Essex Greenhouse

03/11/2024

Some good tips! who is ready to get in the greenhouse!

GOOD WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR HARVEST

Good Morning. I hope You and Your Family are staying Safe and Healthy. It is March 10th, and I can feel Spring on the way. When You Plant your Gardens, You will want to get the most out of them. Here are a few methods that might help increase your 2024 Season harvest:

1) VERTICAL CROPS
You'll find that some vegetables grow better with support. They do well on trellises, fences, and other structures. By growing up instead of out over the ground, your garden will produce more per square foot. Vegetable plants grown up on a support also tend to suffer fewer disease problems.

VEGETABLES SUITED TO VERTICAL GARDENING
TOMATOES-- Choose indeterminate varieties, which continue to grow and produce over a long period -- often until frost. Grow tomatoes in wire cages or support them by tying them to 7-foot-tall wood stakes driven 2 feet into the ground. Cage-grown tomatoes require minimal attention, but are more prone to fungal diseases. Tomatoes grown on stakes benefit from being pruned to a single stem; this means constantly pinching out new branches that arise in the crotch between the main stem and a leaf.

POLE BEANS-- Although they take longer to mature than bush-type beans, pole beans produce over a longer period. Train pole beans up tall wooden poles or a tepee of sturdy bamboo.

CUCUMBERS--Vine-type cucumbers (as opposed to the bush varieties) do well on fences and trellises. Vertically grown cucumber fruits also tend to be straighter and more uniform than those grown on the ground.

SNAP PEAS-- These super-sweet edible pod peas are among the most productive vegetables in the spring garden. By selecting tall vining varieties (such as the Sugar Snap pea), you can easily grow them on 5- to 6-foot-tall mesh trellises. Pick carefully to avoid damaging the brittle vines.

MELONS AND WINTER SQUASH--These long-season crops require heavy-duty support if you choose to grow them vertically. Larger varieties may even need slings made of cloth to support the fruit. You'll also need to tie the vines to the support using strips of cloth; avoid string or wire, which can cut into the vines.

2) EXTEND YOUR SEASON
There are two types of succession planting. Both are super easy!
The simplest form is to plant varieties that produce for a limited amount of time over a period of weeks. For example, instead of planting 40 corn seeds at once, you could plant 10 corn seeds a week over a four-week period. At harvest, this will give you corn for a month instead of all at once.

Here's another example: Plant bush beans every two weeks to ensure a continuing supply. If you want to have three crops, plant one-third of the bed every two weeks. Other crops that benefit from this type of succession planting include corn, carrots, radishes, and heading lettuce.

REPLACE SPENT PLANTS
The second type of succession planting takes a little more planning. It means that when a crop is done producing in your garden you take it out and plant something else in that spot. For example, after your peas are done for the season, pull out the vines and plant cucumbers in their place. The key to success of this system is to have a new batch of seeds or seedlings ready to go when the first crop is done.

This system works best when you are starting with vegetables that do well in cool weather, but not so well in summer's heat. In addition to peas, you can use this technique with lettuce, spinach, and radishes.

A related technique is to plant several varieties with different maturities. For example, you might plant an early-maturing tomato such as 'Early Girl' at the same time as a main season Beefsteak variety.

3) INTER PLANTING
This technique takes advantage of the fact that some vegetables grow quickly, while others take their time. For example, if you plant carrots and radishes together, you can harvest the radishes in about 30 days, when the carrots will still be quite small. Another option is to combine a vertical vegetable ( tomatoes, for example) with a low-growing crop (melons, for example).

Here are some Inter planting combinations that work well.
Grow melons and squash under stake-grown tomatoes.
Surround corn with lettuce or peas with radishes.
Combine quick and slow vegetables such as lettuce with tomatoes, beets with pole beans, spinach with winter squash, leeks with sweet potatoes, and radishes with sweet corn.

4) INTENSIVE PLANTING BEDS
You can save space by arranging plants in a grid pattern. The surest way to increase the yield from a vegetable garden is to reduce the space between plants. This is very similar to Square Foot Gardening. To start an Intensive garden, make raised beds of any length, but limit their width to 3 to 4 feet across so you can reach the center of the bed from either side. Although it's not necessary to box in the bed, this is a good idea.

When you enclose a bed with vertical boards, it's not only neater, but the soil won't collapse onto your paths. It also will be much easier for you to install row covers or erect supports for vertical growing.

Before planting the bed, prepare the soil by digging at least 8-12 inches and turning over shovel by shovel to loosen and aerate it. Add in organic matter, such as compost or manure. The more organic matter you mix in, the better. Then run lines of string to establish a grid. The grid will help you position young plants at the proper distance from one another.

Use a trowel or dibble to dig holes for transplant-sized vegetables. Gently remove the seedlings from their containers, then grasp the leaves to guide them while supporting root ball. Make sure to set plants in their holes at the same depth they were growing in your container. Firm the soil gently over the roots around the stem. This will help put the roots in contact with the soil. Make evenly spaced holes in the soil with your finger. if you are planting Heirloom Seeds directly in beds. Be sure to follow recommendations included with Seeds to know how deep to make the depressions.

Here at THE SEED GUY, we have a great 60 Variety Heirloom Seed Package that would work well for you.. All Seeds are Small Farm Grown, Non GMO, Fresh from the Fall 2023 Harvest, all individually packaged, and then put in a 10 x 14 silver mylar bag. There are 34,000 Seeds in the package, with a 90-93% germination rate.

