WOW! nice job. looks like an awful lot of work, but it'll pay off nicely i'm sure. Congrats!

Whoo hoo! Nice work Joe! Thanks for sharing the photos. The new fluffy dirt and crisp path look awfully satisfying and full of potential. Dealing with your soil looks like not a lot of fun, so bringing in new stuff (I assume that's what you did) is a good move.

What are you going to plant in there? Have you been raising seedlings inside this spring? Was it super hot in there while you were working? Nothing like doing backbreaking labor in a sunny greenhouse - very hot!

Anyway, congrats for a beautifully executed project. I am looking forward to seeing photos of vigorous plants in there.

Karin

Karin,

The soil that we removed was certainly NOT my idea of a good time! ;) It was pretty hot, but with the door, the window, and the vents open, as well as a fan constantly blowing fresh air in, it wasn't too bad.

For seedlings, we have Stupice tomatoes (for saucing), Brandywine tomatoes, zucchini (will likely be moved outside in a month or so), squash, basil, kale (growing outside), garlic, potatoes (outside), carrots, onions, and will be setting up a spot to grow pole-beans sometime this week. I will also start some pumpkin seeds in about a month, I think.

I think whatever space is left over after everything is in the ground will be used for strawberries this year.

Nice Joe!

I've never tried Stupice tomatoes for sauce - are they good for that? Sauce tomatoes are a key plant around here. Sounds like you have a nice well-rounded set of plants to go in. I would imagine that pole beans will go crazy inside the greenhouse. But it's so easy to tie strings from the ceiling and let plants climb them. Kind of fun to see how fast things grow.

We've had great luck getting year-round carrots from our greenhouse and I'll bet you can do that too. They seem to really like it in there.

All the planting will be easy and pure fun now that all the hard work is behind you.

Karin

Your installation looks gorgeous ... and I can appreciate the massive amount of work that you put into it !

I like what you did with the inside. Exactly what we hope to accomplish here. I guess the wise decision is to dig and back fill before construction. Thanks for the information.

Great job! Any chance of seeing the final results? You and Karin_mt have inspired me to get a Riga V. I am so excited for fall to come around.

Yay, another Riga coming our way! Fall is a nice time for infrastructure and construction projects around the yard.

Joe, I'm looking forward to seeing how your plants are doing in their new homes.

Here the greenhouse is getting emptier as all the seedlings are getting planted outside. As usual, I am pleased at the healthy, stocky seedlings we can grow in the greenhouse.

Inside the greenhouse we have 4 tomato plants in the ground beds and we have only a few bags of frozen tomatoes left from last year's haul, so we are looking forward to a repeat performance from the San Marzanos.

We've also got carrots, lettuce, carrots and green onions growing in the beds, with peppers to be planted this weekend. That will complete the planting for this spring. Fun!

I'd love to see more pictures of both Rigas for additional inspiration. Although I still look at the old ones every couple weeks. I am probably going to get my Riga V at BJ's for $5255 plus tax. It includes top and bottom shelf and base plus 4 automatic windows.

Hi Deuce,

Sounds like a great plan and price. 4 vents will be nice, but just watch out if the vents are positioned in the upwind direction. The wind can force them open and break the automatic openers. I don't know how windy your site is, but that's worth thinking about.

I'll see if I can take any good photos this weekend. If so I will start a new thread. I have some stonework to work on over the weekend and if by chance I get it done in between snow showers (!) I will happily show off some photos.

Karin

Huh, I wish I could go back and edit my posts. I meant to say RIGA V, and not RIGA IV.

I'm surprised how many people responded since I last checked in!

I took a couple pictures today to satisfy the curiosity of those waiting to see how things are growing.

Lettuce planted outside:
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Lettuce planted inside, same day:
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Tomato planted outside:
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Tomato planted inside, same day:
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Whole greenhouse:
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Pole beans are coming up nicely, but we lost one:
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Two rows of basil coming up, extending the whole length of one side:
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We are going to have a LOT of cucumbers:
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Will need to thin out the watermelon:
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We are currently considering getting rid of the soaker hose, and going with some kind of spray system mounted on the rails of the GH. With the soaker hose, we are finding that the water doesn't quite extend as far away from the hose as we had hoped.

