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September in
Your Greenhouse
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By
Carol Yaw |
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Fall is a wonderful season for growing in the greenhouse. With its more
tempered climate - not too hot or cold - plants thrive. Also, there
is still good natural lighting for continued growth. It is in autumn
that the majority of my greenhouse plants are at their best - flourishing
and in optimum health!
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I. Greenhouse
Environment
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- Keep your general temperature
between 50° F and 70° F.
- As growth starts to slow
down, water and feed less frequently.
- Decrease damping down
and ventilation.
- Watch for fungal diseases,
which can appear this month. Treat with a fungicide promptly.
- In most areas, by the
end of this month you can remove shading, but continue to leave some
form in part of the greenhouse for young seedlings, cuttings, shade-loving
ferns, etc.
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| II.
Prepare for upcoming winter |
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Now
is the time to -
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A.
Make repairs and replace:
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B.
Check that your heating
system is working
properly and vents are closing tightly.
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To check the accuracy of your
heater
thermostat ... Monitor air temperature with a climate
monitor that reports min./max. temperatures. Set the heater thermostat
10°F above the present temperature. When the heater shuts off, reset
the min./max. thermometer. Let the system run for 30 minutes with several
on/off cycles. Check the min./max. thermometer. Variation should be 2°F
to 4°F. More than 6°F variation should be investigated and corrected.
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C. Wash and
tidy up your greenhouse.
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Before moving plants inside
for over-wintering, use a safe disinfectant such as Physan
20 to get rid of any lurking pests and disease hiding out under bench
tops, on shelves, in soil, etc. hoping for a cozy winter retreat. Our
Sprayer is perfect for
getting to those hard to reach areas.
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D. Repair,
replace or add benches
and shelving to
grow
more over this fall and winter.
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| III.
Keep on Growing! |
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| Propagate
now for holidays and spring. |
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- Sow seeds for next spring
annuals such as Sweet Pea, pansy and other colors.
- Take cuttings of geraniums,
impatiens and other frost-sensitive perennials.
- Take cuttings and propagate
evergreens
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- Pot up bulb
pans of flowering bulbs like Hyacinth and Narcissus and put them
in a cold
frame, garden shed, root cellar or other cool, dark space for winter
forcing later.
- Start to bring in frost-sensitive
plants like Heliotrope, Canna, Fuchsias, banana, lemon and orange trees,
etc.
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| V E G G I E S |
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•
Tomatoes - |
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- Continue to make sure soil
doesn't dry out. Keep temperature below 80°F on hot days.
- Pick fruit daily. Remove
leaves covering the ripening fruit.
- Remove old finished plants
and dead leaf debris promptly to discourage disease, which can spread
quickly this season.
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| • Cucumbers
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Generally this is the last
month to grow them. Continue to water and pick them regularly. Clear them
out as they are finished producing.
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| • Peas
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Peas
take up little space when trellised in the greenhouse and like the cooler
climate of fall. For speed of maturity, flavor, and overall productivity,
we like snow peas at our house.
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| • Fruits
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Pick
mini melons and grapes. (Grapes generally need to be left on the vine 1-2
weeks up to 2 months after the fruit looks ripe, depending on the variety.) |
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