘greenhouse’ selves — green metal shelves covered with zipper-front vinyl hood. This is the shorter version with only 3 shelves that I have sitting on a large DIY window bench. It’s in a rarely used room but I use thermostat-controlled seedling mats — this used to be just for the warmer weather crop starting but now I have the aquaponics experiments going on with the heating mat keeping the guppy reservoirs warm on the bottom shelf, and plants on the interior middle shelf and on the top. There are t5 and LED lights on the inside and a shorter converted table top seed starting light set up with two 24 inch t5 lights on top of the shelves for seedlings/plants that don’t need as much heat.

3 more SE-facing windows are available to use with supplemental utility lights fitted with daylight CFL’s in the kitchen and upstairs rooms that may or may not be used depending on what I’m keeping or growing. This year I’m doing less.

All the house room temperatures can get colder during the winter but moderate during the fall and spring to allow me to adjust from winter and early spring crop seed starting to warm season crop starting.

As for the cold season crops, this is the first time I have hoop houses outside and I’m concurrently maintaining running record of the temperatures and experimenting bit by bit to see what can or cannot be kept alive, how and when I can start seedlings to set out there to grow ever so slowly, benefitting from the daytime highs — as much as solidly in the 60’s — while the sun is warming them up but tolerating the freezing overnight interior temperatures — as low as 22°F so far.

This DAYTIME higher temperature with intense light affforded by sunny days is the microclimate factor I didn’t have before and which I intend to explore, learn and take advantage of. The garage temperature stays “warmer” than outside temps but will not warm up during the day, and can even be colder than the outside when it’s sunny. This will be a significant critical difference especially once the weather gets warmer in the late winter/early spring.

To be sure, this has been a comparatively mild winter for this area so far.

[applestar]

With overnight lows plunging down to single digits and low teens, I’m kind of glad I didn’t try to plant these seedlings out in the hoop house yet.

— Top right two are the experimental cucumber (H-19 Littleleaf) and the annual winter display of orchids.

Others include mini turnips, onions and shallots, kohlrabi, 2 kinds of small-headed cabbages, red and green Chinese cabbage, lettuce mix, and viola…. Planning to start some pansy seeds soon (seeds should have arrived with the violas but had been put on back order)

— Center-right is a tub in the Garage V8 Nursery — the water in the catch tray was skim-frozen this morning, and the semi-automatic irrigation line had frozen up. The soil has frozen when we had that severe temp dip. Brr. (but the eggplant might still be alive…)

[imafan26]

You must have big rooms. Mine are junk rooms and there is barely any walking space even at that. Once in awhile and avalanche occurs. I really need to whittle it down more. It is easier to buy more than look in the pile for the ones I have. I have some orchids that live on my lanai table outside, but there are no houseplants inside. I have cats. Cats and plants are not good companions. The plants are happier being neglected outside anyway.

Still with all the things you are starting, I could not even find space for that outside. I am currently looking for my dead pots so I can reallocate space to the living.

[applestar]

Thanks @imafan

You make them sound better than they actually are

In reality, I can’t expend the money, time, or energy I used to, for my too-many little experiments and projects that I keep hatching up in my busy little head.

So most are cobbled together incomplete affairs that limp along year after year. Just enough to satisfy that I’m doing something interesting and that I can learn from.

…Nothing like the wonderfully dedicated set ups that some folks here have more or less perfected and operate with ease.

But I can still say, despite some frustrations, that I am HAVING FUN!

[imafan26]

True, having fun is the main thing. Whether you succeed or fail, there is always a lesson to learn and try again.

[applestar]

Everything has been growing slowly, but steadily. The new pansy seeds started to sprout after about 5 days.

My 3 trimmed cabbage core stump experiment in the aquaponic trial have been growing respectively although not very big leaves as I thought (I thought they were going to try to re-grow same size leaves). The tiny one in the left tub looks like it’s already trying to head up a B. sprout-sized head?

H-19 Littleleaf cucumber is being pruned according to the Japanese instructions I followed last summer — remove all side buds and shoots from lowest 5 true leaf nodes, then allow them to develop for the next 6th to 11th nodes. We’ll see how that goes. The mini leaves make this variety perfectly suited for indoor experimentation.

[applestar]

Some of you may remember Big Tailed Mama and the other guppies in this thread —
Applestar’s 2019-2020 Winter Indoor Garden - Page 3

Well, look at the several generations removed offsprings I spotted today, especially the Big Tailed male

[applestar]

* I started Ishikura single stalk green-white onions and Kujo green onions along with some more wild garden lettuce mix on Thu. 2/10. (top left)
* To make room for them, the Red Tropeo onion and Zebrune shallot seedlings were moved out to the Garage V8 Nursery where they can start getting used to freezing-cold-cooler temps.(top center)

* The new seedlings started sprouting yesterday (lower left), and the lettuce seedlings which broke ground a couple of days earlier looked like they might get in the way, so I started transplanting them to these little cells (top right)
* from which I had uppotted the Cool Wave mix pansy seedlings (some of them are in the front of the new onion milk cartons in lower left)
* H-19 Littleleaf cucumber has a female blossom that might have set (bottom right)
* orchids are blooming to brighten the winter window on Valentine’s Day (center lower two)

[applestar]

I opted NOT to buy the lady bugs/beetles and predatory mites for the winter indoor garden again, due to COVID and shipping issues that make obtaining live shipments over long distances less reliable.

This has meant that I had to harden my heart and treat the container plants that were brought back indoors last fall to more generalized and less targeted methods to eliminate pests, even while noting presence of beneficial insects that would normally have managed the Indoor Garden Patrol duties along with the purchased reinforcements.

Without the tirelessly roaming predators inspecting every nook and cranny, I have had to make my own spotty inspections, and today, noticed I had missed these mealy bugs on younger coffee plants.

I had been more attentive about the big coffee plant, having positioned it towards the front where it is easy to continuously turn the container and inspect. The smaller pots had been pushed up against the wall (near a vertically positioned light fixture in the corner) and I hadn’t looked at them as closely in the last month or so.

I’ve been using neem oil, alcohol, and soap solution to spray and also to use with cotton swabs and bamboo skewers to wipe and/or pick off.

I think the coffee is also suffering from some mite pressure — the homemade mix I think is helping to keep them suppressed enough, but that be being prevented or delayed from developing flower buds and fruiting this winter.

You might be able to tell from these photos that new leaves and shoots HAVE been developing.