Update sounds funny. Not sure if anyone out there has been hanging on the edge of their wood stoves waiting for my next post….its been a while! Nonetheless, I feel I should put a little something out there for my records, if nothing else.
So there is spinach in the greenhouse right now. We just had a pretty cold stretch in the last week or so where we dipped down to 15-20 below zero. The min/max thermometer on the ground in the middle of the greenhouse reads about 10 above. I kind of find that a bit hard to believe but I suppose it is possible that it was 20 degrees warmer in the greenhouse in the middle of the night. I always thought it was around 10 degree difference. Regardless, the spinach is still there and still alive. I harvested about a pound for our family today and though some was a little limp when I harvested, it sprung to life when I soaked it in a bowl of cold water! This picture is from December, but the scene is pretty much the same.
Since November, I have harvested around 60 lbs of spinach. I’m not thrilled with that number. I should have planted the spinach September 1st instead of September 15th. It just didn’t grow to maturity before the light and cold shut it down. Next year!! It will start to take off in the coming weeks, though….hopefully.
Also, rodents have been an issue more so this year than last. Seems like they’re devouring certain areas. Not making me happy to be keeping the field mice fat, happy and warm through the winter months. Got a tip on an electric rodent zapper that I think I’m going to employ. The conventional traps just aren’t cutting it.
I also wanted to address snow on the greenhouse, since some friends have commented or inquired as to how this structure coexists with the winter snows. Great advice from Ed Persons, the Greenhouse Guru of the Northeast(I just gave him that title, but I think many would agree). Either let the snow fall off on its own, such as in this short video I took today. The inside of the greenhouse will heat up and between that and the sun, the snow will shed on its own. I watched almost the entire side of the greenhouse shed this thin layer of snow and ice before I shot this video.
Almost as exciting as watching paint dry(don’t get caught watching the paint dry) or grass grow, I know. Actually, for me, it is quite exciting since I feel more like my greenhouse won’t cave in. From what I’ve been told, though, greenhouses cave in from pressure from the sides, not the top. So the trick is not to let the snow pile up on the sides and put pressure on the frame from the side, weakening, and ultimately collapsing the puppy. Just what I’ve been told by people in the know. Coincidentally, my neighbor just cleared the snow from the uphill side of the greenhouse this afternoon. So far, so good.
Looking forward to start making plans, orders for starts this spring, and possibly ginger….stay tuned.