Where can I get seeds for the money tree you planted?
Great pictures!

7Deuce, money-tree seeds can be bought at Seeds of Change. :D

Very limited time, and you have to know the secret handshake.

Wow, that looks great! The plants look so happy and you have $5 bills sprouting like weeds.

If I look at the pictures and squint I can see that you will have an awesome jungle on your hands in about 2 months. Do you have a means to support the tomatoes when they outgrow their cages? I've had great luck twining my tomatoes around strings that are tied to the ceiling. And yes, the tomatoes will grow straight to the ceiling and then some. :) Same goes for the cucumbers, you can tie one string for each vine from the ceiling and drop it to the ground and then wrap the vine around every so often. Cucumbers can become a huge tangle and take up a ridiculous amount of space, so every so often you might find yourself thinning and pruning some. But boy do they love the greenhouse environment. I don't even bother trying to grow them outside anymore.

I'll be curious to see how your strawberries do. I've had no luck with them here because it seems like every living creature wants to eat them. Being in the GH should solve that problem.

Thanks for the photos and updates. It's really fun to see what other people are doing with their greenhouses.

Karin

Ha, I wanted to give something visible to help compare sizes from the plants growing outside to the ones inside, and the $5 bill was the closest thing I had handy!

I have some lengths of chain to hook into the rails. The current plan is to hang a hoop or maybe some mesh for the tomatoes to grab onto.

For the cucumbers... you grow those vertically? Brilliant! I bet a short section of 6-foot chain-link fence would do just the trick!

I think I will take new pictures once a week or once every other week and post them just to help track progress. I know that we went overboard with planting, and a lot of thinning will need to be done, but it's hard to say no when there's an inch without a seed in it!

Oh yes, growing vertically is a neat way to capitalize on every cubic inch of your greenhouse. The cucumbers will grab whatever they can hold on to (last year they wrapped some tendrils around the radio antenna), so it's easy to keep them off the floor.

Tomatoes will need guidance. They don't grab on their own. Tomorrow I need to set up the strings for my plants so I will try to post a picture.

I think it's great that you have tons of stuff planted in your greenhouse. That's a smart way to find out what works, and thinning is not so hard. I will look forward to watching your progress as we collectively count the days until that first ripe tomato!

wow, great update on the planting. Getting your feedback on the soaker hose issue is helpful for the preplanning.

Looking forward to additional updates. The good and bad. Also how effective are the automatic window openers? Any issues with high winds?

Julia

Julia, so far the soakers are working better than I initially thought. The soil immediately underneath the soaker hoses appear wet, obviously, but it didn't seem like there was much spread under the soil.

The watering times were increased to 15 minutes, and now I'm finding that while there are a lot of patches that appear dry, it's quite moist just under the surface.

On to picture updates! These were taken last Friday, so I've been slow in uploading these.

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Looks Great! We are growing in pots in our Riga V and just purcased a drip line, mister and timer to help us water. Got to love the RIGA:)

Great progression photos.
I'd like to hear your thoughts on the automatic roof openers if you have high winds in your area. Any issues?

Julia

Julia,

We get some pretty high winds in the spring and fall (maybe 80mph gusts).

We had both vent openers on the south side bend until the curved section was straight, then they snapped. They held up to these winds through the fall and didn't break until halfway through the spring winds.

RIGA recommended using two of these openers per vent to prevent this exact thing from happening in high wind areas. We assumed we could get by for a year or so before ordering 4 more openers, and we assumed wrong! I had purchased 2 additional openers in November, and just had not installed them yet... they are now installed as the replacements.

For the rest of the windy days, we tied down the vents so they could only open a few inches at most. This seemed to work pretty well.

We have high winds and automatic vent openers, and yes, we have had a few problems. The roof vents are supposed to go on the leeward side of the greenhouse, because if they vents are pointing upwind the wind will get under the vents and pull them open, which breaks the openers. Even though ours are on the lee side, they have still broken a few times.

Our new solution is to really be vigilant about disengaging the openers when either a) we're having really bad storms, or b) wind is coming from the opposite direction as normal, thus pulling the vents open.

