6/21/2024
I’m not sure how time has gotten away from me as I notice the last post was 6/4/2024. Well, a lot has been going on and I’m ready to share this with you.
Greenhouse rebuild
We got serious about doing the rebuild back in October of last year when I discovered part of the structure was at the point of collapse. We did enough work at that time to make the building structurally sound.
Then in February Linda hired some really great guys to replace the siding on the front of the shed close to the house and the barn. While they were there, I asked if they could do some structural work that I couldn’t do by myself. They were happy to do so.
All of that leads to the last two weeks. What we’ve done is to finish the majority of the electrical work and to finish replacing rotted wood in the framing. There was a bunch.
These are before pictures
After pictures
As the greenhouse was becoming structurally sound, I began looking for new siding to replace the fiberglass that was originally used. There are more than I care to list. This link has a good overview of the most common type of materials used.
Long story short, I didn’t use any of the common greenhouse coverings. I found this online store of a company that is based in Oregon which sells a product called Solexx. The product intrigued me, so I asked for a sample.
The sample, though small, gave both Linda and I an idea of the product properties. We ordered 70 linear feet (I hope that’s enough) and started figuring put how to hang it.
This stuff is very easy to work with. You measure out however much you need, score it with a razor knife, bend it along the score, and then do another cut to finish. It is hung with wood screws with a washer to help prevent crushing the channels. The only drawback is sealing the ends with silicon to maintain the R value. We are very pleased with it.
A final picture of the work in progress.
Word of a new swarm
Linda and I had been toying with the idea that we have enough bee colonies for this year. Then, about 10 days ago, the property owner where we have a swarm trap told us she had seen bee activity.
This prompted us to start building a new hive box. The box itself is complete, but i haven’t started the top or stand. I have most of the material but working on the greenhouse has me worn out by early afternoon.
Introducing the Quilt Box
Fermenting vegetables
Without getting into a lot of details, since my time in the hospital this spring, we have been trying to find food that are gut friendly yet affordable. Fermented vegetables are a real source of probiotics. And we have looked for them both in Columbia and online. The short story is that all the products I’ve found are a lot of money for too little product. This has lead us into learning how to do it ourselves. It’s actually pretty easy and something you will have to figure it out yourself.
Sage
We have sage planted in various places and this year with the rain we’ve had has made them grow like crazy. In fact they started to dominate the areas where they were supposed to be an accent plant.
Yesterday Linda decided to take the clippers to them. This left a huge pile of sage leaves and stems. We decided to try to dry them for future use. This means we have clumps of sage hanging off the deck.
I think that’s it. A lot of stuff going on and all of it’s good.
Last modified:
Leave a Reply