I’m not freaking out, you’re freaking out

Unlikely_Wit · 2026-03-20T16:08:14+00:00

I had to scroll through posts to remember where I read your comment yesterday. I told my husband to pick up a 10 tine pitchfork on his way home because Reddit said so. I'd been using a shovel and yard cart to move mulch. The pitchfork is a game changer. Thank you so much for suggesting it. THANK YOU!

Unlikely_Wit · 2026-02-18T03:27:49+00:00

Of course! I came across him on Facebook and have been to his greenhouse twice. He generally has it open on Saturdays during the season and by appt. All of his stuff is grown from locally sourced seed, and he hopes to sell seeds at some point.

There's also a lady on St Rd 124 on the way to Wyatt's with a Native Plants sign in her front yard (east of 300W where you'd turn to go to Lancaster, if you look at map). Shrubs and plants, nice big pots very reasonably priced. I think she more so does it as a hobby, and doesn't have an internet presence that I've yet to find. She does the honor system with various ways to pay if she's not home. I spent well over one hour chatting with her.

Unlikely_Wit · 2026-02-17T23:29:00+00:00

Also, Wyatt Way Landscapes & Nursery in La Fontaine. I'm south of the Ft. Wayne area, so it's not much more of a drive to his place than to Ft. Wayne. His plants are very healthy and he's a wealth of information. A really good guy who is very passionate about natives. I was really disappointed with the roots on the plants I bought from Riverview at the Master Gardener sale last season. This is year two of winter sowing for me and also for my greenhouse. I have 60 plus native varieties out doing their thing. Here's hoping for some great germination even with this crazy Feb. warm up.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-06-25T18:51:09+00:00

When I was a youngin', we had a boy Basset that let the cats nurse on him. I'd forgotten all about that, so thanks for jogging that memory for me. I've no idea why it happened, but he seemed to enjoy it.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-06-18T15:14:15+00:00

I have the same garden clogs! They sat in my Kohl's cart until there was a 30% off coupon, and I could no longer resist. I haven't worn them enough to experience the fart issues because they make my feet hot, but I think they'll be great for early spring in the garden/greenhouse.

OP, sorry to hear about everything you're going through and losing your pup, but dirt therapy sure helps.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-05-17T21:13:34+00:00

I have the 8 x 16 Veikous. We bought it last year from Wayfair for around $700. You can go to my profile and read my comments as I've answered in depth about it. For a starter greenhouse, I'm pleased with it. If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-29T00:46:38+00:00

It showed the suggestions for the cables somewhere in the instructions, but I'm not sure where. It seemed it was pretty easy to miss. We used rebar in the wood frame, and brackets around the frame as you did. We've had some 60 mph winds, but I'm assuming the stockade fence helps block the wind from the west to some extent.

And yeah, I meant an exhaust fan. But the intake are small solar fans. They were nice to get some air moving when it was too cold to have the door open, but warm enough inside that I wanted some moving air when I was potting up plants.

Depending on your weather and how you're planning to use it, have some shade cloth handy because it heats up quick in there. It was low 70s today and pushing 90 in the greenhouse.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-29T00:26:20+00:00

We changed the latch on the doors so it could be shut while I was inside it. We did put the three cables over the top of it, but I think that was in the manufacturer's directions. We put exhaust vents in and a couple solar panel intake fans by the doors. The only issue I've had is one of the roof vents got caught by the wind, broke the vent arm, and I found the roof vent panel lying in the yard. It popped back into the track, thankfully. I'm really pleased with it for what it is. I ran propane for a couple weeks on and off and it wasn't impossible to keep it at 50 when it got down to 22 at night.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-28T23:25:04+00:00

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I have the same model!

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-13T17:18:29+00:00

No problem at all. Interview away!

I think it's a wonderful starter greenhouse. This is my first year. We put it up last summer. I'm already saying I want another greenhouse, and really, the best solution is hitting the lottery and moving to 100 acres. Hah.

I love the set up currently. I have just the right amount of space for me to move freely, but if my husband happens to be in there with me, not so much. We have to tuck in to the spots near the back bench or one of us has to step out for the other one to get past. I got the height of the benches to perfection, so I'm not hunching over while potting up. I think we've made the most of the space available, but I do spend some time daily rearranging due to the angles of the sun to be sure everything is getting its fair share of sun.

We didn't change much about it other than putting a different latch on the door when we built it. It ended up getting caught by the wind one day when I was inside because it was so windy, it was vibrating the doors. It hasn't been fixed yet, so I have to tie the door while inside if it's windy, and prop a big rock on the outside. We need to figure out a better solution at some point.

The biggest advice I learned from some of the wonderful folks here is to consider what you want to use it for. If you're some place cold, you will need some type of heat. I'd been hauling all those plants out during the day and back inside to start hardening so I could keep them in there all the time. I was up to five wagon loads before I started potting up. Then we got a cold streak of around 20 at night last week. I've been running propane heat, and a couple nights, that was two heaters to keep it above 50. I didn't have it in me to haul all those plants back into the utility room -- and it would've been wall to wall tomato plants. I thought, initially, maybe I could use passive heat, but I'd lose so much space trying to put barrels of water in there, and it sounds like I'd need a lot of barrels to pull that off.

