Hula Hoopin in the Back 40 (40 feet that is)

This last weekend I set the posts through the center of our backyard that will separate our family and dog yard from our Burbfarm. Also a couple days ago I erected the beginning of our hoop greenhouse. Now if the weather would just cooperate with me for tomorrow I might be able to get some more done.


(Click on Pictures for larger View)

Here I laid out the "skeleton" of the hoop house. I used 3/4 inch 10 foot PVC pipes. The connecting pieces on the ends are T's and in the middle are crosses. You can also see my "Bubba" Garden shed in this picture, the blue tarps is my bee "Apiary". and you can see part of the fence line on the right.



Here you can see the fence line headed to back of the property up to the original garden area. The stilts you can see are over 4x4 garden boxes that will be moved inside the hoophouse when it is done. And the area will be utilized for squash, and possibly more blackberries and raspberries along the fences.



Completed "ribcage" before putting up.



The PVC is held into place by 2 foot long 1/2 inch rebar, after driving them I wiggled the top to give the PVC a little room to also push down extra into the ground. the pipes themselves go down about 5 inches in each spot. In addition there will be a wooden frame around the perimeter that the tubes will be attached to.



And here is the erected frame, the two ends will be framed in for a window on one side and a door on the other along with center supports and a center beam to support snow in the winter. The ground space is 10 X 20 Feet. That will be about 160 feet of growing space (200 minus the walkway) This will also add at least a month on each end of the growing season.



It's not much but its a lot of "hoopla"!!

Seedlings at 12 Days

From Busy to Busier.

It might not sound exciting to want to be busier. But it's not the busy I'm looking forward to, it's the "type" of busy. In the winter while working full time and going to school I'm plenty busy. However, As the days start getting longer and warmer My brain starts to rev up, and I start envisioning yard and garden ideas. This year has been no exception. Yet again I am going to expand our garden. I'm building the bees a new little beeyard. I am also adding a Hoophouse greenhouse. On top of those things I will be adding a chicken coop and yard run. In addition, me and my T will be planning our wedding and getting the wedding and reception area all ready for that.

As a build up for all this I began a couple months ago getting all my garden seeds ordered. And two weeks ago I started a bunch of Them below I will show some pictures of my seedlings and seedling system. But first here is a list of my early seedlings:

Tomatoes: (Heirloom)
1. Pink Tie Dye
2. Matt's Wild Cherry
3. Dr. Wyche's Yellow
4. Cherokee Chocolate
5. Black Cherry
6. Mortgage Lifter Bi-Colored
7. Hillbilly
8. Carol Chyko's Big Paste
9. Dr. Neal
10. Cherokee Purple
11. Italian Paste
12. Gary Ibsen's Gold
13. Heinz (early 1900 variety)
14. Trucker's Favorite
15. Nyagous
16. Sweet Pea Currant
17. Black From Tula
Tomatillos:
1. Purple
2. Green
3. Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry
Peppers:
1. Ancho Gigantea (Pablano)
2. Sweet Chocolate (Bell)
3. Joe's Long Cayenne
4. Jalapeno Traveler
5. Tolli's Sweet Italian (Grilling pepper)
6. Jimmy Nardello's Sweet (Grilling)
7. Candlelight (decorative)
8. Anaheim
Assorted early seedlings:
1. Arizona Pima Cotton
2. Poppy: Hen and Chicks
3. Poppy: Danebrog laced
4. German chamomile
5. Lavender
6. Stevia
7. Artichoke
8. Romanesco Broccoli
9. Brussels Sprouts
10. Eggplant: Thai Green
11. Eggplant: Diamond (long purple)
12. Eggplant: Listada de Gandia (purple and white)
13. Arnica flower.
14. Rosemary
15. Spearmint
16. Tarragon
17. Green Okra
18. Red Burgundy Okra
19. Leeks
20. Chives
21. Asparagus
22. Comfrey

Here is a View of my lighted seedling rack with tray, humidity dome, and heat mats.


These are the Peat Pellets I use for seedlings These are bigger ones usually for tomatoes, but I use them for everything.

First one is dry pellets. Then Rehydrated and then my labeling system so I don't lose track of plants. These are stick pins with numbers that correspond to a Word document I have saved.






This is some seedlings six days after planting:

Honey Robbing Frenzy

I know I haven't posted in here much, got busy with work and school. Besides winter doesn't supply a lot of material in the way of growing vegetables and managing bees. Anyway the Video above is one I should have posted last October. I just forgot I had the video. It was taken right after my last fall honey harvest. Enjoy!