It works!

Look at the clever greenhouse cucumber.

It is starting to climb the trellis.

And look...

it is already holding on.

Compare this with the other cucumber - 

in the same potting mix, but outside...

...and the poor little sod in the veggie patch.  

I hope this one is at least developing some fabulous roots.

 Here are some mixed salad plants grown from seed.

The first one is in the greenhouse, and the second outside.

This one isn't as easy to see.

It is the black pearl chilli.

The first photo is an early one 

taken a couple of days after I potted it up.

You can judge the size better in this photo. 

It is the pot on the right on the middle shelf.

The one with the blue tag.

I think it has put on about four sets of leaves...

doubled its size in fact.

Check out all those lateral shoots too.

We had a very warm weekend after a week of cool, overcast weather.  

It is always warmer in the greenhouse, even on very cloudy days.  

The temperature in there has been in the mid-20s to 30 C.

On the hot days, with the vents open and the blinds pulled, 

the temperature was in the high 30s.

Below top - 25th October
Below bottom - 10th November
(note the hanging basket)

You just wait till I show you the tomatoes, next week.
A hint:  WOW!

Keeping my cool - venting

People warned me about the addictive nature of greenhouses.  Only now, am I beginning to understand.  It is so pleasant in there... and warm.  Mmmm!

Melbourne is doing its 'Spring thing', with lots of fluctuating temperatures and sudden changes.  One day it may be warm and sunny with a top temperature in the high 20s or the low 30s (Celcius).  Or it can be like Wednesday, cool, damp and drizzly with a top temperature of 17 degrees.

However, the Fat Fruit Greenhouse is able to iron out the bumps in the weather.  I have a thermometer in there and the temperature, during the days, has been steady in the mid to high 20s...lovely for growing.  The soil in the pots is noticeably warm to the touch.

When it begins to heat up I can open the vent which runs the full length of the house roof.  This can easily be lifted by pulling a chain. See, in the picture below, it is open?

If it is an even hotter day, there are a series of vents along the top of the walls, under the eaves.  I can flip these open by hand, and they are held up with a magnetized catch.  The double door can be slid completely open or just cracked a fraction.

By operating the vents and the door,  the temperature in the greenhouse can be adjusted quite quickly.

And that's not all, folks...no there aren't any steak knives...

but there are two cord operated, shade-cloth, blinds.  

On sunny days, to cut back on the radiant heat, 

these can be pulled all the way or part of the way across the roof.  

As it was cool yesterday,  

the blinds stayed open, and the vents stayed shut.  

I checked the temperature in there several times,

and it was a balmy 23 to 26 degrees each time.

Just perfect for the gardener to have a little rest, 

with a cup of tea and a gardening magazine.

It is a hard life,

but someone has to do it.