Soggy Sunday

A soggy Sunday today, but I am happily playing in the greenhouse... My second planting of lettuce starts were out-growing their pots, and itching to be planted. They have already caught up in size, to the first planting that was directly planted in the garden, earlier this month. 

For fun, I am planting these in the raised beds in the greenhouse. 

They will be replaced by pepper plants once they have been harvested.

Looking forward to our first fresh salad of the season.

It shouldn't be to much longer now!

Raised beds have been filled

I found some time this week to get the raised  beds filled in the greenhouse. All the  beds are 1½ ft. wide with the left side bed measuring at 8 ft long, back bed at 6 ft. long and right side bed at 12 ft. long. 

I filled the beds with 10 (5 gallon) buckets of compost, for the base layer. A layer of aged chicken poop sprinkled on, and then 12 more 5 gallon buckets of regular garden soil. 

Time to start planting :-)

In the greenhouse this week

Cabbage, Broccoli, Onion & Lettuce starts are about ready to be planted in the garden.

They sure are enjoying their time in the greenhouse.

I also picked up this cute little Tiny Tim Tomato plant at our local grocery store....

It had me at hello...with that cute label and blossoms! 

Lucky for me Tiny Tim is an heirloom.  

Pruning Raspberries

According to the Farmers Almanac...Yesterday was a great day to prune. I just hadn't gotten around to this garden chore.....So, yesterday was the day!  Old canes removed and tops were trimmed...

Finished flooring

On Sunday, Troy added old Barn wood flooring in the greenhouse...No more gap under the door...woohoo! 

Raised beds were also added inside for winter gardening. I am hoping to get them filled with compost and garden dirt by the end of the week.

We also added a cute little salvaged sink in the front corner... I am loving this wonderful new space!

Learning Curve

On Sunday, we went to Mom & Dad's for family dinner...We arrived back home after dark and simply forgot to bring the tender plants from the greenhouse in for the night...

So, not a good play for the home team.....

It froze!

Not a little freeze... but, frozen hard dirt in the seed trays.... kind of freeze!

This is what I woke up to on Monday morning!

I panicked and brought the trays inside, put them under the grow lights, said a prayer and headed off to work. Amazing enough, I only lost 2 Sicilian Saucer tomatoes, and 5 Rutgers tomatoes, 3 California Wonder Peppers, and 2 Yolo Sweet Peppers

How on Earth, the rest of the tomatoes and peppers survived.... is beyond me!

Here's what the trays look like today....

I will chock this one up to.... greenhouse beginners luck!

Guess who will be remembering to bring in the tomato and pepper trays, until we get a heater in the greenhouse?

Planting Peas

I meant to get the Peas planted yesterday... 

I finally got the chance this evening, to get them in the ground. I soak my peas at least 24 hrs. before planting and also add "Natures Aid" Organic Granular Soil Inoculant at planting time. 

I planted a row of Cascadia, a compact heirloom & Alaska, an open pollinated heirloom. I  plant the seeds heavy handed using Crockett's method from Crockett's Victory Garden Book

Image Source  Crockett's Victory Garden

Happy Plants = Happy Me!

Even though the greenhouse isn't 100% ready... We wasted no time at all,  filling it up!

All the trays were taking over our tiny house, it feels good to get the house back in order and get the starts set out in the greenhouse. 

I'm happy.....plants are happy!

A Productive Yard Day!

I had to relocate the chives last weekend...and it looks like they are having a good time in the new spot!

The Lettuce starts have been planted in the garden a little early.

I will be reusing the paper cups they were started in, as cold caps for protection from the frost.

Cold hardy Kale and Spinach have also been moved from the cold frames and transplanted into the garden.

Summer Love Sweet Pea Mix has been seeded around the garden entrance, in hopes of a spectacular Summer display.

We were busy knocking out our garden chore list today. 

• Troy was very diligent working on the greenhouse 
• the boys were in charge of raking the entire yard, cleaning up piles and burning.
•  I pruned all shrubs, vines and rose bushes, cleaned out and amended the flower beds, planted more seeds, transplanted starts and made dinner. 

All in all, it was a very productive yard day!

Without her makeup...

Troy made amazing headway on the greenhouse this weekend, and although she isn't wearing any makeup, she is still beautiful! 

We will have to wait for the weather to warm up, before we can get her painted and looking even more gorgeous..... 

Windows in a full 360 degrees, open up and allow for airflow as needed...

Ventilation, should not be a problem!

We re-used old metal shelving, from a local clothing store, that were free....

and did I mention the door and all 10 windows, were also free :-)

I love FREE!!! 

I love what can be created with Free!!!

We re-purposed them into plant tray shelves ;-)

Stay tuned as we continue along with our greenhouse project!

Propagating Hydrangeas

My Hydrangea was purchased at Walmart in late winter, where it was forced into full bloom out of season. I am hoping to keep it alive enough to be able to transplant it outdoors.

I cut green limbs that were showing signs of budding and cut the leaves in half, so the energy will concentrate on forming roots.

I have read that cinnamon is a good substitute for rooting hormone, so I gave it a try.

I placed them in potting soil and a sunny windowsill, crossing my fingers and waiting to see what happens!

Setting out

The weather was amazing yesterday and all my anxious seedlings got to spend the day out in the cold frames soaking up real Sun.

 I have high hopes to finish up the greenhouse walls this weekend. For now I am hauling the starts outside in the morning and hauling them right back inside in the evening. I have to keep the cold frames closed during the day to prevent the deer and chickens from helping themselves. 

To keep the starts from overheating I just slide the back windows open for ventilation.