Getting ready for growing season

Howdy,

Well, I may be early, for Madison Ohio, but I want to get outside and do things. And, grow some vegetables in a garden. With the critters running through my back yard, I am going to need to keep them behind nets and fabric.

I set up a couple of “test” greenhouse/tent type structures last fall to try out the possibility. Between the trees dropping branches, and a couple of huge storms, they didn’t all look so good for another year.

I moved the one out back near the fence, and call it my staging area. I keep the latest materials and tools for ongoing projects.

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Might not be such a great photo, but the area looked pretty bad as it was.

I then cleared a much larger area, and put down landscaping fabric to mark where the new greenhouse/tunnel would go. Oh, quick mention, appears by code, I’m not allowed any additional “permanent’ structures on the property (I have the one outbuilding). So this is to be a “temporary” / “movable” structure..

Better view of staging tent and outbuilding too. Those orange driveway markers show where the corners of the tunnel will be.

Did you happen to notice there were a couple spinach plants left over from the fall?

That made the decision of where I’d put more spinach and my basil plants, easy.

A few hours later (over a couple of days!!), the frame was up — hey, the destructions do say 2-4 people. And my shoulders don’t like it when I reach over my head!!!

I had to cheat and use the step stool for the last couple of bolts. Ow, my aching arms!!

Just after I managed to get the fabric up and over and tied to the frame, I got some help… My brother and I figured out the best way to hold this thing down in the upcoming winds which were to reach 60+ mph. It is tied down internally to stakes screwed into the ground — I threw a couple of those inside the staging tent too. Neither blew away.

I did later remove the excess landscape fabric. The piece within the structure is held into the ground by dozens of 8 inch staples. This was just extra from 50 foot roll (cut in half) that I hadn’t cut off as a just-in-case precaution. Oh, Bill is pretty much 6 foot tall.

I later added bricks to the entire perimeter to make it easier to edge when mowing. And help keep critters from crawling under and in.

Looking at this picture, it was obviously taken before I got around to straightening the fabric so the doors went up perpendicular to the ground!! Oh, and you can see the “deer” cage we quickly assembled to cover that smaller raised bed. I figure it will a nice place for a few cucumbers to run wild!!

So what will be grown inside? Tomatoes, Peppers, Beans, Peas, Spinach, Basil — various types of each. In the raised beds, or separate containers. Remember, this is a “temporary” structure!!!

I may grow a few vine-type vegetables outside. And some potatoes and onions in other containers.. Got to try this and that to see what works for me..

I have lots of plants started indoors already. Trying a few methods.

My “Click and Grow” system has a few tomatoes, peppers and basil started for transplanting — and some still being harvested from the winter crops.

I have others, including cucumbers in these seed trays, under grow lights. They seem to be doing best and need to get out of those tiny compartments soon.

I even tried the window sill version of grow lights and pods. These are not doing so great!!!

I realize I have a lot more seedlings than I’ll use. This way I can pick the best, and compost the rest!!

BTW, the “Click and Grow” does a great job with leaf lettuce. I keep trimming them off for sandwiches, and more grow quickly. I will likely keep this up throughout the summer.

I have done a little more work outside. Brother Bill came over another day and hauled around 160 bags of topsoil from the pallets out front, to the back yard and staging tent. I opened them up and tilled that in with a huge bin of leaf and compost, and filled in the low areas where the trees once were. Labor intensive work — but I enjoyed it with the sun and almost tolerable 65-70 degree temps.

We are having rain today, and perhaps a little snow tomorrow, and I will then use as much of the remaining 30-35 bags to fill in any new low spots. I have the grass seed, but think it may be a tad early to spread it out there.

I also worked on a box for where my generator will go — assuming it is ever installed — seems getting transfer breaker stuff is next to impossible at the moment — skrew you COVID!!!.

I added a nice lexan top with hinges and “child-proofing” cabinet straps, to the structure I built from privacy fence materials. Looks pretty darn nice (in my humble opinion). It is attached to the A/C pad below, and surrounded by pavers and bricks to make it easy to edge around during mowing.

Oh, yeah, those pull handles you see are to make it easier to open up this side for access to the equipment within. Each handle is for one section that slides upward through a groove and can be moved out of the way. Since the box is 48 inches tall, I wanted that to come out in one foot increments so even I could lift it up and out.

So, there’s my latest update.

Ah, in other news, vaccinations are complete for the 3 brothers, and the 2 spouses. All had minor side affects from the Moderna version, but nothing that would stop us from doing it again.

Kitty gave me a little scare by having an eye issue. Swelling and discharge. Vet gave a bottle of antibiotic eye drops, and said good luck. Not very impressed with them. They also gave me a bottle of pain killer so I could dope her if it was impossible to do the drops on my own. Kitty does not like to be restrained in any way. But by the 6th or 8th time, being wrapped in a towel, so I had one hand free to open the eye, and another to put in the drop, she basically gave in and didn’t fight as much.. Perhaps it was the squeeze-tube treat she got when it was over. Her eye looks fine now.

I still need to set up an appointment in Cleveland with a Kitty heart doctor to get her murmur checked out. Need to do that before the vet will do teeth cleaning/extraction. I figure I’ll set that up for June time frame. Her yearly shots are due in July, and the vet will do that at same time as teeth.

As for my teeth — UGH — so, after the “emergency” root-canal through a virtually new cap, last month, I did have the recapping finished for a couple of very old ones done. This next week, I go in to have an ancient bridge removed. If I’m “lucky”, they will be able to just build a new bridge that fits better. If I’m not so “lucky”, it might mean an implant needed and extractions of the old mess. Either way, insurance is mostly used up for the year already. — That’s my COBRA insurance from the Office, which will end in May because my 18 months are up. — I just started a new policy last month. It may pay a teeny amount on this stuff the first year (like 10% after a deductible). Regardless, it will be costing me $$$$$.

Pretty much that covers my life at the moment. I hate the cold, despise the continuing winds, and miss my pool in Florida. However, I keep trying to find a way to

Enjoy Life