I like to challenge myself to learn more and to do this as long as I can. We learn best by doing and by our failures and success. I learn best by getting my failures out of the way.
We can challenge ourselves in many ways, learning to cook or bake, sew or knit, learn a new language a new trade.
Learning to develop a routine. Here at our home I try to think ahead of where Charles is going each day and his needs. This day he was going to be busy and he had to leave early so I made an egg sandwich for him to take to work.
I knew he would be rushed this day and may not get lunch until late.
I cut his breakfast sandwich in half... (There is waxed paper under this sandwich)
I always pack his sandwiches in a thermal bag with an ice pack and plenty of warm water. Charles likes to drink his water warm. Each morning he goes out the door with a thermos, a meal bag with either a meal or snack depending on where he is going. He will have a fruit to eat for later, sometimes and apple or a citrus or banana, cherries or something that is in season such as peaches so it is there with him.
When Charles does not leave out early we often eat oatmeal with cooked apples and raisins.
Sometimes it is a full meal prepared in his lunch box for a long day. There are times when things are hectic at home and he purchases something out such as stir fry veggies or a place that serves vegetables and chicken.
A routine can be a challenge to keep because life is challenging.
Here it is the end of fall and I am constantly learning in the garden. I move things in the garden more often than I do in the house and that is a lot. I keep trying to figure out where things like to grow.
I kept trying to grow lavender but it would die so I kept moving it, I kept mending the soil and for now here to the left, in this spot I added sand and so far this is the best the lavender has done. These lemons are the last of the lemons on the tree. The lower ones that were very green when I picked all the others. They have survived two freezes by me covering them with blankets.
The yard looks quite untidy with the fallen leaves and things going to sleep for winter. But this is how real life happens.
The year before last we purchased this greenhouse for $110.00, something we saved for in our budget. It has done very well for us, a bit difficult during February when we normally get our very cold weather. We ended up putting Christmas lights around the plants that needed the most warmth and a heat bulb to help during the coldest days.
In my last post I mentioned that we purchased a second greenhouse so we could extend the veggies we want to grow during the winter. I do not do well gardening in the heat of summer and have had to decrease what I grow and limit the months because we seem to be getting hotter each year now.
I have been growing plants in pots and cups and getting them ready to go in the ground.
So this past week I started with putting a lasagna garden inside of the new greenhouse and then moved to the old greenhouse. I started with newspaper over the floor.
I am experimenting with what will work so I have to start somewhere. I first put down mulch for a path then garden soil, compost and soil in layers. Charles was a wonderful help by lugging all this soil into this space.
So I left a place for an old dresser to be used for gardening tools and accessories.
So you may ask why I would put a vintage dresser out in the greenhouse. Our home has gotten a little over crowded with vintage finds as we have been moving back in time and since our two chifferobe finds for $25.00 I have not even had the desire to go junking anymore.
As I have explained before we have found most of vintage finds at the thrift store and some on the side of the road where people are putting it out for trash. This dresser has drawer issues due to the shape of the drawers and it is difficult to place things inside due to it not being a rectangle or square drawer so keep that in mind if you ever find furniture in this shape. Also the drawers fit loose and is not as sturdy as it looks.
We were going to just donate it but I said to Charles if we are going to donate it why can't we just use it because we need a place to keep the garden hand tools and such. So we decided to use it. It was beat up when we got it, did not have any handles, we purchased handles for .25 cents at the thrift. I keep trying to convince myself that this is okay so I am okay with it now, I think.
So we put the pavers down to keep the feet of the dresser clear....
I lined all the drawers thickly with newspaper. And if we find a old beat up dresser or chest of drawers on the side of the road in the near future we will most likely pick it up and use it and donate this one so I don't have to have the mental discussion anymore.
But then.... I like doing things whimsical and it is very whimsical to have a dresser in a greenhouse. :)
So I got busy planting out all the young plants.
So we have cabbage, different types of lettuce, Spinach, Swiss chard, dill, parsley, arugula..
Back of the new greenhouse looking through to the first greenhouse.
The first greenhouse, I removed some of the shelving and added garden beds . I still have many onions to plant.
So time will tell, these plants should grow and fill in these beds. Charles will add more doors and get rid of the zipper doors. He tells me he is going to surprise me with the next door as he wants to make each one unique because he also enjoys the whimsical side of life.
In this first greenhouse I now have a small area for ginger in the ground. I will have to see if the soil is too cold for it to grow or is it warm enough since the sun really heats this house up quickly each day the sun is out. It can be very cold outside but if the sun is bright the greenhouse will warm so hot I have to be careful to open and close the doors to control the heat.
Just because something is made a certain way does not mean it has to stay that way. If there is a way to make it better then alter it to work better for us. Grandma Donna
