The Five-Minute Greenhouse

The Five-Minute Greenhouse as presented at Northwest Flower and Garden Show’s Sproutopia – February 21 & 22, 2009 by Susan L. Harrington, CEO (chief education officer) Labyrinth Hill Lavender Cuttings planted: Cornus stolonifera baileyi Redtwig Dogwood, Red Osier Dogwood Suggestions for other cuttings easy to propagate: Rosemary Lavandula x intermedia ‘Grosso’ - Lavender Escallonia This is also a great project for starting seeds and watching the roots appear at the sides of the bottle.

Susan Harrington Teaches Children of all Ages How to Make a Five-Minute Greenhouse!
Northwest Flower & Garden Show
Cyle Eldred, Show Manager Cyle Eldred, Show Manager Northwest Flower & Garden Show

The Five-Minute Greenhouse
Ah, yes, another “Spawn of Insomnia.” It was my first plant clinic as a Master Gardener and opening day of my garden club’s annual plant sale. I knew there would be children accompanying parents. Ah Ha! Teach them botany and recycling at the same time.
Materials List:
Small water bottle
Scissors
Tape
Plastic bread tab
4" to 6" cuttings
Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the stems

Recycling in Action
With scissors cut around the bottle 5” from the bottom, leaving a hinge of approximately 1”-2”.
Poke 5-6 holes in the bottom for drainage.
Add 3”-4” of moist, not wet, mix: Potting Soil or 1:1:1 Sand:Peat:Perlite or half Sand and half Perlite
Stick 4 cuttings in the planting mix
The latch is a piece of tape with a bread tab attached at the end (it opens and closes easily).
Check the soil weekly for moisture though there should be no need to add water except perhaps a few drops.
When you see the roots through the clear sides, it’s time to pot up your new plants in pots 2” larger or directly in the garden.
I’ve seen roots as early as 4 weeks later with the bottle…I mean greenhouse… sitting in a bright but not direct sunlight west-facing window.

Master Gardeners at Flotsam and Jetsam Garden Club Plant Sale, Hansville WA

Carbon Dioxide and Greenhouses
Here’s the best part about your Five-Minute Greenhouse:
Oxygen-breathing life forms exhale carbon dioxide (Co2). Plants take in Co2 during photosynthesis and give off or “exhale” oxygen. This process is referred to as the carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle.
Commercial greenhouses “fertilize” the air with additional carbon dioxide to speed up plant growth and improve plant quality. Vegetable production can be boosted by 25% to 100%, flower production up to 35% with one to two weeks cut from the growing schedule utilizing Co2 generators.
You are a Co2 generator.
Every morning open the lid of your greenhouse and gently blow into the bottle. (Just don’t let your neighbors see you doing this…they might begin to talk!)
My favorite Assistant Lavender Wrangler actually gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a tree seedling. When he saw that it had fainted, he blew into a cottage cheese carton and upended it over the seedling. Twenty minutes later it had revived!

Wolfle Elementary School, Kingston WA

Contact Information Labyrinth Hill Growing Fragrant Lavender in a Classic Labyrinth Susan L. Harrington [email_address] PO Box 448 Hansville, WA 98340 360.638.2642 to receive a free monthly newsletter Of Labyrinths and Lavender Visit the Web site www.LabyrinthHill.com Or send an e-mail

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The Five-Minute Greenhouse

by Susan Harrington on Nov 29, 2008

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The Five-Minute Greenhouse — Presentation Transcript