The Mad Rush Continues!

It continues to be a busy time but progress is being made. Greenhouse # 2 was tidied up and quickly filled with plants.



That's better

 More plants were scheduled to arrive - so Greenhouse #3 was next on the list.

The returned pots and trays were sorted and most were moved out to be reused for this season.  Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating - still cold and cloudy.  Some heat was needed for the chilly nights.  An old airtight wood stove was put into service to supplement the sun.  Our son, Adam, volunteered to help set up the stove while I was at work. As soon as it was working, the hardiest of the plants, the geraniums, both potted and hanging baskets, along with a number of pansies were moved.

Before

After!

 The cold nights leads to a two a.m. trip outside to keep the fire going each night. Surely, Spring is on its way!

With all three greenhouses bursting at the seams, more plants on the way and flower and vegetable seeds to start, more greenhouse space is definitely needed.

 March Break and the end of the hockey season has freed up some more workers - and just in time! Adam and his boys arrived on Monday to start construction on the new greenhouse.  Brodie and Bailey took over transplanting the remaining plugs - petunias, pentas, dragon wing begonias and verbena.

Brett and Adam took on the construction. On Monday, they set up the wooden timber base and firmly anchored it to the driveway with lengths of rebar. (Brett's introduction to the sledgehammer may have influenced his decision not to apply for the railroad track crew as a career choice.)

On Tuesday the metal arches were quickly put together with the help of some scaffolding and the front-end loader on the trusty Massey-Ferguson. Adding the purloins, cross ties and wind bracing took the rest of the day - but the greenhouse was taking shape. A cold wet Wednesday delayed any further work on the greenhouse but, the arrival of more plugs - wave and vegetative petunias, aggravated our need for more space.

Thursday's sunshine allowed construction to proceed. Adam and Brett framed the end wall and Blake built some benches for the new greenhouse. Friday is another work day in Picton, so we will resume construction on the weekend.



We'll keep you advised.

The Mad Rush

It has been a wild week and no end is in sight!

In spite of my electrical/mechanical skills (?) the pot filler is working like a charm (except for a minor water leak which is now corrected).  This machine is really saving us time and exertion by filling the flats quickly and consistently.

An order was to be delivered last Wednesday and, of course, I was scheduled to be at work in town. The delivery arrived early in the morning. However, when we went to check the condition of the plants, we discovered that only one of the three boxes was ours - the other two were for a greenhouse north of Peterborough.  We reported the problem to the supplier and were told it would be corrected. It was - at one a.m. the driver returned with our plants!!

Now three boxes of plants doesn't sound like a lot but each box has up to eight trays and each tray can have almost 300 plugs.  It works out to be a lot to get done quickly before they dry out or get root-bound. We have been plugging away (groan) and are now almost caught up - again thanks to grandkid power.

One obstacle continues to be space - the greenhouses are filling up quickly. Number 2 greenhouse needed to be cleaned up and readied for plants.  This turned out to be a little more work than we thought but it should be ready today complete with new shelving. However it will be full as the geraniums are scheduled to be here by the end of the week.

 It looks like we need to clean out Greenhouse #3 where we have been storing the pots and trays returned by our customers and friends for reuse. Many thanks to all of you - it's nice not to see all that plastic going to the landfill. 

Unfortunately, the weather is not being really cooperative, cold nights (-16 C. tonight) and the cloudy days have meant that the corn furnace has really been working overtime to keep the plants suitably warm. The price of corn has increased by about 50% since last fall. We still think that our blend of corn and pellets is slightly more economical than oil - and without most of the environmental drawbacks. The occasional sunny day, like yesterday, is just heavenly - by 10 a.m. it was 25 C. in #2. We will need to find a temporary nighttime heating source for #3 as soon as it is ready to receive plants. A few more warm sunny days and we will be able to get the new greenhouse (#4) up.

Lots to do! When I become a little frazzelled, I'd like to ask the cats what to do - but I hate to wake them!

Unearth Your Imagination!!