We built a greenhouse in our second year here. The amount of food we can harvest from growing in the greenhouse is definitely worth it. We can't grow tomatoes in the garden here without this extra protection. Preparing the greenhouse for planting is one of the first things we do in the Spring. Each season, there is some greenhouse maintenance that has to be done. Here's what we do to open the … [Read more...]
The 5 Easiest Vegetables to Grow
Vegetable gardening is supposed to be fun, right? It should be. It is so tempting to plant a huge garden with dreams of preserving most of it and having fresh vegetables all season long. It’s so wonderful to see all those rows full of food. Dreaming of gardening always starts in the winter for us. This is our view right now and I am loving all the snow. I’m looking over seed … [Read more...]
How to Build a Greenhouse For Under $200
Want to find out how to build a greenhouse? Since we live in a cooler climate, we NEED to grow tomatoes and peppers under covers and a greenhouse works perfectly for us. Although we can't grow enough tomatoes to preserve a lot of tomato sauce, we can fit enough plants in here for fresh eating. There's nothing better than picking cherry tomatoes right off the vine and popping them into my … [Read more...]
The Busy Days of Spring
We've been outside as much as possible over this last week trying hard to get as much of the garden is as possible. Graham was able to get two of the gardens rototilled, which is great. This is our Asparagus bed. I don't cut last year's fronds down until early Spring. That's now done and we've put down more mulch between the rows, trying to keep some of the weeds at bay. In … [Read more...]
How Big of a Container Does a Pepper Plant Really Need?
When planting peppers in containers, just how big does the container need to be? We start our peppers in Styrofoam cups (that we reuse many times - just be sure to wash them out well). I like to let them get nice and rootbound before transplanting them into larger pots. Sometimes, we plant the peppers right into the ground in the greenhouse. These peppers above have been … [Read more...]
The First Snow
It's here. Not a lot of snow has fallen yet, but there is definitely a dusting all over the yard. 15 Centimeters are expected by the end of today so Graham is busy getting the tarp over the Greenhouse. I spent a couple of hours late yesterday afternoon, getting the main gardens finished and running around picking up garden tools and cleaning up around the barn area. … [Read more...]
Runner Beans in the Greenhouse
We love green beans, and usually grow runner beans every year. I try to can up at least four dozen pint jars of runner beans every year to store in our Cold Room. Because I want to be able to put up as many jars as possible, I look for plants that will give us the highest yields in a small growing space. Even though I look at different varieties of runner beans, I usually end up planting … [Read more...]
Meanwhile, Back in the Greenhouse
We have had so much rain here, my toes are getting webbed. In the last 2 weeks, we have had 2 gorgeous days and that's it. The rest of the time, it alternates between sprinkling, rain, drizzling and torrential downpours. There is no way I can get any work done in the garden. It's far too wet and it's not good for your soil if you clomp around in there when it's soaked. I've been concentrating … [Read more...]
Come Into the Greenhouse
These last weeks, it has been pretty busy around here. Hoping I get a chance now to put up some posts on what we have been up to. Here's our Greenhouse - I've been spending quite a bit of time in there the last couple of days. This photo was taken last summer. In my Cold Room Inventory post, I wrote about hunting around downstairs only to find we had no green beans left in … [Read more...]