Phaedra's Adventure

[Phaedra]

And then, I thought, why not make a trellis tunnel? It seems practical and workable, so, I will finish it tomorrow.

 

[akroberts]

Phaedra that trellis is really nice. That's what I want to do for my beans, cucumbers and peas.

 

[Phaedra]

Frost arrived, not a friendly one

Moment of truth, let's see if the new tomato house offers sufficient protection. I used a fleece to cover the gap between the hoop tunnel and the door, easy task.

There are two layers of thick fleece fixed on the pipe. When necessary, more layers can be easily added.

-4C in the garden
-1.1 in the tomato house
3.5C in the small compartment and 6.8C in the big compartment of glass greenhouse

Although it still minus in the tomato house, the young plants under three-layer protection are totally fine and remain soft, while the unprotecte ones are frozen.

 

[Phaedra]

We have frost recently, but the temperature is mild. There will be no rain for at least 10 days, yeah! I enjoyed staying in the garden for a few hours everyday.

I repainted the window sill planters, and transplanted the rescued miniature roses. As they moved to individual pots, their root system re-develop nicely.

It will be their home for this growing season, and they will be transplanted to the garden in this autumn or next spring.

Then, time for repotting the rescued mini azaleas - They stayed in the greenhouse for a few weeks. Today is the day they moved into bigger pots with new soil mix and some feed.

They look great, aren't they? I will station them in the shed I am going to build soon.

 

[Phaedra]

Okay, the new project starts!

I removed parts of the 1st version of tomato house that attached on one chicken coop. The location isn't really suitable for tomatoes.

I run out of both paints and need to get more. Hopefully, the basic structure can be done during weekend.

 

[Phaedra]

Today's progress - so far so good, it looks better than the two chicken coops we built last year. I love this charcoal grey.

DH sponsored a lot of materials, as I promised him a table and shelf for his miniatures to sit and dry. So, he is the shareholder of this project.

I plan to add two tables, so we have a shaded place to enjoy our hobbies together - he can paint his miniature, and I can do propagation or gardening things. It will be also a space for tool/plant storage.

I also learned to disassemble those lower quality pallets and use them somewhere else.

Hopefully, tomorrow we can put the roof on.

I also dug out more strawberry plants from a huge pot, cleaned them a bit, and then transplanted them to different places. Some were repotted and sat on the pallets that we used for the chicken coops.

Later in the evening I will do the next batch sowing for cut flowers and more brassicas.

 

[Phaedra]

The main structure is done, and we temporarily put the PVC plate as unexpected rain is on the way. We will do the roof and the rest supportive details next weekend.

So far, we already love it.

 

[Phaedra]

Hi, my lovely adzuki bean sprouts!

The germination rate is pretty ok, but the seedlings are pretty different in terms of growth, so weird. The sweet peas and dahlias have a much more consistent growth.

My first Dahlias from seeds - 'Mignon Mix,' a simple and not fancy variety

5 Jalapeño seedlings are on the way, the other chili and two sweet peppers are still zzzZZZ.

Rainy day, I only did very small things in the new shed - hanging a small pot of ivy, that I propagated from a cutting.

Some tools already checked in.

I also moved some potted plants to the shed, and I realized it's a very good spot to watch all kinds of garden birds. So, when the weather turns good again, I will bring my bird feeders and one bird bath here, too.

A volunteer fir I dug out two years ago, and now there are another two chamomile seedlings.

Something about food - the lunch box for DH's colleague, she said it's a premium meal and much better than a cold and pricy sandwich.

 

[Phaedra]

Common meadow violet, I dug out several clumps among a Rhododendron, a raised bed, and a pathway and divided them in totally 14 pots. They are slowly spreading in some specific areas, but I like them much more than other plants like Thistle, ivy, or ground elder.

As they are very shade-tolerant, I will replant them in pots for the new tool shed area next month. So far, I already transplanted shade-tolerant plants like chives, parsley, sage, and hosta there.

For the tool shed, I used some leftover wood to cover the damaged or ugly pallet parts, and also made two tiny stands for a pair of wireless stereo speakers.

With a roof and music, it's pleasant to work inside even in a rainy day. Tomorrow, I will cover another side.

Four more chili seedlings emerged, but there is still no news from the sweet peppers.

Tulips are already available in all supermarkets, ours are also on the way.

 

[Phaedra]

Today's practice, I love my tools!

Sweet pepper, perennial marguerite, and zinnias were germinated. It's always joyful to see those tiny sprouts.

Today's baking: two cake rolls