I was out in the garden yesterday as it was a very beautiful day for early January. And, as I was standing in one of the paths, I looked around and the realization hit me that I have a ton of work ahead of me. Now, I am not talking about the many plantings that I have planned nor the sequence of plantings as the year progresses. No, I am talking about the work of resetting the garden so that I can get more production out of the area I do have. I have written about it in past posts but now, the task at hand is to get this reset into play. And, while doing this, I also have to attend to getting the vegetable plants started and eventually, planted in the plots. Not an easy task but luckily, I am now retired and will have more time to devote to the project.
I have been experimenting with my new greenhouse as this is the first winter I have experience with it. Late last year, I seeded some carrots into a planter that I bought for a $1 feeling I had nothing to lose. I then got a little braver when the carrots sprung to life rather quickly. I planted 4 plants of Buttercrunch Lettuce, Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach and another container of carrots. As seen below, they responded and I have actually taken cuttings from the lettuce and spinach which is why they look small.
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And, given their success, I decided to stretch a little. It was a balmy 75 degrees on the 1st in the greenhouse and I had the time and well, I would say I got a little carried away. I planted 4 more pots of spinach and 14 pots of various lettuce varieties. This is what happens when you are listening to amazon music and it's warm all around you. When I tell friends what I do, they get a look in their eyes that I'm not quite sure how to take.
On a non vegetable note, I took notice that a cactus that I have been tending to for years has begun to bloom. I believe we bought this at a Target on clearance and it has thrived. I do need to replant it and will do so when it finishes it blooming.
And to continue the thread of non veggie notes, my wife bought me a Hori Hori knife for Christmas and I thought I would share. As seen below, it is a very rugged looking knife. These knives had their origin in Japan and are considered to be an indispensable tool. I have wanted one of these for years but never really expressed that to anyone. My wife just ran across it and took a shot - much to my surprise.
I used it yesterday with great success. We had an overrun patch in the front of our yard. So, I decided to put the knife to the test. To say I was impressed is an understatement. The knife is wicked sharp and in about 20 minutes, I had the area cleared. It did not meet anything it didn't just cut right through as seen below. I must say, the blade is wicked sharp as it easily cut through some of the small bushes in the area. I just have to remember to keep my hands and fingers out of the path of this blade.
I now have to begin working my garden plots as I don't want March to roll around and be here with the beds not ready. Hopefully the weather will continue to stay slightly warmer so I can get to it. Like I said, there is much to do and so very little time to get it completed and there is only me. Until next time everyone - Happy Gardening!
Yesterday, winter decided to come a little early as seen in the picture below. It wasn't much of a system but it got a few peoples attention. But what's heading our way around the 21st or so probably will. According to more than a few weather sites I peruse, the mid-Atlantic region has a good chance of having a white Christmas this year with what they are calling a significant snow event. Now, how that is defined actually is still up in the air. Around here, 4" is significant. So, I'm keeping my eye on the forecasts and will be getting some gas for my snow thrower. It never hurts to be prepared. You never know when the forecasters are going to be correct.
Lots has been going on here. My wife and I recently purchased a big red truck for our front lawn Christmas decorations. With a little DIY magic, we spruced it up and set up Santa on our front lawn. Did not realize that the retro trucks were the rage these past two years. Just thought I would share in a non-gardening type of way.
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After buying Santa and the tree and then stringing up lights along its side, we then bought a pair of solar fence lights so the car would have headlights. Not too bad for rookies.
My experiments in the new greenhouse have been somewhat successful. I've never tried to overwinter any type of vegetables as they usually succumbed to the cold temps and snow. The greenhouse is experiencing wide swings in temps and is basically at the mercy of the weather outside. Yesterday was cold (38) but yet, with a clear sky, the greenhouse hit a very balmy 92 in the afternoon. On a cloudy day, it has been steady at about 50. The plants however, have been making progress. Given this is the first attempt, I have nothing to compare them to or even anticipate. But that is the fun part of gardening after all.
