Project Name: February 2026 – Preparing the greenhouse for garden beds and my fiasco with the first outdoor seed sowing
Project Objectives: Do a complete decluttering of the greenhouse and plant the first crops that will make us happy outside.
Business Case & Project Scope:
It is February, time to put the greenhouse in order and do some spring cleaning. And me and the Junior Key Manager had some really exhausting work waiting for us. Because in the autumn, there was no time to clean anything in the greenhouse. Old overgrown tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and grass everywhere, simply a pain. Luckily, my little helper, my older son, decided to put on both gloves and pulled weeds like a pro.
It was worse with the seeds, it was literally an ultimate fail! Long story short. I sowed kohlrabi, arugula, Zina lettuce, and spring Lednice lettuce into one seedling tray. Yes, really, into one. And I sowed lamb's lettuce into a window box. Everything was meant for germinating in the greenhouse. The funny thing is that almost nothing made it there... except for the lamb's lettuce, which eventually caused its death.
Resources & Target Deliverables:
- Kohlrabi Dvorana
- Arugula (perennial)
- Rocket
- Zina lettuce
- Spring Lednice lettuce
- Lamb's lettuce
Critical Infrastructure & Hacks:
Originally, I thought I would write here something like seedling trays are great. Except, not at all. Or at least not when you have more types of seeds and you want to combine them. So it will be more about hacks – for next time, I will always put everything separately. And I will use the seedling tray only when I want to grow a large amount of one crop.
EXECUTION PHASE:
Phase 1: I looked like a gardening novice
Well, I presented myself to the family key stakeholders a bit like a gardening barbarian who doesn't know what she is doing. What happened. The weather forecast said it would be -10°C. So I got scared to take the seeds to the greenhouse and instead I left them by the entrance in the hallway. It is colder there, but there is not much light. Mistake, big mistake!
Phase 2: Epic fail, at least the lettuces held my reputation a bit
The kohlrabies stretched out, so they were written off immediately. Because they wouldn't form a bulb anymore. The arugula (perennial), it didn't even bother to peek out. Well, not to do it an injustice, 1 seed stretched up to 5 cm in height. It was a bit like it was mocking me. And the rocket? It went so high that my husband and I rather ate it as microgreens. The lettuces also stretched out.
Luckily just a little bit. So I repotted them into a plastic container with holes in the bottom, added some soil, sprinkled more seeds and took them to the greenhouse. That was a success. The lettuces fixed my gardening reputation a little. However, the lamb's lettuce swept this joy away. I also took it to the greenhouse. But in the end, instead of the planned -10°C outside, it was +32°C inside the greenhouse, because the sun was shining. Which literally cooked the lamb's lettuce seeds and that ended its story for now. But I won't give up!
Phase 3: Final Deliverable
Well, at least those lettuces are doing well :D No, I will be objective. The greenhouse is staked out and we have painted the legs of the future garden beds. Which is a success, because preparations of this type are time-consuming, physically exhausting and the results are visible only when it is completely done, which is slightly depressing (a little bit more than just slightly). Especially when you have three helpers at home who don't let you work in one go.
And the outdoor Humil lettuce was also a success. At the end of September, I shook its seeds directly from the plant into the raised bed next to the greenhouse. It is a frost-resistant lettuce. So it caught on beautifully and in February, dozens, maybe hundreds of 5 cm high seedlings were waiting under the polycarbonate board. Nature outsmarted me a little bit :D but whatever, the main thing is that I have the seedlings :)
CURRENT STATUS:
We have to carefully hammer the legs of the garden beds in the greenhouse so they have the right spacing. And we are also waiting to transplant Humil into the outdoor bed without cover. And finally, because I don't give up, I have to sow arugula, kohlrabi and lamb's lettuce again :D
