This is the time of year I love going into the greenhouse. So much of what’s in there is coming back to life.
Not only are the plans starting to grow and bloom but the greenhouse is heavy with perfume from the hyacinth and citrus blossoms. A tomato seed must have ended up in the pot with the purple hyacinths and now there’s a tomato growing out of that pot too.
The lemon and lime trees are blooming. They all need to be repotted but I have hesitated to do it because the pots are going to end up too heavy for Vince to lift. We have to grow them in pots so they can go into the greenhouse for the winter so we’ll have to come up with a plan.
Even the tomatoes are all blooming.
The funny/weird thing is that right now, I have no tomatoes that are nearing being ripe. Lots of green ones. I usually don’t run out of ripe tomatoes but this year, I am.
There are small tomatoes and bigger tomatoes, but all are green.
There are several pots of lettuce at various stages.
The basil in the pots is looking ragged and tired but seeds have been dropped and are sprouting up to flavor our meals through the summer.
The bay leaf trees we added in early summer are now taller than my head. If they keep growing at this rate, they won’t even fit inside the greenhouse next winter! I can prune them back . . I’ll make sure they fit.
Look how pretty the sky is outside the greenhouse! Yesterday was wonderfully warm. We were out working in short sleeves. By dark, the temps had dropped into the low 40’s, the heater in the greenhouse was programmed to come on about 1:00 a.m. Several times Vince said “I think it’s going to rain!” but it never did. The wind was just blowing in the cold weather. The low tonight will be 23 degrees. I know . . way warmer than most of you are experiencing but still cold for us.
LIz says
I saw a hint in a garden magazine where a small child’s sled was used as a pull tool. It is low to the ground, so it is easier to get a heavy item on the sled. Then it could be pulled with your little ATV to the summer spot. Query “plant caddy” and look at the options. Perhaps Vince can look at these items and come up with something that will work in your terrain.
One thing about getting older is that we have to think about work-arounds.
Karen S. says
You could get Vince to make you some plant caddies out of plywood squares with wheels on the bottom. Set your pots on them and then just roll them where you want them to go. You could probably get the wheels cheap at Harbor Freight.
Diana Edwards says
Use a big wheel dolly…..saves my back a lot.
Diana Edwards says
Got mine from Harbor Freight
Judy Laquidara says
We use the RTV. We can lower the bed, kinda like a dump truck that then slides out, but we still have to lift them in and lift them out. The greenhouse floor is very thick pea type gravel for holding humidity and nothing will roll across that. We would have to put “runners” down to roll anything across that. We’ve been thinking of ways but the RTV is a much easier way to move them than making a caddy or cart.
Judy Laquidara says
We do have a big wheel dolly but the pots they’re in now are about as big as we can safely carry on that. If we go up in pot size, I don’t think they’ll fit safely enough on the dolly, plus, it’s probably about 150′ that we have to move them and there are 8 of them. We’ve really thought and thought about how to do this.
Liz says
Sounds like a great job for a high school football player! You need to start listing what tasks need some younger bodies to deal with and then just hire out. Cheaper than another hospital visit!
Judy Laquidara says
We don’t hire anyone for anything any more. Too much risk of liability. Someone get hurt or claim they’re hurt . . not a chance we’re willing to take. Even if we need fence work done, we make sure we get copies of all the needed insurance, etc. Call us overly cautious but my years working as a paralegal, I’ve seen too many frivolous lawsuits and I think things have gotten much worse in recent years. If we can’t do it ourselves, it mostly doesn’t get done.
Rebecca in SoCal says
Yes, people have colder weather, but they can’t grow what you can. 23 degrees is a pretty good reason for the greenhouse!
katie says
It’s -28 and -55 wind chill … sadly, not growing anything. Hibernating like the bears.