Building The Greenhouse.

This fall we built the hemlock frame and my boys and I installed the hoops. We've built it across from the barn where it will have protection from wind by being below the riding ring and surrounded by trees which are at a distance that they won't obscure light. Friends helped me build the north plywood wall with doors, installing the channel lock and building the south doors. So much work.

The boys enjoyed swinging between the hoops and they said they had a blast installing a ton of lag screws with me.

This weekend two friends came to help. It was time to install the plastic. Saturday was the installation of the doors, the inflation kit, additional bracing and other little odd jobs that seem to take forever. Sunday was crunch day. The strong winds cleared through Saturday night leaving Sunday morning calm and clear. 

We placed cardboard on the ground and then unrolled the plastic on one side. It was one full sheet of plastic which the instructions said to cut up the middle and then lay double layered over the greenhouse frame. Nope. No way was I going to cut anything. We grabbed the mid-line and started pulling it over. Thank goodness there were three of us. That was incredibly difficult. After a ton of work in pulling it over we aligned it straight and what do you know that's when the wind came up.

Immediately I had one person hold onto the plastic on the windward side and the other two of us wire locked one side. What a race! After securing that side we did the other one pulling with all our might to get the plastic as tight as possible. 

Then we secured the north end. As you can see from pictures it's not a little greenhouse the peak is over 12 feet high. Using ladders on uneven ground, pulling plastic with one hand and holding on with the other was... quite a feat. 

The hardest end was the south facing. We secured the bottom and then stretched and aligned the plastic up over the last hoop and under the other plastic. We wanted to only use one layer of wire lock to hold the main plastic and the end. This meant 2 people outside with one pulling the plastic of the main sheet tight and the other installing the wire lock while I was inside pulling like a mad woman to tighten and align the end plastic. Finally once that was secured we wire locked around the south doors and cut away the excess plastic. We were exhausted but thrilled it was on.

After catching our breath we then cut holes and installed the inflation kit hose. At first it didn't seem to be doing anything and we actually started wondering if we had stretched it too tight. Nope, in less than five minutes the plastic layers had separated and stretched taunt as a drum. I double checked all the wire lock and looked for any holes. Everything was great. 

There is still a ton of work to do with it including building a drain outside, installing more support for winter and wind, insulating the plywood, trim work and of course getting the ground ready for planting.

Wow. I have a greenhouse!

Time To Relax... What?

After receiving her last bag for this season one of my subscribers commented that I would now be able to put my feet up and relax this winter. The hard labor must be over. Well... no.

Keeping up with a 28 acre farm and a 4 bedroom 175 year old house in full renovations has shown to be a challenge. Plus being the best Mom I can be for my boys and add to that running my own business.

While the weather is still somewhat agreeable I'm racing to finish the greenhouse. I'm so close! I have a friend coming to help me this weekend and by Sunday afternoon we hope it will be all set to put the plastic on. Attaching the plastic needs a day where there is no wind. 20 knots just ain't going to work. As it's nearly always windy here I'm a little concerned but the site is quite protected so I'm sure it will be alright. After it's done and I've calmed down from dancing for joy ;) I'll be digging the whole thing up, setting up my benches and building the supports for the cucumbers and tomatoes in the Spring. Exciting!

I've done some work in the fields but have been stymied by rain and now the beds have turned to mud. Hopefully they will dry out before frost as I would like to plant some more garlic for next year.

During all this rain my thoughts have turned to the house. Living in the middle of renovations is getting on my nerves. Just one room done would be fantastic. Today I attacked the ceiling in the living room and dining room. I ripped down the remaining tongue and groove and will finish taking down the rest next week. At least then it will all be uniform and I can organize the wires. Whoever ran them must have been having a bad day. My Mom says to stretch fabric across in between the beams as both Jiprock is not in the budget right now and there is no way I'm going to attempt putting it up by myself. Maybe next winter. In the meantime my main goal is to get the living room, dining room and kitchen up to prime preferably for Christmas. I've been told by many that my muding skills leave much to be desired but heck it's a 175 year old farmhouse and I'm doing my best. After saying this though I know something else is bound to come up which requires my attention. That's just what farm living is about.

Halloween

Halloween was great. I hope all of you had a fabulous one too. 

I spent the morning volunteering at Navarre's party at the Halloween Bingo table. I had 4 groups of kids each for 30 minutes. Each little one, won a game and received a prize of candy, then when they won again they received high fives from everyone at the table. Making this last for 30 minutes was a bit of a challenge. I was happy I could break up the time with questions, having them tell me more about their costumes, where they were trick-or-treating and more. The last group was a handful as by that point they were wired from all the candy they'd eaten. I was all smiles, so much fun.

 

Later after finishing some paperwork at home the boys and I carved the Jack-O-Lanterns. Navarre drew an outline of a bat and Anthony and I figured out the best way to do a cat. They loved that we had grown our own on our farm. So cool. Next year I'm planning on growing a lot of different types including Cinderella and white pumpkins. The kids want to try growing a giant one. We'll see.

My boys are completely into Star Wars right now. Such a proud mommy, yes I'm a geek! Last year they were both clones and this year Anthony was a Jedi and Navarre was the Red Clone Leader. My friends have Netflix in Halifax and the boys are always so excited to come to game night and watch it upstairs while the rest of us are gaming. I think they are old enough to have me read them The Hobbit now so next Halloween maybe we will see a little more variety.

Mahone Bay is a wonderful place to Trick-Or-Treat. It is very picturesque and the beautiful houses are all quite close together. The boys cleaned up in an hour and a half. They have now organized all their candy and we've thrown out the rejects. This leaves them with two huge bags. Oh my. We'll see how long it lasts. It's not the boys I'm worried about, it's me. 

Pullets Are Starting To Lay

Last night I found our first pullet egg. One of the cutest things. As you can see it's quite small compared to the adult chicken egg. For those of you who don't know a pullet is it's a young chicken in it's first year of life. They stop being called a chick after they grow in their feathers and are no longer little fluff bombs.
It's a little late in the season for them to start laying. Sometimes chickens don't lay their first year. The cold weather effects their bodies and can drastically reduce egg production, which is what has happened with my other chickens. Also the amount of sunlight has an effect on egg production. Once the weather warms up in the spring and the days are longer their bodies go into overdrive.

Box Delivery Week 22

November 1^st, 2014

Week 22

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Spinach, Arugula, Garlic, Brussels Sprouts, Arrowhead Cabbage, Purple Cabbage, Carrots and Thyme

This week is our last for the season. Sad to see it end but a new one is already beginning. My plans for next year’s garden are in the works and I have started work on my seed orders. Seed catalogs can become addictive, everything looks so amazing. Please send me your feedback on this year’s vegetables and if there is anything in particular you would like me to grow for next year.

I loved having the carrots in the delivery this week. Normally the boys and I eat them steamed but sometimes I make them special. Here is one of my favorite easy recipes:

In a pot place:

Carrots, sprigs of thyme, a little butter or splash of olive oil, pinch of salt and a Tbsp. of sugar. Sometimes I also add some lemon zest.

Cover with boiling water and simmer until tender. Yummy!

I hope you had a spook-tacular Halloween and have a wonderful week!

Your Farmer,

Amber