Greenhouse Microclimates

I just placed metal shelving in my greenhouse at different levels and place plants on shelves according to their need for light. For example, I place Catteleya Orchids on the top shelf because they need direct sunlight. In the winter, I place five 50 gallon water barrels in the greenhouse to keep up the humidity and to heat the greenhouse during the night by releasing the latent heat of water. I also have tropical fish tanks in the greenhouse and use the fish water to water the orchids. Click on this GREENHOUSE LINK TO VIEW MY GREENHOUSE

Vermiculture

In my greenhouse, I have a plastic tub, that I used to make a vermiculture composter also known as worm composting. Take a plastic tub and drill holes in the bottom of the tub and in the lid top. Place a another lid under the bottom to catch the moisture run-off known as compost tea which is the liquid that escapes from the vegetable material. By combining the proper mixture of shredded paper (carbon) with green material (phosphorus and nitrogen) one will get a soft fluffy soil made from worm castings. You should turn the compost pile once a week to get the compost worms moving through all the vegetable matter. If you do not get the right mix of paper ( carbon) and green material ( phosphorus and nitrogen), the compost will take on the odour of rotting vegetation. Carbon adds sweetness to the compost and removes any odour.

Seaweed

Seaweed is a fairly generic term that refers to aquatic plants that grow in the ocean, lakes or  ponds. In the fresh water lakes or man made lakes there is an accumulation of phosphates and fertilizers   from the run-off of farmers fields or the fertilized lawns of residents along the lakeside that allows the aquatic weeds to grow quickly and clog the lakeshore.  For example, at Chestermere Lake the municipality has a machine that cuts out the weed beds so the residents can water ski and boat. Residents who have property along the lakeshore periodically rake off the seaweed around their docks so they can launch their boats without getting the propellers of their boats fouled with weeds. The residents pile up the seaweed on their front lawn for garbage pick up. I realize that seaweed is rich in nitrates and is therefore a good natural fertilizer. I am experimenting with using seaweed as a natural fertilizer by chopping the weed into small pieces and burying the weed next to my garden plants as a slow natural releasing fertilizer. As the seaweed slowly decomposes it releases the nitrates that provide nitrogen for the plants. Moreover, the seaweed by its nature absorbs water and keeps the soil moist and helps retain water so the soil does not dry out.

Marine Science Institute

Marine Science Institute
The Marine Science Institute (MSI) is a series of training opportunities and tours that combine SCUBA Diving, Snorkeling, Sea Kayaking, and Hiking together within the contexts of marine and mountain ecology. It is a combination of adventure tourism and science.

Participants must be at least 15 years of age and meet the physical requirements of the PADI Open Water Diver certification program. One of the main goals of MSI is to allow individuals to participate in building and monitoring the life and health of artificial reefs on the Canadian West Coast.

In order to help these young people have the opportunity to study marine life in its natural setting, Mountain Tide Aquatics is importing greenhouses for the participants to sell. Each greenhouse sold will provide approximately $300 toward their training, equipment, and travel. Additionally, should the purchasers of these greenhouses wish to pay to have them installed then they will also have the chance for additional earnings by helping with that installation.

To order a greenhouse, email info@mtaquatics.ca and state which of the two models you would prefer. Sales in general will be handled through the Internet and PayPal. During your PayPal transaction remember to state which MSI participant you want to credit with the sale.

It is our hope that with every greenhouse sold that there will be a steady increase in the amount of organic produce grown. This is not only healthier for those eating this food but it will also result in fewer chemicals in our oceans such as pesticides and fertilizers. We hope that with all of our activities we can understand and improve reef ecology.











SP 812 $1000

 



SIZE(W*L*H)                       （All height exclude base) 2560*3746*2190MM
8'5"* 12'3"* 7'2"


SP610  $850

 


SIZE(W*L*H)                       （All height exclude base) 1950*3136*1950MM
6'5"*10'3"* 6'5"






Basic Info.

