Greenhouse project layout.

The greenhouse project will be divided into 4 rows.

Row 1: Which is closest to the flood floor will be allocated for herbs and HortClub members' garden or experimental garden.

Row 2: Cultivation of sweet pepper. (60 plants)

Varieties: Sweet bell peppers: green, red, yellow and orange.

Transplanting : The age of the plant to be transplanted is an important matter. Transplant a young plant with a well developed root system. An old plant is not advised. It will turn into a generative stage too early. Do not allow the plant to set fruit at an early stage. The aim is to create a "factory" first. Therefore you need a sturdy plant with a well developed root system in order to ensure sufficient vegetative development. After that the plant will be able to produce a good quantity of well developed fruits. A badly developed root system can cause blossom end rot.

Temperature: Sweet pepper is far more sensitive to temperature and moisture extremes than many other crops. After transplanting, the optimum temperature is approximately 23o C by day and 18-21o C at night.

Plant density : The number of shoots per m2 determines the plant density. Depending on the date of transplanting and length of the cultivation, 6 - 7 stems per m2 is advised. This means 3 (three) plants per m2 for the 2-stem system. For our experiment, there will probably be 60 plants per double row.

Yield:

Row 3: Cultivation of tomato (72 plants)

Varieties: Trust, Clarisse VFT, Camelia VFT, Sugar F1 Hybird Pitenza, Smarty, Conestoga.

Set up:

Tomato plants will be set up in a double rows system with all plants on one side of the double rows leaning over and trained in the same direction along that row. All the plants on the other side of the double rows will be trained upwards and leaning forward.






Overhead and side views of the double row system for tomato plants. Every plant in each side of the double row is trained in the same direction along the length of the row. Once plants reach the end of the row they are moved forward.


Temperature: Temperature should never dip below 18oC night or day or plants will not set fruit properly, and those that manage to set will provide poor quality fruits. Day temperature should be maintained around 23-26oC and night temperature about 19-20oC. Wider difference in day and night temperatures could be beneficial for fruit set, but also risky.

Plant density: Determining the plant density is a very important component of the greenhouse preparation and is directly linked with final yield. For the best results, each plant should be designated an area of 4 sq.ft. For our allocated area, there will probably be 72 plants per double row.

Yield: A good grower, who keeps the plants warm, fertilized, and properly pollinated, should expect 7-10 lbs or 4 kg per plant over a 4-month harvest period. This equals to 31.5 lbs/week. 20 -25lbs will be exclusively reserved for us (Greenhouse members), and the rest will be shared with the other HortClub members.

Row 4: Cultivation of cucumber (30-40 plants) , bean and zucchini (5-10 each)

Variety: Corona

Set up:











The cucumber set up will be a little different from the tomato set up. Every plant on each side of the double row will be trained in the same direction along the length of the row. Once plants reach the end of the row they are trained around and down the other side of the row.

Temperature: For cucumbers, temperatures should be kept between 23-25oC during the day and 20-21oC at night until the first picking. Exceeding the maximum temperatures can be used to cause some flower abortion and maintain the fruit-vine balance.

Plant density: Six to nine square feet of space per plant is required, depending on the variety and cropping system.

Yield: With good management, greenhouse cucumbers will produce from 20 to 30 pounds of fruit per plant over a 4-month harvest period, which equals to 37.5- 50 lbs/week.