Adventures in Family Time: Greenhouse
Over the holiday we were blessed with the gift of a 10'x 25'x 6'6" greenhouse. It arrived just before the end of the year in two large boxes. You can read about it's arrival here:
This week we have been enjoying a visit with my 21 year old daughter and 18 year old son. Both of them are in college, and they live almost 200 miles away, so needless to say we don't get to see them nearly enough.
The weather yesterday was perfect for putting up the greenhouse. With a bit of teamwork we were able to complete the entire task in less than 2 hours. Technically we had 6 sets of hands for the project!
We have been talking about where to put the greenhouse for the best sun, level ground, and easy access to the house. Initially we intended to put it in the back yard near the garden, but we found that the best spot back there would take a bit more prep work moving the current dog yard fence than we wanted to do yesterday. We finally decided on the front yard near the wineberry patch. It will get maximum sun exposure in the winter, which around here is about 10am to 3pm. As a bonus, it also blocks the view of the one neighbor we can see from our property!
The guys went and got all of the different poles staged for construction. Then, following the simple directions, they laid out the poles and began working on assembling the ground level.
After taking lots of pictures (digital is great, 200 photos for 2 you like!), I went and dragged the girls outside to help with the next part. We really did need all 6 sets of hands!
While my daughters and I worked on holding the frame steady, the guys worked together on the the side wall poles.
At this point I would like to point out for anyone who doesn't own cats, that it is expected for all work to be monitored closely on a regular schedule. Jupiter (the gray male tabby) and Syrinx (the orange tabby mix) apparently worked out shifts! It is also of note that our black cat, Bast, fulfilled her role of completely uninterested in anything and never made an appearance.
Next, the top pieces were added to give the basic shape and make it stand alone.
There were three rows to add once the basic frame was up, and it was a lot of fun with the very top center row. Not all of us were tall enough to reach. Dahlia is the oldest at 21 but I think in the long run she will be the shortest of my children!
The three rows seem to help a lot with the structural integrity, especially since the steel poles are light weight.
After all of the frame was completely together, the guys went back to work tightening all of the screws throughout the frame. They made sure not to tighten them too tight, because they didn't want to crush the metal, but they are all good and solid.
The guys got the cover on the frame and tied on in all the places.
Then, while they were collecting and moving rocks to put on the outside edges of the cover, I went and got some temporary stakes to use. The greenhouse did NOT come with stakes, so be prepared if you order one to set up that you WILL need to stake it down.
One more addition to the greenhouse and we were able to call it done for the day. I took one of the outside thermometers off our porch and hung it in the far back corner. We will be monitoring the temperature both day and night for a while to get a good idea on the fluctuations and to help with deciding what we will keep in it.
Of course, Jupiter HAD to inspect the inside of the greenhouse before we could call it done...
...and I sweetly asked Rabbit to bring the brand new wheelbarrow and my first load of 'dirt' to store in the greenhouse so it wasn't empty. Look for a post from me soon on how to easily make your own potting/starter soil for much cheaper than you can buy the premix bags!
After a difficult 2019, it's really nice to have something to be excited about. It's a new day, a new year, a new decade. Life hasn't gotten any easier but our family adventure in growing food is getting ready to exponentially jump towards a more sustainable ~ and delicious ~ life for us all!
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Watch out with those sharp-edged stones on that thin foil. I usually put a piece of board first, so the stones are not directly on the plastic.
How is the quality on that model? Those would actually be affordable.
Hopefully I can manage to get a proper greenhouse this year, too. Makes everything so much easier.
The plastic is pretty sturdy. We don't intend on keeping the rocks on it, but we had to come up with something on hand to temporarily keep it in place. We are toying with the idea of painting used tires and creating some pretty flower/herb beds all around it. Repurposing is always a hit with us. Thanks for the thought, though, that will definitely have us on alert and switching it over asap!
Looks good @freemotherearth!
Thanks @jacobpeacock! Now that it's up, the impatience of eating out of it has begun! I want to get brassica seeds started in the next couple of weeks for sure, and February is right around the corner for those tomato and pepper seeds!
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