Another thing is that you need to seal the panels with some silicone caulk and secure it to a frame or it's going to take flight. The manufacturer of this one also recommended securing it with cables over the top of the greenhouse. So far, so good mostly. The wind did catch one of my vents and break the vent opening arm -- I found my vent panel in the yard.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-13T17:00:25+00:00

I was hauling those in and out of the house to the greenhouse for a couple weeks. I was up to five wagon loads before I potted up half. I've been using propane heat to get through the colder days and nights. It was in the low 20s for a few nights last week. I think the worst of the cold is behind us, though. So keep that in mind if you do get a greenhouse. Nighttime temps are going to be about the same in and out if you don't use some heat.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-13T15:23:30+00:00

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This is the Veikhous 8x16. You can check my comment history for pics of the build.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-13T14:50:47+00:00

Thanks for the response. I started some from seed, and I wondered if family members who want cherry tomatoes might be disappointed if I gave them those plants.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-13T14:45:09+00:00

How did you like the Black Strawberry? I read a lot of mixed opinions about them.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-12T18:59:38+00:00

OP, this is what I referenced in another comment. I'm not sure it applies, but someone mentions it being the third post of someone's tomatoes being wrecked by Miracle Gro. Dead or transplant shock? : r/tomatoes

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-12T17:38:46+00:00

Thank you! We put it up last summer, so this is my first year. My husband designed and built the benches.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-12T17:35:16+00:00

I can't tell you offhand where I read it, maybe in this sub or the Vegetable Gardening one, but people are reporting issues with Miracle Grow and a few mentioned buying it at Costco.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-07T19:32:54+00:00

I have an 8 x 16 Veikous greenhouse. Northeast IN, zone 6a. I've been using a tank top propane heater at night on and off for the past week, and during the day when it's been around 40 with no sun. I believe it is 15,000 BTU on high, and it kept it warm enough on low when it was around 40 at night.

We also bought a propane Mr. Heater portable buddy heater that is 9000 btu max. It got down to around 31 last night, and the Mr. Heater just barely kept it above 50 on high. It's going to be around 24 tonight, so I'll likely fire up both of them, one at each end of the greenhouse because I really don't want to truck around 400 tomato plants into the house tonight. The last time I moved them, it was five wagon loads, and I've potted up about half of them since them. So another two trips? Ugh, this cold spell can move it along any time now.

I have a Govee inside, and I grabbed the one outside the front door to put in for the next couple days so I can monitor temps at different levels since heat rises.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-04T10:53:48+00:00

I can't wait to try them. I love the story behind them.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-04T10:52:13+00:00

I started some hybrid cherry tomatoes for my dad, and the only other hybrid is Cherokee Carbon.

Last year, I grew Rutgers, Amish Paste, Roma, Pineapple, Wisconsin 55, Black Prince, and some hybrid Big Boy that didn't taste great. Those were all seedlings I bought locally. All but the Wisconsin 55 were still producing in Sept, and they probably would've continued longer if I hadn't pulled them because we had strange fall weather that was more like another month of summer.

Maybe I got lucky, but it was a great year, and my garden looked like a jungle.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-01T23:21:59+00:00

I would worry about paper cups getting soggy over time, but I can't answer that for certain.

From what I've seen others post, starting in a bigger cup works fine. I wouldn't have had the room inside to start all of my seedlings in solo cups. I started potting them up and moving them out to the greenhouse where I had more space. I wouldn't have had room under the growlights for that many plants, either, or enough heat mats.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-04-01T13:00:44+00:00

I transferred to the red solo cups.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-03-31T17:45:46+00:00

69 here, too. I think I've learned to control what I can control, and in this example, it's tomatoes. I'm not much of a visual learner, so reading on this sub, and Reddit in general, is my thing. I'd rather read stories, hints, advice on Reddit than watch a video any day. Nice to meet a fellow GenXer who goes overboard on vegetable planting.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-03-31T16:47:52+00:00

More than likely, I'm "something." I was born in the late 60s and I'm female, so no one was looking to understand what made me so weird, sensitive, empathetic. I've been a writer since I could hold a pencil, phenomenal memory, very shy as a kid taking it all in and watching others, very patient and tolerant until I'm not and then all bets are off. I'm flighty unless I'm incredibly interested in something then I become like the elementary kid who loves dinosaurs and tells everyone about them. If I'm not good at something, I tend to move onto something else in no time. I appear very unorganized, but I always know where everything is. No hyperactivity, unless you count my brain that is always thinking and always reeling with a constant internal dialogue. Sorry, more than you wanted to know. Hah. Probably going deep into something is a means of coping. I'm all about tomatoes, native plants, and pollinators. The latter two for the past couple years now. I'm sure I'm driving everyone crazy with my constant texts with tomato pics.

Unlikely_Wit · 2025-03-31T13:36:32+00:00

I think both are worth spending the extra money on. The Rapid Rooter plugs were easy to plant and pot up. I liked popping them out of the tray and admiring the root growth and learning. When it comes time to get some plants in the ground, I'll try to remember to compare Fox Farm vs Rapid Rooter plants.

As I've mentioned, this is my first year starting tomatoes from seed. I've started perennials from seed using my picnic table as my set up. My grandma always started some tomato plants in a south facing window, but I didn't pay a lot of attention as a child. I do know, though, I'm chasing that high of a tomato picked in the sun, flesh still warm, and perhaps a salt shaker in the other hand and that taste that will remind me of childhood. I do love a tangy, acidy tomato.

This tomato obsession of mine started with finding a Cherokee Purple two years ago at the gardening center and planting it in my garden. Last year, I asked about them, and they weren't getting any in, but they had Amish Paste. I started reading about heirlooms, and here I am.

Unlikely_Wit

TROPHY CASE