Learning with a Greenhouse

  4 Hours Read a lot, thought a lot, then did what I thought best knowing how the river works. You are supposed to position your greenhouse so that a wall side is facing South East. That's all well and good; and if I did that, I would lose the house to gusts o wind coming from the river. Instead, I positioned the doors of the greenhouse South East knowing that in the spring, summer and fall this spot receives at least 6-8 hours of sun-rise to early afternoon sun before the cedars begin to cast shade over the site. The sun will make my plants grow without blistering the leaves and the shade will protect them from heavy afternoon sun. The picture below shows January sun at 3:00-3:30pm. Today we selected, and constructed the frame of the greenhouse. Jim bought 6 foundation blocks, readjusted them to fit 4x4 beams and put it all together.  Next weekend, we will anchor the structure, add the weed cloth and about 2-3 inches of pea gravel. SO CLOSE!...

  3 Hours The toughest part of today's construction - reading the plans and figuring out what it wanted us to do. This was an easier task for the engineer (I had to walk away once or twice). The panels for the top went in really easy. Just don't over think it - follow the plan and it will all work out. The doors were a nightmare and will need to be adjusted once it is on location.

  5 HOURS Today we added the sides and set up for the roof. The hardest part today was adding the triangle section at the back of the greenhouse. The directions are sketch and we practiced a lot of patience. We also looked up the measurements of the greenhouse online (they aren't in the directions). It showed that it should be 90.2" tall and the measurement of the garage door is 96" - so building in the garage should work! We'll just need a lot of friends to move it when the time comes. My legs are beat though! I have on a boot from surgery over the holidays and really had to watch what I did - geez! Jim just kept on going though - my energizer bunny. What was hard : The directions are wonky and you have to figure out some of the pictures.  What we learned : Power of the 'tap' - when in doubt, tap the structure until it all falls into place.

4 HOURS The Greenhouse was delivered in two long skinny boxes. One box held the pieces for the structure and the other box (that snapped open sometime during delivery) held the window slats. Jim's first statement: "Good thing I'm still in the Christmas Spirit." Well, Shut the Back Door! Good thing we watched videos on the "assembly" because people were NOT kidding about all the parts! Oh! And y ou will not be disappointed - the instructions are just as bad as everyone says; if you use the "parts page" to help you identify the pieces you need - it's not so bad (for now). Just go in with a positive attitude, don't tighten down anything and never force the aluminum - you'll be fine. We had to laugh, the first instruction said to unpack everything and count all the pieces ... you have to be kidding. Tonight we built the bottom, supports, 'front door' and back wall of the frame. It took a couple of hours. We are building most of it ...

I just want watermelon seeds! What is with the different pricing? Crimson Sweet is a Crimson Sweet - right? Down the rabbit hole I go... UPDATE : I was watching Roots & Refuge on YouTube and Jess mentioned a seed company MI Seeds ; the seeds are $2.00 a bag, lots of seeds and you'll get a discount if you type JESS10.   Gurney's Seed and Nursery  30 seeds/$2.99 This is a national brand, maybe world wide (I didn't check). A packet of 30 seeds will cost $2.99 and produce fruits weighing 20-25 pounds. 88 days til harvest. Johnny's Seeds  30 seeds/$5.50 Actually, I think I have heard of this brand before from YouTube sensation Hollis & Nancy's Homestead - I love that couple. Johnny's offers a packet of 30 seeds for $5.50 producing fruit weighing 15-25 pounds. 85 days til harvest. Eden Brother's  maybe 30 seeds/$4.50  Seen this brand a lot around the internet, sells a packet of seeds weighing 2 grams for $4.50. The fruit is said to weigh 25+ pounds and r...

Buying 50 different seed packets and starting every seed was the problem. I just love all those marketing pictures on the packets of healthy looking vegetables and flowers and want to recreate those visions in my own garden. To top it off, those cute 72 celled seed trays are at arms length from the seed packets - I think my brain just glitches.  A few years ago, I bought two packets of cherry tomatoes: Sweet 100 and Black Krim. I planted every single seed. Jim caught me mid-planting and honestly questioned, with eyes wide and brows high, if I thought I should plant them all - well absolutely! As my garden grew, the vision I had dreamed of turned into a Cherry Tomato Jungle! Like Gremlins! Those little tomato guys were everywhere and each day I had a bountiful harvest. I had to construct supports, bamboo - ladders - chairs - fishing poles - whatever worked, to keep plants off the ground because, who knew, tomatoes are runners and every nub wil...

I had no idea when to start seeds; but, I'm learning from the best - like I said, I got people. I knew Jim had a plan but wasn't real sure where he acquired his magical planting skills - not lying his name should be Jack - like the guy and the beanstalk. I had two plans. Plan A: As soon as I saw the seeds on display,  I bought the ones I love and started them in March - didn't matter what - just stuff I loved. Plan A never really worked out but it was always fun. Plan B: This plan was a little more successful. I saw plants at Lowe's - got 'the garden fever' aka TGF - bought all I could and planted - done. Where I planted them was of zero consequence - just plant them. Now I have a crazy looking garden (but those Bleeding Hearts look great in the spring!). Maybe that's why Jim and I work so well together; he thinks his thoughts and I voice all mine. What ever chemistry we have, it's been working for 30+ years. So, I needed a new plan; a ...