Journal July 3, 2013

The more I looked at the greenhouse with the small bench in the center aisle, the more I liked the idea of using the center aisle for growing.  I built another matching table so there are two small benches at the very end of the aisle.  At this time of year the center aisle gets the full benefit of the sun directly overhead and it is a shame to lose the space; getting to the plants is not an issue, as I can still kneel on the benches to reach them.

Growing olives hydroponically is still a learning experience for me, and I had a problem with a few of the plants.  I don't believe anyone has ever tried to grow them hydroponically so there is not much information on the subject online.

Two of the larger trees began dropping leaves that were still green, and it sort of had me baffled as to why.  The trees appeared healthy in every respect, except I would find several green leaves laying on the surface of the media.

Since then, I have determined that the problem was over watering. I had been watering the plants until the liquid ran into the reservoir at the bottom and then empty the excess.  Even with the sun beating down, with the temperature in the greenhouse approaching ninety, olives apparently do not transpire much and use a lot of moisture.  

Letting the plants dry almost completely has pretty much solved the leaf drop problem, so going forward I intend to just give them a periodic small drink and keep them fairly dry.

The telegraph improved cucumbers are about a foot long and I am going to let them grow another six inches; which will bring them up to what would be considered normal size for this variety.