The challenge of wind

This past Thursday (10-17), our area was buffeted by very strong winds due to the nor'easter that was off the east coast this past weekend.  Some gusts were in the range of 40-50 mph.  I really gave it no thought in regards to my new greenhouse.  That is, until I saw a panel from it lying next to one of my garden beds.
Upon discovering this, I went out to inspect the structure only to find that there were two panels that had become freed from the greenhouse.  I gathered the two pieces and put them inside the unit to make sure they weren't tossed all over my yard or worse yet, damaged.  I then attempted to locate the clips that were supposed to hold the panels in place.  These clips are best descrided as spring loaded paperclips.  And finding them proved callenging to say the least.
After my initial reconnaissaince trip around the immediate area surrounding the gardenhouse, I found about 6 clips.  I knew I needed to find more of these so I expanded the search.  Amazingly, I ended up finding more clips almost 20-30 feet away.  I then tried to attach the panel that was taking the brunt of the winds.  I put the clips back in place and secured the panel (or so I thought).  I then moved on to the next panel feeling like I had accomplished something.
Just when I finished securing the second pane, the previous wall piece made this horrible sound and then proceeded to fall out and begin a dance accross my gardens.  I hurriedly caught up to it and turned around and saw the second pane push out and fall to the ground.  So, with one in my hand, I ran accross the gardens and grabbed the second piece.  Defeated, I put the two pieces back into the greenhouse and analyzed the situation.
I decided to open the vent in the roof to allow the winds to flow a little easier through the structure.  Feeling quite proud that the greenhouse was going to make it out of these winds in relatively good shape, I began to look for those clips that weren't obviousy up to the task at hand.  While walking the area, I heard yet another noise.
I turned around and looked directly at my building only to see a roof piece wobbling furiously.  Then, all at once, it was launched like a kite into the air.  I stood there dumbfounded and amazed at the same time.  It moved up rapidly as I had visions of this piece landing in my neighbors yards, or worse yet, that it would land in the next block.
As quickly as it went up, it came down with suddeness.  I ran to try to catch it while thinking this was not going to end well.  But, it did,  Someone upstairs must have thought I had had enough.  I gathered this piece and laid it with the other two pieces inside the house.
At this point, I decided to let things just progress on their own.  Until the winds died down, I was fighting a literal losing battle.  I went inside and tried to keep myself preoccupied.
After a couple of hours, I went back to unit and discovered that another side panel had succumded to the fury of nature.  I put that inside on top of the others and looked for more clips.
My wife ordered new clips from the manufacturer which they said were improved. No further damages were sustained from the storm Thursday evening and by Saturday, the winds were much calmer. 
Upon receipt of the new clips on Saturday, I went out and reinstalled the panels.  Yes, the new clips seem to be more substantial so there is hope that this episode will not repeat itself.  Amazingly, throughout this whole ordeal, none of my plants were damaged.   All of them came through with no noticeable damages. 
I can only imagine what my antics looked like to my neighbors as I fought natures elements.  They already know that I am a bit over the top on my gardening but this episode must have cemented that in their minds forever.
I am that neighbor afterall.  Well, that's all that is fit to write about at this time.  Have a great week and Happy gardening everyone.
                     

Greenhouse update.

I am both happy and relieved to report that the greenhouse is now complete.  It took most of Saturday to erect the structure.  Thankfully the weather was almost ideal as it wasn't too warm.  It is still summer afterall in this part of the world.  It would not have been completed without the very able and determined efforts of my friend Mark, my wife, son and daughter in law.  It was challenging to say the least.
The biggest challenge came from the fact that the greenhouse had sat for almost 2 years before it was built.  It was stored in what I considered a relatively safe area but was somewhat exposed to the weather.  When opened, the instructions were unusable.  We printed the instructions from online but they were for the newer model and the numbers did not quite match up.  My wife and son were able to piece the door and vent parts together through what I would call dogged determination and methodology.  I would not have been so successful.  Lesson learned here not to procrastinate.
After siting the 4"X6" wood supports and laying down a run of marble stones in the troughs we dug, we then cut the wood to their proper sizes and leveled them on the stone.  We then attached the wood pieces to each other by using L brackets and 3 inch wood screws.  Once that was completed, we began the construction of the greenhouse.
As can be seen from the picture below, the process was to build the 4 walls separately.

