The end of the normal growing season

Today marks the end of the season for the “sustainable” greenhouse. Last night was the first night the heaters needed to run to keep the plants from freezing. (The heaters are programmed to turn on at 36F). My outdoor growing season ended just shy of 2 months ago so I’m still quite pleased with the extended growing season!

My definition of “sustainable” for this project is not having to add extra heat or lighting for the plants to grow, The other electricity for the pumps and automation is an integrated part of the greenhouse Aquaponics system and I classify that as part of the normal functions. ;-)

I still have peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce growing which should survive for the winter. Of course the cost to keep these plants alive will now skyrocket in electricity costs, but it’s still a nice treat to get a few fresh veggies during the winter.

Already looking forward for spring!

The last of the great cucumbers

I picked my last cucumbers today. The official stats are:

• 3 plants yielded 330 fruits for a total of 116.3 pounds (52.8kg)
• First fruit was picked on May 31st, last on Nov 7^th. Even though peak production was during the summer, this averages to around 2 fruits per day.

As a comparison, my regular dirt garden had 6 plants. I didn’t keep official results, I got no more than 20 fruits before the plants died off.

Overall, I was overwhelmed by this year’s results. Looking forward to next year already!