Topless Greenhouse Update #3

Things have been going pretty good in the greenhouse (mostly).  We are enjoying lots of tomatoes (BLT’s and tomato sandwiches) and a couple of cucumbers.  The chickens still don’t seem too interested in the sunflowers though.

June 14 – The green beans are growing up the roof beams and then back down the other side.  Every day or two I can pick a couple of green beans.  I am storing the harvested ones in the freezer until I get enough to cook for the 2 of us.  The cucumbers are growing up and out of their area and over to where the sunflowers are.  

The tomatoes are a tangled mess but have lots of tomatoes.

The corn is looking so good . . . but trouble is coming. 

June 16 - We had some severe storms, and they did some damage to the corn and sunflowers.  It beat the corn down to the ground and bent over the sunflowers.  I was able to pick a couple of ears (kind of deformed but the chickens liked them) and I was able to tie the sunflowers back up.  

The sunflowers keep on blooming – being bent over didn’t seem to hurt them.

 

And I picked a really big cucumber – 11 inches! 

 

June 17 - The new area got covered over with cardboard and then a lot of compost was spread on top.  The bad storms that we had also washed some of the compost off the cardboard.  

June 20 – To prevent future storms from washing away the compost, hubby created a gulley alongside the garden (the water seemed to flow that way).  In the photo above, it is in between the new area and the greenhouse wall.  Hopefully, it will direct the water past the garden into the back of our yard.  Hubby was outside moving more compost over to the garden and our neighbor spotted him and offered to help. He has a front-end loader – took 3 trips and it was done!  Hubby then started putting up the fence.

 

June 25 - As of today, we have harvested the following: 

Romaine – 4 cuttings

Red Leaf Lettuce - 7 cuttings

Bell Peppers - 1

Radishes - 1

Green beans - 26

Cucumbers - 3 (gave one to the chickens)

Tomatoes – 20 (plus several more that got thrown onto the compost pile – bugs)

Corn – 2 (gave to chickens)

 

Still no eggplants forming but there are lots of flowers.  The onions are hanging in there – probably too hot for them but you never know.  All in all my topless greenhouse experiment is doing good.  I am learning what to do and what not to do next time.

Here is a current photo of the front of the greenhouse.  Till the next update . . .

 

Topless Greenhouse Update #2

Here’s what’s been happening in the topless greenhouse during the last 2 weeks.  On May 29^th, we had our first sunflower open up.  Since then, we have had a few more open up.  I gave them to the chickens.  They didn’t seem interested, but this was their first time having sunflowers.  If it turns out that they don’t like them, then I will not grow any more. 

I added more trellis for the green beans.

June 7^th, I picked a cucumber – it is 10” long!  In the past 2 weeks, I have picked 12 green beans, 1 cucumber and 5 tomatoes. (Previously I have harvested romaine, red leaf lettuce, 1 bell pepper and 1 radish.)

As of now (June 11^th), we are getting lots of sunflowers, the tomato plants are full of tomatoes, the corn is looking real good, the cucumber plants have a lot of cucumbers on them, and the onions seem to be doing well.  So far, most seems to be good . . . except for the bell peppers and eggplant.  There was a lot of bug damage on the bell pepper leaves but they are now starting to come back and there are flowers again.  I have been diligent in going out there every day and checking for any signs of those pesky critters (little black caterpillars) and picking them off.  I think it is working as I don’t see as many as I did before.  The eggplant is growing tall, and it has flowers, but nothing has developed into an actual eggplant.  

I am still hopeful . . .

   

In other news, the gardening bug has hit us hard!  We have decided to add a fenced area to the greenhouse and grow more stuff.  We may take down the walls (that will be inside the fenced area) and kind of make it one big section.  But that is still in the design process.  We won’t actually be planting anything in the fenced portion until next spring.  In the meantime, we will cover the grass with cardboard and then pile a lot of compost on top.  Hopefully, by spring, the soil will be ready to plant.

Here's how the greenhouse is looking now . . .     

                                                                                             

 

                                                                      

Money saving tip for compost:  There was a tree-trimming company working in our area.  Our neighbor told us that we could just ask them to dump the chips (after they grind them up) in our yard.  So, we did ask, and they did bring it to us!  It has been several years since we got the chips, and it has turned into some really nice compost.  That is what we will use on top of the cardboard in the new area.

Stay tuned for the next update . . . hopefully I will have gathered lots of veggies and the new area will be fenced in.  Till then . . .

