Dad and I built a watertower between the two greenhouses, so I can gravity water. I can run a pump for fifteen minutes and put in 60 gallons of water, then use that water throughout the day, without having to run the pump. It is quite handy, and hopefully, better for the electricity consumption.
Bet you can't guess where I bought the tank from can you....
The water for the watertower is stored in two 1500 gallon poly tanks inside our garage. Last summer we plumbed in a collection system, so we can collect the rainwater and snowmelt off of the roof. So far this year I have collected 2300 gallons. That should be enough to do me quite awhile! I'll try to remember to post a picture of the collection system in the next blog. It's something that took a day to put together, and has it ever made a difference. It's like a rain barrel on steroids.
I had three parcels arrive last week as well. One contained strawberries that will be planted as soon as it stops freezing every night and the other two contained gooseberries, currants, tart cherries and honeyberries (haskap) which will hopefully be planted tomorrow. However that plan may have to wait as it is currently raining. (Which is ok, because we were quite dry. I'll never turn down rain!)
Speaking of honeyberries, the ones that I planted two years ago have come through the winter fantastically and already have visible flower buds. Since this species of plant originated in Siberia it's likely going to be a very good fit on our farm, since it has the tendency to freeze every month of the year. The great thing about honeyberries is that they fruit in June! I'm quite excited to try some this year!!!
This past week I sealed off Greenhouse #2 and prepped it for pepper planting. So, that means that I built a sliding energy curtain to help contain heat, drilled a hole for the water hose, and one for the power cord, helped build the power cord, mixed up the media (Peat moss, coir, vermiculite and perlite.) and installed an electric heater. Then, on Friday the peppers went out. I'm not a mother, but if the separation anxiety over putting my peppers outside is anything like raising a child I'm not sure if I can hack it. The first day they were out I was working in Greenhouse #1 and every 15 minutes I caught myself looking over the cat doors, peering down on the babies and asking how they were doing... My dog thinks I'm crazy.
Cat doors.
To keep the critters out, because cats really, really, really like the warmth of greenhouses. I'm contemplating building them their own greenhouse. I have a piece of poly that was destroyed in the windstorm last year that would be perfect for the job!
So the next topic I'm going to explore here is the Peat Moss verses Coir debate. This year I've used a 30% peat to 70% Coir media that I prepped myself. Peat Moss comes from peat bogs that filter a lot of fresh water and that take over 200 years to grow, not to mention they're home to countless species of flora and fauna. Coir comes from the fibre of coconuts, and is hyper renewable. There are peat bogs within 100 miles of my farm, and we have a peat moss processor in my local town. Coir is packaged and shipped from Sri Lanka, Vietnam or Thailand. So the debate is - which is better to use? Something that is not quickly renewable and that's harmful to wildlife and plants, but that's local, or something that is hyper renewable but has to be shipped from overseas? (For growing purposes I prefer a mix, but I'm still in a conundrum as to the environmental impact.)
Last Friday, the 27th of April, I planted the peppers as I mentioned above. The day was cool, rainy and I strongly questioned my sanity as I lovingly placed each pepper in peril of perishing. (Sorry, couldn't resist a little poetry) Shortly after planting them, they all fainted on me with little gasps of displeasure. That was masked by my own jaw dropping silent scream of horror that I'd killed my babies. I cranked up the heat, shut the door and prayed that the sun would come out for about an hour to warm things up. Lo and behold, the sun came out, the soil warmed up, and the peppers jumped back with a joyful smile. *Note - Peppers really dislike the following: cold roots and being transplanted. What did Sarah do? Transplanted her peppers into cold soil. Genius. The sad thing is that I knew that before hand... but they had to go out or they'd die on the bench. This was a 'calculated risk' that turned out ok!
My first row of peppers variety "Ethem"
That is all for now :-) I will update again when I get a rainy day during seeding, or when I'm finished. If it's not too wet tomorrow I'm hoping to plant some potatoes! (Irish Cobblers, Warba, and Red Norland) and in the greenhouse I'm going to get a head start on some radishes... Time to get to work! Talk to you soon!
~Sarah
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