Compost and Winter-Amazing

To my utter surprise, the compost bin melted the snow quite nicely. and when I opened the lid yesterday, there was space in there. which means; even with the cold and snow, the bacteria and worms were eating and having a good time.

I can even add more to it; it had been completely full.

so-don;t give up on those compost bins, even if it seems hopeless!

and again...winter 2010

the greenhouse is crunched. we are going to look for a more permanent model. Gardener's Supply has a nice gothic arch model.that might stand up to heavy snow-who knew in Virginia you needed such a thing as snow readiness?

http://www.gardeners.com/Affordable-Grow-House/GreenhousesSheds_CompactGreenhouses,11210,default,cp.html

so what to do now?

plant more seeds of course. spring will come-sometime.planting seeds helps you remember that

What now? 2 1/2 feet of snow....

oh, trying to get the flattened greenhouse de-snowed and see if it is intact....mooning abut wet gardens in the spring ( I intend to simply apply compost-and plant. we broadfork often enough it should be ok) compost and mulch laid on the ground should be safe enough.

Miracles. after 5 days without power, and having to remove ourselves and our animals from the house, I cam back to-live seedlings. I am somewhat shocked. Go asparagus go!  tiny spears-miniature-adorable. I had no idea asparagus could be so cute. the lettuces and spinach for outside may become an indoor mini greens bar, unless I can get that green house back up.

Feb 15 things change

2 more feet of what? and more next week? did I move to the frozen north?

I really hate snow. sorry. Once a Floridian....and I am....this stuff just isn;t natural

anywya...Feb 15 we return to 10 hours of sun a day. Therefore, if you;ve got greens, etc started, you can put them in cold frames or greenhouses.might even want to start chitting ( greening up and sprouting) some earlt potatoes.

more later if we survive the storm

pop up greenhouses

I've had 2 now-I liked the Bloomhaus- it's like a giant Chinese Lantern, truly does just pop up..., after 3 years of snow and sun  we decided to replace it. I thought the head space wasted..so bought the Dream Haus model. ( you can zip them together to make a bigger greenhouse.FlowerHouse Mini & Portable Greenhouses - ON SALE

it is not holding up to snow as well; I have just located replacement rods
Flowerhouses.com - Replacement Parts

  but there is no way to replace the screen doors and bottom screen windows the puppies ATE last spring
(well, there were 12 of them!) so in the summer-it's a big open tunnel, basically!

It also does not seem to have as much effective heat as the high wide Bloom house.

I am going to have to consider a more permanent structure; though I do love these pop ups.I need-steep roof because apparently we are going to continue to have heavy snows in winter, around here. ( now: I could have taken the green house down for the winter; but I didn;t so I figure I won;t. any structure needs to outlast my laziness) I'd like a nice exterior; and there are different levels of polycarb/advanced "plastic" to cover. It needs to set up without making a foundation; I;m not really up to those skills. As that area is slightly sloped, I might even try digging even and setting in a slight berm for better temp control.

it needs to be easy to get shade covers on, and vents opened up.And will cost plenty I am sure.Still checking all the options out!