JANUARY/FEBRUARY
New year. here we go.
I have spent early January cleaning greenhouses with Jeyes fluid at
the recommended strength for greenhouses. Pots and trays have also been
cleaned, a real cold job but done now!!!!! I have brought the sulphur fumer out of hibernation and put it on for 36 hrs, hoping this along
with the Jeyes fluid has killed any nasties lurking out of reach in the
greenhouses.
Next job was to separate the large greenhouse. This I do with with
a large quantity of bubble polythene, this means I only need to heat
half the greenhouse, where the propagators are. I have switched on the
propagators. two are 3 foot x 4 foot, one is 8 foot x 2 foot. One
propagateor is a heated mat of hot beds the other 2 are heated cables set
on a bed of sand. The temperature set at 20° centigrade. I then
have the task of hot water treating the tubers, this is done by
immersing the tubers in a 10% dilution of bleach (the well known brand) domestos for fifteen minutes at a temperature of 15°-17° centigrade, then
plunged in cold water. Tip: do this when the wife is out and well
away form HER kitchen. The compost I use for starting the cutting tubers
is Levington F1, low nutrient and 40% perlite. For the
adult tubers I use Levington M2 and 40% perlite. My tubers are started
off in 6 pack trays and pan pots dependent on the size, this I do as I
do not like to disturb the roots when potting on. The cutting tubers
were put on the hotbed the 1st week in Feb, along with some of the
adults that were starting to pip. I find now is about keeping the
compost moist but not saturated, and the air temperature at 10°
centigrade.
Its now about watching, looking and waiting.
Photos were taken mid August last year of the front garden
The other 3 were taken today are of the propagator, separation and
cutting tubers starting to pip.
