And we're done - well almost

The view from the end of the driveway

***I started this blog a few days ago and am just finally getting it posted***

I'm sitting here typing waiting for the boys to wake up and looking outside to a very green looking January 26th. It was been a very strange winter so far with pretty mild temperatures, not great for the local ski hill (which I'm employed part time) but its been great for us being able to get work done on the greenhouse. We finally got the plastic on so I can now say the greenhouse is officially done, well officially sort of. We still need to get the end doors installed and of course now we need to plan and focus on the inside stuff like benches and stuff like that but for now the greenhouse is covered and we are so glad!!

We had been planning on putting the first layer of plastic on the greenhouse last Saturday (January 20th) morning but the weather was calling for snow the night before so we decided last minute to do it Friday morning. Derek was home anyway as it was his day off and we had Larry coming anyway to close in the end doors with plywood until the doors get installed. We got ahold of my Dad and my uncle who were working on a tractor just down the road and called my Mom to watch the boys while I went to help. Derek's brother was also going to come out later on. The winds were about 15km/h when we started which was fine but as soon as we got started they started to pick up. We had read lots of info about how to put plastic on a greenhouse and the biggest piece of advice was to it when the winds were calm. Well the weather forecast seemed ok but we should have know better. The winds picked up and that sheet of plastic started acting as a bit of a sail.

The other problem was the way we had decided to pull the plastic over. We talked to some folks and read a bunch of methods online and decided to pull a rope over and pull the plastic over with someone using a stick underneath helping the plastic to go over the hoops. Well that turned out to be NOT a very good idea. The plastic was too heavy and would not easily pull over. We ended up putting some not so nice stretch marks along several parts of that sheet. About forty five minutes in I was tempted to just tell everyone to let it go and let the wind take it where it wanted. But I got on the phone and called my brother and he and my other uncle came over and gave us an extra hand. It was still hairy but we managed to get it on and fastened down with the channel lock. The winds had gotten pretty strong by the time that was done so there was no chance of doing the second layer.


First layer all done, very stressfull!!!

Monday (Jan 23rd) morning we started again but this time with more hands right at the first and with 15km wind forecasted until noon. We put 5 ropes over the first layer and pulled the second layer over in about 3 minutes, brilliant!! It took another hour or so to get all the channel lock on and everything tightened up. Derek cut a small hole in the first layer of plastic and hooked up the inflator fan which blows air between the two layers keeping the plastic fairly tight and ridgid to keep it from flopping around against the hoops of the greenhouse.

We must have pulled the top of the plastic a bit too tight as we could not get the opposite side of the greenhouse to inflate. We made a quick call to the greenhouse company and they suggested putting a piece of hose along the top to create a spot for the air to go across to inflate the opposite side. Derek found a piece of pipe insulation and put it up and it inflated right away. It's been a little over a week since both layers have been on and I'm still noticing that sometimes the opposite side does not seem as inflated as the first side. We might have to make some small adjustments to get that working better.


Second piece of plastic waiting to be installed


Allan and Ronald finishing up the South side


Andrew and Mark getting the north side all tight


Pulling the plastic tight and putting on the wiggle wire



We had lots of help, we were very grateful!!


Finishing the east end


Going in to check it out after the plastic was installed


The inflator fan

Ben & Jake love going in there with their trucks as its great fun driving back and forth, there is a bit of ice in there as well so its a bit of a skating rink at times. We haven't had that much sun this week, just a bit here and there so it hasn't been that warm in there yet.


Looks like they are playing "chicken"


Enjoying a nice bit of afternoon sun climbing on the swing set

We still have to wait to get the end doors installed and as soon as the frost is out of the ground we'll be thinking of planting. We have to decide what kind of benches we are going to build for our transplants but we're thinking for now just cinder blocks and pallets.

So we're not completely finished but it sure feels great to have the plastic on. Just want to say a quick thanks to everyone who's helped us during this latest adventure!!
Gordon Waugh, Andrew Waugh, Allan Waugh, Ronald Waugh, John Campbell, Mark Bernard, Larry Lecky, Gerry Reicheld, Natalie Woodburn-Heron, Andrew Chappel, Mike Cormier and of course my Mom who got those last minute early morning phone calls to come watch the boys.

***January 31st update***

We had some really nice sun yesterday and the thermometer was reading 29degress but that's not really an accurate reading since it was in the sun. But it sure felt nice but now the ice of the above picture is now a foot of water, not so nice!!


Beautiful sunny day


Very muddy boots


Mud bath anyone??

Greenhouse setback

Greenhouse setback. We were told our big end doors would be ordered on Friday and installed this week. We got a call yesterday that the order was missed and it will now be three weeks!!! Grrrrrrrr.

At least its not April!!!

Another greenhouse update

Just a quick greenhouse update for all our readers. I unfortunately do not have any pictures as I'm having trouble getting them from Derek's phone to the computer. Derek updated our computer, again, and its giving me grief!!!

Our two big garage doors are set to be installed this week which we are very excited and nervous about. It seems that we may have not paid as much attention as we should have to things being square and level as our man door did not get installed as perfectly as it should have. We thought we did a good job but the man door sticks out about an inch on the bottom left hand side, grrrr. Derek thinks he can fix it, so here hoping. We think everything else is finished including checking for sharp edges, covering the 2X6 posts on the end walls with pieces of plastic and finishing up the last few screws on the end walls. Hopefully once the doors are installed we will be able to put the plastic on. So we are hoping for some really calm days and preferably no snow!!!! I don't think that's alot to ask for in January, do you??

