September 1, 2013 Indoor Gardening

The greenhouse is pretty much empty at this point, except for the olives and a few tropical plants.  My attention is being turned to my indoor garden with a few plantings already underway.

This season some unusual varieties of lettuce will be on the menu ; five are already in process.  The photo above shows two of my new varieties: Wnter Density (left) and a heirloom called Schweitzer's Mescher (right).  Winter density is a Romaine and the Schweitzer's Mescher is a bibb type. Together I think that they will make a good combination for salads.

In addition to the above varieties, Thai Oakleaf, Cimmaron, and Garnet Rose have been started, so soon the grow chamber will be up to capacity.

Regarding the greenhouse, the olives will be wintered in there for as long as possible, hopefully until early December.  As the temperatures begin to get well below freezing, the plants will be moved to the basement for the duration of the winter.

Since I began indoor gardening light hangers have been an issue to some degree.  Over the years I have used hangers with adjustable tension and the Easy Reach hangers that the TV pitchmen were hawking a few years ago.

When I find something that works well for me, I like to share it, so that is the case with the hanger in the photo.  The hangers were purchased on Ebay on auction; on average I paid less than $5.00 dollars for a set of two, delivered.  The price is much much less than the hangers I have been using, and these hangers are easier to use and will support a lot more weight than what I have been using. 

What I like most, is that the hanger itself only measures five inches, so I can raise the lights in the tent higher.  Additionally, the hanger is ratcheted, making it infinitely adjustable.  They are so sturdy I feel completely comfortable using only one hanger to support an expensive light.  Not too bad considering they cost on average $2.50 per hanger.