Greenhouses, grow rooms and nurseries

Anne Miller wrote:I am of the do what works for you way of thinking.

I don't start seed indoor.  I don't have a greenhouse, grow-room, tunnel, etc.

Mother nature taught me to grow my seeds outdoors.

In school they taught me to use paper egg cartons to start seeds and that does work for me though I have not used that method in a long time.

Rather than liquid fertilizer, I like compost tea. Have you tried compost tea?

Nina Surya wrote:Hi Ulla, what a great idea to convert a shower cabin into a grow-room!
Such an inspiration - I might have to construct a mini growroom upstairs where there is more light, above the rocket mass heater!
Your post is packed with interesting information.
Our grow zone is way cooler, 8a - 8b, and I've just started here, on this location, one and a half years ago.
Here are my experiences until now:
Our first greenhouse was a plastic tunnel, but it only lasted for a week - a heavy storm blew it away!
That was a valuable lesson about prevailing wind direction and exposure to wind.
My hubby built a greenhouse that is now far better situated. It gets the most sunlight hours on our property and is sheltered from the west wind by trees and bushes.
Last summer we got tons of cucumbers and tomatoes, the tomatoes going strong until November!
I sowed some cool weather greens in the greenhouse, lettuce and mizuna. Apparently there are tiny slugs on the ground that effectively mowed the seedlings, but the leafy greens in the elevated grow boxes are going strong.
In the vegetable garden we still have kale, and the calendula keeps on blooming, that's lovely.
Our ground has a lot of clay and I seem to have difficulties in getting carrots and parsnip to grow well. In the soil is too dense, in the hugel beds, too loose.
But every season the situation gets better, I'm mulching with straw and the benefits are accumulating quickly.
I'm saving seeds in order to have land race vegetables and herbs.

Joe Peterson wrote:That’s a fantastic setup! Using an indoor nursery in a converted bathroom shower is such a creative and resourceful way to make the most of your space, especially in Southern California's climate. You’ve really thought through every detail, from the reflective walls to the ventilation system and watering method. It sounds like you’ve mastered growing in zone 10b with all the different crops you’re able to grow year-round.

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

What a lovely greenhouse, and big too. It looks and sounds like you are doing great. It takes time building up production.
We bought our little homestead in 2017. We have 1/2 acre, but much are used for the house and driveway. We started out with dirt aka sand and clay, which is to be expected in a desert climate. We spend the first few years amending the soil, with compost and more compost. Hard work, but it has paid off.
We now have a 3300 square feet food forest garden, and a 4200 square feet backyard with 20 large raised beds, chickens, rabbits and ducks. We grow a lot now.
...
We constantly adding to the food forest garden. The whole idea of the forest garden, is to make a place where you can explore, and enjoy an explosion of smells, sounds and colors. Anyway I got very far away from the topic. I am looking forward to hearing about how things evolve for you over the upcoming years.

Nina Surya wrote:
Hello Ulla,
Thank you! The beginning here produce-wise is quite modest, except for the tomatoes earlier and eggs now still going strong.
Our place has 3000m2, including buildings. At the moment we're focussing on the renovation, greenhouse, vegetable patch and reviving the old orchard, but I'm slowly building up a food forest and healing garden as well.
Your posts are super informative and inspiring!
You obviously keep track about what you harvest. Would you mind sharing a little about your 'book keeping system'? Does it include the input of trees and such as well?
I'm asking because my own method - a notebook with hasty notes to self - isn't working that great (yet).
Your posts about your food forest in another thread are also very interesting. Thank you for sharing!

Nina Surya wrote:Our ground has a lot of clay

May Lotito wrote:Ho Ulla, your garden is so beautiful and well designed! Are the fruit trees preexisting or they were planted when you moved? They look healthy and well established. BTW, when you hauled in the 50 yards of compost, if spread evenly on 4000 Sq ft, it will give a 4 inch layer. Do you see the volumn reducing after several years of production? Clay soil tends to "eat" mulch and compost in fast speed.

Emmett Ray wrote:Reading about the shower stall turned into an indoor nursery made me think of a TikTok video I saw.  (I wish I could post the short video, but the four pictures here are the gist of it.)  The woman was showing a door in her living room that, when opened, went directly into a beautiful barn of horse stalls!

Ever since I saw that, I was thinking about the possibility of having a door from the house that opened into a greenhouse.  Or even a garden of raised beds.  

I wonder...

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:For me, one of the essentials for a productive garden, is to be able to grow your own seedlings. First of all, it saves money, but if you do it using a greenhouse, grow room, nursery or caterpillar tunnel. You can get a head start on planting, and grow things that don’t grow well in the season you are in.
Many factors go into determining what solution to use. It all depends on money and the climate you grow in. Here on our homestead in Southern California, we grow food all year round. We are in grow zone 10b, so we get very little frost, and very high temperatures in the summer.
During the summer we grow squash, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, asparagus, melons, fruit and berries. In early spring and late fall peas, okra, cassava, beans and grains.
During the cold season we grow root vegetables, herbs, herbs, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbages, lettuce, kohlrabi and other things that like a cooler temperature. In order to be able to harvest and plant at the same time, we start our seeds inside in our small grow room.
We have tried having a greenhouse, but it got way to how, for us to grow anything, but if you live in one of the cooler grow zones, a greenhouse or caterpillar tunnel, is a fantastic tool. It was the same goes outdoor nurseries like cold frames.
Here we decided to convert one of our bathroom showers, to an indoor nursery, since our house had 3 full baths, which is more than we need.
First we covered all of the walls and the floor with reflective sheets, only leaving holes for the shower outlet and control. We put a strong grow light in the ceiling, build shelving units, and added extra grow lights where the light couldn’t reach, plus a fan to promote air circulation. We added a timer control the light system and fan. Last I bought a connector for the shower, so I could attach a hose for watering the plants. One important thing to remember, when you make and grow indoors, is to prevent fungus gnats. To do that I cover the soil in my planters, with vermiculite  when seeding and transplanting. We also water from below, as soon as roots have grown.
You will be surprised of how much can be fitted into this small space. I have added a video to show it.  

During summer when we can’t grow lettuce outside, I also grow those in the nursery, along with seedlings for the next season and during the cold season, plants coffee, and cassava that doesn’t like the colder temperatures, and grows from cuttings. Today I am going to plant mulberry cuttings, so they are ready to plant out, in spring. I also grow seedling starts for succession planting. I can fit approximately 600 seed starts in my small grow room, which is plenty for our needs. When I transplant into larger pots, I use biodegradable paper bags, which can be planted with the seedling. This prevents transplant shock, when they are ready for transplanting after conditioning to outdoor temperatures. Because we don’t have transplant shock, the plants grow faster and stronger. Note that this also can be done using soil blocks.
When starting seedlings indoors in potting soil or compost, the plants will eventually need a liquid fertilizer. Here I use water from our ducks swimming pool.
I don’t know a lot about using green houses and tunnels, so if you do, please share your experience with it.