Already this Year, I have sown many seeds, and there are still many to go. Many seedlings are taking root in my warm, bright greenhouse. My first experience with greenhouse growing was in the spring. I spoke about it with Craig LeHoullier, an expert tomato grower and seed starter, and we shared updates on seed starting.
Joe Lamp’l, 301-Seeding Starting Updates this Year vs. last Year and more, with Craig LeHoullier
Craig is a North Carolina resident who has been gardening since 1981. He is the author of “HTM0_ Epic Tomatoes,” – a book about growing tomatoes. He also wrote “Growing Vegetables In Straw Bales” and is the tomato advisor to the Seed Savers Exchange. He’s also the co-leader of the Dwarf Tomato Project. Craig and I jointly lead the Online Gardening Academy Course Creating Epic Tomatoes.
This time of Year I am thinking about tomato seedlings, and the dense plant technique that Craig recommends. Now was the right time to catch up with Craig and welcome him back to the podcast.
Craig and Sue were both diagnosed with COVID in January. This Year has been slow for them. Craig has decided to stop traveling for talks and presentations but is still busy learning and trying new things.
Diverse Busy
Craig is always busy but anticipates that this season will be “different busy.”
Craig has a large seed collection and receives a lot of emails asking for seeds of various varieties. He received 300 requests for seeds in 2022 and 2023, with many asking for 5-10 samples. Although it takes time to find and package the seeds for mailing, he is finally done with this activity for the Year.
Craig already has greens, beets and chard. He also has collards and slow flowers such as snapped dragons and pansies. These plants are densely planted and will soon be transplanted.
Additionally, he has two batches of tomato, chilis, and eggplant in production. One uses seeds that are between 10-12 years old.
He says, “I have created this wild set tomato family trees and I always try not to go back as far to get something that is truest to what I was sent.” So I have a flat of oldies that will take about eight to ten days to germinate. If they germinate at any rate, it could take up to 12 days.
Because of local opportunities, he is now able to grow many more plants than he had planned.
He says that COVID has primarily ended and Hendersonville is now trying to tap into me for a resource.
He will be giving a series of talks to local garden clubs and other groups. A veterans healing farm is also allowing him to use their greenhouse to grow 120 tomatoes there.
This is not all.
He says that a local farm wanted to try dwarf tomatoes, so I gave them 10 seeds of each 20-variety variety.
Craig and I were close friends for two years while working together on Growing Epic Tomatoes. But, he pointed out that we will now be more parallel and touch base occasionally.
He also appears over Zoom for various groups, including one in Texas. However, he states that he declined an offer to travel from Arizona to appear because he is a “homebody” and won’t travel for events.
He said that his new plans are a “different kind of music, maybe but still lots of music.”
Gardening is a wonderful thing. No two years, and certainly no two days are ever the same. Craig is a great example of someone who finds new ways to make his gardening experience interesting.
How having a greenhouse has changed my approach to gardening
Craig expects temperatures to drop to 25 degrees F in his garden, with 20-mph winds. This will make for extreme windchill temperatures. This will happen after the star magnolias have bloomed, saucer magnolias have bloomed and the daffodils are in full bloom.
He says that the plants are still not adapting to changing weather patterns. It is always a bit disappointing to see something so beautiful and then find out it will be brown.
As I become more comfortable with raising seedlings in my Yoderbilt greenhouse, which is something all greenhouses are known for, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep the greenhouse warm over night. I have brought propane heaters to provide heat for my cool-season crops, tomato, and pepper seedlings when the temperature drops to 27 degrees F. I am currently working to insulate the greenhouse.
Craig asks a fascinating question: How does this greenhouse change my gardening approach? And how can I incorporate it into my regular planting and growing habits?
Seed starting in a greenhouse is not an easy task. I have been seed-starting indoors under lights for many years and feel very comfortable doing so. The greenhouse is a compliment to my indoor work.
The controlled environment inside is a great place to grow, especially in July, when I can start cool-season fall crops indoors. This is something I wouldn’t be able to do in a greenhouse.
I am still seed starting under grow lamps, then I move them into the greenhouse as fast as possible. The greenhouse receives 70% of the full sun so my seedlings will not be cooked there.
It’s difficult not to be out there at least 20 times per day because the seedlings are growing in such a spectacular way that it’s difficult not to take photos. This greenhouse is a wonderful addition to my life. It is everything I hoped for and more. That’s a huge compliment!
Because peppers take longer to germinate than other seeds, I usually start them around the first of each Year. They tend to sit there. Mid-April is when they are only an inch tall. That’s not impressive enough to sell my annual seedling sales. It’s easy to explain why they take off when it gets hot while giving away these small things.
These pepper plants look amazing in my greenhouse this Year. We are hopeful that the same will happen with my tomato plants. It’s quite dramatic, seeing my plants under grow lights and seeing them in a greenhouse.
How to manage heat and pests
Pests love to live in warm greenhouses. My strategy is to use Earth’s Ally rosemary oil, a natural oil that smells great and coats soft-bodied insects. If beneficial insects don’t appear on their own, I might bring in beneficial insects from an insectary.
Craig claims he will be watching from not far away and vicariously managing what I share about it.
Craig is concerned about the impact of climate change on tomato growers.
He says that indoor gardening is an option if it becomes too hot for tomatoes to be grown outside due to pollen death.
He explains that this includes cooling down plants to maintain a comfortable temperature.
Already, I am wondering how I will cool down my greenhouse this summer. The greenhouse can reach 90 degrees or more when it is 46° outside. The greenhouse has windows that I can open, as well as a back vent for hot air to escape. But what about when it’s 90 degrees outside?