**You get 49 Vegetable Seed varieties, and then 11 Heirloom Herb Seed varieties.** Great Pricing Now at $89. You can see the varieties included and ORDER on our Seed Guy website at https://theseedguy.net/seed-packages/50-60-variety-heirloom-seed-package.html

We also have 9 other Heirloom Seed packages, and all our individual Seed varieties in Stock on our website at https://theseedguy.net/15-seed-packages You can also Call Us 7 days a week, and up to 10:00 pm at night, at 918-352-8800 if you would like to Order By Phone.

If you LIKE US on our page, you will be able to see more of our great Gardening Articles, New Seed Offerings, and healthy Juice Recipes. Thank you, and God Bless You and Your Family .https://www.facebook.com/theseedguy

12/21/2023

The Winner of the Show Off your Essex Greenhouse and a $150 gift certificate from our friends at

Thank you for all that sent in photos

We will be doing it again next year.

Have a Merry Christmas!

12/13/2023

YOU CAN TEST YOUR SEED GERMINATION AT HOME

Have you ever wondered if some older Seeds you have are still good to plant? This would be good if you have some older Seeds you might want to check, or maybe some Seeds you saved from the Garden. Testing your Seed germination is the best way to know this. If you store your Seeds properly, you will be able to keep them viable, and with a high germination rate for years. You should know, before you start your Seeds indoors, or sow your Seeds in your Garden, how healthy and viable they really are. One way to know for sure, is to purchase your Heirloom Seeds from a reputable company like THE SEED GUY. We conduct our own tests, and only send out fresh Heirloom Seeds that can pass the muster. (We have Fresh 2023 Harvest Seeds Now)

Now, if you have old seeds, or are curious about the quality of seeds that you grew and saved, taking the time to do a home germination test might be a good idea.

HERE IS WHAT YOU DO:
1) Use a spray bottle, and mist down a paper towel until it is thoroughly wet.

2) You will need a sampling of Seeds for your test. The more seeds the better, but at the same time you don't want to use too many of them. It really depends on how many Seeds you have of each variety you are going to test. For instance, if you only have 50 Corn Seeds, then don't test 20 of them. I would say you should either test 10 - 20 seeds of each variety, or if you only have a small amount of seed, then no more than 10% of them.

3) Place seeds of the variety to be tested on one half of the wet paper towel, and then fold the other half over the seeds. Put the wet paper towel and Seeds in a plastic ziplock bag, and then seal it. You can use a black magic marker to mark the name of each Seed variety, amount of Seeds, and starting date on the outside of the bag.

4) The bag should be kept in a warm dark place; a cabinet above your refrigerator is a good place.. When you check on the Seeds from day to day, make sure the paper towel stays moist and doesn't dry out. You can mist it from time to time.

5) Seed germination varies for each variety, but after a few days--your seeds will begin germinating. You will have to keep a running tally on good and bad seeds as you do this. The count of the Seeds that germinate (sprout) will give you an accurate germination percentage. If a Seed germinates (sprouts) then it is counted as a good seed. If some of the seeds mold or don't sprout at all, then count them as bad seeds.

6) When doing this test, give your Seeds 10 days or less if they have all germinated before then. Count all your Seeds that have germinated (sprouted) in the sampling. If you tested 20 Bloomsdale Spinach Seeds, and 18 of them germinated, then your germination percentage would be 18/20 or 90%.

If your germination percentage is 80% or higher, then your Seeds will do just fine when it is time to plant them. If you noticed a lower percentage, like for example 50%, you can still make do with them by planting twice as many Seeds to get the harvest that you want. Keep in mind that older seeds, with lower germination percentages, won't be as vigorous or healthy as fresh Seeds. Sometimes your best bet is to toss out the old Seeds, and purchase fresher seed stock.

At THE SEED GUY, we always add a thick 10 x 14 silver mylar bag in our Heirloom Seed packages. Your Heirloom Seed packets, sealed in the mylar bag, will stay more viable and higher germination for 5-7 years in the refrigerator, and up to 10 years in the freezer. Seeds will last longer than this, but germination rates start dropping off quite a bit after the above stated time frames.

If you need some Fresh Heirloom Seeds, we have a great 60 Variety Heirloom Seed Package. It has 33,000 Seeds, Small Farm Grown, Fresh from The New Fall 2023 Harvest, and all Seeds are Non GMO,. You will get 49 Veggie Seed varieties, 11 Heirloom Herb varieties, and Good Pricing Now at $89,

You can see Seed varieties in package and ORDER on our website at https://theseedguy.net/seed-packages/50-60-variety-heirloom-seed-package.html ;

We also have 9 other Heirloom Seed packages, and all of our Individual Seed Varieties in Stock on our Seed Guy website at https://theseedguy.net/15-seed-packages

If you LIKE US on our page, then you will be able to see more of our great Gardening Articles, New Seed Offerings, and healthy Juice Recipes .https://www.facebook.com/theseedguy You can call us 7 days a week at 918-352-8800. Thank you, and God Bless You and Your Family. :)

12/07/2023

Great info

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12/07/2023

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11/23/2023

Show off your Essex Greenhouse Contest.

This week we will be posting customer's pics the customers pic that has the most likes over all the social media platforms win $150 gift card from our friends at Baker Creek Seeds.

Show your support and like and share you favorite setup!

11/22/2023

Show off your Essex Greenhouse Contest.

This week we will be posting customers pics the customers pic that has the most likes over all the social media platforms win $150 gift card from our friends at Baker Creek Seeds.

Show your support and like and share you favorite setup!

11/22/2023

This week we will be posting customer's pics the customers pic that has the most likes over all the social media platforms win $150 gift card from our friends at Baker Creek Seeds.

Show your support and like and share you favorite setup!

Editor's Note: This was a custom project, they had a ~20 year old Devon and needed it converted to a Lean-to to fit at their new home... challenge accepted!

They did an amazing job putting it all back together at there new homestead!