Hydroponic swiss chard

I read in a book on greenhouse gardening that the UK has more hobby greenhouses than any other country, and I believe it. I belong to a gardening forum that is mostly UK based folks. They have a section devoted to greenhouse gardening, and I placed a post asking if anyone else had tried to grow swiss chard or silverbeet under glass.

The first response was basically that greenhouses were more appropriate for tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplant, and why waste the space when it would just bolt to seed.

My reply was that it shows no sign of bolting, is doing great, and, you never know unless you try! Following my response another member wrote that she had grown chard in a poly tunnel for the last two years, and it grows so quickly she harvests it monthly, and it has never bolted.

This is the best looking batch of chard I have ever grown, and it sure looks better than anything I have ever purchased. I have started another batch to replace this batch. If it bolts; worse case scenario is that I will have a fresh batch of seed to work with indoors. It just shows that it can't hurt to try, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Giant Marconi Peppers, a case of mistaken identity.

Yesterday while changing the nutrients in the drip ring systems I was struck by the big difference in appearance in the peppers. I have come to the conclusion that somewhere along the way I misidentified the seedlings, and what I have been posting as photos of the Giant Marconi peppers, was actually corno di toro peppers.

The peppers have similar characteristics, however, as the name suggests, the corno di toro pepper is shaped like a bull's horn, and is more pointed at the tip.

The photo above is actually the Giant Marconi, and it lives up to its name. I measured one of the peppers from shoulder to tip, and it is almost nine inches long. It is larger in circumference and more blunt at the tip than the corno di toro pepper.

Additionally, the plant itself is more squat and bushy, while the corno di toro pepper is taller and more narrow.

Both peppers are supposed to be excellent for frying, roasting, or salads, so I expect that once they are picked and prepared there will be little difference in taste.

I must have had a "senior moment" back on February 14h. when I planted the seeds and labeled the cubes.

Hydroponic Nutrients

In a previous post I wrote about new nutrients I had purchased because I wanted to get away from the General Hydroponics Flora series. The primary reason I wanted to switch was due to a 25% price increase last summer due to "the price of fuel." Yeah, sure. My intention was to try dry nutrients thinking: why pay to ship water?

The dry nutrients I purchased on Ebay are no bargain. The pH is not stable and, they require a lot of pH down to make an adjustment. Additionally, the nutrients do not completely dissolve, and they must be mixed with very hot water, which means you have to mix them quite sometime before you can use them. I suspect the person selling them buys a large bag from a local grower, and repacks the nutrients in zip lock bags and sells them on Ebay.

Today I decided to try the nutrients I purchased from the commercial dealer in Florida. They come in two parts, a two pound bag of each part. Each bag is poured into a gallon jug and water added to fill the jug. The jugs are agitated until the powder is completely dissolved.

That gives you a gallon each of concentrate; part one and part two. Part one is 5-10-25 and part to is 15-0-0. The guaranteed analysis includes everything a plant could need. When using the nutrients the recommended amount is .5 to .75 oz. per gallon of water.

The ebb and flow system with chard needed changing so I decided to try the nutrients in that system. It holds seven gallons of water, so I filled it and added 3.5 oz. of concentrate. After mixing I checked the TDS and it was perfect for chard at 1370. Much to my surprise the pH was right on the money at 6.0.

To make it easier to use I filled two pint bottles with concentrate, and stored the gallon jugs in the cool dark basement. The best of both worlds, dry nutrients that become liquid concentrates, just like General Hydroponics, and at about a third of the cost.

And I am becoming far less concerned about the pH sliding. If you look at the charts, different nutrients become more available at different pH levels. Iron, manganese, boron and copper are more available at 4.5 and 5, and calcium, magnesium and molybdenum are more available at 7 and above. I am convinced a slight slide in either direction is more beneficial than harmful.

Below is a link to the site where I purchased the nutrients. The person I spoke with was Tim Carpenter, and they are nice folks to deal with.

http://www.vertigro.com/profile.php

Customer Service: (352) 347-9888
Toll Free Ordering: (800) 955-6757

Swiss chard under glass

Awhile back I wrote that at some point in the future I planned on doing an entire ebb and flow system with nothing but swiss chard, and I have.

The plants in the above photo were started on April 7, 2009, and they have been in the ebb and flow system for about three weeks. Although all of the seeds were started on the same day, there is a noticeable difference in size in these plants. The only explanation I can think of for the variation is: genes.