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The lettuce and spinach were anemic until I moved them to the middle south facing rack. I had to prop up the spinach planters so they would get enough sun. They have begun to make progress so I will continue to monitor them. The carrots seem to be doing just fine at this time. I water the plants every other day but may have to cut back a little. My only regret at this time was that I did not plant more of the lettuce and spinach plants. Live and learn as they say.
I put a makeshift planter together in the garden earlier in the fall. I used a structure that I had in my shed, covered it with a transparent plastic tablecloth and placed 5 plant covers that I had. I planted lettuce and cabbage in them. I let it go and did not tend to the few weak plants that did grow.
I walked by it the other day and noticed that even though I didn't tend to it, one of the cabbage planting areas actually was growing 2 healthy plants. Mother nature overcame everything as usual. So, I decided to reinvest in the structure as seen below. I built a wall around it to shield it from wind and snow as seen below. I am now going to replant the 5 containers with 2 of Buttercrunch Lettuce and 3 with cabbage to see what happens. Another experiment to undertake.
I am hoping that given the mild for December weather we are expecting over the next few days that I will have an opportunity to shred some of the leaves I have and place them into my leaf mold container. There is always something to do in the garden even if it is approaching winter.
Well, that's all for now. I'll post as the greenhouse and structure plants progress. Until the next time, Happy Gardening everyone.
Well, old man winter has made an appearance in our area of the country. After traversing accross the country, the low from Canada has settled in for a few days. The change was rather abrupt to say the least as we had a roughly 30-40 degree drop in temperatures overnight. I do not remember it being so cold this early in November in a very long time. All time record lows have been set in many parts of the country and this is only the middle of November. Winter has not even started yet. We have not seen any snow at this point but I am sure it is only a matter of time before we do. Who knows, maybe we'll have a white Thanksgiving.
Given the interim respite from real winter weather, I decided it was a good time to get some maintenance and gardening tasks completed before old man winter comes to town for good. I concluded that even though the trees had not completely dropped all their leaves, that I would gather up the yards leaves and put them into my composters. So, with my metal adjustable rake and my cart, I began to gather the leaves. While it didn't look like a lot of leaves, after raking them, it seemed as if they multiplied as seen below.
After raking them, I put them into my cart and used a weed whacker to cut them up. I was able to get all the leaves cut up and loaded into my 4 composters to a point that they were now full going into winter.
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After loading the leaves into the composters, I wet them down pretty heavily to try to get a burst of micobiotic activity in hopes of some further breakdown before they go dormant. I have put some kitchen scraps in and have noticed that the scraps have been getting broken down rather quickly. I will continue to "feed" the piles until we get snow and colder temps. Every day counts now. I will say, from the looks of it, I should have a pretty good supply of compost for my plants next Spring.
My plan is to combine the various piles in early Spring into one or two of the composters and then begin a fresh pile in the empty units next Spring. Only time will tell if this will work but I do believe there is nothing better for the garden than a dressing of fresh, sifted compost before planting.
Well, that's all there is at this time. Please check back for further updates. Happy gardening everyone!
This past Thursday (10-17), our area was buffeted by very strong winds due to the nor'easter that was off the east coast this past weekend. Some gusts were in the range of 40-50 mph. I really gave it no thought in regards to my new greenhouse. That is, until I saw a panel from it lying next to one of my garden beds.
Upon discovering this, I went out to inspect the structure only to find that there were two panels that had become freed from the greenhouse. I gathered the two pieces and put them inside the unit to make sure they weren't tossed all over my yard or worse yet, damaged. I then attempted to locate the clips that were supposed to hold the panels in place. These clips are best descrided as spring loaded paperclips. And finding them proved callenging to say the least.
After my initial reconnaissaince trip around the immediate area surrounding the gardenhouse, I found about 6 clips. I knew I needed to find more of these so I expanded the search. Amazingly, I ended up finding more clips almost 20-30 feet away. I then tried to attach the panel that was taking the brunt of the winds. I put the clips back in place and secured the panel (or so I thought). I then moved on to the next panel feeling like I had accomplished something.
Just when I finished securing the second pane, the previous wall piece made this horrible sound and then proceeded to fall out and begin a dance accross my gardens. I hurriedly caught up to it and turned around and saw the second pane push out and fall to the ground. So, with one in my hand, I ran accross the gardens and grabbed the second piece. Defeated, I put the two pieces back into the greenhouse and analyzed the situation.
