Another greenhousing question

[dannyj]

Iv been meaning get on here and post this for a week or so now but iv been really busy


In my rubbish blow-away greenhouse iv got the following

melon
peppers
tomatoes
basil
cucumber
chilli
rocket
squash
aubergine
courgette
parsley
carrots
beetroot

few plant bulbs


The weather here has been shocking lately, what im noticing is alot of the soil in a few pots is starting to go a 'green' colour as if its mouldy?
any ideas or cures??

Im not too clued up on my virus and pests but i think my tomatoes are damaged a couple of leaves are browning on the tips

the courgettes are looking powdery too

going to dig the books out of the attic tomorrow just wanted people opinions

[chris]

The green is algae on the soil, from watering above. If you stand the pots in a tray, or saucer you can water into tray - the soil will wick the water up via capillary action and you won't have any green soil

The rocket doesn't need to be in the greenhouse, nor the carrots, beetroot or parsley now. I sowed all thsoe directly outside.

The squash will soon be taking off big time - so begin to harden it off if you haven't already done so.

The powdery stuff on the courgettes may be mildew (powdery mildew) - however it could be the colouring of the leaves, does it rub off? The leafes do have lighter veins running through them that does often look a bit like it. Lack of ventilation (put them outside too - harden off then leave 'em out to get on with things) will add to this -it does sound like your GH is overcroweded - the only thing I've got in mine now are a few seedlings, and tomatoes and 5 aubergines - I don't have room for anything else (well do, but it'd be too cramped in there! Air circulation around the plants will keep them healthy - overcrowding as mentioned will cause disease, which can lead to other nasties getting in the plant and ultimately the death of them).

Edit: you can scrape the algae off the compost, and put some more in if you like.. I don't think it causes harm (will need clarification on that though - I tend to water fromthe bottom whenever possible - if I have had the green tinge coming, I scrape it out and replace the compost).

The brown bits on the leaves - could either be scorch or possibly wind burn. When you're watering, if droplets of water are left on the leaves then sun hits the leaves, the droplets will act as little magnifying glasses and burn the leaves.

Wind burn is when the plant is too "soft" to stand up to the wind, and it damages the leaves.. I may have a picture of mine that have it, two secs...

Edit2: I put mine out to harden them off - the first day they got battered by heavy rain, then extremly hot sunshine, and to top it off it blew a gale later.. I thought they were sheltered but obviously not. I lost quite a lot due to snapped stems, but here's one that got a bit battered. They'll come through - may slow them down slightly, but when they're properly hardened off the "skin" on the leaves if you like, is much thicker and can deal with the greater variety of elements that are thrown at it and control transpiration a bit more.

Ah, found anothher too - check the seed leaves out on it:


and the original one I was on about, albeit a bit difficult to see:

[dannyj]

yeah it looks exactly like the pic - i will have a look in the morning see how things are

I pulled off the brown leaves on the tomatoes, there has been no warmth whatsoever up here its been chilly infact so the greenhouse has not been that great

iv got the carrots, beets and parsley in there to kick start them off - the carrots and beets are in pots - i did plant some out but the beets got overcrowded with and unusual weed and carrots again was a pain to weed around - i abandoned the beds last year and alot of things in that bed ran to seed

il get some pics up asap[

[chris]

I plant my beetroot out after sowing them a pinch in modules - they're all crammed in there They'll push each other apart, but yes weeding is a bit of a pain (as I've just found found)

Carrot seedlings are easy to spot, so I weeded when small - the foliage soon shaded out any other that made their way into the pots.

I lost a few more pumpkins since posting - the wind has been quite bad here - so I've surrounded them all by tall pots on my decking now - until they're properly hardened off it is a bit of a chore to mollycoddle them, but worth it in the end

[rogesse]

Unless you've got a really big greenhouse, I'd put the courgette outside. Last year I grew two courgettes in a 2.5m x 3m blow away and had to literally fight my way in they grew so big!

My courgettes, butternut squash and pumpkins are hardened off and in the ground but I'm a lot further south than you so I'm a couple of weeks ahead in the growing season.