Light it up

Today boys and girls, I want to take a minute to discuss lighting.  If you're like us and you're starting from seeds, you're probably doing so either indoors or with as much natural sunlight as you can, but still supplementing the light your little guys get with a little artificial lighting.  If you're not, then maybe you should consider doing so.

We like fluorescent lights in the greenhouse.  Plants absorb different "colors" or wavelengths of light at different rates.  They reflect "green" light and are receptive to "blue" or "red" light.  This is part of the reason plants appear green, because they're reflecting that light.  That being said, plants have different shades and colors of leaves, so how can we pick a light most suited to the widest variety of plants? Luckily for us, there are plenty of people who have already done the research to answer these questions for us.  According to the good people over at www.planetnatural.com:

"Critical experiments show that maximum growth of most plants under cool white fluorescent lights will be equivalent to or better than that obtained under the blue-red phosphors. Work by V. A. Helson, Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa; and J. W. Bartok and R. A. Ashley, University of Connecticut, indicate that there is no advantage to the use of blue-red fluorescent tubes except for aesthetic purposes. Some of the names of these special tubes are Grolux, Plant-Gro, Plant Light, Vita Light and Optima. The higher cost of these fluorescent tubes may be justified on experimental or aesthetic grounds but is hardly warranted on the basis of plant growth."


So there you have it.  Cool white fluorescent lights are the way to go.  They don't get hot. They're cheap and accessible, and they don't use a huge amount of power which means they go pretty easy on your electric bill.  We run lights on our seed trays overnight once the natural sunlight is done for the day, giving our plants nearly 24 hours of light while they're in the germination stage.  The lights need to be close to the seedlings (between 8-12 inches is good...) so we keep ours on 2x4's for portability and stability when placing them where ever they need to go.  Check the pictures to see what I mean.  Hit up your local hardware store and they can set you up with the perfect light for whatever your needs may be.  Holler at the good people at Charleston Hardware (556-0220)  on Wappoo Road in West Ashley if you're in that area.  That's where we go.  :)

Mini Farming

Alright so here's what we're working with.  We've got some 12"x18" plastic trays, which are about 2 inches deep.  In the trays goes a little potting soil cocktail that Corinne has concocted for whatever it is we're planting, then you seed as usual.  Too easy right? Right.  So sure it's still one of the buzz words foodies like to use to seem cutting edge.  There's a poorly hidden sense of elitism sometimes when you hear people talking about microgreens.  As though you have to buy microseeds or have a cutting edge growing facility.  Microgreens are just the same seeds, put in dirt and clipped when they're still small.  Some of these will end up being baby greens, or even transplanted and grow to full size.  Of course it's not the miracle plant that will lead you to better health, but microgreens are just cool. That's all there is to it.  Chef's dig them cause they make every plate instantly look better.  We like them cause they make our green house look better.  The Arugula sprouts the quickest of pretty much anything so far.  The Mesclun and the Red Romaine and moving along as well.  The Red Orach hasn't broken the surface yet and the Dark Opal Basil is a little slow, but we're optimistic. Here's a few pictures.  The top flat is the Asian Blend that Baker Creek offers, the bottom picture is a few rows of greens, Mesclun, Red Romaine, Arugula, Dark Opal Basil...

Azaleas!

So we don't really "grow" Azaleas, but we have them in front of our house and they're my absolute favorite!