Day 5 - Soil Conditioning Day

I am about to go into the garage and take inventory on what I have and haven't got ... then I begin carting compost up to the roof so I can start conditioning the soil in pots. I have lots of sterile seed starting mix to bring up as well and hopefully I have enough compost to make a dent in today!

Day 4 - Whippersnappers 1st Day Out

Yes those are tomatoes already! I can hardly believe I grew this from a little seed.

Day 3 - Putting the Big Greenhouse Frame together

I did it! I figured it out and without ANY missteps! I began slow and made a good decision at the beginning and it wound up being correct so I was lucky. The three pieces with the C-s on each end are the center top piece for the roof and the two corners so they were the first ones to get attached. I'm not sure I'll ever take it down now? If I do I will mark the poles (see perpetual note in calendar May)





Trying out a second place for the greenhouse frame ... nice but not its final resting place.

Day 2 - Peas in the Breeze

Sunday I got to the roof. What a beautiful day! The weather was in the 20's and I began hardening off some of the seedlings. Kale and Mustard greens from Julianna had already been out but mine had not so I'm taking it easy with them. I'll put them out for awhile each day early or late in the day so they don't get too much too quickly. The flat of peas given to me at the allotment are still doing fine - just as well as the ones I planted in the ground from the looks of them both! I will be attempting to lift them out of the shallow flat and placing them into three separate long containers by the south tonight or tomorrow evening.

Prep Day (4 April 2010) and Day 1 - Organizing the Roof (16 May 2010)

I began unpacking the roof yesterday. Locating and putting together the 3-shelves for the Greenhouse was easy but now where is the plastic zip cover? ... somewhere safe so it doesn't get cracked from winter temperatures (UGH). Next year it will go into this storage box which kept everything perfectly sealed. Ok I might insulate the cover with something and seal it in a plastic bag just in case ... if I ever find it ...

These 3 shelves hardened off most of my plants last year.


This big blue-green box held all the 3-shelf greenhouse poles and kept them dry as a bone all winter (and there's still room left over in it to hold an insulated bag with the zip plastic cover ... if I ever find it again) ...



Big Greenhouse Poles (now I just have to figure out how to put them together) ... without a diagram ... without any idea of what it is supposed to look like ... without remembering the dimensions of the thing (I think it's 6 feet by something and I think I might have a half a clue as to how to do it ... but that's it - just about a half a clue and I'm a little scared because if I remember some of my high school math there could be at least a bazillion ways with this many pieces and it's not now just limited to half a bazillion just because I might have a half a clue ... optimum word being 'might' and I think things take off exponentially at some point and move into infinity which I won't be enjoying much and the plants will all probably die waiting for their hardening off house so it could all be for want of naught and I'll have to keep dragging them in and out for 10 days ... although I am eyeing the two big beige boxes that are empty as a place to keep them overnight if the temperatures drop) hmmm (see one of them below)



I needed to tear a quarter of the tightly packed garage apart to get the Big Greenhouse up on the roof. It and the plastic cover (insulated and in a bag to keep it dry just in case of leakage) will find it's home in one of the two Large Beige (until now empty) storage boxes along the south wall come Fall 2010. I was felt so good that when I bought them and they fit within inches of the space allocated for them I forgot to actually use them. Nevermind! This year I will also use them to hold the large water tube I bought from Lees to water plants when I go away.

THIS POST IS FROM gardenbre3 - Prep Day on the Roof (4 April 2010)

Today I got outside onto the roof after watching 5 hours of the Ten Commandments - intermittently - and planted a big pot of two types of arugula, a pot of nasturtiums and spinach and a pot of mixed lettuces I picked up in Whole Foods in Portland last year.

The chives are up and the sage looks like it's come back bigger and better than ever

   

(and I think I have some big onions)!

I think my strawberry plant looks ok.  In the pot on the right, I planted some Renee's Electric Blue Sweet Peas I just got at Fiesta Farm Nursery yesterday.

Oh - and I potted up a little 6-pak of Thai Basil as well - I don't know what happened to my Lemon Basil that I thought I bought ... looks like maybe I'll have to go back for that tomorrow ... and maybe I'll buy the monkey (hook)!