Food #gardening in mini greenhouses

The weather here in Melbourne is bleak and blustery, but we had a few minutes of sunshine earlier on so I raced out with my trusty phone to take these:

The pictures show the mini greenhouses I bought from Bunnings. They come in a flat pack -shiver- but everything fits together quite easily for a change, including the clear plastic ‘cover’ that fits over the frame. The covers go all the way to the floor [but do not ‘seal’ completely]. Access to the inside is via heavy duty zips.

I was skeptical, at first, but I quickly noticed that the interior of the greenhouses is noticeably warmer than the outside air, and visibility is usually low due to condensation on the plastic. I’m not sure how the plants will go in summer conditions, but at the moment I’m only watering a tiny bit, once every 2 weeks or so.

Wind is a bit of a problem here, but by positioning the mini greenhouses up against the wall, and anchoring them with big, earth filled ‘tubs’ [see below], both structures have survived the north winds we get up here, so far at least.

I don’t usually do product endorsements, but I liked the first mini greenhouse so much, I went back and bought a second one. The original contains some very happy lettuce and continental parsley while the new one contains BokChoy [?] also grown from seed.

If anyone is interested in growing some winter vegetables, here are the salient facts:

Position:

North facing deck, up against the brick wall of the house for both extra warmth and protection from the wind.

Supplier:

Bunnings in Eltham

Form:

Flat pack. No issues with putting it together.

Cost:

I think each mini greenhouse was around $29, so they were very cheap.

Tubs:

I found some ordinary, plastic storage tubs, the kind you can buy at the supermarket, and drilled holes through the bottom of each one. Then I placed the tubs on top of their own lids to catch excess water and provide a ‘well’ of water to draw on.

Cost:

The tubs were on special and again, at roughly $10 per tub, they were much cheaper than an equivalent plant pot. Another important point was that they fit very neatly inside the bottom of each mini greenhouse, thereby acting as a kind of ‘anchor’ against the wind.

I know the tubs won’t last for very long because of the UV etc, but when they disintegrate, I’ll simply buy new ones. In the meantime, I have lovely, lush lettuce almost ready to harvest and some Chinese vegetables coming on. Colour me happy. 😀

cheers

Meeks

Um…remember that greenhouse?

I am so contrary.:(  As soon as I published that post about not being able to put the flat pack greenhouse together, something went click in my brain and suddenly, I couldn’t rest until I beat it.

There are some parts left over, and I don’t think it will last for long, but here it is, getting the once over from Golli:

 

 

Ooooooh……what is this thing?

…smells funny…

Could it be a new litter box?

Without resorting to four letter words again [I had a major tantrum just before dinner ] this has been the worse project I have ever attempted, and I swear I’ve learned my lesson. If I so much as  mention the word ‘flat pack’ in the future, you are all authorised to slap me until I come to my senses.

End rant and good night!

-hugs-

Meeks

 

Resolutions – yes, no, maybe?

I know my northern hemisphere friends are still busy bringing in the New Year, but here in Australia we’ve been there, done that. And no, I’m not bragging. It’s just that I’ve already let my New Year’s resolutions slide, and it’s only January 1. 😦

What did I resolve to do? Just two things, both ‘completers’ that have been hanging around the house for over six months.

The first is a flat pack, mini-greenhouse [apologies for the terrible photo]:

I did make a start…

I bought the greenhouse off the internet in the hope that it would be easy to assemble. You’d think I’d know better by now. The damn thing has a million parts and the instructions are, as you’d expect, rat shit. But I can deal with all that. What I haven’t been able to deal with is the sheer physical effort involved in making the parts fit together. And before anyone asks, yes, I am trying to put the correct parts together. Those two things that look like small windows are panels for the greenhouse. Unfortunately, there are so many more to assemble. 😦

The problem seems to be one of gender. I’m reasonably strong for a 5′ 3.5″ tall, 63 year old woman. Unfortunately, everything seems to be designed for a 6′ tall, 30-something man.

I have absolutely nothing against 6′ tall, 30-something men. I think they’re gorgeous…but they have these very strong hands. Wait. That doesn’t sound right.

Ahem.

Things that come in flatpacks seem to be designed for people with lots of muscle and very strong hands.

But what about me?

I don’t want to beat the feminist drum, but really, would it be that hard to design flatpacks for the other half of humanity? You know, the women who have small hands and don’t look like plumbers?

At the risk of sounding sexist, all the gentlemen out there can go do something macho now while I talk about project number 2.

So…my second incomplete project was to turn a lovely sarong into a simple top. I do know how to sew, but this project has proven to be more challenging than I thought.

Mistake number 1 was that I thought I could whip something up without a pattern. Mistake number 2 was that I neglected to test the fabric before reaching for the scissors. Sadly, that lovely fabric frays like you would not believe, so every seam has to be hemmed first. Plus the fabric has a pattern that should match up…

Anyway, these two projects have been lingering like a bad smell for a very long time, so last night, as the minute hand neared 12, I resolved to complete them…first thing in the morning [January 1st, 2017].

So far today, I’ve mowed a great swathe of the back garden [because it was nice and cool]. I’ve also done some washing, tidied the kitchen, made a start on the floors, had multiple coffees and spent some time on social media. Now, I’m writing a blog post. In short, I’ve done anything and everything except what I swore I’d do last night.

-sigh- I am so tempted to throw both the top and the flatpack into the nearest bin. Why are New Year’s Resolutions so bloody hard to do?

Or in my case, ‘not happy, Meeks!’

Am I alone?