things growing

First true leaves of parsley!

My tomatoes have grown taller than the coldframe.

There's a few nights of frost still expected, I'll have to bring them in.

And move the plant cage again- it's now out on the deck protecting some things from my cat! I put a bit of fencing around the lower part of the deck railings, so the cats don't lean out so far looking like they'll jump. They really like hanging out on the deck with us now. But Eliza chomps all the plants. The foreground pot in here is of sprouted wheat I pulled out of the mulched beds and stuck in dirt for her- but I have to keep her from chewing it down to nothing, give her access to it only occasionally. Also protected are- thyme, chives (which she chewed a lot of) and dill. The mint pot is unsheltered, she leaves that one alone.

I also had to block her from getting onto the greenhouse shelves and biting plants in there. With the coldframe window.

The cats especially like being on the deck right now because there is a bird nesting under one corner of it- on top of that carpenter bee trap I hung.

Today I managed to get a few photos of it- I think they're house finches. The male has a rosy chest and head.

From above, you can put your eye to a crack between the boards and see straight into the nest- five small very pale blue eggs. I can't wait to see the baby birds hatch! 

snowfall

Yesterday it was 80°. Today it is snowing.

I moved my three pots of herbs on the deck into the greenhouse (which is still holding at 38°) and brought all the seedling trays inside. Some of them- the tatsoi and tokyo bekana- could probably be fine out there, but I prefer not to take chances. Not now, when I'm still getting back into managing the plants and taking care of all the tasks.

I put the seedling trays into shallow boxes and affixed wire mesh over, to keep my cats from messing with it. The wire is in narrow strips that used to cover my planter boxes on the deck railings (which I removed last year, they were cracking and sun faded and split apart) but it seems to be enough- kitties have stood up to sniff at it but not tried to jump on top or stick their paws in.

A few in the wire cage are under the bench too.

They are all safe from the cold and getting enough light (to survive), and in a few days I can move them back out again.

rewrap

I re-skinned my little greenhouse. 

Not sure why as I haven't been using it, which is the reason it sat with a panel completely missing from one short side, half the back torn, and most of the roof. It tore from age and weather, and I just hadn't had the motivation to go out and fix it. But with more possibility of rain in the coming months, I didn't want it to get into disrepair. Some of the smaller wood pieces are starting to rot, but most of it is still in fair condition, standing up and staying dry. It was satisfying to see the temperature immediately swing up to over a hundred degrees in there, once I had all the wrap fastened on!

I used medium weight mildew-resistant clear plastic shower liners again. I didn't get it on as straight and wrinkle-free as usual, and had to patch some gaps with tape. Also the support up across back of the roof panel came off, and I lazily just held it back in place with duct tape instead of going to find a screw and screwdriver in the garage. I can work more on it later.

greenhouse repairs

Finished the fixups I started two weeks ago.

It needed more work than I realized. When I took off all the plastic panels- only left the roof piece on- found that some wood pieces across the bottom were rotted. So I pulled them out, cut and painted new pieces to go in. Again from scrap wood, so probably this won't last long either. But I cut one piece too short, so had to patch in another alongside it, and it's a super weak point now, so I added triangular pieces and um, heavy duty zip ties. No closeups of that corner, it's embarrassing. 

Also how much the door slumps. The piece I cut to go underneath it- threshold- has an angle now. And I probably should cut a wedge to attach up top, or I will have to keep stopping up this gap with old cloths. Just makes me realize I'm not actually that great at building things.

It was nice to get all the cracked and discolored panels off, though a lot of work to remove all the old nails and tiny rusted screws. Much easier to pull staples with pliers, and I'm not going to mess around with my old quick fix anymore- packing tape. It all shreds into a mess. Having a wrap that goes all the way around from door post to door post on the other side, means no gaps where the panels or walls meet. So I have no drafts to block, except that door edge.

So this is my preference, after trying it both ways- to continue wrapping in plastic. But not plastic sheeting anymore- this time I went out and bought another shower liner, new just for this use. (All of five dollars). I know it won't last forever- the older piece on the opposide side- which is not clear anymore, you can see here- is already tearing a bit- but that piece had got many years of use indoors already.

I dithered about getting shower liners, but then found where people deliberately buy it to winterize their porches! So if they use it for that more or less successfully, I figure it will last long enough for this. If two or three years, still better than what I had before. 

The back wall. Just a bit uneven where it comes down off the roof, but all clear!

Most of the structure still felt sturdy, and dry inside, except down where it rests on the decking. At least one of the main posts is starting to rot on the bottom edge. So -sigh- this thing is going to have a limited lifespan. I hope to still get at least five years out of it, though. It's lasted almost four, now.

View of the greenhouse from my dining room window:

greenhouse rewrap

I re-skinned part of my little greenhouse. Some of those plexiglass or acrylic panels I put on two years ago, were finally starting to crack and yellow. You can see how bad here on the back side- the upper panel there is still quite yellowed, and the whole roof pane broke apart in a wind. I covered the top with an old shower liner, and it was so serviceable I've just left it there.

