Cold Greenhouse

Well, I finished assembling the basics of my greenhouse, and even set up a writing desk in here.  In fact I'm writing this from the greenhouse right now, thanks to the miracle of wireless.  When I came in this morning, it was 32 degrees inside, which was only two degrees warmer than outside. I've got some insulating to do, both with weatherstripping between the windows and frame, and some waterproof caulking on the outside.  I discovered during the rainstorm other day that the greenhouse leaks horribly in one spot (the ceiling window/vent), which forced me to abandon work in the greenhouse.

Right now, within 1/2 hour of entering this morning, I turned on the little space heater and it's 55 degrees in here.  I only plan on using the heater while I'm working in here, not to grow plants.  But it's nice to know that this can be my winter writing studio, even if it feels like I'm working in a fish bowl.  

Greenhouse!

I'm in the middle of assembling a greenhouse behind my garage.  Here's the promo photo of it:  It's 6' by 8', and I got it on sale at 25% off.  Now I just need to finish assembling it before the snow comes, and then figure out what to do with it.

Free compost, part two

Yesterday I opened up my compost bin (the one I bought from the city of Portland last spring), cleared off the top layer, and dug out wheelbarrows full of free compost, which I put around my roses, fruit trees, and in my raised bed.  Rich, black stuff, full of earthworms.

leaf mulch

Before the rain and wind came on Sunday night, I sucked up all the leaves in my front garden with my leaf blower/mulcher, then spread the mulch around my buddleia, rose bushes, lavendar and other more tender perennials.  Then, the winds came, and blew it all around, so I'll have to do most of it all over again.  But it's nice not to have to send anything to the landfill.

Finally, a frost

Our first frost finally came Monday night, over a month late (that's scarier than Halloween, for sure), so yesterday I pulled up my zinnias, cosmos, impatiens, snapdragons and cut back my asters and a few others.  Fall is finally here.

done with bulbs

I finally finished the last of my bulb planting today, squeezing 20 Red Impression tulips in along my picket fence, in between my rose bushes and lilacs, and found a spot for 100 allium sphaerocephalum bulbs.

I also pulled out my morning glories, as they'd given up the ghost.  It was quite a task unwinding them off the trunk and branches of my peach tree, and untangling them from the clematis paniculata.  In the snipping mood, I cut back my boltonia and tansy.

Finally, I dug up a lot of the wild violets and lily-of-the-valley that infests my back yard, alongside the neighbor's privacy fence.  I mulched it heavily to try to prevent it from coming back (I left two small hydrangeas back there), and will figure out what to do with that space soon.

more bulbs

Almost done with the bulbs:  I bought some Dutch Irises, hyacinths, and a few more tulips from my favorite garden center (yes, they still had many in stock, though some selections are thinning), and put those in the ground this afternoon.  It was a brisk day, so I expect to be pulling a bunch of annuals tomorrow after a frost tonight  (which is fine:  I'm getting tired of them.)

I still have to put in a dozen red tulips along my picket fence (to supplement the ones already there), but I'm going to have to wait until I cut back the perennials in that area, as it's impossible to get that close to the fence without trampling everything.  

And I ended up with 100 allium sphaerocephalum that I don't know where to put.  They're beautiful, but I'm running out of room for bulbs.  I may have to find a spot for them in the back of the house, since digging a trench seems to be the easiest way to plant so many.

bulb planting time

I got a chance to put some of my bulbs in the ground today.  I first checked the soil temperature (58 degrees) to make sure it was safe to plant them yet.  It should be below 60, otherwise they'll start to grow.  We're expecting nights in the 30's this weekend, so I'm sure it's safe.  So I got out my bulb auger, which I can attach to my power drill -- a great time- and shoulder-saver.  With a couple hundred bulbs to plant, I wasn't about to dig that many holes, and my garden is too full to dig trenches.

I put in my little species tulips (Little Beauty), Iris Reticulata (short rock garden irises called Blue Harmony), three bare-root Bowl of Beauty Peonies, and gobs of alliums.  I still have some full-size tulips and more alliums to plant, and I'm hoping my favorite garden center will have some more bulbs in stock so that I can fill in some spots that are bare in the Spring.  

This year, I am feeding my bulbs with bone meal, to give them a little boost.  

Fall cleanup

Without a frost yet, most of my plants are still doing well, though some of them have exhausted themselves.  Yesterday I spent some time pulling out snapdragons, daylilies, morning glory, cleome and others.  I also dug up what I could of my gladiola bulbs.  I've never saved them year to year, so this will be new for me.

In bloom now:  my chocolate Joe-Pye weed is looking great, and my asters and mums have opened.  My zinnias and cosmos are still going strong, and I have a little bloom left on my Autumn Joy sedum.  Other than that, most of my garden has faded.

Free Soil

I "harvested" my first compost from my compost piles and forked it into my raised bed, after I pulled up bunches of carrots.  The soil is rich, dark, filled with earthworms, and free!  It's basically last year's oak leaves broken down into soil.  Worth its weight in . . . compost.

Clematis Paniculata

My clematis paniculata has opened up in a full flush of white.  The plant grew tremendously this year, and it covers the entire corner and half the front length of my fence.  It's not as stunning as the photo I saw in White Flower Farm that induced me to plant one of my own, but still.

Fall Sprouts

My kohlrabi, arugula, spinach and lettuce are up!

Boltonia

My Boltonia is now in bloom, underneath my peach tree, and it's a nice backdrop to the morning glories growing through the tree.

My clematis paniculata is about to open any day now.  There are hundreds of little blooms on the thing, crawling all over my picket fence, so I'm hoping it's going to put on a good show.

Fall planting

I got a moment to put in some late-season crops in one of my two deck planters.  With my daughter's help I planted lettuce (already started), and (from seed) arugula, spinach, kohlrabi (which my daughter likes pickled), endive, and a mesclun mix.  

Once the weather drops, I can cover my planter with two cold-frames, so I'm hoping to keep growing things til Thanksgiving.

I've been pulling my potatoes lately: my red pontiacs are starting to get rather big, though some are still quite small.

Watermelon death

Some animal mauled my one watermelon, which was only about two inches in diameter, so no great loss, but I was looking forward to something.