 

Topless Greenhouse - Update #1

It has been a busy 2 weeks since my last blog on the topless greenhouse.  Since then, I planted another section of onions (where the beets were – gave up on the beets).  They have shot up quick!  The onions on the left were planted March 17^th and the ones on the right were planted on May 16^th.  (I had also planted more onions in between the tomatoes and bell pepper plants back in April.)

On May 19^th, I noticed that the leaves on the tomato plants were getting eaten and I couldn’t figure out why.  I could see little black specks but I didn’t know what it was.  Then I found out that those little black specks on the leaves were from hornworms (it is their poop after eating).  I didn’t see any hornworms . . . until May 24^th.  I saw one tobacco hornworm and picked him off and got rid of him.  Thought it would be a good idea just to check the rest of the tomato plants . . . good thing I did!  I ended up picking off 19 tobacco hornworms.  They are clever buggers as they blend in with the plant.  I keep checking every day but I haven't seen any since.  

I picked one small bell pepper – well, it actually fell off the plant.  It is only 2” but it did taste good.  (It had one little spot, but it didn't spoil the pepper.) 

And I got one last harvest of the romaine.

And the corn has tassels!

On May 27^th, I planted 8 more marigold plants.  The ones that I had originally planted fizzled out (might be why I got the tobacco hornworms).  I also sprinkled cinnamon all around the greenhouse (ants and some other insects don’t like cinnamon and will leave the area).  I am trying not to use pesticides.  I think the marigolds and cinnamon are doing a pretty good job – I just have to be vigilant.

I also pulled out the rest of the romaine, red leaf lettuce and radishes – they are done for the season.  I only got one radish out of all the seeds I planted.  Not sure what went wrong there.

Found some green beans and cucumbers on the plants and the tomatoes are getting big.  Can’t wait to make myself a tomato and mayo sandwich!

Sunflowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans and corn are all thru the roof of the greenhouse and getting taller every day.

Tomatoes (on the right side) and sunflowers (in the middle) and cucumbers (on the far left of the roof).

Green beans (in the front) and corn (in the middle).   

           

SUNFLOWERS!

I found something quite helpful at the Dollar Tree – clips!  They help the plants stay upright and don’t seem to cause any damage.

As of May 28th, here is what we have:

                                                                                            

Front View

                          

                                                        Back View

I am really hopeful that this just might work out!  Stay tuned . . .

 

The Topless Greenhouse

We live in a rural area where having a garden is a challenge. The deer, raccoons, possums, rabbits, etc seem to think it is a buffet just for them (kind of like a side salad to go along with the chickens they kill). An electric fence has solved the chicken killing issue but then I needed to figure out how to have a garden where I could actually harvest some veggies. We tried a garden (without a fence) in the past and the deer had a good meal for themselves. We also tried raised bed gardens and covered them so that the animals couldn’t get in, but it was hard for a person to reach in and do any weeding, harvesting, etc. My husband and I are “seniors” and the raised beds proved to be a lot more work (uncovering them to do any work in them and then covering them back up).  I thought raised beds would be easy since we wouldn't have to bend down, but it just didn't work for us.  

But I still wanted a garden . . . and I didn’t want the cost or the work of putting up a fence. Then an idea hit me! We have a greenhouse – just can’t use it in the hot weather as everything gets fried (we live in Florida). My idea? Take the roof off the greenhouse! This will allow the hot air to rise and I am hoping it will not get too hot inside. This also allows rain to get in, which will cut down on me having to water it constantly.  (Note: Our greenhouse is actually 2 greenhouses put together to make one long greenhouse.)

So, on March 10th, 2023, I started my project. Photo shows previous plants (cabbage and kale) that were in the greenhouse while it still had a roof. The cabbage never got any cabbage heads and bugs got to the kale.  Clean up day!

 

March 11th – photo shows the greenhouse all cleaned up and the roof taken off. I gave all the cabbage leaves and kale to the chickens. 

  

It is now ready to plant . . . but I need to buy the plants and seeds first!

March 16th – bought the plants and seeds that will be put into the greenhouse. Also bought a bag of compost potting soil to add to soil along with some compost from our compost pile. The soil in the greenhouse really needed some nutrients.

View from the front door of greenhouse:

March 17th – all is planted! Plants include: tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, eggplant and red leaf lettuce. Seeds include: sunflowers, romaine (couldn’t find any plants), cucumbers, green beans, corn, radishes, beets and onion sets. And I planted marigolds all throughout the greenhouse as they are supposed to protect the plants from aphids. Now we wait and see . . .

Going down the left side: tomatoes, bell peppers, sunflowers, romaine and cucumbers. Going down from the right side: beets, onions, red leaf lettuce, corn, spinach, radishes and green beans.In the middle are eggplants.