This is the one of the wall sections which was comprised of about 10 pieces.  Once all 4 walls were built, we transported them to the site and attached them to each other.  Then the middle support was attached along with the three supports on each side which act as the channels for the "glass" inserts.
We then finished the greenhouse by inserting the vent into the section for it and attached the sliding door to entrance wall.  I then screwed 3" wood screws though the base of the greenhouse into the wood base framing.
Here is a picture of the finished product.

The greenhouse is 8 ft long and 6 foot wide.  It actually feels pretty spacey inside right now.  I am sure that will change once I load in selves and such.  The sunlight is diffused by the panels.  Both the space and the diffusion of light are better seen in the picture below. 

On Sunday, I began transferring the various shelving units I have into the greenhouse.  As can be seen below, there appears to be enough room for what I have planned. 

I hope to be able to try to grow the traditional root crops inside it.  I will then have a real feel for how far into the winter I can grow plants.  It will definitely help me with growing my own plant varieties and timing plant maturity in the spring and throughout the summer.  

That's all I have at this time.  My next step is to get as much of the garden plots reset before it is too cold.  I will keep you posted on that and the many goings on in the garden.  If you should have any questions, please drop me a line.  Thanks for visiting!

Work progresses in the garden

As noted in my last post, I had much to do in order to set my garden up for next year.  I can report that I made some progress in that regard.  When a project is this complex, you have to think what is the most important task at hand.  Clearly, that would be the assembly of my new greenhouse.
I had to first decide the placement of the greenhouse.  I chose the end of one of my old beds as it affords the best southern exposure for it as seen in the picture below.

The greenhouse will be the central hub of the garden.  I will use it in the early spring to begin seeding flats of spring crops and then I will use it to grow seedlings for succession plantings during the summer.  It will also afford me the ability to start late season crops earlier for transplanting into the garden in the fall.  I will have friends and my son coming over this weekend to begin the project.  I did some pre-work in the interim so that we could get as much finished as possible.  Having never attempted such a project, it is a little daunting when you begin to think of all the steps involved.

As you can be see in the picture, I have dug trenches where the 4X4's will be placed for the base of    the structure.  This will reduce the risk of the greenhouse moving or even tipping over in high winds. But first, we will put down a layer of crush and run stone in the trenches in order to allow the water    from rains or snows to dissipate from underneath the wood.  This will reduce the rotting of the wood over time.

Once the stones and the boards are in place, we will begin the process of constructing the greenhouse.  That seems like it is going to be a very long process as most of the build your own greenhouses are just adult sized tinker toys.  They are somewhat akin to IKEA furniture.

On another note, I seeded carrots about two weeks ago into a flower container I picked up at our local Big Lots.  I decided to use it for carrots given the depth and structure of the piece.  I mixed a cheap bag of top soil I bought on sale from Home Depot for the base product and mixed in some time release fertilizer really well.  Then I added some Amish seed starting soil into that.  I then spread a layer of the Amish soil on the top, poked spacing holes and added yet some more of the Amish soil into each hole.  I then seeded the holes, covered the seeds with the soil and sprayed them with water.

I am keeping them in a plastic FlowerHouse greenhouse that I have.  As seen above, they are doing quite well.  I am hoping to get more seedings of cold weather plants completed.  Unfortunately, the greenhouse construction is taking up most of my time right now.              

Well, thats all for now.  I'll post more pics of the greenhouse as we/I make progress.                    

