Category: Update

Posted on

Tuesday DWC Harvest 12/10/2024

On Tuesday I work on the Deep Water Culture (DWC) bed. Today I have a 24 hole raft full of Monte Carlo Romain lettuce that I’m harvesting.

I’ll harvest the 12 largest heads for New Hope Ministries “Market” food pantry in Dillsburg. So people can come in and get a fresh head of lettuce. We’ve got kale, beets, collards, carrots, broccoli, and lettuce growing. It was warmer today – about 45° when I got up this morning and it’s been in the mid 50s in the greenhouse. The lettuce weighted 9 pounds, that’s 12 – 12 ounce heads!

Once in a while the DWC bed must be cleaned to remove the fine solid fish waste that collects in the bottom. It’s been 9 to 12 months since I did it the last time. Today I got this whole bucket full of very fine solid waste. I’m just gonna put it in my compost pile out back behind the greenhouse to let it break down.

I also cleaned the Infusinator nozzles Today to keep the air flowing into the DWC.

Posted on

Day After Thanksgiving Greenhouse walkthrough

It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Dillsburg, PA! It’s 34° outside and about 48° in the greenhouse at 8:37 am. Today we have three rafts of lettuce growing in the DWC – “Monte Carlo” and “Chalupa” romaine from Johnny’s Seeds.

The wicking bed has a square of beats. Two squares of kale and some carrots, collards and radishes. The media beds have 5 squares of collards that are growing well, two broccoli plants, a pepper plant, although it’s kind of late for that. I don’t know if it’s going to make it. I have about a dozen milkweed plants that I’m starting. It’s probably the wrong time of year for that, but, hopefully I can get them through till spring and I’ll have some nice milkweed plants to put out in the yard for the Monarch Butterflies. I’ve tried to root some Rosemary and lavender cuttings. The Sedum cuttings are doing great. Cut the stalks, stick then in some potting mix and they grow. The lavender and the Rosemary doesn’t look too good yet. I don’t know if it’s going to take root or not.

The fish tank water heaters read 71 degrees. We’ve got 69.6 degrees on the tank thermometer. Two of the three heaters are on and heating right now. So, It’s not bad, it’s little humid in here. I opened up the back vent and took the insulation off the front door vent and set the exhaust fan to come on at 85 degrees. The thermometer in the rocks of the East media bed reads 68°. So things are doing pretty good. It was a cold night. Spraying a little watering on the Rosemary and lavender cuttings. They don’t take much water, but you have to keep them moist. That’s it for today.