Dec 31, 2015
Folks will ask how much
would this greenhouse cost? Most of the parts can be sourced locally. Nancy at
Brown Dog Gardens has 10 foot by 12 foot frost blanket for $18. Johnson Feed
has 10 pound rolls of 9 gauge wire for $17.50. You will need some heavy duty
wire cutters. And Territorial Seed Company (territorialseed.com) has 10 foot by
16 foot greenhouse film for $47.95 plus shipping. I think Nancy is looking into
a source for the greenhouse film too.
Doing a search on the
internet Hobby greenhouses start at around $100. The least expensive ones look
to me as though one West Texas “breeze” would destroy them.
I would like to reiterate
that this green house would be for growing veggies through the winter. It would
not be practical to start seedlings in. For starting seedlings I use a light
table in one of my back rooms. For me this works very well.
Next week I will be starting
a series on the insects that I have encountered in my garden and what I use to
control them. I feel this is a good time so that you can become familiar with
the more problematic critters that would like to dine in your garden. This may be
a repeat but I find that repetition is one of the best ways to learn.
It is critical that you
identify the pest. Some insects might appear to be a “bad” bug but in reality
are beneficial. The larvae of the hover fly are one. The adult fly is a
pollinator but the larva (maggot) resides on the bottom of leaves, it is not a
pretty bug but it devours aphids. This guy can be killed without realizing the
good that it does.
Proper identification allows
one to learn about the bug and how to best control them. Control is desired,
complete eradication does not leave food for beneficial insects to feed on and
stay in the garden. This is a delicate ballet of good guys and bad guys.
For Identification, I like
to have a book that can be easily taken into the garden. Once identified, I use
the internet to learn everything I can to combat it. This has a means of
reinforcing the critter into you memory. My garden bug book is “The Texas Bug
Book” by Howard Garrett and C. Malcolm Beck, published by the University of
Texas press, Austin. It is available at Front Street Books. A little side
Howard Garrett is known as “the Dirt Doctor”.
This is not an all-inclusive
book but is pretty well covers the subject. This book also includes beneficial
insects too. This is very important so that you do not “shoot yourself in the
foot” so to speak. Knowing this you can encourage the good and discourage the
bad.
Happy gardening!
Questions? I can be contacted at markdirtfarmer@gmail.com. Or more
garden notes at redwagonfarm.blogsot.com
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