Jay Birds Tomato Greenhouse

Ok now lets move on to another issue, my seedlings are in sad shape , well some of them . They were doing well the second set of true leaves looked healthy and vibrant , then they toppled like a tree being felled. The base of the stem right at soil level looks like a beaver chewed it its very thin and thats the point of break.

Any Ideas???

That's usually from a grub called a a cutworm. If you poke and stir around the stems, you sometimes will find a grub that's a little smaller than a June bug grub. This is your culprit. I don't always find the grub, but enough times that it's worth looking.

Yep...my lovely lettuce fell over the same way, and I found the cutworm curled up inside the hollowed out stem. Food for the magpies, that one.

Damping-Off
sounds like ===they are too moist with not enough air circulation which causes the main stem to rot at the soil line and fall over= dead. The stem turns slightly grayish at the soil line and the stem is very thin at the soil line.
If its chewed ===still green---could be cut worms but less likely if they are in sterilized fresh new soil in containers.
And could be a mouse if chewed.

After I posted , I did some research and Yes Carolyn it is damping off, I have plenty of air so I am guessing its too much water, LW does get carried away at times, I didnt use new potting mix I used a version of mels mix that may not have been a good idea it was actually the left overs from last years mels mix and potting soil reclaimed, wont do that again!

Tomato update:

Well after several weeks of bad weather , sweeping snow off the roof and adding suplemental heat and yada yada here are a few pics updating the progress.

Overall view of SFG maters under cover

A little fuzzy I was worn out a shaky




Newest addition this weekend, this is a rehabilitated stove for suplemental heat , note the state of the art blower system,

The trust tom's in the middle are doing great, the Blitz on the right are struggling, they got planted a couple of days before the 5-1/2" snow , they got a little chilly but look like they will come on out of it.

We have planted 432 more seeds, utilizing the little jiffy mini greenhouse with the prewrapped peat cells, (easy to transplant) thought i would try them ,, the 432 seeds consist of multiple variety's of flowers, herbs, cherry tom's , some borcolli, cabbage and lettuce. I am looking into building a fram over my summer garden to be able to support a shade cloth this summer, then make a cold frame next fall.

Who ever said SFG was less labor was crazy!!! I am working harder than ever , well gotta go got more boxes to build too! What would I do with my time if I wasnt gardening?

Wow, what a set up. Are you in business of selling seedlings? You have enough for an army.
Most SFGers find it less work because they have much smaller gardens than what I see you must need with all you're starting.
Love the greenhouse. Great place.

JayBird,
I been planning a shade structure too. Dunno when it will happen.
I have my ideas but haven't made them concrete yet.
We get so hot during the summer that even our sun loving plants need a little
shade to make it through the summer heat. (like tomatoes)
I told hubby that I wanted my entire square foot garden outside my backdoor
to be screened in------dunno if ill ever have the money to do that. screen is expensive.
But--- 30 % shade cloth is good too.

I am interesting in seeing how you tend to those tomato plants in the center of the Center Bed. It will be difficult if not unmanageable after they get really big.

Wishing you lots of good luck and warmer temps so the toms will grow.

Great thread. Much luck to you, JayBird. Great design as my thumb just turned green.......with envy.

Wow Jaybird, that's quite impressive! Please let us know how it goes.

We are expecting temps in the mid teens for the next couple of nights, I have the wood stove cranked up the electric heat on and a propoane space heater on stand by , I am actually worried at this point . with 70 degrees temps this past weekend the toms doubled in size I would sure hate to loose them due to a dad gum cold front, We have 6- 72 count trays of herbs started and 7- 72 count trays of flowers, if all goes well I will start 5 or 6 trays of peppers cucs and some other veggies in a couple weeks, place them all in the greenhouse in 4" containers and transplant mid march into the sfg outside garden all pending weather,,,,, I hope to have a 30 day jump on the other area gardeners that are still stuck in the mud this spring.
Isnt it great not to worry about soil moisture and getting stuck in the mud?

Prayin' for a successful campaign to keep your plants alive this week... and in general. Stay warm and safe!

@Jay Bird wrote:We are expecting temps in the mid teens for the next couple of nights, I have the wood stove cranked up the electric heat on and a propoane space heater on stand by , I am actually worried at this point . with 70 degrees temps this past weekend the toms doubled in size I would sure hate to loose them due to a dad gum cold front, We have 6- 72 count trays of herbs started and 7- 72 count trays of flowers, if all goes well I will start 5 or 6 trays of peppers cucs and some other veggies in a couple weeks, place them all in the greenhouse in 4" containers and transplant mid march into the sfg outside garden all pending weather,,,,, I hope to have a 30 day jump on the other area gardeners that are still stuck in the mud this spring.
Isnt it great not to worry about soil moisture and getting stuck in the mud?

Hope all stays warm...sending the warm to ya We like your greenhouse its an excellent model.
Ha-v-v

Well we survived the night 15 degrees this morning and 5-10 MPH wind,, had the electric greenhouse heater going a 600 watt space heater a propane space heater and the wood stove, inside temp stayed around 62 Deg but the plastic sheeting around the eaves was a sheet of ice. That was wierd. A guy across the road has given us a 35 gallon wood stove the kit kind , I think I will replace the smaller pot belly with it. 30 days electric bill was $285 and we had some severe weather last month, I am hoping the new stove will cut that in half. All the toms are looking really good considering.

Looks like a cold day today with plenty of sunshine!

Went home for lunch to check the greenhouse, wood stove almost out just a few coals electric heater off and temps were 82 degrees, I love the sun outside temp is upper 20's

don't ya just love it.......a greenhouse full of toms.....

how old are the plants now? Do you seed buds yet?

No buds yet but really soon I think,, made the first pass pruning suckers, and have started the string tying process,, the middle toms wont be difficult I have long arms.... moved all od the flowers and other veggies from potting shed to greenhouse this weekend no need in heating two structures, I built shelving for the seedlings and we have the new stove installed and functioning.

I cut and split about 1/2 cord of firewood yesterday in preperation of the next wave of cold,, Come on spring I am tired of this cold stuff!!