                     

                                                                                                   

Reset, Rethink

It is now time for me to reset my garden.  After giving it much thought and deliberation, it was time to admit that the garden needs a refurbishment on every level.  I have a total area of about 765 sq. ft. of which I am now utilizing about 210 sq. ft.  So, I have been measuring and calculating and calculating again to try and expand the planting areas.  I can't say that I am an expert, but I think I can get about 460 or so sq. ft. for planting so far.  I will continue to refit the site but given the need for walking paths, I think this pretty much is the most efficient I can get.
Additionally, I am going to begin the process of erecting a glass greenhouse in the southern most corner of the garden.  It will take up roughly 48 sq. ft. of the area.  It will be used on a 12 month basis for growing root crops in the winter and seedlings in the spring.  I can't wait to get it up and running.
There is a lot of work involved in this naturally.  I am about to retire after 25 years with my present company.  It's been a long road, but I am determined to make my retirement productive(no pun intended).
My main reasoning for doing all this planning and work is to reconfigure the garden for my future plans.  I have thought long and hard as to what type of veggies I need to plant to offset the rising costs being forecasted for next year and beyond.  Food inflation will soon be an issue for our country and the world.  That much can be determined by looking at the USDA crop reports.  How much - that's the wild card.  I am not an alarmist by any means.  While I can't grow everything we'll need, I figure I will do my part in growing the portion of my own food that I can.  I have a friend who wants to expand his garden.  He has a very big area and I will definitely be growing more crops on that area.  So, I probably will be able to put a big dent in vegetables next year.  Time will tell.
In my next post, I will be taking pictures of the current state of affairs to allow me to track the project and share with you the many travails in getting the garden reconfigured.  This won't be easy but it certainly is needed.  Please continue to watch for updates.  Happy gardening everyone

 

Planting time has arrived.

The weather has moderated somewhat from the cold temps we were experiencing here.  It is still rather wet. I was hopeful that I would have begun to plant the early crops in my collapsible greenhouse, but life got in the way.  The company I work for has switched to a new computer program and as usual, it has been a rather bumpy road. The planters are set up, it's just that in a week and a half, my wife and I will be on vacation.  I could plant the seeds and let my son try to nurse them along while we are gone, but I doubt that the results would be worth the effort.  So, I will seed them in when we return.
We have had a streak of storms moving in and out and that has resulted in the soil being very wet.  I am having the same issues that the farmers in the mid west are currently working against.  The soil is just too wet and cold to allow for a planting.  I really feel bad for them given what they plant is for their livelihood.
We had a wet past couple of days and my rototiller therefore, was clogging up pretty badly today.  So, I looked in my garden shed and found a couple of very old but trustworthy tools.  The first tool is my handy dandy wheel cultivator.  I bought it at a roadside antique store as my wife and I were passing through an area in Pa.  It was pretty weathered but that didn't bother me as I kind of prefer my tools to have the "patina" of age.  Even though it was to go out in out front yard for a decoration, it hasn't seemed to have made that transition - yet.
The other tool is what is called a Norcross 55, 5 tine garden cultivator.  I haven't had need of using it until this year and I wasn't really expecting much out of it.  But, given the soil conditions, I felt I had no real choice.
Here are pictures of the two tools.

After cutting the whole patch with the wheel cultivator, I then used the Norcross cultivator to dig deeper into the soil.  Much to my amazement, it dug into the soil and broke up the water laden "mud".  It cut through the roots of the winter rye and broke them up with little assists from me.  To say I was pleased is an understatement.  Granted, I would have preferred the rototiller but that would have been an exercise in futility with the conditions present.  Here is a picture of the plot after all the digging was completed.  Not too bad for using antiques to get the job done.  

   

After that mild success, I decided to cut the area in for the glass greenhouse that I was supposed to assemble last year.  The area is at the end of the two pictured beds.  I took down the small structure at the end of the one bed and weed-whacked the remaining winter rye.  I then used the wheel cultivator followed by the Norcross cultivator much like I did on the earlier plot.  Again, I was pleasantly surprised with the Norcross piece.  And again, even though the ground was not best suited for cultivating, I was able to get the desired outcome as seen below. 