View from the back door of the greenhouse:

March 27th – 10 days later and everything is looking good! The onion sets have shot up, the cucumber, corn, sunflower and green bean seeds have poked up thru the soil. Nothing happening with the romaine, radish or beet seeds yet. Found some garden fence pieces at Dollar Tree to help separate some of the areas between the plants. The sticks and shepherd's hooks will be used to hold up the tomato and sunflower plants (and anything else that needs support).

March 30th – first harvest of red leaf lettuce!

April 2nd – gave up on the romaine seeds and bought romaine plants.

 
April 3rd – the romaine is now planted and weeds seem to be taking over the green beans and radishes.

April 6th – the tomatoes are getting taller and the green beans have reached their trellis. All the plants seem to be doing well.

April 14th – ants invaded the area where the beets are planted. I sprinkled cinnamon all over and the ants left. The radishes finally made their presence known! One spinach plant isn’t doing too well, but the other 3 seem to be okay.

 

April 25th – replaced the trellis for the cucumbers with a different one. Saw my first tiny tomato!

April 30th – the tomatoes have reached the bottom of the roofline. I did some pruning as they were growing too many stems and leaves and blocking the sun from reaching all parts of the tomato plants. It is better for the tomato plants to put their efforts into growing tomatoes and not leaves.

Also found some wild strawberries growing on the outside of the greenhouse (thru the concrete!)

May 7th – Everything is growing really well . . . except for the beets.

May 8th – the tomatoes are thru the roof!

May 9th – we got ONE radish! Oh well . . .

May 12th – green beans have also gone thru the roof!

 

The tomatoes are getting bigger!

As of May 14th, we have harvested romaine lettuce 3 times and red leaf lettuce 7 times. So I consider those plants a complete success!

Here is how it looks as of May 14th:

   View from the front door.   

View from the back door.

Stay tuned to see if this really works out . . . or not . . .

 

Rising Prices - YIKES!

It is no news to anyone that prices have gotten much higher lately and that some of the store shelves have been empty. But what do we do? Sit around and worry? Nope! We take action – have a plan – work around with what we have. Here are some ideas:

1) Having a fully stocked pantry and freezer is key. But, if you don’t have that, all is not lost. Look at what you have and write down what you need. Are the “needed” items an immediate need or can they wait? If you can wait, then start looking for sales on those items. When you see that item go on sale, buy what you need and then at least one more – that is how you build up your pantry supply. The key is to not be forced to buy something when the price is high just because you ran out.

2) Check the websites of multiple stores in your area and see what the prices are for the items that you normally buy. Check out their sales flyers and sign up for their digital coupons. If you live in an area where the stores are not close by, chose the one that has the best prices on the items you use. If the store with the best prices is far away, factor in the cost of gas to see if it makes sense to go that far.

3) Some people are impulse buyers. If they want to try and cut back on those extra purchases, a good idea is to use that store’s online shopper/carry-out service. Order all your items on their website and then choose the “carry-out” option where they will bring your groceries right to your car. No need to enter the store! If you choose to have your groceries delivered to your home instead, there is a cost for that so be sure to factor that cost verses the cost of gas that you would use.

4) The Sunday newspapers don’t have as many coupons as they used to. But there are coupons online. A good source is Coupons.com   Print them out and remember to take them to the store!  Some stores have their own digital coupons online – sign up for that. When you check out, your coupons will come off your order and you didn’t even have to print them out. (Be sure to sign in to your account while you are at the register.)

5) Do you make a list and then forget it when you go to the store? Take a photo of your list with your phone – chances are you won’t forget your phone when you leave the house.

6) Once you buy your groceries, wouldn’t it be nice to get some money back? Well, you can! There is an app called Ibotta. You can earn cash for particular products (that change from week to week) by uploading your register receipt. Here is the link: Ibotta  Log onto the app and see what products are available for cash back and click on them. Don’t forget to upload your receipt in a timely manner (it is best to do this within a day) or those offers may disappear and you will lose out on the cash back.

There is another website where you can upload receipts and earn cash back or gift cards:  Magic Receipts (mypoints.com)  You can even use the same receipts that you used for Ibotta.

7) In summary, here are three ways to save some extra money on your groceries (in addition to buying your items on sale).

a) Print coupons 

b) Use them at the store (get cash off your total)

c) Upload your receipt to Ibotta and MyPoints Magic Receipts (to earn more cash)

You can do ALL this on a single shopping trip to just one store!! And, if the items you buy are on sale – even more savings!!