A very late summer veggie garden

I did not get my garden planted until the end of spring, early summer. And then I left for vacation in Sept. and Oct. Thank goodness I had a wonderful person caring for my garden while I was away and nothing died. That is a very special garden person for sure.

Oh, and Yes, I had a wonderful time in Ireland and visited many beautiful gardens. In fact, all of Ireland is a beautiful garden.

Okay, back to my garden. I planted it several months after my normal early spring plant time. First of all, the weather dictated that we plant a month late. Plants that sit in cold soil do not develop sooner, in fact they are set back behind plants that are put in soil at appropriate temperatures for spring growth. Then I was busy with college classes until June.

The surprising thing about this year's garden is that it is now (and while I was in Ireland) producing the fruits of my labor. The tomatoes are still on the vine, though I have picked all the red ones and only the green ones are left. The basil is still healthy. The zucchini is still producing. Well, two out of the three are still producing. Here is a picture of one that I will pick tomorrow. It is just above the large leaf that is closest in the picture.

So, here is a close-up of the zucchini that will be part of my steamed vegetable dish tomorrow night. Isn't that a beauty?!!!

While I was in Ireland, my potatoes decided to start growing. I must have left a couple little baby potatoes in the bed last time I harvested them in early summer sometime. I always say I should keep a garden diary and I do write down a few things, but never keep it up. Best intentions! Anyway, as I was saying the potatoes decided to grow all on their own without me even being in the country. Here they look pretty happy.

Oh I forgot to mention the peppers! There are lots of sweet peppers and chili peppers too. These pictures are only incredible because they were taken in the first week of November!!! Gardening fills the soul!

August greenhouse construction

So, the solar panels are up on the roof. They are generating electricity. Two panels go to batteries and an inverter changes to AC power. Now the "snap" fan is installed too. 

The roof vent was framed too.

So the polycarbonate installation began. The first piece was the south side which is the widest side.

And here is another shot of the south panels when they are first being fitted. You can see where the framed "snap fan" is installed on the left side.

A lot of work has been done by this picture. The sides are all in place, the roof is installed and some of the trim has been applied. What a difference a few days make. Thanks to my creative and skilled husband, who designed and is building the greenhouse.

This is a good picture of the "snap fan" installed. This fan runs off the variable DC power from one panel. We do need to put a regulator/controller on this fan to slow it down much of the time because it feels like a wind tunnel in the greenhouse.

This is one of the two temperature regulated cool intake vents. So, the greenhouse is coming along really nicely.

Tomatillo surprises in the vegetable garden

Last year was the first year I had ever grown tomatilloes. I was told to have at least two plants for pollination, so I had two. I had no problem with the production of tomatilloes last year. They are those fruits that look like green tomatoes and also the ones with the paper looking skin. I had lots of them and did not get them all harvested, so many fell to the ground. The yellower they turn the sweeter they get. I understand some people only like them green and others really like them different shades of yellow. I have no preferences yet. Under that dry paper shell they are quite sticky and have to be washed before you prepare them for eating fresh or in a salsa or sauce. Other than that they are easy to incorporate into any dish you desire.

I was also told that once you grew tomatilloes you would always have them. So, when I groomed that long side bed of my yard and did not find any volunteers I was very disappointed. Then a month later in July I noticed these volunteers. Tomorrow I have to thin them, so hoping I have lots of friends who want tomatilloes.

I think they are a wonderful addition to the vegetable garden and so easy to grow. They do need to be supported. I used one of my old tomato cages made out of heavy wire wrapped into a cylinder shape. I really think I will not grow more than 4 plants this year. That is plenty for eating fresh and plenty to freeze for later in the year. Their shelf life is quite long too, much longer than a tomato. 

July Greenhouse and Garden update

Well my garden is growing, late as it is. Usually at this time of year I have produce coming out of my ears, but not this year. The garden is so behind because it was planted two months late. This was because of the extended cold weather and also because I was so busy with my college class. Way too busy! Obsessed!

But back to the garden. There has been drastic pruning going on for access to the exterior of the greenhouse and also to insure the new solar panels are not shaded too much. So the huge Eureka lemon and huge Vitex tree have been drastically cut back. The Vitex tree has taken the worst beating (cut to a 5th or 6th of the normal width and height of the tree).  The trees in this picture are my Elder tree on the right and just a couple branches of the Vitex on the left with the large seed bunches on the very ends, and behind the roof on the left is the Eureka lemon and grapefruit tree on the right.

The panels are to power the fan for the greenhouse (DC) and the full spectrum lights, the seedling heat pad and timers.  This will all be very exciting. I have had an extension cord out there for the lights and heat pad for the past couple years. But finally the polycarbonate siding is going to be put up and it will be an all "new" greenhouse.

Working on the Greenhouse

Over a year ago we made our decision as to the covering for our redwood framed greenhouse. In this photo it is shown covered in 6 mil plastic which pretty much destructs after a year in our Sacramento sun. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to replace it now. Too many! So we chose Sundance Supply to purchase triple walled polycarbonate panels, which are sitting in their very heavy packing box on our patio.

Never in a hundred years would I have imagined that no one would know where to purchase exhaust fans and intake vents for a greenhouse that would close when not in use, so that all the heat built-up passively during the day would not be exhausted during the cold months and run on DC power from solar panels and batteries.

Well, a year later we have learned a lot about what is available and what is not. It was a long road with many dead ends. We finally found a fan for the greenhouse that is DC (generated by solar panels) run. It is called a Snap fan. In fact it runs straight off the solar panel and doesn't go to a battery. We still have to choose the shutters that will close to block unwanted cold in the winter. The Snap fan will be placed low on the south side (under the shade of my large Vitex tree).  We found our fan at Real Goods Solar Living Center in Hopland CA.

We have a pretty large window in the roof that will open with a Gigavent (automatically opens by temperature). We got it at Peaceful Valley Farm Supply in Grass Valley CA.

Here is a picture of a panel like one of ours. I took it at the Real Goods Solar Living Center. Of course ours will not be set-up on a portable frame like this one in the  picture. They will be on the roof of the studio which is attached to the greenhouse.

Ours are not up on the roof yet, but it will be exciting to see when they do get up there.