DAY 5: Building the Greenhouse: Finished

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It has taken a while to get this post out but not because the greenhouse took so long. It's taken a while because as soon as it was finished - everything went into warp speed! I absolutely LOVE this greenhouse. Hands down, the best present Jim has ever given to me. 

We built the house in the garage and, because it was also light weight, walked it over to the site Jim had prepared. The site was anchored because of windy days off the river and we screwed the greenhouse to the base. Then we laid and stapled the hard-cloth and added pebbles for flooring. The doors remain quirky and don't close 100% at the top. I thought that would prove problematic but not so (though the engineer gives it side-eye every time he passes it).

To finish it up, Jim built some work tables with hardware cloth. I added two chairs and a table for a reflection area, and the bed of pebbles was a perfect flooring. Jim insisted that we add stepping stones (good call). 

To doll it up, I bought the greenhouse hangers, solar "party lights", a solar fan, and a battery operated temperature/humidity reader (for the greenhouse and the egg incubator) from Amazon. GREAT purchases! The party lights stay on until about 2:30AM, the fan might do some good (sort of weak), and the temp/humid reader is fantastic (it can get to 120 degrees F in there!).

Learning to use the greenhouse was a trail by error sort of thing but it all worked out. After being on the boat for a year, reading the weather is just part of my "go to bed'/'wake up' routine. You have to "feel" the weather and just take educated guesses on how much to open the vents and doors. I read a ton of blogs by learned and self-taught experts and they all said the same thing - you need to understand your environment to work with nature. A lot go those guys have super greenhouses and ... wow ... those structures are loaded with electricity and running water. I have a solar light and a hose - we are not working on the same level (hahahahahaha).

I did learn a few things though about gardening, I'll add that to a different post though.

NOTE: I have another blog, tinyfarmbigheart, and this greenhouse sort of sparked the inner farmer/teacher in me. I want to share all this with children. Check out the blog, and if you have any helpful suggestions, please share them!

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