We also added a lockout mechanism so that we can latch the roof vents closed. That's needed because once the vent openers are disengaged, then there's nothing to prevent the vents from being blown open.

I hope that's helpful!

Karin

Mini update!

Something has been munching on the lettuce, so I retaliated and ate a bunch of it for dinner:
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The one outside is still... alive.
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Cukes are coming up nicely:
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These toms ought to be ready soon:
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At their current rate, these will only be a few weeks behind!
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Basil is coming up slower than expected. Already have a couple of strawberries that can be seen as well.
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So lovely!
Your plants look great and everything looks healthy and happy. What kind of lettuce is that?

Thanks for the update and taking the time to share your photos. I'm traveling now and I miss my greenhouse and am wondering how big the plants will be when I get back.

Anyway, thanks for the update Joe and keep it coming! :)

Karin

Thanks for the information on the roof vents and what you did to fix the issue.

Your veggies are looking real good. Can't wait to see more pics especially the toms start ripening.

Julia

Karin, I actually have no memory as to what kind of lettuce it is. I can't find the packet. It's the "tasty" variety. ;)

I think I may wait a few weeks until the next round of pictures. I suspect at this point there really isn't a whole lot going on that is worthy of weekly updates. Though, I'll certainly snap pictures on request if someone wants to see them.

There are so many pictures on this page that it's starting to take a long time to load!

Time for another update!

I have been cutting leaves off the lettuce regularly for salad, but it hasn't seemed to make a dent:
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Tomatoes should start ripening fairly soon:
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I haven't figured out what's causing the leaves to turn yellow, but these sure are producing quite a bit:
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The brandywines haven't gotten very tall, yet, but they are getting there:
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Basil:
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Cucumbers:
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Pole beans:
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Both the pole beans and the tomatoes are having issues with yellowing leaves. I've seen several people here having problems with the pole beans turning yellow when planted from seed, and it turned out to be a self-fixing issue. It seems that the upper leaves are a darker green, so I'll wait and see.

The tomatoes, I'm thinking I either need to feed them or it's time to put up some shade. Most days it sits between 70-80 degrees, but on the sunny days it gets into the 90's with the doors and vents wide open. Suggestions are welcome.

Nice Joe! I am enjoying your updates very much, so thank you for taking the time to share with us.

I agree that the tomatoes look like they could use some feeding. The overall yellowish cast might be a nitrogen deficiency.

What's your soil like? I know that you imported it. It looks like there might be a very high percentage of organic matter, which might be temporarily tying up your available nitrogen. Did you put in any fertilizers to start with?

The lettuce looks great! It also looks like it might be getting ready to bolt so you may want to harvest the whole head before it turns bitter. And then you can turn to your outdoor lettuce which is probably a couple of weeks behind, which extends your harvest nicely. :)

Karin,

No fertilizers yet, though I did give the toms some fish fertilizer for nitrogen after posting the pictures.

The soil is a 5-way, and I have a data analysis sheet for it, but unfortunately it's not handy. You are right, though, and it does have a high amount of organic matter.

I've already pulled one head of the lettuce and I'll be pulling another one this morning and taking it camping. I don't imagine it will have a good time sitting by the fire and having a drink, so I'm just going to have to eat it instead. ;)

I'm going to have to figure out what lettuce was used... I haven't been able to find the seed packet, so it's highly possible it got thrown out and I'll have to get some more seeds.

Hi Joe,

Camping with home-grown lettuce? How highbrow! :)
So yeah, I'm guessing you have a bit of a nutrient deficiency going on there. That's easy enough to fix though. You did the right thing for the short term - use liquid organic fertilizers like fish or kelp. Meanwhile, you can add some granular organic fertilizer to the soil to give you a longer-term boost. You can side dress with it now and then dig more in as you replant stuff.

I use Nutri-Rich 4-3-2, so it's balanced and not too strong. But perhaps you'd want one with a little higher nitrogen?

