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!!