When I first thought of growing chard this way, I postulated that the shape of the plant, tall and slender, would be ideal for packing them closely together in the ebb and flow system. My thinking is that they would support each other, and not topple over. There are fifteen plants in this system, and so far so good. I estimate that this system is about 3 square feet in size, and it comfortably holds fifteen plants. I doubt that it would be possible to grow fifteen chard in soil in 3 square feet.

As I think about it, I really don't mind the variation is size, because I would most likely harvest four or five plants at a time. Another benefit of growing them in the ebb and flow system is that I can replace any plants that are harvested, and not disturb the growing plants.

There is another system that mirrors this system on the other side of the door, and I have reserved that for beet greens.

Eggplant Selection

The only plant I am growing in the greenhouse that did not meet my criteria of small plant large fruit is the eggplant, or aubergine.

I have never had real success with eggplant in my soil garden, and I thought that if I was going to try one in the greenhouse that I would make it well worth the effort. I looked for a plant with VERY large fruit. My garden book advises that you should cut the growing tip when the plant is a foot tall, and only allow five fruit to develop. I thought: why worry about the size if you are going to cut it off at a foot?

My selection was Florida Highbush, and the description follows:

This is an old variety bred in Florida in the 1940's for use in commercial fields. Named for its large upright plants that keep fruit off the ground, the truly special thing about this variety, however, is its enormous eggplant. Glossy blackish-purple eggplants are oval to oblong in shape and can easily become 10 inches long. Fruit sets throughout a long season and are perfect for grilling, frying, stuffing, baking or any other eggplant use.

I waited until the plant was about a foot tall, and actually was measuring it to cut it, when I thought I would go online and see if there was any additional advise about cutting the plant. In searching Florida Highbush I found that you should not cut this plant back. I am sure glad I checked.

The plant is not like any other eggplant I have grown; a thin tapered central stalk with fruit developing at different levels of the stalk. My plant is in an autopot fighting for light with the tomatoes. It is just now beginning to gain the height advantage over the tomatoes. There is one flower that appears to be about to open, and I guess I will tickle it with the artist brush. I have no idea if eggplant need to be pollinated, but I figure I will not hurt if I do. Better be safe than sorry....

Getting crowded

A friend who owned a greenhouse told me you should buy one twice the size of what you think you need. I am glad I did not listen to her advice, as I have all I can do to keep up with what I have.

The greenhouse is getting a little crowded though, and when the cucumbers begin climbing the trellis on the left side it will really resemble a jungle.

I have a variety of plants underway at this time: tomatoes, lettuce, chard, strawberries, peppers, cucumbers and an assortment of flowers. The chard seems to be doing very well in the greenhouse, so I may curtail most of the lettuce, and focus on chard and beet greens. I have never tried hydroponic beets, so this may be interesting.

Trying to grow lettuce along with warm weather vegetables under glass is getting to be a challenge as the season progresses. In an effort to find a variety that will tolerate the temperature I ordered a variety called Mignonette Bronze from Baker Creek Seeds. This is what they say about this plant:

"60 days. Excellent for hot and tropical weather, slow to bolt, frilled leaves, bronze-green heads. A superb type for the hot parts of the country, this heirloom was introduced in 1898."

The bush beefsteak tomatoes have been flowering for weeks. There are a few golf ball sized tomatoes, but mostly flowers. I have never grown plants that have remained in bloom for such a long period of time. They have been flowering for more than three weeks and show no sign of letting up. I have been tapping the trusses several times a day to set fruit, but they just seem to continue to bloom. Oh well, it is only mid-May, and there is a long growing period ahead. Besides, all the flowers are kind of cheerful....

Bush Champion cucumbers

Maintaining my criteria for growing small plants with large fruit I will be growing bush champion cucumbers in the greenhouse this season. This is what Burpee has to say about these cucumbers:

"You won't believe the large number of crisp, bright green slicers you'll get.

No room for vines? Bush types take one-third the space, so they're great for containers and raised beds. Bush Champion. 55 days. Huge 11" cukes make this our favorite mini. You won't believe the large number of crisp, bright green slicers you'll get from the pint-sized plants. Mosaic-resistant and productive. Proven tops for productivity, flavor and wide adaptability. Sun."

In retrospect I really wish I had started the seeds much earlier than I did. Next year I will start the seeds indoors in mid March rather than early April.

The plants in the above photo have been planted in an Autopot, however they will be top watered manually for several days.

As for being pint sized plants; it has been my experience that cucumbers grown hydroponically in the greenhouse do not remain pint sized for long. Well, time will tell...