Pest Treatments

This is what I've done to begin my pest-control program:
1) Set out saucers of beer for the fungus gnats
2) Isolated plants with fungus from those that appear free of fungus or other problems
3) Put of starting the seeds I was going to start, until I get this all under control
4) Sprayed scale-infected plants with soap solution
5) Opened the bottom part of the greenhouse door and set the fan thermostat to a lower heat setting to increase air movement in the greenhouse and around the plants (Is this counterproductive? Will it help spread fungus?)
6) Scheduled daily MORNING work in the greenhouse, rather than afternoon work to avoid watering late in the day.

So far this appears to have brought things back under control.  I did have to just destroy a couple of plants that had been pretty much overcome by fungus.  They were all kalanchoes that I had started from cuttings in the spring of 2009 and then moved to larger pots several times during the summer.  It looks as though possibly with the last repotting in the late fall, I overcrowded them by planting several starts in a single larger pot.  As they filled in and branched out they were beautiful, but by the time they began blossoming in late January they were showing signs of stress which I failed to remedy, and then overlooked the start of the fungus until it had taken serious hold on those plants.  I've been able to control what few additional plants became affected because I addressed those immediately, but the original infected plants had to be destroyed.  Hard lesson.

More pests

Oh no! Scale also.... I'm going to have to spend some serious time cleaning and disinfecting, treating and isolating my plants in the greenhouse and house. I'll post some of the most useful sites that help me deal with my sudden infestations here in subsequent posts.

Greenhouse Pests

Well it's still cold and snowy out, and most days are still Michigan-winter-gray, but with the longer days plants overwintered in the greenhouse are waking up and sending out promising new leaves and shoots. Unfortunately, the pest population is also waking up, and although I try to be SO careful to keep my greenhouse clean and uncontaminated, I guess it's tough to do if you bring outdoor pots indoors. Overnight, I have fungus on some plants and fungus gnats on others. I probably overwatered because I got so excited to see fresh green again. Actually, I also watered late in the day after getting home from work, not giving the pots a chance to dry out during the day but instead staying damp all night in the cool night temps. I know better - I do - but thought I could get away with it a few times. ARGH! Now I have to experiment with the various non-commercial, relatively organic solutions to my problems that I've read about. Hopefully, the next post will contain success stories on this front.

Lesson for cuttings

I've learned the hard way that when you cover your cuttings with a clear plastic top (as is often recommend for retaining the correct humidity for best rooting), watch DAILY for any sign of fungus infection. The extra humidity is a ripe environment for fungus which can quickly destroy your cutting before it has a chance to develop roots.

Spring is coming!

The bubble-wrap insulation on the greenhouse walls worked like a charm! Propane consumptions was drastically cut. Last year I had to refill the propane tank 4 times; this year it is still running on the first tank from November, and looks as though it will make it through the next few weeks into real spring weather without having to refill. What a coup! The cost of the bubble insulation was recovered in a single season!

Greenhouse Update

From what I've read in various sources, it sounds as though I should put reflective bubble insulation on the North wall and the wall facing prevailing winds (in my case, the West wall, and clear bubble insulation on the other walls. That's what I'll try, and record my success here.

I'll reuse the reflective insulation from last year, but have to order clear insulation. More $ out the door now in an attempt to save $ in the long run.

Home Greenhouse in Michigan

I've been looking for sites or blogs about greenhouse gardening (home gardening, not commercial gardening) in Michigan, so far with little luck. I would appreciate any suggested links that DO provide such information.

I have a 16x24 double-wall polyethylene hoop greenhouse with a pea-gravel and flagstone floor. I love the size (big enough for over-wintering tender plants, propagating both indoor and outdoor plants, and seed starting in the spring, as well as providing winter-housing for my pond goldfish), but have trouble maintaining the heat level I'd like to be able to keep in an affordable way. My greenhouse is heated in the winter by propane and that has proven to be way more inefficient and costly than I had been led to believe when I purchased it.

The first winter I did not do much in the greenhouse, since we'd only installed it shortly before winter set in, but I did learn how quickly indoor plants die when introduced to that temperature drop. Sigh.... I also learned how well a few such plants recover from cuttings or root sections salvaged from a nearly dead plant. Yay!

Last winter I was more ambitious and overwintered and propagated a lot of cuttings for my spring garden, started seedlings, and learned that some tender houseplants actually do quite well in the colder environment if properly acclimated. Part of that may have been helped along by the reflective bubble-wrap insulation I placed on the bottom couple of feet all around the interior of the greenhouse (though that darkened the greenhouse noticably).

This summer I covered the pea-gravel floor with flagstones from the old dog-run in an attempt to provide more surface in the greenhouse to retain the daylight heat from the sun during the night. I've also added several large containers filled with water to act as heat-sinks, for the same reason. I'm still debating about whether to use the reflective insulation from last year again this year, or whether to invest in clear bubble-wrap insulation instead. Any suggestions?

My goal is to use the greenhouse for some overwintering, quite a bit of propagation, and some seed-starting in the spring. I welcome advice, suggestions, or conversations with other Michigan home-greenhouse enthusiasts.

-LMG