As for the lettuce variety, I've found that it's fun to try lots of different varieties. Since it matures so quickly you can try new ones several times each year. Last night we had our first 'Summercrisp,' and indeed, it was crisp! My husband loved it. Still my all-time favorite is Buttercrunch. But I can't help myself from buying new kinds all the time. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Nutri-Rich pelleted fertilizer

Do you use a moisture meter for testing the soil as to how much is actually getting to the root of your plants? I've heard, no expert here, but too much or too little water causes yellowing as well as what karin mentioned about deficiency.

Thanks for the update.

Julia

You are quite right Julia! My guess of nutrient deficiency is also based on the fact that the plants look undersized since Joe's previous posting, and by the look of the soil. The soil looks like it has lots of ground bark (akin to "soil pep") which is great stuff but would need extra N.

But yes, many things can cause yellowing leaves so it can be hard to diagnose. So you have to use a combination of factors to hunt for the right cause.

Joe: Any updates? :-).

Julia

Julia, good timing! I was just coming here to give an update.

From the last pictures I posted, there has been very little change. I've been getting a couple tomatoes here and there, the onions never came up, the melons never got any larger, the tomato plants didn't get any larger (two were Brandywine and I was expecting 9' tomato plants!), some of the beans popped up (though most stayed the same), and the cucumbers are soooo small (they do have some cucumbers developing, though).

From some of the comments here, and from having a master gardener check it out, the current determination is that the problem lies in the soil. The thought is that the soil was still "hot" when we bought it, and as Karen said above it still needs some time to break down.

Once the tomatoes stop producing, I'll begin pulling things out that won't survive the winter, till in some compost, and try again next spring! I might be able to get a few things started for the winter (brussels sprouts, maybe?), but at this point I'm thinking to just be patient and wait.

Joe, I've been thinking about your soil dilemma. First of all, I'm really sorry your veggies didn't prosper this year. It's good that you had a master gardener check it out.

I would not recommend adding compost to your soil - the last thing you need now is more organic matter that needs to break down. Instead I would add blood meal. That's pure nitrogen and it will help the organic matter in your soil break down quickly. After you add it keep the soil watered and as long as it's warm you should get some nice activity in your soil. That's what I do to my compost tumblers when it's time to let them digest and complete the composting cycle.

In the spring I would add a granular balanced fertilizer and hopefully that will do the trick.

In the meantime you can grow a big crop of fall greens in windowboxes or other containers. We are just approaching prime lettuce season again. (yay!)

Good luck and keep us posted!
Karin

Hello Karen!

Thanks for the advice!

Interestingly enough, we've been making compost since this project started. The first finished batch was put outside, and everything that it's come into contact with has been growing like crazy!

All the usual compost-friendly table scraps have been going into the bin, in addition to an organic compost-accelerator, horse manure and used brewing grains (I brew beer). After I put the first batch of grain in the bin, it really took off like nothing else I've put in there!

Would the composition of the compost make any difference in how easily the nutrients are easily available for growing? At what point should compost be mixed in with the soil?

Hmm, interesting question.

First of all, it sounds like you have amazing compost - congratulations on that because that's not easy to achieve!

Secondly, I am not totally sure of the answer. I think that yes, the composition of the compost would make a difference. If the compost is fully digested and doesn't have a lot of organic matter that still needs to break down then perhaps it would help.

Obviously I don't know the full details of your soil - but it looked from the photos like there was a lot of organic matter that still needs to break down. Fertilizer is one way to do that but maybe some sweet compost would do the same. Maybe both? Certainly the fertilizer will have more nitrogen and more power to break down remaining organic matter. But the compost probably brings other benefits, such as a happy microbial community.

Either way, certainly let us know what you do and how it works. And keep up the great symbiosis of beer and compost! :)

I really like the design of this greenhouse. It looks like it's a good shape to shed snow here in New England. Looks great. Is there anything you would do differently since you put it up.

Hello TMC,

On the Riga website, there are several pictures of the Riga completely buried under snow! I bought mine for the structural integrity as well, since I get some pretty spectacular wind storms.

The first thing I'd do differently would be digging out the sod prior to putting in the foundation, and not the other way around. Making sure everything is perfectly square and level is also very important. The only other thing that comes to mind is that I should have paid closer attention to what Karen has suggested!

Joe