Home on the Hill

Tuesday, April 15 Green House progress: The layout.    The thermal batteries. Easy lift and moving. But how to get it off the dolley? The barrels are full of water and I don’t want to empty them because filling them back up could empty the well.  As it turns out,  quite doable by me and my lonesome. Just put it back down on a couple of two by fours and lower it onto a piece of Styrofoam so it didn’t go through the floor. Of course one of the barrels had a hole in the bottom third so that one gets tossed. Enough for one day. Spuds up!

 Outside the green house, that is.  And a bit of sojourning in the Ghaus often gives me some insight into several things that are not specifically Green House related.   . . Test planting of some potatoes in a large pot.  Seems to be pretty happy.   The deteriorated  non UV protected corrugated plastic , All the deteriorated corrugated plastic is now replaced with House wrap plastic. Also a vent door installed at the top.  Will add a heat activated window opener to it.  Huge difference in heat retention in the Ghaus. I was going to replace the glass but that is an onerous task so leaving them in and covering them on the inside with clear plastic so I still have a view.  I will do that before I move the barrels to within a foot of the window. All the internal PEX runs are in and the vent window.  I still need to bring in reclaimed water from the barrels in the back of the green house. I want to have two water sources, from the well, and f...

To get to this stage, took more than a few hours. All the barrels on the right hand side underneath the bench will be placed horizontally directly in front of the windows to maximize the winter light. They will be placed about a foot back from the windows and on top of them will be the growing bench. The bench where the barrels are now is going to get turned into a six chicken coop. Plants love that chicken breath, and of course, the manure goes into the compost pile just behind the greenhouse. The other chicken nuggets are going into my tummy. Or maybe I can sell them in the US market and become a bazillionair and get to be a presidential advisor! There is enough ventilation to keep the Musk out! . The non UV rated corrugated plastic along the top and the west side has turned brown. Little light is making it through that. I will be replacing it with greenhouse fabric that will help put a little more light onto the hanging baskets.   So the project gets real with the addition of a ...

  Mar 9, 2025 at 15:41:51 25° in Ghaus, last night it never fell below 11°. Mind you there was a ceramic heater on. It’s now on a thermostat that will come on at 10°.  Todays task is to start removing the existing grow beds.  The overal project is to bring the four season greenhouse back into operation. Replace the sun degraded corrugated plastic and single pane windows with green house fabric. The list, not definitive: • remove existing grow beds • Remove potting area • Re route water runs • Remove potting bench • remove windows • Install plastic • Move 45 gallon drums to the front windows • install grow shelves • reinstall potting surface • Build chicken area under potting bench • Build outside Chicken run • build Chicken access hatch.  • Install ceiling fans • Install grow lighting • Plant stuff • Install interior The soil hasn’t had any water for two years. Dry as the proverbial bone. The soil in bottom tire has turned to concrete  Two down, four to go. The ...

 One of those mornings. After going to bed at 2:30 in the morning, I am up at 9:30 AM and proceeded to stare at my phone for an hour and then coffee, a simple thing, coffee. But alas, not enough in the day old automatic coffee pot to get the day going. And the coffee pot was looking a little grimy. So proceeded into degrime mode. which escalates. So many crooks and crannies- it ends up in the sink filled with a combination of vinegar and dish soap. Gotta let that sit and soak the wonderful cleanliness in. In the meantime, I remember I was on my way to the washroom to do the morning ablutions, where I spotted my water pick flossing machine. Works wonderfully, cleaning out all those hard to reach crooks and crannies in my coffee machine. I now have the cleanest coffee pot on the planet, but it is due for a vinegar soak. Lime and calcium buildup is real!  Where’s my French press? After a furtive search in all the usual hiding spots, it remains hidden. Now I find myself scrubbing ...

 So I'm back after a long hiatus.  I was surprised that people still read blogs.  I was reminded at a recent event that a surprising number of people are abanonding Social media.  Some of the asked me for blog updates.  Go figure.   The Melt Has Started I have pretty much given up on running the farm. Due to some health concerns I just am unable to keep up with the work of running a full-time farm however, given the current state of affairs, I will be doing some gardening this year. The way the orange face menace has been threatening my country is going to make it imperative that me and my fellow Canadians support Canadian products and producers. I will be growing my own root veggies. We’re now into the first mud season of the year. Unusually warm temperatures going up to +8°C so travel up and down the driveway to grandma’s where I now live is problematical and will soon become impossible. It will mean leaving the car down at the big log house and walking u...