Until 1/8/08, the Corporate 'hellhole' and trying to start and keep half of a greenhouse business alive left little time for anything else.
Once the greenhouse construction was complete, only the largest one was functional and being used. Wiring had not been completed on the smaller one and we still needed to purchase a heater. Over the summer of 2006, the smaller house grew an luscious crop of weeds, most of which was some kind of demon bermuda. The stuff actually grows up through and out the top of the polycarb corrugate on the ends of the greenhouses. I expect any day to hear the words "Feeeed me" eminating from its wiry runners and blades! It took some doing (translated 'major work') to get the weeds under control. My husband ended up putting 2 layers of ground cover down and we added even more gravel. Hopefully, the demon grass is now controllable. The next step will be to keep a decent swath killed back around the perimeter of both houses.
With the 2nd house now operational it was time to revamp the first house (pull/kill weeds, patch gravel, etc.) You can be assured there is ALWAYS something to do in a greenhouse.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Greenhouse Part 2 of 3 - A Bit Late
Between the 'day' job and greenhouse/herb activities, a year has passed since I started the Birth of a Greenhouse play by play. Hopefully I can catch up and start sharing the other exciting things that have happene
d as a result of having the biggest greenhouse operational.
Back to the original story line:
We found a 24’ x 60’ greenhouse, a 20’ x 48’ greenhouse being used as a cold frame and a 13’ x 20’ frame with shade cloth only. The two larger houses were full of tables and had automatic sprinkler systems. The largest house had a gas heater. Also included were trays galore and boxes of brand new pots. We agreed there was only one thing left to do: WRITE THE CHECK!
Now, how on earth were we going to get these structures apart and move them 35+ miles to their new home? We agreed the best way to protect the investment and our marriage was to have someone who knew what they were doing dismantle and move the greenhouses. A big truck was a plus, too. I was having nightmares about going down the highway with big greenhouse parts hanging off a too-small truck, ending up in ditches or whacking other drivers! The call was made, cost was absorbed and the date was set for the move.
If I told you it all went that smoothly, I’d be lying. Without incriminating detail, let me offer these warnings:
1. Even though you may get a bill of sale in writing, be very careful of any casual conversation you have with the person from whom you are purchasing. They will sometimes carve into stone the general statements you make. Put every little detail down, no matter how trivial it may seem at the time.
2. Even if you think you are quite handy with tools, don’t attempt to dismantle and rebuild a greenhouse without plenty of research.
3. Plan for a place to store the parts and equipment if the rebuild is not going to be immediate.
4. There WILL be extra costs involved. However, if you get a good deal, you may still be paying less than you would for one brand new, decked-out greenhouse. Do your homework first.
5. If you don’t have a friend in the business (I was lucky – thanks, Michele!), I would highly recommend going to a local garden center and ask questions. There are also some very good resources on the internet.
6. The weather will NEVER fully cooperate!
The greenhouse parts sat through the winter and we used that time to ponder our options. Since we both have full time “day jobs”, it became clear that we could not piece these bad boys together after work and hope to have at least one of them fully operational by fall. The best spot we had for them was not table-top level. After more serious discussion, we decided that if we were going to do this, we were going to do it right. We called the same greenhouse firm that moved them and hired them to put the two largest ones up, structure and plastic only.
Remember that thing I said about the weather? Well, it was the last week in April, 2005 before they could start. Prior to day one, we had to scalp the area and lay down ground cover. Their first day, they installed the wall posts and informed us that we had the following day to have gravel delivered and spread; almost 50 tons of gravel. The third day, they would be back to continue with the rest of the construction. We learned another valuable lesson: although it may be a great labor saving idea to have the dump truck drive through and spread the gravel, you can bet it will make holes in the groundcover that weeds will find. In spite of the work, setbacks, and unexpected expenses, it was still an exciting time.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Birthing the Greenhouses
Part One of Three
I thought the dream began approximately four years ago when I went to a basil festival at Possum Creek Herb Farm just north of where I live. In fact, it began when I was born.
I cannot remember a time when my Dad didn’t have a huge garden and my Mom and Grandmother didn’t have all varieties of flowers and shrubs. I grew up surrounded by Oregon grapes, red barberries, pussy willows, scaly bark euonymus, bachelor buttons, “butter and eggs”, iris, tulips, daffodils, and on and on. There would be swaths of zinnias and marigolds four feet wide and 10-plus feet long throughout our yard. Dad would have yellow corn, white corn, tomatoes and more tomatoes, beans, peas, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, cabbage, and “greens”. Family dinners in the summertime would be a smorgasbord of fresh vegetables. Even so, helping in the garden, flower or vegetable, was the last thing I was interested in doing. Whether I knew it or not at the time, dirt-digging and growing was in my blood.