This whole short side got replaced- panel just under the roof was cracked in half, lower ones were yellowed, pieces folded around the back corner were all coming loose. I know I was so pleased with putting solid acrylic panels on before, but now I'm happier with this again! I used another old shower liner- when they get gunky enough I can't scrub soap scum off anymore, I buy a new one- but half the liner is still fairly clear, so that's what I cut up to use here. It was big enough to cover the entire short side, wrap around the back where there's that uneven corner, and around the front right side to the door post. So all that area has no gaps, no overlapping bits where wind might get in. Pulled out all the old nails and screw, just used staples again. (Sure will be easier to remove in future, too).

Here's the front. The roof still has one acrylic panel with the shower plastic wrapped all the way over it (so the front side is double-layered, it was just eaiser to secure that way)- and there's a piece of wood in there to prop it up because the support piece I had going across under the peak, broke too. But you can see how the right of the door is a bit less clear than the left, as it's the liner plastic and not the clear acrylic. I don't mind though. 

The only panel on this greenhouse that hasn't needed replacing- plastic sheeting, glazing from a picture frame or otherwise- is the door. That is a piece of polycarbonate that someone bought my kid for a crafting project once, and he didn't end up using it. I should just pony up and get more of that.

The other short side has some of the older clear panels too, only one is starting to yellow and crack. I'm thinking now I might just go buy another shower liner for five bucks, and rewrap the rest of the house- but maybe I'll see how this leftover piece I put on holds up to the weather come winter, first.

My husband replaced a bunch of glass shelving recently, and we have a stack of glass from the old shelves sitting around. I've been thinking of getting more ambitious and learning how to windowframe them all and make a proper little greenhouse- but: I already know we don't have the right tools. It will be much heavier, not easy to shift around. I'm kind of fond of this little greenhouse, that I made myself out of repurposed materials! I don't mind having to reskin it every few years . . . 

some work

I've finally got out in the garden to start doing a bit of work again. Yesterday I cleaned up three of the beds, mostly pulling weeds, where I did a silly thing a month ago. On a whim I planted kidney beans. We've been eating the end of an older package of the dry beans, and I'd been tossing the unsuitable ones into the compost bin. Where some of them sprouted. So I thought hey, if the beans will sprout in my bin, won't they sprout in the ground. And beans will grow fast, like the heat, without needing much attention. So on a day when I really shouldn't have been working, I cleared the ground in three beds, made rows of holes with a stick, and sowed a few dozen kidney beans. No idea if the climate here is good for them, if they'll mature in time (planted late!) or anything, and it was a bad idea that day to do physical labor, even though it wasn't much. It was too much for me. 

But look! Two of the beds, about half the beans sprouted. Ha. That does feel satisfying.

That day I also cut back the dill, which had grown into a towering thing with drying brown umbrels of seed. Tall just like in that book I looked at disbelieving two years ago. I saved the seed.

It's much tidier around there now. I also cut back the lovage which was towering over my head and full of yellowed, bug-attacked leaves. That was all yesterday. Today I trimmed grass edge around four of the beds, and used it as mulch on the beans. I cut back the catmint which was going crazy and flopping all over the place, too tall. The ones I puzzled over earlier in the summer? Also catmint, they look just the same now. This little plant 

did grow up into blue sage! Cheers me to see it, even if there's only one.

In the herb bed I cut back the lemon balm which was making leggy seed stalks, and the sculpit whose balloon flowers were flopping all over the top of other plants, and happily saw the winter savory is thriving again! I trimmed that one a bit just to encourage spread. Trimmed lavender back from the edge but going to do a proper pruning later when I can take more care for the shape.

I startled a rabbit out of the perennials when carrying stuff back to dump in the compost bin. Found a yellowish toad when I was trimming grass edges. And saw the most beautiful thing- a brilliantly gold beetle. It looks like a ladybird that's a jewel. Not kidding, it's spectacular. There were two. I caught one and took inside put in a jar (with a loose lid) to identify. Came back the next morning to take a photo before setting it free- and it had changed color. Now a duller orangish tan with translucent edges and faint spots. I'd read they do that, but hadn't expected to see it. I hope I find another one and get a photo of the gold color, it was just so stunning.

There's a giant squash growing in bed nine. At least, I think it's a squash. I thought it was a volunteer zucchini, from the year before. The leaves are wrong- they're too round and not notched enough. It does have the big yellow flowers just like a squash, but only one plant so don't know if I'll get any fruit to find out. 

There's lots more to catch up on, but that little bit of work just got me so tired- in a good way! I'm happy to be physically tired from actual work again, instead of dragging tired from illness and recovery. 

My milkweeds are tall and robust and making fat fuzzy-edged seedpods. But no sign of monarch caterpillars. I feel like I always expect them too early, so will check again! 

Up the railings to the deck, the handful of cardinal climber I planted late, is finally getting its height. But no flowers yet. And no hummingbirds. The blue salvia on smaller sideyard is in flower, but I just haven't been out there enough to see if the hummingbird visits. I'm sad to think it might have gone to forage elsewhere for the season because I didn't have cardinal climber growing for it yet.

