GREENHOUSE UPGRADE PROGRESS

Last year, our greenhouse was more of a temporary fixture. The intent was to utilize it as a greenhouse for the winter and as a chicken tractor for meat chickens in this summer. Even though it was more of a hillbilly greenhouse, it worked so well that when I didn’t get meat chickens this year, I decided to upgrade it this year, making it a permanent structure. (Click each of the green highlights to see Greenhouse, version 1.)

The upgrade has been progressing though very, very slowly. Between Oscar-speed, the heat, the rain, and getting sick again, it’s now August and is still not done. Nevertheless, forward-movement has been made and there is hope in my mind that it will be done soon.

The step that took the longest was getting Oscar to build the doors in the front and back of the hoophouse. I gave him the project in May … he actually got around to it in July. He was still tinkering with them today.

On August 3rd, we removed as many of the containers in the greenhouse as we could and moved the greenhouse off its site so we could put down better weed barrier. What we used last year was the cheap papery stuff, intended to last only a season. Now, remember, this structure is 8′ x 12′, so two people moving it 20 feet away was no small feat.

Then I got sick which caused another two-week delay.

Last weekend, we got the new weed barrier installed. This time, we installed a heavy commercial plastic weed barrier that lets water flow through but doesn’t let weeds through.

Then we moved the greenhouse back to the original site.

It looks good with the new “floor,” don’t you think? I’m going to consolidate some of the other containers to sit outside the greenhouse, particularly the apples and elderberries.

We still need to add hardware cloth to keep critters out and then as we close in on our area’s frost date, we will add the plastic. In the meantime, the fall garden needs planting.