Drip system is complete!

I spent a sunny Tuesday installing the mister/foggers (one per flat) and a drizzly Saturday making the rest of the connections for the hanging baskets in the greenhouse and the flats on the second shelf below. I learned a couple of tricks along the way.

I attached the 1/2-inch mainline to the metal supports on the side of the greenhouse and used a plant hanger to arch it up over the tomatoes (toward the back).

Inserting the connector into the 1/4-inch tubing is a bit of a challenge. I learned to stick one end into a knot and then push with both hands to get the tubing over the connector. The knot held the tubing in place, freeing up my other hand. I got them all on, all the way. I also had a tough time getting the tubing going to the flats on the second shelf to bend the way I wanted them to, so I wrapped them in wire and then bent them into position. It worked moderately well.

For the hanging baskets, I ran 1/4-inch tubing from the mainline over to the baskets and used fogger/misters attached to a stake on each except the one above the fan. I don't want to spray the fan, so I used a dripper there. I haven't tested it yet since nothing needs water and it has been raining all weekend. In fact, I noticed that the self-operating vent does not quite close right now, so water drips in when it's raining and drowns one of my baskets. I slid the basket attachment up the ceiling so that the drips would miss it. The mister/fogger on the stake is angling upward now; I am hoping it will still do the job and not miss the basket entirely.

Today, I dug out a chicken light fixture to put my special grow light for the tomatoes in and hung it up. I not only have a cherry tomato up, but also a yellow tomato. There are also three others coming up in other places. I think they are in flats that had dirt in them last summer, so the tomatoes I had in the greenhouse all summer and fall must have dropped a few seeds here and there. Excellent!

My 24 tomato plants to be are bathed in the purple glow light. At 12 watts, it doesn't seem to be heating up.

Right behind and to the left of the Black Plum tag is the cherry tomato, and the golden tomato is to the left of the Ancho tag.

I put the light on a timer. It comes on at 2:30pm and goes off at 10:00 am. That way, it won't be on longer than 18 hours (recommended for the light), and the time that it is off is the brightest time in the sunroom and also when I will be watering. The timer I bought will do 20 on and off cycles. It would be a good one for the fan.I may switch it out with the one in the chicken barn because it apparently has two plugs I can program separately (i.e. one for the fan and one for the grow light).

The light has red and blue lights, so looking out at the greenhouse, it looks purple. Kind of pretty!

Besides the golden tomato being up, I have a teeny tiny impatiens up.

I don't even think you can see the little green seedling (the impatiens, it's to the right of the stake), but you can see the mister/fogger on a stake.

I noticed some slug damage on these little broccoli seedlings, so I put some organic bait out. I finally found the culprit, too. I think I see evidence of slug damage on the other side, too, so I'll have to put some over there, too.

For those of you unfamiliar with slug damage, the seedlings on the left should have leaves. Even the leaves of the one in front have bites taken out of them.

The daffodils we planted on a cold, rainy day in November burst open this week.

Wouldn't you know it? As soon as the daffodils start to bloom, the rain comes and weighs them down. I snapped this photo before the rain set in.