Last thing to note: I learned this week that I can soften crystalized honey in my greenhouse, and melt butter for a baking recipe, and put dough in there to rise. But it's not quite hot enough to melt candle wax out of the bottom of a jar! (Worth a try, I thought).

greens in the little house

The weather has really been fluctuating here. Yesterday it was in the seventies during the day, then it fell to freezing again overnight. So my tatsoi in the little greenhouse

suddenly bolted. Their winter end!

There's still some tokyo bekana, small now as I've eaten more of it again.

And lettuces are filling the shelves (hope to plant them out soon in March)

plus the baby kale, collards and leeks go out on warmer days- more progress on their true leaves!

wind damage

It was warm so I planned to leave the lettuces and other plants in the little greenhouse overnight. But then we got some rain, and strong winds. I put half the lettuces under the deck table for some shelter

and then the wind blew a roof panel off my greenhouse! It was already after dark when this happened. To prevent the wind from ripping more panels off I quickly wrapped the top of the greenhouse in an old plastic shower liner. (So glad I still had that laying around.) Strapped it down with packing tape and snugged as best I could with clothespins. I was worried it wouldn't hold, but in the morning, still there:

I was able to retrieve the loose panel before it blew across the yard, and a few more small pieces that had cracked off. Patched it all back together, using screws instead of nails this time to hold down. Sealed the ridge gap with duct tape. And taped a bunch of edges that I hadn't bothered with before, so the wind can't work its way under a panel again (hopefully). 

All the plants inside are okay too.

clear panels

I re-skinned my tiny greenhouse. I was too late in rewrapping it in plastic sheeting- the temperature extremes had degraded it and was starting to shred. Realized my folly in using this for so many years- when it gets to the point of shredding, I can't gather all the tiny bits, and am probably adding microplastics to my own yard. Don't want that. 

This time, I took the trouble of finding some plastic panels- thin plexiglass or acrylic. Some I got that were scrap people gave away, some from taking apart picture frames I got at the thrift store for cheap. (Ugly pictures, or they had no picture at all). Pieces were all good size but none large enough to cover an entire side, so I layered them with an inch or two overlapping, bottom to top, to shed the rain.

Greenhouse looks much better now. Some of the plastic panels I'd put on the front this past December had discolored- I replaced those, too. None had broken or come loose, just yellowed some. So I think skinning it in panels will last longer each time than the plastic sheeting- in fact the roll of it I have in storage is aged enough I'm just going to toss what's left. 

I was really hoping to find an old storm door with a plexiglass pane to use- as it might cover one whole side of my greenhouse in a single piece. I've seen them before up for giveaway, but none now when I actually needed it. No matter, getting a handful of empty frames to remove the glazing, was still cheaper than buying new acrylic sheets at the hardware store. (I've looked before.)

seedlings update-

My tomatoes are starting to come up, also the leaf beet chard and sweet peas. Of the second sowing, only the nasturtiums and "floater" tray of sweet peas haven't sprouted.

Well, looks like the greenhouse does heat up plenty after all. In its new position, and with a panel blocking the direct sun off it, the thermometer in there reads 70°. Outside air temp is barely 35°- it's sunny today but very chill. Without the door propped open it would actually be too hot for them in there!

a test-

I thought my outdoor thermometers were off (showing diff temps). Put them next to each other and waited ten, fifteen minutes. They read the same. I don't know why I thought otherwise, before.

Realized belatedly that the one in the greenhouse hasn't been giving me accurate idea of the temp in there. I didn't think about this before, but the thermometer has to be in the shade to give the actual air temperature. If the sun is hitting it directly, it heats up the thermometer itself which then reads much hotter. So I'm guessing my greenhouse has never really been at 80°, 90° on recent sunny days. I'd put my hand in there and think it doesn't feel that warm. And the seedlings never wilted. It was probably just over 60°. Well, I moved the thermometer to the other side of the structure. If sun still hits it, I will prop up a piece of cardboard or something behind it. See if that gives me more accurate readings.

a bit warmer

I cleaned out my mini greenhouse today.

Took out all the deck pots that were stored there, dump the soil all together into the wheelbarrow, mixed it up and sifted out roots, a few weeds and larger bits of bark or sticks with my hands. Stashed the soil in a large pro mix bag, wiped the pots clean and stacked them under the deck. Pleased at how tidy they are- not harboring insects or dug up by the squirrel as in winters past. When it's time to plant my coleus, herbs and other plants for containers, I'll just refill the pots. 

Meanwhile, greenhouse has a full shelf of seedlings! Today it got warm enough the greenhouse heated to near 80° but I couldn't set the baby plants out on the table, there were strong winds. I propped the door open and set some planter drip trays up to block some of the sun, keeping the seedlings from overheating. 

Hard to judge how well that worked- well my trays didn't dry out and the seedlings didn't wilt, so I think it helped.