I'm back to work at the ski park which is a nice break but also throws a loop in greenhouse building and garden planning. We haven't had very much snow on the Island so far this season but I would imagine it will start any time. Hopefully it will just wait until the plastic is finished on the greenhouse.

I'll try and post a few pictures as soon as I figure out my computer issues!!!

Christmas, sick monsters & more greenhouse pictures

Christmas is over for another year and what a year its been for us. We are pretty much all settled in to the new place and are trying to get the finishing touches done on the greenhouse to be able to put the plastic on. We are putting up two layers of plastic and I've been told we pretty much need no snow and no wind but frost in order to successfully put up the plastic. That could be interesting!!

We got the trench dug last week and laid down water and electrical lines. We were going to rent a trench digger but when we priced a local source it was pretty much the same to get a professional to do it, excellent!! We laid the water hose and electrical ourselves which turned into an adventure in its own right. We knew it was supposed to rain the following day so after we got the boys to bed we went outside to bury the water and electrical lines. Head lamps, shovels, and four hours later we were pretty much done. The rain came sooner than we had expected so we got nicely soaked.

I'm not sure if it was because of that or probably just that did not help but the next day I was so sick. I could hardly move, no energy and just felt like anll I could do was sleep. Derek had to come home from work to take care of the boys and I basically slept the rest of the day and night. Jake also was not feeling very well due to a bad head cold and his conditio continued to get quite a bit worse and lasted all through the Christmas weekend. He's starting to come around but his sleep pattern at night seems to be off which makes for a long sleepy day for me!!

We did have a good Christmas despite the mountain of kleenex that seemed to pile up. The boys were still not really into opening presents but really enjoyed seeing new toys. We went back to our woods in Brookvale for our annual Christmas tree hunt but Jake was not really in the "spirit" so we just took the first one we saw that we liked. It looked great in the woods, it was very full, but when we got it home we realized it was way too big, especially when we tried to bring it into the house. It pretty much filled our front living room.




Here are some pictures of the greenhouse progress since the last blog


Derek and Larry working on the end walls


Larry




End walls finally done


Derek and I working during a chilly afternoon while the boys napped




Using self tapping screws to attach the plywood to the end greenhouse hoop. It was chilly up there


Trench digger




Water line ready to be buried


The trench was about 200', looking towards the house


Looking toward the greenhouse


The skidsteer ran into a big rock and could not dig a clean line so we ended up borrowing a pair of post hole diggers to finish the job. What alot of work!!


No need for a gym membership now


Almost done, and yes I helped too


Ben helping Daddy with the big drill




Drilling the hole for the water line


We rented this drill and it worked like a dream!!


The hole almost done, it took about 4 minutes

It seems like there is not much left to do before the plastic goes on but it all still takes time and the weather is slowing us down. So basically here is our to do list before the plastic goes on
1. channel lock on end hoops with drip edge under the channel lock
3. checking for smooth edges on everything
4. installing big doors & little door

Hopefully the next update shows some real progress.

Greenhouse update

We have been steadily working on the new greenhouse for the last few weekends. We have been very fortunate that the weather has stayed so nice. Although the warm temperatures meant we were trudging through lots of mud, made a tough job just that much harder with all that extra weight attached to your boots!! The days are getting colder so we have to kick it up a notch. We have had some great help which has really speeded things up. A big thanks to Andrew Waugh, Andrew Chappell, Natalie Woodburn-Heron, Larry Lecky, Gerry Reicheld, Mike Cormier and my Dad, Gordon Waugh. I also can't forget to mention my Mom who has watched the boys so I've been able to help out as well. We are still a fair bit away from being finished but we can definitely see the end in sight. We have to get a trench dug for power and water which is a pretty big job but hopefully I can find someone locally with a trench digger who can do it for us. We could rent one but time is getting to be a bit of an issue!!

The greenhouse is 30X96 and we purchased the kit from Multi Shelter Solutions in Ontario. They have amazing customer service and are always ready and available to help when issues come up. We can't say enough about how great they have been to work with. We are building the end walls using pretty heavy materials but knowing what our Island winds are like we decided to build it extra strong to hopefully sleep better at night during those nasty Island gales!!!

We are very excited about the new greenhouse, it is something we have been wanting to have since we started farming in 2006. We are looking forward to spending time in there basking in the sun during the chilly winter days. We will be able to expand our CSA offerings greatly by being able to add an extended season that the greenhouse will be able to provide. We are also really excited to have so much more space to grow seedlings for early spring sales and CSA plantings.

Here are some pictures of our progress.



Waugh's Construction getting started to level the ground


Working away


Two hours later, almost perfectly level!!


Tractor trailor dropped off alot of material


More stuff


Lots of smaller stuff too


More materials


Getting started


Setting up the hoops


The end of the first day, sure looks impressive for one day



The next day was very cold, poor Mike's fingers were so red while he and Derek started putting up the top level of supports


Derek and Natalie working away on the top layer


Just about finished


Getting the holes dug for the 6X6 end posts


Derek treating the end posts, organic standards do not allow for pressure treated wood, hopefully our homemade recipe will work!!!




Larry Lecky came to help us with the end walls. Carpenter extraordinaire!!


Getting started on the end walls


Roll up side material all installed


Dad working on the header for the man door


End walls going up


Both end walls pretty much done. The west door still needs the header to be completed.



So pretty at sunset


Dreaming of what yummy goodness will be growing in there soon

The weather this weekend is supposed to be rather chilly but we're hoping to have the man door installed, plywood all installed on both end walls and the channel lock installed as well. Hopefully everything goes according to plan!!

We'll keep the pictures coming as progress continues.