Garage shelf garden

Hi All!

I had a super successful first year raised bed garden this year. And with all the great warm weather at the end of the summer I had more tomatoes than I ever expected.

So now I'd really love to continue getting some of these great fresh veggies but even with a hoop house over one of the beds I know I'm very limited in what will grow.

I'd like to use my seedling starting system I put together last year and grow plants to maturity. Mostly I'm looking for things like basil and parsley, lettuce, and maybe try some of those mini tomato plants that are out there. My question is this. It's going to be out in my garage which while fully enclosed is not heated. I have fluorescent lights for each shelf but I'm pretty sure they do not put out enough heat to keep things like basil happy. Are there any recommendations for keeping these guys warm? I've heard conflicting things about heating pads and seedlings and since I'll be starting the plants from seed I'm just not sure where to start.

Any help or recommendations would be great!

Thanks
Corinna

What may give you some extra heat is strands of holiday lights. Some on the forum use them under hoop houses to keep them a bit warmer on cool nights. They should be especially cheap if you wait until January clearances to find some extras.

GG

I potted up a few basil plants and brought them into the house. They need heat as well as light to grow.
http://www.basilguide.com/growing-basil-indoors.cfm

You might need to sort what you want to grow between cool weather stuff that can handle a bit of cold and warm weather stuffs that can not take any cold. Basil is very cold sensitive. Trays of leafy greens would probably handle the garage well and thrive, depending on how cold it does get. You could do a special double insulated area for the warm weather stuffs. Some place with no icy drafts. Instead of heating the soil with a heat mat etc, maybe put several jugs of water in there and put them on the heat mat or circle with Xmas lights. That might make a gentler warmth for the plants.... just an idea I have not tried this.

I just measured a Rubbermaid tote, 20"X14", close enough to 2sf for me. I have some cilantro started in soil blocks and in the garden the chard is still alive. I am thinking of doing half and half.

My question is if it might be better to restart the chard from seed. I have never transplanted chard, does any one know how prone to bolting is chard that has been mature when transplanted and has lived through a heavy frost? Is the chard going to think this is spring now and time to make flowers?

I also have some Alpine strawberry seed in the freezer. I thought I would start them also in soil blocks and then into a smaller pot by themselves. I have never managed to grow them in the past. Any tips out there?

Turan ,
My chard grown in the normal garden soil bolted in the second season after being transplanted at 14 inches tall and suffering 14 days of minus 11oc early in the second season .
It also got very bitter and earthy as it took to the bolting a few months later in the May .
Alison & Holy refused to try and eat it and in truth the smell when cooking it stunk the house out with a very earthy stench .

Corinnaq wrote:Hi All!

I had a super successful first year raised bed garden this year. And with all the great warm weather at the end of the summer I had more tomatoes than I ever expected.

So now I'd really love to continue getting some of these great fresh veggies but even with a hoop house over one of the beds I know I'm very limited in what will grow.

I'd like to use my seedling starting system I put together last year and grow plants to maturity. Mostly I'm looking for things like basil and parsley, lettuce, and maybe try some of those mini tomato plants that are out there. My question is this. It's going to be out in my garage which while fully enclosed is not heated. I have fluorescent lights for each shelf but I'm pretty sure they do not put out enough heat to keep things like basil happy. Are there any recommendations for keeping these guys warm? I've heard conflicting things about heating pads and seedlings and since I'll be starting the plants from seed I'm just not sure where to start.

Any help or recommendations would be great!

Thanks
Corinna

A bubble wrap tent over the whole set up with an opening in the top to let out moisture shouild help keep the plants under the lights retain enough warmth .

What wattage are the strip tubes & how many of them are they ??

plantoid wrote:Turan ,
My chard grown in the normal garden soil bolted in the second season after being transplanted at 14 inches tall and suffering 14 days of minus 11oc early in the second season .
It also got very bitter and earthy as it took to the bolting a few months later in the May .
Alison & Holy refused to try and eat it and in truth the smell when cooking it stunk the house out with a very earthy stench .

Thanks. I made a guess along these lines and have started some seeds in soil blocks. I love chard in lentils for a winter stew.

You might try lining the back/sides if the area with reflective Mylar to increase the light and maybe heat retention. Check this thread for ideas:

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t5399-grow-station-the-beginning