Now, hopefully, the ground can dry out a little and I can get underway with both the greenhouse and planting.  From the long term forecast, that really doesn't look too promising as we have 4 major storms that are to cross the US in the next two weeks.  How much rain is in store for us?  There is really is no sure way to know.  All one can do is just wait and see what happens.

In any case, I hope your gardens are coming along beautifully wherever you are.  Happy Gardening!

Weather issues

It's been awhile since I last posted.  That is because I have been fighting a very tenacious cold that just won't go away.  Just seems to have the ability to linger on - mostly through a cough.  But I figured it was time to check in so here we go.
Lots going on actually around the area.  Spring has taken leave so Winter has been the dominant feature of the weather.  We had temps hit lows in the teens and actually had a "snow" event this past week.  Today, Sunday the 10th, was probably the mildest day we have had in awhile.  Temps have been in the 50"s today and we're supposed to see a general trend of warming for the coming week.  All good news indeed as I need to get the garden rolling.
I have recently been adding vegetable scraps to my composters(pictured below) to try to get them reignited with micro biological activity.  Each of them have had about two sets of scraps put in them.  I will wait until we get more consistent weather then I will begin adding more mass to them.

They are about 1/2 full each with seasoned compost ready to use once the temps moderate. I will have to prepare my three beds first by cutting and working in the winter rye that is currently growing in them.  Here is one of the beds I have.  The Rye grew well despite the colder temps we have had.

I will wait for about a week or more before I begin the process of cutting the rye down to begin working it into the soil.  The reason I am waiting is that we are possibly going to have yet another set of colder days around the 21st through the 23rd.  I am trying to let the Rye grow as much as possible in order to maximize the input into the soils.  One week of good temps has often added and inch or more in the past.  

Well, next week, weather and health permitting, I will begin diving in big time into the gardens.  Till then, have a great gardening week!

Future forecast

Just saw a forecast from a reliable source - not NOAA or Accuweather  - mind you.  It appears that our much ballyhooed early Spring prediction from Punxsutawney Phil is inaccurate to a degree.  There are models out there that suggest a major cold snap will be hitting the northeast mid-March.  There isn't any data suggesting a snowstorm with the cold but that is still to be refined.  Given that this time period is at the edge of the envelope as far as forecasting, there isn't any data beyond this period at this time.  But, having a cold snap with our current wet trends portends difficulties for the  commercial growers in this area. 
I did go out to my garden yesterday before the rains set in.  The ground seems much wetter but not frozen.  My shoes did seem to sink in pretty easily which means - if this pattern of rains continue - there will need to be a period of much drier weather before the soils will warm up and dry out enough to plant.  Having to track this is a first for me.  It gives me a small sense of what a farmer with tens to hundreds of acres might be going through.
I have also been tracking the temps in my portable greenhouse for about a week.  It is still getting below freezing for a majority of the days but the lows are climbing.  I will keep tracking at this point to see what happens.
The weather has been quite unusual recently and it appears there is more to come.  The whole Northeastern US is under strong wind watches.  In the area around Buffalo NY, there are supposed to be winds reaching 75 mph.  They don't have a lot of snow cover presently so they won't have that to deal with visibility-wise.  The odd thing is that the wind issues are reaching from Michigan to the east coast of the US.  The is a huge area given the depth and breadth of this system.  It just doesn't happen too much.   
Well, that's all there is to report on today.  Just in a holding pattern when and until the weather is a little more hospitable to gardening.  Until the next time - Happy Gardening everyone!

Time to begin?

