Published on Saturday, October 19, 2024

 




Well, the greenhouse is almost done. Okay, all except for windows which are going in this week. And my plants are extremely happy.

In fact, the orchids are so glad that the Cattleya that I purchased from the orchid show is budding! Now, however, I am hearing cautionary tales from just about every gardener I meet.

My greenhouse is in the sun all day long and I thought I had enough windows up high to let the heat out. I had to take off one of the four sides and it still gets too hot in there! My plants are fried!

Make sure you have shade cloth on the top or it will get too hot. Be sure that it is humid.

Today I put up shade cloth strips so that the plants get alternating sun/shade during the day and I have a roll-down shade cloth curtain over the windows that face the sun. For extra humidity when the day is going to be really hot, I spray down the pebble floor and let the water evaporate slowly. Oh, and I spray for bugs and fungus at least once every week. I think I am covered. Well, I hope I am covered.

First, my greenhouse is not in full sun all day. The greenhouse is attached to the north side of the house and, although it gets a full dose of morning sun, it is shaded from about noon on. My biggest concern is not overheating the area but keeping the heat high enough at night so that the orchids like the Cattleya will be happy.

I had Phalaenopsis orchids and they all told me they weren’t warm enough...  I gave them to a friend who has an enclosed deck about 6 months ago and they all bloomed for her. Now I need to find some more and see if they will appreciate the work that I did for them. Let’s hope so.

Naturally, since the greenhouse isn’t full of orchids yet, I am starting other things in there. Okra, for example. No, I don’t like okra, but I have friends who do, and they are waiting patiently for the little plants to grow. Tomatoes are another start, and our friend is hoping we can start some “Big Boy” tomatoes for him once he gets the seeds. Brussels sprouts or broccoli, I am willing to start just about anything for my friends if they have the seeds.

Plant of the week. The Cattleya dowiana is a lovely orchid and the reason I built a greenhouse. Metric Man calls it a “green mansion” due to its size. Cattleya orchids are actually easy to grow if you have the right space. They like temperatures above 70 and are not crazy about a lot of rain although I have seen them grow outside near Dominical Beach in Puntarenas Province.

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Find more amazing stories about gardening in Costa Rica on the AM Costa Rica Garden page. Questions on this article, Ms. Victoria Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached by emailing victoriatorley1@gmail.com
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