osprey94's Blog

busy weekend
May 5, 2008 | 6:52 AM PST

Yesterday, D, his parents, and I spent all day building the greenhouse. The weather was FINALLY perfect for working on it, so we took advantage. Prior to yesterday, we had the foundation all ready and had added tons of gravel all around the foundation for drainage. It looked like this:

We threaded a conduit pipe thingy under the front beam of the house so the electrician would have an easier time wiring. The wall with the conduit thingy is the back wall. The opposite wall is the wall that will have the door.

Then, we had to arrange and fasten those rails along the wood beams. That took a LONG time, because it  had to be level and square, and the little bits of gravel getting under it didn't help at all.

Once we had the rails on, it was very easy to start the frame. We just stuck corner posts in each corner. A few more posts between them, and then the plastic wall pieces slide right into the spaces between.

Once we had the walls up, it looked like this:

On the far wall (door wall), we installed a vent. Here's a shot of that:

Next time we work on it we have to add the exhaust fan on the other end and the roof. Then, we'll be done with the outside and I'll have to do the shelves inside. Then, I'll have to install the lights, misting system, heater, etc. Hopefully, the electrician can come out when we're ready for him, but even if it takes him a while to get to us, at least this thing will be completed before the fall.

Other projects I've been working on are...

 1. Some containers for the deck. I took the smallish whiskey barrels the clematis used to be in and planted them with these "garden in a bag" things I found at costco... 

 One of them, though, is probably in part to full shade:

I'll probably need to move it, because the flowers I planted in it said full to part sun. If it just goes to the other end of the daybed, I think it'll get enough sun.

The other two containers are opposite this one:

I put a thin layer of gravel in the bottom of all three containers, filled it with container mix soil and put them on top of bricks to make sure the water can drain out of the bottom well.

2. I  tried out my SunCalc. It was the first day we actually HAD sun to calculate! I stuck it in between the viburnum and dogwood in front of the deck. I put it in the ground at 7am and turned it on. Little red lights flashed to show it was calculating. The directions said that in 12 hours, it'd stop flashing and the calculated sun "rating" would light up. I predicted it'd be part sun, but I wasn't sure, because the deck itself gets so hot in the summer. At 7pm, I looked and I was right - part sun. Great, I paid $20 to find out what I already knew. No, really, it was very cool. There are many places I'd like to calculate, that I'm not so sure about, so I'm sure it'll come in handy a few times, and then I can maybe sell it on ebay, or give it to  someone who'll enjoy it, too.

3. In the veggie garden, I started ALL over again in the spinach/lettuce bed. I had planted the seeds WAY to thickly and thinning was just impossible. Plus, I took a reading of the soil with my soil tester and it was LOW in nutrients. So, I used an organic fertilizer, raking it in, and replanted. square foot gardening style.I put in 2 rows of broccoli ("Early Dividend"), one per square foot, and the remaining squares are mostly spinach ("Baby's Leaf Hybrid") and lettuce ("Looseleaf Blend") with some cilantro in one square. All seeds are Burpee brand. Now, when they sprout, thinning will be a lot easier because I only planted 2-3 seeds in each section of each square.

 

4. Then, I planted tomatoes and walla walla onions. This year, I'm trying these red trays. They have four holes around the stem area that actually poke into the soil. You fill the receptacle with water and it slowly drains into the soil. In one of them, I filled the holes with organic fertilizer and then filled the thing up with water. With the other two, the only fertilizer they got was scratched into the soil before planting. I want to see if there's a difference in growth. Two of the tomatoes are indeterminate ("Bonny Best" and "Brandywine") and one is determinate (the one on the right - "Bush Early Girl"). I think the determinate one needs more space. I might move it to the very middle of the bed. The other two will get square metal cages for support:

5. Then, I planted the third bed with the herb garden seeds I bought from Burpee:

6. THEN, I planted 12 asparagus plants I bought at Home Depot:

I dug two long trenches, about 6 in. deep...

And, put the asparagus babies in there, spaced about 18 in apart...

and covered them with about 3 in of soil and watered them:

Now, supposedly, as they grow, I keep covering them with more soil.

7. THEN, I planted some sunflower seeds over by the fence on the opposite side of the garden. I planted "Red Sun", "Moonshine" and "Evening Sun":

 

8. I also prepped two containers to plant for the porch. That porch is probably full shade, so I need to go to the nursery and pick out some annuals that love shade.

I think that about covers the projects I've completed recently. I have the day off today, so hopefully, I'll be able to get a few more done.

I have an awesome idea for the front of the house and D and I were talking about yet another project for the future - A prairie meadow area! Can't WAIT. OH! I forgot about a project in process. I'll have to take some photos today and post them later.

All for now. Over and out.