That's a tough question to answer.  The weather is at times saying yes and then cruelly, no.  We are currently at 43 degrees right now.  I walked out to my garden plots and the when I dug into the soil, it was cold and wet.  Not a big surprise as the weather has been quite seasonal.
So, what can be done given the soils are not ready for planting even the hardiest of seeds.  My answer is quite simple.  I will begin the process of clearing out my plastic greenhouse.  I placed one of my remote thermometers in it to get a gauge of what the temperature ranges are at this time.  Once the coldest temps are consistently above freezing, I will then set up the various hydroponic systems I have and  begin seeding in the early crops.  I was behind the curve the last time I planted in it and the crops bolted before I could get a decent crop produced due to too much summer heat.  It's a delicate balance to get the seeds in at the right time.  One season is not like the other in this area. 
I did a little cleaning around the beds when I was outside Saturday morning.  The rains and snows took a little toll on the them.  Nothing huge as everything looks to have come through the winter.  The winter rye is in a sort of dormant state but that will change with a few more weeks of 50 degree weather.  It will be soon enough before I have to cut the rye and start working it into the soil.
I also eyed up the area where I will be building the glass greenhouse this spring.  Lots to do there so I just need to start chipping away at that in small chunks.  The next step is to remove the bricks and paver stones in the area of the greenhouse floor.
Once those are removed, I can then use the rototiller to break up the ground where I will be starting the base of the unit.  That won't be for a little while yet as the ground is wet and we are expecting some freezing temps in the near future.
I took out some kitchen scraps this afternoon and buried them in the unfinished composter.  I did this in order to get the processes moving to create bacteria once the temps moderate.  There will be slow decomposition for now and even that is fine.  It was deep enough to perhaps awaken or feed the existing microbes that exist that far down.   
It was nice to get out in the yards and tool around the various points to get the gardening juices flowing again.  Spring is about a month or so away but hope has been rekindled.  It should be an interesting year given my focus on making the garden contribute to our household.  There is  big difference between gardening as a hobby and gardening to augment our food supply.  We shall see how it turns out.  It is a challenge for sure.  So, there is where the gardening progress is at this point in the year.  Till next time, Happy gardening everyone!

Beginning of Spring!

After all, Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an earlier Spring - right?  Well, maybe not given his 40% accuracy rate.  But, one can always hope I guess?  After having a brutal week of very extreme temperatures due to the recent polar vortex, we have begun to turn back to normal temps.  We hadn't had much in the way of winter type weather up until then.  I do prefer that we have a period where the ground actually freezes.  I believe that the freezing of the ground eliminates pests, fungus and general issues in the soil.
I have been busy trying to get myself prepared for the upcoming season.  I took stock of my many seeds about a week or so ago.  I really need to reign in my penchant for buying seeds as I peruse home improvement stores.  I have over 175 seed packets in my small dorm fridge.  That's seems insane to me so I will begin to throw out the older packets as I go along.  One things for sure, I don't need any seeds as the season begins.
I am trying to better utilize the space I have this year.  I need to plan with the goal in mind to not over plant vegetables like Tomato's and Peppers.  I always give away at least half the harvest by the end of the year.  And eventually, I end up either letting the crops rot on the plants or throw them away as everybody has had their fill of them.  To me, that is such a huge waste of my energy, time and space.
So, the task at hand right now is to plan what I am going to grow.
My first project is to get my greenhouse up and running.  Not a small task but if I break it down into smaller steps, I should be able to get it erected soon enough.  Then, after that is in place, I need to reorganize the area behind my garage.  I have a 275 gallon container that I need to hook up along with moving my 4 composters so that I have access to everything.  Again, not a small task but it is necessary.
Along with those two projects, I need to reorganize the garden and determine what plants I will be growing.  I have a plastic greenhouse that I can use to start growing lettuces and the like earlier this year.  Barring any major snowstorms, it should hold up to the weather for the Spring.  Beyond that, I will be relying on the various growers for crops.  I have several and they each have a few crops that are different from the others.  I generally get a pretty well rounded selections and can even find most of the harder to get heirloom plants. 
I would add pictures but the ground in and around my gardens amounts to mud.  Better to leave the picture taking to another day.  But once things dry out a little - maybe this weekend - I'll get some snaps.  Until then, everyone enjoy the day!