Well, after a stretch of nice weather, we're back to more normal springlike weather here in the good old Yoop. Seems most every year about this time, we get a tug of war going between winter and spring/summer. Right now, seems like winter is getting the upper hand, going back to the 30s in the day, and sleet/snow showers. But so it goes, I guess. When I got up this morning, the birds were cheerfully singing, undaunted by the rather gloomy (at least in my mind) weather outdoors.
We've been doing a lot of seed starting and "potting up". "Twas a good feeling to even get some transplants into the ground, like this.
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| Lettuce, chard, and kale. |
Some of the lettuce could have handled getting set out a bit earlier, and looked like they had been "dragged through a knothole", as the saying goes, but in the end they will do great. The starts above were set into Caterpillar Tunnel # 1, called caterpillar tunnels since they kinda resemble a big caterpillar. Here's a shot from outside.
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| Just ignore the gas can sitting there. :) |
This one was made of rebar inside pvc pipes, the ends of which are inserted into about 2 foot pipes pounded about a foot into the ground. The plastic is tied to stakes pounded into the ground at the end of each tunnel,with smaller ropes pulled over between each support, and staked to the ground. They seem to hold up OK to wind, and are relatively easy up and easy down, so are movable. I hope to avoid some of the problems associated with permanent greenhouses, like pest or disease buildup, by being able to move these structures around. The second one we built last Friday was made of 1 1/2 inch PVC pipes connected, then bent and shoved over stakes at each side, which were driven into the ground. Same type of deal with the plastic tied down.
Here's a shot of son James working up the ground in Tunnel # 1, so it can be formed into beds.
Here's some of the things set out into tunnel # 1........
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| Starbor Kale. |
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| I think this is Red Ursa Kale. |
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| Oscarde Lettuce. |
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| Muir Lettuce. |
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| A new one for us, Scarlett Kale. |
I'm hoping to set out the zucchini, cucumber, and tomato starts in Caterpillar Tunnel # 2 as soon as this weather clears off, and it looks fairly decent. Right now, they are in the cozy seed starting greenhouse. The two photos following were from 4-15, they've since been potted up to give them more room to grow. They need to be held off another week at least, but they were whining to either get into the ground, or get into more potting mix, so we obliged them. :)
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| Beautiful green.... |
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| Pickles in the making.... |
The tomatoes we potted up into larger (than the 2" soil blocks they were occupying) regular pots. The cukes and zucchini went from 2" soil blocks to 4" blocks, made by this goofy-looking, but totally functional homemade soil block maker.
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| Made some years ago from scraps of wood laying around here. |
I could've bought a nice fancy-lookin' one for about a hundred bucks, and it makes one block at a time. Or I could make a homely lookin' one that makes one block at a time, for a song, as they say. I'm a function over fashion type, so we made one, and it works just fine. Don't give a hoot if this one is prettier. Or maybe it's not. :)
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-6421-hand-held-1-soil-blocker.aspx
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| The two "Caterpillar Tunnels". |
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| Planting the first bed of carrots for 2015. :) (S.W.) |
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| Double covered for the cool nights. |
Alas, the nice weather wasn't here to stay (yet), so we have the stuff in Tunnel #1 covered with another layer for the nights and cloudy days. Gives another layer of protection, hopefully it will do the trick on these cold nights coming up. (The caterpillar tunnels aren't heated.)
Well, that's it for now. Y'all take care now- stay warm.