I decided to open the vent in the roof to allow the winds to flow a little easier through the structure. Feeling quite proud that the greenhouse was going to make it out of these winds in relatively good shape, I began to look for those clips that weren't obviousy up to the task at hand. While walking the area, I heard yet another noise.
I turned around and looked directly at my building only to see a roof piece wobbling furiously. Then, all at once, it was launched like a kite into the air. I stood there dumbfounded and amazed at the same time. It moved up rapidly as I had visions of this piece landing in my neighbors yards, or worse yet, that it would land in the next block.
As quickly as it went up, it came down with suddeness. I ran to try to catch it while thinking this was not going to end well. But, it did, Someone upstairs must have thought I had had enough. I gathered this piece and laid it with the other two pieces inside the house.
At this point, I decided to let things just progress on their own. Until the winds died down, I was fighting a literal losing battle. I went inside and tried to keep myself preoccupied.
After a couple of hours, I went back to unit and discovered that another side panel had succumded to the fury of nature. I put that inside on top of the others and looked for more clips.
My wife ordered new clips from the manufacturer which they said were improved. No further damages were sustained from the storm Thursday evening and by Saturday, the winds were much calmer.
Upon receipt of the new clips on Saturday, I went out and reinstalled the panels. Yes, the new clips seem to be more substantial so there is hope that this episode will not repeat itself. Amazingly, throughout this whole ordeal, none of my plants were damaged. All of them came through with no noticeable damages.
I can only imagine what my antics looked like to my neighbors as I fought natures elements. They already know that I am a bit over the top on my gardening but this episode must have cemented that in their minds forever.
I am that neighbor afterall. Well, that's all that is fit to write about at this time. Have a great week and Happy gardening everyone.
I am both happy and relieved to report that the greenhouse is now complete. It took most of Saturday to erect the structure. Thankfully the weather was almost ideal as it wasn't too warm. It is still summer afterall in this part of the world. It would not have been completed without the very able and determined efforts of my friend Mark, my wife, son and daughter in law. It was challenging to say the least.
The biggest challenge came from the fact that the greenhouse had sat for almost 2 years before it was built. It was stored in what I considered a relatively safe area but was somewhat exposed to the weather. When opened, the instructions were unusable. We printed the instructions from online but they were for the newer model and the numbers did not quite match up. My wife and son were able to piece the door and vent parts together through what I would call dogged determination and methodology. I would not have been so successful. Lesson learned here not to procrastinate.
After siting the 4"X6" wood supports and laying down a run of marble stones in the troughs we dug, we then cut the wood to their proper sizes and leveled them on the stone. We then attached the wood pieces to each other by using L brackets and 3 inch wood screws. Once that was completed, we began the construction of the greenhouse.
As can be seen from the picture below, the process was to build the 4 walls separately.
This is the one of the wall sections which was comprised of about 10 pieces. Once all 4 walls were built, we transported them to the site and attached them to each other. Then the middle support was attached along with the three supports on each side which act as the channels for the "glass" inserts.
We then finished the greenhouse by inserting the vent into the section for it and attached the sliding door to entrance wall. I then screwed 3" wood screws though the base of the greenhouse into the wood base framing.
Here is a picture of the finished product.
The greenhouse is 8 ft long and 6 foot wide. It actually feels pretty spacey inside right now. I am sure that will change once I load in selves and such. The sunlight is diffused by the panels. Both the space and the diffusion of light are better seen in the picture below.
On Sunday, I began transferring the various shelving units I have into the greenhouse. As can be seen below, there appears to be enough room for what I have planned.
I hope to be able to try to grow the traditional root crops inside it. I will then have a real feel for how far into the winter I can grow plants. It will definitely help me with growing my own plant varieties and timing plant maturity in the spring and throughout the summer.
That's all I have at this time. My next step is to get as much of the garden plots reset before it is too cold. I will keep you posted on that and the many goings on in the garden. If you should have any questions, please drop me a line. Thanks for visiting!
