"simy1" wrote:

I am looking to streamline my seedling operation, mostly for vegetable
growing. At this point I start about 700 seedlings a year. With a small
greenhouse I would transfer all the operations outside the house. I see
that Johnny is offering a 5X8 thing at $295. Any advice is appreciated,
including temperature management, invasion by critters or diseases,
durability, light requirements, etc. I am thinking of placing the GH in
a spot that receives sunlight until 1pm when the leaves are out. I can
place a 55 gallon drum of water in the GH as thermal ballast.

i would also like to switch from peat pots/jiffy/seedling trays and go
the soil block route. I lose too many plant to transplant shock, and
also the trays deteriorate after a while. I see that there are many
blockers on the market. I think I want the 2X2 inches basic block, just
the right size for some of the large greens transplants ( due to many
cabbage moths I prefer my transplants to be big, so they can fend for
themselves), but there are ways to have also 1X1 inch heads. I think I
can make my own soil by mixing my sandy soil with wood ash and compost
(plus sterilization by boiling). Again advice appreciated as to the
best model for me, multiple heads, efficient operations, anything else
I need to know.

We have two soil blockers, one makes four 2" x 2" blocks in a square
configuration, the other makes four 2" x 2" blocks in a line. They
haven't been used for several years now.
We start almost all of our seeds in paper pots that we make ourselves
from newspaper. I made various sizes of pot makers from different
sized hardwood dowel. I counter-bored one end of the dowel about 1
inch deep with a forstner bit. Use a paper cutter to cut the proper
sizes of newspaper, wrap the paper around the dowel, fold one end into
the counter-bored hole. The fold holds the tube in shape, needs no
tape or glue. Simply slip the tube off, place in a grow tray and fill
with starting medium. When it comes time for transplanting, plant
paper pot and all. Plants never look back. Very economical.
As to recommending a small greenhouse I only have a recommendation
against the one we purchased a couple of years ago from a local
building supply. It is an 8'W x 10'L x 7'H unit made by a company
called Harnois in Quebec, Canada. It is steel framed with a reinforced
plastic cover. The cover was supposedly UV stabilized but, I seriously
doubt it, as it started to disintegrate before the end of the first
season. No satisfaction from the company. I just checked on their web
site and could not find a similar unit so, I presume they discontinued
it. Good idea if they did.

Ross
Southern Ontario, Canada.
New AgCanada Zone 5b
43º17'15" North
80º13'32" West
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