Greenhouse Construction

We acquired a second hand greenhouse and are putting it up in the garden. I leveled an area of ground and then dug a shallow trench around a 6x8 rectangle. I filled the trench with stone. I built a rectangle of 4x4 redwood and bolted the corners together with 8 inch lag screws and layed this in the trench. I leveled the foundation and backfilled around the trench.

The greenhouse is constructed of aluminum. I put up the side walls, gable end rafters and the ridge pole before it got dark. I should finish the frame today. I need to replace about 6 panes of glass. Not bad considering the greenhouse is 25 years old. I broke two panes in dismantling it last fall, and 4 others had gotten broken in the course of the 25 years that it was in it's prior location.

I left a four foot wide aisle along the West end of the greenhouse which will be good place to put a line of ornamental plants in pots. There will be an odd shaped are on the eastern end of the greenhouse and I am thinking of just making a little patio there. Could be a nice place for a little bistro table and a couple of chairs...a spot in the garden to sit and have a cup of coffee with the newspaper on a sunny summer morning.

I have sent e-mail to several greenhouse equipment suppliers to try to find extras for the aluminum screws and nuts used to fasten the parts together.

It would be very helpful to install a frost proof hydrant in the garden near the greenhouse. The water main runs along the east edge of the garden and I think it would be relatively easy to tap it about half way between the main and the house. This might be a good time to have a water meter installed too. I'll call about that next week.

I also turned the compost pile yesterday. There are areas of really nice rich compost and the rest is pretty much unchanged. I don't think I have kept the pile moist enough. By late August it was pretty hard to get the hose past the beans and over to the pile so I was not as diligent about watering it down.

I added lots of extra soil to the leeks and scallions to help them keep going a little longer. They look really good and as long as we don't get a hard freeze, I should have some of substantial size. They have been very good in soups and salads so far.

We dug a few more potatoes yesterday, not enough for a soup, but I only dug the ones that were in the way of the greenhouse project. I'm a bit "potato souped out" right now. We should have enough potatoes to get through most of the winter.

For next year I would like to also plant turnips, sweet potatoes and cauliflower.

I gave the apple trees a good soaking. Surprisingly, they still have nice green leaves. The location on the south side of the garage must create a really warm microclimate for them. I'm a bit worried that they wont go fully dormant, but for now I am satisfied with my plan. What Plan is that?

Well, the plan was to espalier the three apple trees to grow along the garage wall. At some point before the trees reach maturity I will build a trellis along this wall. I will use the trellis to support a curtain of row cover material that I can drop down over the trees in the early spring if it looks like it might frost and kill the apple blossoms.

Being under the gable eave of the garage, along a south facing wall and open to lots of sunlight, I think the trees will do well as long as I keep them adequately watered. The trees were started from bare root stock this spring. They each put on a health foot to eighteen inches of growth this summer, except for the "orphan tree" in the front yard. This one is looking a little sickly and I think It is too close to the spruce tree. It also doesn't get as much water as it needs.

There is another small tree that must have come up as a volunteer. It is growing too close to the house and it will get crowded out or damage the foundation if I don't do something about it. I can't decide whether to try to relocate it, or just to cut it down and call it a christmas tree in a year or too.