I have never had such an appreciation for the quality of light as our seasons change. Suffice to say that I honestly thought I would be able to grow vegetables in my greenhouse here in Southern Ontario though the months of November, December and January. I was totally wrong.
Looking out my window today – February 23 the reason is abundantly clear even this early in the year. As the sun rises higher in the sky and is travelling through progressively less atmosphere to arrive here, you can actually see how the color of the light is changing. It’s a whiter light as more of the different wavelengths representing the different color/temperatures of light are getting through. It’s so much BRIGHTER than it was even a month ago. And then I could talk about December light which is simply useless.
I thought that the fact that my plants would be in a freakin Greenhouse with full access to all the available light would be good enough, but next year I’m going to have to add some artificial lighting. ( Yikes- I can just see my partner cringing at the hydro bill) I know that some of the artificial lights available now can deliver so much more oooomph than before. So at some point before next fall I’ll go visit my local hydroponics supply store and see how those grow-op boys have pushed the technology.
Next year I’ll have winter vegetables.
For now though, I’m happy to just visit my greenhouse, soak in the wonderful new and improved sunlight and watch the effect it has on my plants. Life is wonderful

Well as far as winters go, this one has been incredibly mild. It’s Feb 17 and looking outside there is no snow to be seen. We’ve had a little so far, but within a week it either rains or warms up and it melts. I’m not sure whose winter we’re getting but it sure isn’t ours.
Still, heating the greenhouse has had its’ups and downs. I bought a propane greenhouse heater from the Southern Burner Company and I am completely pleased with it. Its small and very effective, but I’m not liking the hassle of managing the propane tanks so I’ll be contacting them over the summer to see what they can provide me to convert this to natural gas. Running a gas line will save me some money and certainly will reduce my stress levels ( because I can’t ever forget about the propane tanks).
I was a little concerned about the non-vented heater and how much heat loss I’d have to live with leaving one of the roof vents slightly open, but that really hasn’t caused me any problems.

I can’believe that it’s been a year since I posted to this site!. so much has happened since the last post – I moved. Started a garden at the new house and yes. Built my greenhouse.
It’s been a ride so far and the learning curve isn’t slowing down.
I just assumed that as long as I could manage the temperature I could grow vegetables in my winter greenhouse. (Which btw is located in Oshawa Ontario) Zone 5A
I was wrong. Now I have a better understanding of just how wimpy is the strength of our sun in Nov. Dec and Jan. Nothing would grow.
Next year. My winter vegetables will need light.
Putting lights in a greenhouse…… I wouldn’t have guessed.
I need to keep these posts short so that I can actually find the time to stay up to date. More to come.