My Christmas Present

With the winter weather (which included mostly teens and 20 degree temps, rain and a little snow), travel to Florida and Arizona, two medical procedures and recovery from those as well as the normal winter flu, it took a while to get the greenhouse up and running. 

This past Sunday, while Marty applied the first snake-away of the season throughout the yard and around the greenhouse, Polly and I planted a few starters. I have more to go--and plenty of land to do it in. Last summer I never bought veggies. I hope I can repeat that this summer. I still have one jar of pickles left too. But in the spirit of full disclosure, the rest of the pickles I made last year were too salty, so nobody is anxious to open these pickles. 

I planted flowers in pots to start them. Last year, I planted them from seed outside and gave the possums, armadillos, and squirrels a feast. I kept finding my spent flower seed casings on top of my mulch. Once they start sprouting, I will transplant them in the front yard. I accidentally sneezed as I was putting out zinnia seed so I am going to have about 287,000 zinnias. 

In order to pollinate blueberries, one needs two different types of blueberry bushes. Last year I brought back blueberry seeds from Michigan (I ate the blueberries and took the seeds). I will buy blueberry plants as well so they will pollinate. Pro-tip, if you want sweeter berries, make sure they are getting full sun. 

Speaking of bringing back seeds. A lot of my seeds I planted were experimental. I harvested seeds from plants I grew last year and the year before. I do also have store-bought seeds. 

Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, herbs and blueberries (just to see if I can grow a bush). I have garlic ready to go into the ground (those white round things at the bottom left). One clove will take 6-8 months and give me a full bulb. 

It's really warm inside too! Like a sauna. 

The pots in the back are flowers. The ones on the left are my outdoor plants that were brought in for the winter because we have to do that around here. 

Eventually I'll get shelves. But this works for now. 

The idea is to plant around the exterior of the green house. The two front patches are flower beds. Only one has flower seeds in it so far. The orange barrel to the left and the brown barrel to the right are different types of lettuce. The orange barrel in the back is spinach. The white fencing atop the barrels are to keep Luna from digging.  

Speaking of Luna digging, I only have dirt in my front two flower beds because I don't want to put in soil and have it sit, tempting Luna. She will leave it alone once I put in plants. But the outside structure is complete.  

Flower sprouts after two days!