Remember those
early crops we usually plant in April and May? Under the cover of the
SolarGardenDome you will want to plant those same things in February and March.
Planting this early yields very desirable results!
Head lettuce is a vegetable that seems to elude most home gardeners. If heads form at all, they are usually loose heads. Iceberg lettuce is a cool crop that must have cool soil and shorter days than midsummer. But it requires 80-90 days to mature. When we plant head lettuce even as early as April 15, it takes until June 15 to mature.
The last six weeks of its growth will certainly not be during short days or cool
soil conditions - though the weather might have been perfect to start.
During the last three weeks of it's growth the heads are set - once the
weather has become just too warm. Its unlikely to grow a solid head of lettuce
in northern and north central climates by planting in April. The SolarGardenDome
allows one to plant lettuce March 1 and begin harvesting on Memorial Day, just
in time to beat the hot weather.
We in the upper
mid-west generally think of one growing season per year. We have a very short
spring cool season - perhaps 30 days or so. We have a similar fall cool season
before hard frost. The remainder of our gardening season is the least favorable
of all - during the heat of summertime. Not only do we have the heat to contend
with but also lack of moisture, prolific weed growth and insect/disease
infestations. The SolarGardenDome enclosure actually gives us three complete
growing seasons - the least desirable being the summer season. We experience
little weed growth and practically no disease or insect damage in the early and
late seasons. No sprays or chemicals are necessary. We return to healthy and
natural production of fine quality vegetables.