Sunday, September 16, 2012

It's a greenhouse!!

V finished the greenhouse last evening!  So, today, I got to play inside.
I was up early this morning since I15 had to be in town by 7am for parking lot clean up.  The City High Band works to clean up the parking lots around the stadium after home football games at the university.  They get paid for this and the money goes to fund all sorts of things like trips, uniforms, music, etc.  It is also part of their grade that the students 'volunteer' at least 4 times.  So, since it is still early in the year and warm(ish) and still light at 7am. I15 has been going to all the clean ups in September.  So far he has done 2 of his 4 games.  With lots of students there to help it generally takes less than 2 hours.  But wouldn't it be amazing if tailgaters cleaned up after themselves and the high school kids didn't need to pick up their garbage?!  What a concept!  But, then, the band would be out of money that they need and would have to do other fundraisers.
But, after clean up, I15 and I made a trip to one of the local garden centers and picked up 12 bags of topsoil.  They are selling it cheap since they want to clear it out so they don't have to store it over the winter- and I happened to want some for the greenhouse.
Behold!
 Here it is in all it's glory.  Well, I guess it's not that glorious...
The frame came packed in this really cool box made of green corrugated plastic.  Which I cut and used to build little raised bed frames inside the greenhouse.  I love being able to repurpose stuff.  And I had some left over edging spikes from earlier this year that I could use to hold it in place.  After lunch, K12 helped me load in the topsoil.
Filled with topsoil and planted:  Lettuce (2 kinds), spinach, chard, kale and radishes are all in!  The kale is mainly for the chickens.  While I like kale, I'm about the only one who does (except the chickens!).  We can't keep it in the regular garden over winter or the deer will eat it (at least they always have in the past).
  V has moved on to his next construction project.  The re-construction of the garden shed just to the north of the garden.  To the left side of the photo (behind the gate) you can see the Long Island cheese vine trying to take over the world.  It was over the fence but V tossed it back in.
It has been a busy weekend,  I'll almost be glad to get back to work tomorrow so I can get some rest, LOL!

13 comments:

  1. How exciting - a greenhouse! If anyone deserves a greenhouse, it is most certainly you. I remember way back, when you had a pepper plant that you wintered over each year in the house! Enjoy!

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    1. Well, I'm not sure I DESERVE it but I'm awfully excited to have it. And, LOL! Our pepper. Eric the Jalapeno finally died last winter (he/she was 4 or 5!) but we have now replaced Eric with Franz Joseph, a Black Hungarian pepper who will come into the house this fall. I don't think he would survive in the greenhouse unheated.

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  2. Wonderful! Looks just like mine! Mine is buildt on our old deck, so no planting in the ground. I made tables that breath and got heating mats, so I can plant in pots. LOVE the idea of planting in the ground.
    So happy for you. You deserve it.

    Cheryl - IN

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    1. My best friend asked if I was going to heat the greenhouse. He heats his cold frames sometimes in the winter. But I don't think so. I may end up with some things in pots, we'll see, I'm just excited to see what happens this winter.

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  3. What a wonderful looking greenhouse! Can't wait to see the pictures of the greenery!

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  4. Oh, Judy, your greenhouse looks wonderful! And that lovely black dirt makes my fingers itch to get in it. As Carolyn Renee said, can't wait to see what you can grow in it until the weather gets too, too frigid for it. I'm betting you can keep the hardy greens going most of the winter.

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    1. The topsoil is from a local company located near the Mississippi River. It's all that wonderful river silt/sand mix. I got some earlier this year to add into the beds along the south side of the house since they had all been filled with sand and gravel. It was really nice stuff so since it was marked down to $1.25/bag I decided to use it. There was so much gravel in that part of the yard.

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  5. Looks great! My first winter was definitely spent experimenting, and it was worth it just for the puttering alone, ha. I really enjoyed how long herbs lasted (parsley, rosemary, chives) into the winter, so I'm trying to make sure I have fresh plants of those inside this fall. Having a few fresh herbs in dinner in December is a real treat.

    I'm not planning to heat mine either, it's mostly for me about learning to grow cold weather crops and getting the timing down to extend my harvests (Still working on that for sure). Down the road I might try insulating the north side a bit, or doing some passive heating (compost etc) but I don't think it's something you need to do.

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    1. This is definitely going to be an ongoing experiment. I have heard about setting large containers of water to act as a heat sink for overnights.

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  6. Your hubby is sure industrious! He did a great job on the greenhouse and that is a great planting set up inside. You two are a good team! That's great that your son's school has them do community/volunteer work as part of their grade. I wish every school did that. And I wish every family taught it to their children. It would be a cleaner, kinder world.

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    1. There are several classes in school where they are required to do community service. Which I agree, is a great thing. If only more people would get involved.

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  7. ohmigosh how FUN! Can't wait to see what you get going in there!

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