The Thaw
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There was the familiar crunch of January frost under my boots as I ran to the greenhouse this morning. We were in the lower 20’s last night and one of my little girls had left my greenhouse door cracked open. They spent yesterday afternoon running back and forth between the frosty trampoline and my 80 degree greenhouse.
Thankfully, my draceana survived the draft. Looking around the greenhouse today filled me with the sense of excitement and anticipation I’ve been waiting for. Finally, I’m excited about starting my seeds. There’s that familiar itch to dig my hands into a fresh bucket of potting soil. I’m looking forward to pricking out tiny lobelia seeds, separating them carefully in my little soil blocks. I’m ready to begin misting trays of soil, patiently waiting for little green sprouts.
The past couple of years I’ve been struggling through some health challenges. Some days it was everything I could do just to get out of bed and make lunches for my girls. Every extra ounce of effort and excitement was reserved for them, for helping them feel the normalcy I definitely did not feel.
I still started seeds though. I potted and planted and moved things to the greenhouse and watered and heated and transplanted again. I was waiting, just waiting to feel it. To feel the excitement, the readiness, and the sheer joy that I’ve enjoyed every year of my life since I was 15 and fell in love with the garden.
It didn’t come. I spent three springs going through the motions. Wanting, wishing I could care and love the way I had.
Today though, I felt it. Taking a deep, frosty breath in my greenhouse this morning it was there, the anticipation. Almost foreign feeling at first, until it wrapped around my like an embrace from an old friend. I love the garden, and my heavy heart has finally lightened to the point where I could feel it again. So I’ll be planting this year. Joy and peace for the first time in a long time.
Winter Crops for Zone 7
I might be a little late on this one. But I’m hoping a few days of warm temps are enough to get these little guys started. I’m attempting my first round of cover crops. Up until this year I didn’t want to bother. I figured cover cropping was really only for larger farms, not little backyard vegetable gardens like mine. I’ve chosen Austrian snow peas, and here’s why:
- Soil Improvement: Austrian snow peas are legumes, which means they fix nitrogen in the soil. This can enhance soil fertility, making it richer and more productive for subsequent crops.
- Weed Suppression: Their dense growth habit can effectively crowd out weeds, reducing competition for nutrients and water. This can help you minimize the need for herbicides and manual weeding.
- Erosion Control: The root system of snow peas helps bind the soil, reducing erosion, especially on sloped areas.
Here’s a few other cover crops well suited for colder climates.
- Winter Rye: This hardy grass is great for preventing soil erosion, suppressing weeds, and adding organic matter when tilled into the soil.
- Hairy Vetch: A legume that fixes nitrogen, hairy vetch grows well in cooler temperatures. It provides excellent ground cover and improves soil fertility.
- Crimson Clover: This legume not only enriches the soil with nitrogen but also attracts beneficial insects when it flowers in the spring.
- Oats: Fast-growing and winter-hardy, oats provide excellent biomass and are effective at suppressing weeds. They can also winterkill in harsher climates, making them easy to incorporate into the soil in the spring.
Harbor Freight Greenhouse: How Manage Winter Watering in Zone 7B
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I woke up to snow in the mountains this past week, frost on my lawn this morning. The lovely crisp days of autumn are chilling to the icy mornings of early winter. When nighttime temperatures dip below freezing it’s time to winterize my outdoor water. The threat of freezing pipes hastens me to release my grip on the garden and follow the example of my plants, settling into a season of rest.
The greenhouse is a little haven, sheltering some autumn sown lettuce and carrots. In sunnier times the greenhouse boasts a water spigot & hose, a misting propagation system, and a lovely deep cast iron sink. But because these are connected to the exterior water they turn off with the sprinklers and other exterior spouts.
I’ve hauled water the 25 yards distance from the house. Slipping in freezing temperatures with the milk jugs full of water was not my ideal so I came to a different solution. My VINGLI rain barrel has been my saving grace. It comes in a few sizes, but the 100 gallon is my preference. I’ll fill it in the late autumn and again in early spring when I’ve a warm enough day to turn on the water and turn it off again before nightfall and more freezing digits. I love that its collapsible, making it easy to store away in the summer. There’s a spigot on the side for easy watering can filling and the top zips up nice and secure which helps keep my kids out of trouble. It’s a must have for anyone with a greenhouse in freezing temperatures.
Large rain barrels are also great for thermal mass heat in backyard greenhouses. The idea is that the water absorbs heat in the toasty greenhouse during the day and releases it slowly at night. My greenhouse is pretty large so the water alone won’t keep my plants happy in here, but it might work in a smaller greenhouse! When I have plants out her in the winter it requires supplemental heat during the night.
As much as it makes me a bit sad to say goodbye to fall, filling my rain barrel is one of those items that feels good checking off my seasonal garden to do list. I’m looking forward to sauntering out to my greenhouse in February to water seedlings, arms free from water jugs, ready for the rush of warm air, heavy with humidity and the lovely smell of potting soil and plants.
DIY Landscape Design: Creating a Base Plan
Base plans are the very foundation for a landscape design and thanks to apple pencils and google earth they have become sooooo easy!
I use a drawing/art app called Procreate (not at all sponsored I just LOVE it). It is a one time purchase app and I just really appreciate not having to pay a yearly fee. I prefer this to a drafting/autocad program because I still get to add the artistic elements of a hand drawn design.
You dont need this program, any art program where you can work in layers is just fine.
First, begin with a grid paper background and decide your scale. Mine is usually a 1square=2ft. Then drop in an aerial image in a new layer so you can delete it later. You aerial image can be from building plans, a plot map, or from google earth!
Next, find a known measurement. I like to measure a walkway or other hardscape structure. Once I have this measurement I create little marks so I can enlarge or shrink the dropped in aerial image until its the proper size. Because the image enlarges uniformly, the entire image will be to scale.
Then I simply create a new layer labeled “Base Plan” and begin drawing over all the elements I’m going to keep. Like walkways, the house, garages and things like that.
Finally, I delete the aerial image and I’m left with a to-scale base plan ready for my design work.
And if you have any questions just let me know in the comments!
