I need a greenhouse stretcher.

With Easter being so late this year, the greenhouse is almost completely full and I have a lot more plants coming in.  I think we will have to use the back greenhouse. I would prefer to keep everything in the big houses so we can keep an eye on growing conditions, however, that isn' possible this year.  Here are the latest pictures of the greenhouses.  Notice the Easter Lilies are starting to bloom.  They are a bit ahead of schedule, so I am now cooling that greenhouse down a bit.  The hydrangeas are starting to color up.

Lots of 4.5 inch plants that are pre-sold.

6 pack

and sometimes we grow dandelions...no worries it will get removed prior to shipping

6 inch geraniums are phenomenal

hydrangeas coloring-up

a few early bloomers... they got sold this morning.

We are almost finished with the 6 pack transplanting.  From there it is time for tomato and pepper transplanting.  I still have to sow a few onions.  If you have never tried growing onions from seedlings, you are missing out on some really great sweet tasting onions.  One of our favorites is called Candy.

Punching Plugs - IT'S SPRING!

In this edition of the blog, I am focusing on our transplanting activity.  In the old days, we would sow seeds in a flat.  The seeds would be broadcast in the flat and allowed to germinate. When it was time for transplanting, we would have to take a chunk of seedlings and soil and gently untangle the roots.  Each seedling would have to then be hand dibbled into the pot or cell tray.  Dibbling is punching a hole in soil to allow the roots to enter the soil undamaged.

Back in the early 1990's we transitioned from broadcasting seeds to placing the seed in individual cells.  We have special seed sowing machines that allows us to move efficiently with this process.  Germinating plug seedlings helped speed up the transplanting process, but nothing has sped up the process more than our Punch-n-Grow, transplanter.

The transplanter punches the seedling plug through the bottom of the cell.  The cell bottom has an "X" cut that allows the small plant to move through.  Underneath the plug tray is bedding plant flat.  Our flats have 6-six packed trays.  In other words, we punch 36 plants with each stroke of the Punch n Grow transplanter.  The pictures will show you better than I can explain in words.

here are a few shots of the greenhouses this afternoon

As you can see, I am running out of space. The back greenhouse is going to get utilized this year, where we will grown bedding plant flats.

The easter lilies are maturing right on schedule