A cold frame has been built

Well, the hubby man and I went to our local Lowes yesterday to pick up supplies to build me three raised beds/cold frames.  I had a very vague idea in my head and knew I needed wood and brackets and dirt.  That was the extent of my plans.  I think McGinnis was a bit flummoxed by my response when he asked if I had measured out what I needed.  As if!  You would think after almost four years of marriage he would know me better.  I told him I just needed my boards to be yea high (pantomime hands spread about half a foot) and they all needed to be the same length because they would be square shaped.  The befuzzlement spread across his expression was quite amusing.

But, in the end, it worked exactly as I had vaguely pictured it doing.  And voila!  Here is my first raised bed/cold frame:

I have one further modification to make in order to protect the seeds beneath the plastic a little better.  I will find some strips of wood as long as each side of the box, connect them, and staple the plastic to them.  That way, I can place and remove the plastic covering easily.
Inside this one I have planted some lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, beets, radishes, and romanesco.  The next one will be for my herbs and onions.  And the final one will be placed to the side of the yard as a bed for strawberries.  I've grown strawberries before, but the area in which I placed them was not the best as the mowers were always blowing grass into the bed and spreading weeds.  Hopefully the new spot and placing them in this box will forestall that problem.

Procrastination does not win the day

As all who know me are aware, I procrastinate.  I have always procrastinated.  And I most likely always will.  I think it's because I enjoy the adrenaline rush when things are getting down to the wire and I have only the wee hours of the evening to complete a project.  Well, maybe not since I procrastinate in everything I do whether there's a deadline or not.  Either way, when I complete a project that is not for work or for which I am not held accountable by another person, it is a major accomplishment for me.  One which I achieved last night when I finally finished a crocheted monkey I stated in December with plans to give it to one of my little nephews (as opposed to one of my big ones) for Christmas.  Needless to say, the monkey was not given for Christmas.  Or his birthday just a little over a month later.  But now!?!?  Now, it is done.  And I am pleased.  As far as crafts go, it is only the third that I have ever completed.

The next project will be the spider that was supposed to be for the other little nephew.  And then, if I have time after getting the fence for the chickens up, making my raised beds for lettuce and herbs and strawberries, and a little spring cleaning/repairs, I may drag out the bedspread/tablecloth I started almost sixteen years ago when my baby was a baby and finish it.  If I'm lucky, I'll have it finished in 10 years or so and can give it to her for a wedding present.

I have seedlings!

Yay!  My lettucae have decided to sprout.  And all with minimum effort.  That's the best kind of garden plant :).  Now if they'll just keep it up.

My broccoli and calabrese has also sprouted.  Just in time for the weather to get just a little warmer and be perfect for planting in my non-existent raised bed.  I guess that is the next weekend project that is nearing its procrastination deadline. 









The tomatoes haven't sprouted yet.  I didn't really expect them to just yet.  They usually take a little more warmth to start since they are a warm weather crop.  So, I purchased two heating pads on my way home tonight and have placed them under the trays holding the tomatoes.  The sun room is warmer than the rest of the house.  But with the sun not shining for the last couple of days, it just isn't warm enough.  There is a slight bit of condensation on the inside of the trays that I believe have more to do with the initial warmth of the water I put in them than any heat provided by the sun. We'll see in a couple of days how effective the heating pads end up being.

It's a Seed's Life

I finally started some of my seeds.  Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow is my motto.  But, it has reached the point where I can no longer put this off.  Not that I really wanted too.  In any case, the last frost date for my area is closer than it seems so it was time to at least get my tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and lettuces started.  Especially those lettuces.  Lettucae? 

We have a room in the house that, other than the wood floors which can get water stained, is perfect for starting seeds.  It has windows all the way around three sides and french doors that open to the rest of the house.  It is almost always the warmest room.  So, rather than invest in a buttload (how much is that anyway?) of equipment like lights and numerous heating pads all at one time.  I decided to bring some shelves up from the basement and place them in our "sun room".  This has worked well in the past as long as I used seed trays with covers to maintain moisture.  The room is just doesn't get warm enough in early spring to create that much humidity. 

Tomatoes

 

 

 

 

I only managed to get three trays planted last night, though.  So, my work is not over.  Three more tray at least.  I have some more lettuce and cabbage that I did not see the first time through my seeds.  So, those will be next.  And my artichoke.  But not my melons yet!  For years I have started them at the same time as everything else.  I learned last night I had been doing it wrong all along!  Go figure.  Me?!  Not read a packet and storm through at full speed?  No!!!  Of course not!!

Purple Carrots

I'm starting to think that maybe the future is a hopeful one. Why? Because there are children out there excited about purple carrots. I knew my own were interested, but I raised them that way. I expect them to find the joy, excitement, and wonder in the different. I taught them to appreciate the quirks of nature. But it's not something I expect in other people's children. A welcome surprise, but not an expectation.
Now, my daughter has a friend that she invites over to the house for sleepovers. I love this girl. She spent one weekend helping is whitewash the barn in expectation of my chicks eventual move to adulthood. She was getting paid, but the offer had been made to many of J's other friends and they had declined. Somehow, I doubt they would have had as much fun as Big Al did.
So, when Big Al spent this last weekend with us, I pulled out the seeds I received from Baker Creek. I laid out my prides and joys. My purple cosmic carrots. My striped Chioggia beets. My strawberry popcorn. At best I thought I would get a "that's cool". But what I received was so much better. Big Al exclaimed "I want to come out and help in the garden. These are awesome".
So I believe, in the immortal words of one of my favorite song lines- the future's so bright, I gotta wear shades.


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A crafty idea that will probably never happen

Actually, it will probably half happen and then be shoved into a box and placed in a corner as almost all of my projects are.  I have part of a tablecloth I began crocheting sixteen years ago.  Every now and then I think about it and wonder if I could finish it.  It's possible that the prolonged storage has damaged it as it has a cross stitch piece I began about twelve years ago.  It also, is languishing undone in the sun room.  One of these days, maybe when I have arthritis and can barely see and these projects seem like a perfect form of self flagellation, I will complete them.

The new project idea came to me after my husband commented on my Facebook profile pic.  I was so excited to receive my seed packets from Baker Creek that I laid them all out on the bed and took a picture of them.  After his comment, I realized that they did look like a seed quilt.  Which set me to thinking about how I would turn those seed packets, once I am done with them, into a quilt.  This is going to be interesting, if I ever find the time to figure out what to do.  Keep the seed packets as they are and find some type of covering that will protect the paper but still allow me to sew them.  Screen print them onto some fabric and quilt the blocks.  What to do - if my chronic procrastination will allow me to.