Cover Material: Polycarbonate Panels and Aluminum Frame
Layer: Double
Type: Production Greenhouse
Color: Mill Silver, Green Coated, Anodized
Door and Window: Sliding Door and Adjustable Window
Base: Aluminum Base or Galvanized Base
Parts: All Stainless Steel Bolts and Nuts
Warranty: Free of 10year Guarantee
Certification: CE



Main Features:

1. Panel: 4mm twin-wall UV-Protected new polycarbonate panels
2. Frame: 1.0mm thickness strong aluminum frame with gutter system
3. Peak roof design provides plenty of head room
4. Door & window: Sliding door with magnetic door lock and adjustable window.
5. Base: Aluminum base or Galvanized steel base for your option
6. Flat package with all parts, easy assembly


MSI participants will have access to a variety of opportunities including:


Open Water SCUBA Certification
Advanced Open Water SCUBA Certification
Snorkeling and Freediving Training
Sea Kayaking
Coastal and Mountain Hiking

West Coast Eco Camp and Reef Pod Placement
Quadra Island Marine Biology Dive Tour
Shuswap Lake Salmon Run Dive
Van Isle South Marine Eco Tour
Cabo San Lucas Marine Eco Tour
Surveyors Lake – Turtles and Bass


If you are interested in learning more about the Marine Science Institute and the related courses and tours, email info@mtaquatics.ca.

Cheers,

Dave Hartley
www.mtaquatics.ca
“So much fun you’ll wet yourself!”

Micro-climates

To grow plants successfully one has to find the climates that specific plants like to inhabit.

Growing Potatoes

In the third week in April, i noticed the found was warm enough to grow potatoes in the school courtyard so I chose the best microclimate in the courtyard conducive to growing potatoes.  I purchased some Yukon Gold seed potatoes.    Potatoes like to grow in mounds, so you should build a hill around your potato.  You can cut a potato in half in you need more potatoes to plant but just make sure there are one or two eyes on the potato.  The eye is actually a leaf bud.  Potatoes send out tubers into the ground so if you have a soft fluffy mound the potato will quickly send out tubers in all directions and grow potatoes.   It is now June 17 and look how big the potatoes have grown in just over a month.

Horticulture Blogsite: School courtyard : Before and After

I was given Horticulture to teach as a class in September 2013.  Our enclosed school courtyard by the library had been left derelict for the past 5 years,  What a great project for the Horticulture class to learn how to reclaim and landscape a green space into a sustainable environment .   The fall class had the duties of pruning the trees,  cutting and digging out the weeds and reconditioning the soil with sand.  The spring horticulture class would spade the soil again and remove the new sprouting weeds. The bedding plans raised in the school green house would be planted in the flower beds in the courtyard. In addition, we would plant sustainable gardens that would include: radishes, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard,    beets, corn, peas, beans, tomatoes and sunflowers.   I have decided to create a horticulture blogsite to help others consider reclaiming unused ground space to grow organic vegetables and  to learn to nurture houseplants.   http://mrleeshortilcutureblogsite.blogspot.ca

Garden Fundamentals

Garden Fundamentals include the following categories:
1. Soils
2. Climate
3. Botany
4. Plant nutrition
5. Plant propagation
6. Pest Control

Mission Statement

Horticulture is a fascinating subject that the inhabitants of Canada have limited knowledge. In our post-industrial society that has become increasingly a service oriented economy, people have distanced themselves from the land.  Growing and nurturing plants for food has become the domain of large corporate farms or the importation of food from developing countries. In a sense we have lost the ability to feed ourselves.  In our urban cities , we have arable land surrounding our dwellings that could be used to grow food to supplement our diet with organically grown food.  Moreover, we do grow flowers to add beauty to our yards.  In Calgary, where we have a four month growing period, the residents are the largest buyers per capita in all of North America in buying bedding plants.  Transplanting flowering bedding plants is big business. On more than one occasion all the bedding plants that are planted on the May long weekend, supposedly the last day where there is no danger of a killing frost have been destroyed by an untimely cold snap which is great news for the retailers selling bedding plants. Come spring the market is inundated with plants from Costco, Safeway, Lowe's, Home Depot, Rona, Golden Acres, Sunnyside and the surrounding nurseries. These plants that we buy are started as seedlings as far away as Kenya, Mexico, Ecuador, California and grown in the greenhouses of the Fraser valley in British  Columbia.  The environmental carbon footprint for importing bedding plants is enormous and we as consumers should be starting our own bedding plants from seeds.  By learning to grow our own plants we  will become a more environmentally responsible consumer.  Moreover, by learning to grow our own plants we will be able to reconnect to our natural state that will provide  a natural recreational and emotional relief in our urbanized lives to improve our quality of life.  This blog will explore different activities where one can grow one's own plants.  Creating indoor gardens in container pots that can be wintered inside the house during the winter months is another alternative or even starting your own bedding plants in the early month of April will create a unique natural lifestyle to reconnect with nature.   I am including a photo of a Zen Cactus garden, I made as an example of a low tech container garden that is low maintenance that adds color to your house and is aesthetically pleasing during the winter months.  Maintaining houseplants removes airborne toxins in the air while  contributing oxygen while removing carbon dioxide.