Now, fast-forward to the basil festival. I was intrigued by the small aromatic plants. From that point on, I spent many a Sunday attending various classes on making potpourri, living wreaths, dried wreaths, cooking with herbs, herbal teas, well…you get the picture. I got to know the herb farmer, Michele Brown, and pretty much became a regular to the farm. Being a born shopper, I also began building and filling my own herb gardens, as well as filling my bookcase with various books on the subject. The jaunts to the herb farm and creating my gardens became my respite from the stressful corporate world. Soon, I had 7 raised beds full of various culinary and fragrant herbs. In addition to the herb garden, I was growing vegetables in a 30 x 60 garden plot. Buying vegetable plants that originated who-knows-where and then losing a good number of them for reasons unknown was becoming more and more frustrating. If only I could start my own seeds, for as many of the plants as possible, my yield would surely be better and healthier. I was convinced that plants preferred to live where they were “born”.
My husband grew tired of hearing this over and over again. He also saw and liked the therapeutic effect my gardening hobby was having on me. As a result, 2 ½ years ago he surprised me with an 8 x 12 polycarbonate greenhouse. It was delivered and set up on the same property where my parents had exposed me to flowers, shrubs, trees, fruit and vegetables.
"Baby Greenhouse"
As soon as the season would allow, I promptly began planting a variety of vegetable seeds. Just as I had expected, the plants had a much better survival and yield rate. The next year, I dropped and added varieties of vegetables and introduced edible flowers to the mix. I became so zealous in my seed planting that I was pushing the limit of the greenhouse capacity. At one point, the shelves were full and I had used all available benches and buckets as additional “shelf space”. Two and a half years into the life of “Baby Greenhouse”, it became obvious that it would not provide enough capacity long-term.
One day in June of 2004, my husband walked into my office at work and tossed a folded piece of newspaper on my desk. It was the farm/garden section of the classified ads. Circled was an ad for 3 greenhouses, including all equipment and supplies. He was convinced we should check it out. Who was I to argue?
Was the offering too good to be true? Were the greenhouses just hunks of junk? Was the price and value in line?
Stay tuned for Part Two to find out!!
I thought the dream began approximately four years ago when I went to a basil festival at Possum Creek Herb Farm just north of where I live. In fact, it began when I was born.
I cannot remember a time when my Dad didn’t have a huge garden and my Mom and Grandmother didn’t have all varieties of flowers and shrubs. I grew up surrounded by Oregon grapes, red barberries, pussy willows, scaly bark euonymus, bachelor buttons, “butter and eggs”, iris, tulips, daffodils, and on and on. There would be swaths of zinnias and marigolds four feet wide and 10-plus feet long throughout our yard. Dad would have yellow corn, white corn, tomatoes and more tomatoes, beans, peas, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, cabbage, and “greens”. Family dinners in the summertime would be a smorgasbord of fresh vegetables. Even so, helping in the garden, flower or vegetable, was the last thing I was interested in doing. Whether I knew it or not at the time, dirt-digging and growing was in my blood.
Now, fast-forward to the basil festival. I was intrigued by the small aromatic plants. From that point on, I spent many a Sunday attending various classes on making potpourri, living wreaths, dried wreaths, cooking with herbs, herbal teas, well…you get the picture. I got to know the herb farmer, Michele Brown, and pretty much became a regular to the farm. Being a born shopper, I also began building and filling my own herb gardens, as well as filling my bookcase with various books on the subject. The jaunts to the herb farm and creating my gardens became my respite from the stressful corporate world. Soon, I had 7 raised beds full of various culinary and fragrant herbs. In addition to the herb garden, I was growing vegetables in a 30 x 60 garden plot. Buying vegetable plants that originated who-knows-where and then losing a good number of them for reasons unknown was becoming more and more frustrating. If only I could start my own seeds, for as many of the plants as possible, my yield would surely be better and healthier. I was convinced that plants preferred to live where they were “born”.
My husband grew tired of hearing this over and over again. He also saw and liked the therapeutic effect my gardening hobby was having on me. As a result, 2 ½ years ago he surprised me with an 8 x 12 polycarbonate greenhouse. It was delivered and set up on the same property where my parents had exposed me to flowers, shrubs, trees, fruit and vegetables.
"Baby Greenhouse"
As soon as the season would allow, I promptly began planting a variety of vegetable seeds. Just as I had expected, the plants had a much better survival and yield rate. The next year, I dropped and added varieties of vegetables and introduced edible flowers to the mix. I became so zealous in my seed planting that I was pushing the limit of the greenhouse capacity. At one point, the shelves were full and I had used all available benches and buckets as additional “shelf space”. Two and a half years into the life of “Baby Greenhouse”, it became obvious that it would not provide enough capacity long-term.
One day in June of 2004, my husband walked into my office at work and tossed a folded piece of newspaper on my desk. It was the farm/garden section of the classified ads. Circled was an ad for 3 greenhouses, including all equipment and supplies. He was convinced we should check it out. Who was I to argue?
Was the offering too good to be true? Were the greenhouses just hunks of junk? Was the price and value in line?
Stay tuned for Part Two to find out!!
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