Greenhouse Winterization
As the growing season is winding down, it was time to do things that will preserve the Moringa sprouts from the coming cold weather, even though it will be a while before it gets significantly cold enough to do them severe damage, like below freezing. Here in the desert Southwest, it is usually around November or later before it gets really cold for more than just overnight.
So, in anticipation of that future time, I have installed a couple of infrared (IR) lights in the greenhouse, and a thermostatically controlled outlet to keep the ambient temperature above freezing, I hope. The thermostat comes on when the temperature drops below 35 degrees F and turns off when it rises above 45 degrees F.
The IR lights are 40 watts each and are mounted about 18 inches above the sprouts. I hope that is enough to prevent freeze conditions! If not, well, I suppose I may have to mount a few more. Perhaps I will place a thermometer at the sprouts’ level to determine the real temperature.
The largest sprout is now over 10 inches tall, but I notice the growth rate seems to be slowing a bit. This is most likely caused by the cooler nights, telling them it is time to hibernate, if they do. I need to research a bit more to see if the Moringa Oleifera trees go into hibernation, or not. Being a tropical/semi-arid tree/plant, they may not do so. NEED MORE DATA!…
But so far, they are still lively and staying perky, not drooping at all. Praise God for all this. It was started not with the intention of planting these sprouts, but to see if they would sprout here in this region, and how well they do. So far, great. If they do survive the winter, we will plant them in the garden, along with others we will start in the early spring. If, Lord willing, they all do well, then we may expand our operation to include more acerage. Lots of food value to be had here! That’s all for now, God Bless and have a wonderful day!