Greenhouses to the Rescue

The past few months have been cold and VERY wet. Almost everyone is having issues with soggy soil that can't warm up enough to keep roots happy. Brassicas such as lettuce, kale, and cabbage can almost handle it, but not tomatoes and peppers as they need heat and consistent conditions to thrive. 

The tomatoes (left) were started from seed in early March, transplanted to

4 inch pots in April and put into the pots you see in May. By July tomatoes will be ready to pick throughout the month and into August. After years of trial and error by Dick Schneider at  Red Hen garden has devised the perfect conditions for growing a predictable crop of black spot and blight free tomatoes. This year the Red Hen volunteers are following his path to perfection with healthy results.

Last year the 43 pots in this house produced 423 pounds of tomatoes. By keeping records of which varieties produce the largest crops, a small space becomes more and more effective.

As the PNW climate changes, the more we are going to need greenhouses, row covers, and weather proof plants to mitigate wet springs or heat dome summers.