July 7, 2012 journal

Today I replaced the cucumbers in the greenhouse with new plants.  The first planting has been producing for some time now, and I find as as the plants age they lose some of their vigor. (sound familiar?)  I also potted replacement tomato plants for a late season crop for the same reason.   The cucumbers were started from seed on June 14, 2012, and cuttings were taken from the greenhouse plants and cloned on the same date.  Both the seeds and cuttings were grown indoors, under LED lighting, and today is the first time they have been outdoors.

Compare the size of the tomato plants with what you would expect a tomato planted from seed to look like three weeks after the seed was started.  Cloning is obviously the way to go, if you have a plant from which to take a cutting.

After only three weeks under the six band LED grow light, some of the cuttings are already forming buds. Anyone who still thinks LED technology is unproven, obviously has never tried it.