Category Archives: Greenhouse

The Zesty Bohemian’s Gallery of Artsy-Fartsy Photos!

This poor blog has suffered from major neglect, as has my greenhouse this year. There has been so much going on here at the Homestead and at work that my spare time is at a premium. Something had to give, and unfortunately, it’s been this blog, gardening, and food preserving.

Spending 50-60 hours a week at work (not counting the hour commute each way) does not leave much time for my Homesteading duties. So for this year at least, it is not MY greenhouse. It is officially “Herm’s greenhouse.” If it wasn’t for my ex, there would be nothing growing! I did some planting in there this spring after clearing the beds of their winter vegetation. I also take care of the weeding when I have time. But the seed starts and pest/disease control has been all Herm, and I am very grateful for all his hard work. He also got all the hummingbird feeders filled and put up, with a few just outside the camper window so we can enjoy watching them up close.

When I am home, nearly every spare moment of my time has been spent working with Mike on his new mycology business. I have been having a great time brainstorming some incredible ideas with my boys. Mike has been writing grow guides, which I have been editing and finessing for him. He has had some very positive feedback from local businesses regarding his products and we are very excited to be starting this grand entrepreneurial adventure. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t include a link to his website, Abundance Mushroom Company. New customers receive 50% off their first order, and you can get everything you need to grow your own mushrooms at home! It would be a great homeschool project, as well.

Now that the warmer weather is here and it isn’t so dreary anymore (I just cannot get motivated when it’s cold and barren), I have dusted off the Sony and have been taking some pictures. I have always loved taking photographs of things close up, and am finally taking the time to learn a few of the basics of macro photography. I definitely have a lot to learn, but I’m having a lot of fun getting out and visiting with my plant and insect friends!

Finally Spring: Some Thoughts and Pics

Enjoying the warm Spring day

I know for sure that Spring is here: Thursday I caught my first glimpses of the redbud trees starting to blossom. I just love those beautiful trees. Dogwoods and Cottonwoods are also in bloom, and the quince bush is full of delicate, deep pink flowers. I finally got the time this weekend to work in the greenhouse and walk around the property taking some nice pictures of Spring in action.

Quite honestly, I feel like a bit of a fraud this season. My work at the clinic has been so crazy and all my spare time has been invested in helping to get my son’s new business off the ground (Abundance Mushroom Company: Everything you need for growing your own mushrooms at home, for the hobbyist or commercial grower). I never even had time to plant my seeds. Fortunately, a local greenhouse has beautiful starts at very reasonable prices, so I was able to plant a few tomatoes and peppers this weekend. We are going to experiment with growing a crop of corn in the greenhouse this year. Should be interestingl

Anyway, with the very real possibility of jumping into the housing market soon and with my lack of available time, it was decided that we would scale back on the planting this year. Herman is handling all the outdoor plants and I have been planning the greenhouse. The goal will be to have enough fresh produce without much extra for canning or preservation. I’m sure I will be dehydrating batches of veggies and canning some Cowboy Candy (sweet pickled jalepeno peppers–awesome on everything), but there will not be any marathon canning weekends at the Homestead this summer/fall. Anything more than we can use will be shared with neighbors, coworkers, and patients.

I hope you enjoy my pics. It was a lot of fun getting back out and enjoying watching Nature wake up after a long, cold, winter.

Life Found a Way

I found some home remodeling evidence in the greenhouse yesterday. Apparently, Mr. Toad loves his new digs, as he has been here since Fall. I guess the weeds there get a reprieve until he decides to move on.

I was so afraid to venture back into the greenhouse after a six-week hiatus (Read about my long winter here). Would any of my winter greens and root veggies be salvageable? Thankfully, my ex was able to hold down the fort in my absence and cover the plants during the cold spells as well as keep my new seedlings moist. Gardening per se wasn’t being done, but at least he kept a lot of plants from dying.

After a (finally!) reasonable call week, I was able to venture out and get to some projects this weekend instead of simply catching up on sleep for two days. My biggest priority was to put on my creative cap and stage some pics for Abundance Mushroom Company’s future Etsy site. I was finally able to figure out some of the issues I had been having with my nice digital camera and was able to make some adjustments, which greatly improved the color reproduction. With nothing but point-and-shoot camera experience in the past, this is a brand-new learning experience for me. There is so much I don’t know about photography!

Venturing In

Sunday, I finally gathered the nerve to go tour the damage and tally my losses. I did lose a lot: All my radishes were overgrown, hollow, and rotten inside, the yellow winter choy was fully bolted and producing abundant flowers, beets didn’t look too hot, Chinese mustard was wiped out, and the weeds were beginning to take over the unplanted areas.

But all was not lost. While my kale is quite mature and likely pretty bitter, cutting out the thick stems will yield several pounds of delicious, cooked greens, at least a couple meals’ worth. The onions Herman planted are apparently quite happy, as are Justin’s garlics. My experimental iceberg lettuce is doing great. Most of my young second sowing plants are alive and doing well.

My harvests over the next several weeks will be smaller than I would have liked, but I am pleasantly surprised to find a lot of my work is still viable.

I continue to drag my feet on the spring seed-sowing, though. I really need to spend several days in the greenhouse tearing out the bad and preparing everything for my big winter-to-spring transition. Which is looming large-it’s already almost the middle of March! This actually may turn out for the best, though. I do have a habit of jumping the gun and putting my plants out too early.

Until next time, blessings and peace to you!