Adding A Pop Up Greenhouse To The Patios

September 4, 2024 Sarah

As we slip into September, I finished part of my current project: transforming the patios around the house into a kitchen garden. It’s still an open goal, but every part I do gets me closer to doing it in full by next spring. This graph drives it home for me every time I look at it:

Whatever we grow helps us buy less food and lower our carbon footprint. And as I have learned in the past 6.5 years running a small homestead, the shorter the walk, the more likely I am to keep at it. Yes, the big gardens below produce most of it, but there is something about just walking outside and picking—sitting down and enjoying a big handful of fresh peas while cooling off in the wind. When I have to go work down below, I am more likely to shrug it off.

It’s far too easy to know that I will be there for an hour or two if I go work down below. There’s always work to do: weeding, watering, dealing with chickens, etc.

However, the work on the patios around the house is small and easy to do, so I don’t get overwhelmed.

I wanted to add a small pop-up (portable) greenhouse to the patios for tucking plants into this fall and starting plants for the patio beds in early spring. Our goals include building a greenhouse here and providing shelter for our citrus plants. But we needed something now before the first frosts of November show up. Pop-up greenhouses move quickly, so I can shift them where they need to be quickly.

They are also affordable, not breaking the bank. Pop-up greenhouses range from $45 to $150 on average, and the end of summer is a great time to buy, as Amazon can offer steep discounts on them.

And with this, I can grow lettuce for a longer period this fall, as the lower patio gets sun nearly the whole day, along with the house and pavers radiating heat back at night.

This time, I saw an upgraded version of the classic style of pop-up greenhouses on Amazon. The Ohuhu one adds 2 shelves on the back wall, 3 windows for better ventilation, and clips to hold the shelves down (normally, I zip-tie the shelves on). It had all the features I expected. Plus the bonus new ones, so for a retail cost of $94.99 (I had a coupon offered on my purchase that took $4.75 off. It cost me $98.18 with tax, shipped free with Prime and I received it in 2 days.)

Alistaire assembled it quickly. He’s helped me with other ones in the past, but he also told me that building the frames is like building Legos. He had it put together in under 30 minutes.

Then we figured out where to put it.

As I have said before, the frame can handle a lot; the cover turns it into a kite. So weighing it down is very important.

I don’t like using guylines because of their tripping potential and the possibility of dogs hitting them, so I use large paver blocks instead.

Two on each side works well to weight down the “kite” part of the greenhouse.

I also added 2 12″ pavers inside and put them over the middle bar as weights. Over the years, I have done this and never had one lift-off in winter.

Now then, in the photo two up, you will see I don’t put them on the front. In storms or windy days you will want to seal the door’s zippers fully, and shut all windows. It is nice and tight and will usually shed the wind if the rest is held down.

The third paver is for one of the meyer lemon trees to sit on; I do this for better drainage.

In a few weeks, I will move the citrus in and any plants I want to winter over or extend their season (such as basil).

~Sarah

Gardening · Homesteading

Building My Patio Garden

August 26, 2024 Sarah

If I could find a positive outcome of my arm injury this summer, it is that I reclaimed the patios around our house. I would look out and sigh at the mess it had all become, but getting started on it never happened until I couldn’t work in the big gardens on the homestead. And suddenly, I had the time to get going on the mess just outside our home.

Seeing this area become liveable has brought me a lot of happiness.

Part 1 is when I found a tool that let me go from “I can’t” to “Wow!”.

In part 2, we did the upper patios and started moving plants up from the lower gardens to around the house.

That is when I noticed something. Nearly every plant I brought up suddenly grew faster and better than the ones down below in the homesteading gardens. This summer has been a struggle; so far, not a single night has been over 59*. In-ground growth is highly affected by that. Up on the patios, the paver stones bake in the sun all afternoon and radiate heat as night settles back into the plants. Our strawberry crop has boomed due to the extra warmth.

I have had one lonely 8-foot raised bed by the lower patio that I often ignored over the years. However, since my injury, I paid attention to it this summer.

It’s been highly productive this year and is still putting on peas, even at the end of August. A huge mess of Swiss Chard and four tomatoes also grow in it; all are doing great in this off-summer.

After the growing season is over, my plan is to tear it down (it is made with excess paver blocks I found in the woods), remove the soil, and store it. Then, I will put 4 to 6 raised beds next to the lower patio in a grassy area next to it. I have decided I need a “kitchen garden” to walk out to and harvest easily from. With moving up all the potted alpine strawberries, I have noticed how everyone is eating them. It’s right outside the house, so whenever people walk by, they get nibbled on. Convenience trumps for sure.

To add to this, I had seen a plant stand on Amazon for under $34. At that price point, I figured I would try it out.

Alistaire opened the compact box and assembled it in 15 minutes or so. It was very easy to put together and seems of decent quality. I found another version without the hanging part that I am considering getting so I can stack the plants up high and have more growing. It’s 5 foot 4 inches in height, and yes, it has occurred to me that it would be great for use in a greenhouse as well.

More dreaming, planning, and getting projects done in the dwindling days of summer as fall approaches.

~Sarah

Gardening · Herbalism · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading · Wildcrafting

Herbal Academy Natural Dyes Workshop Review

August 16, 2024 Sarah

For three years, I passionately studied herbalism. The pandemic years turned my mind off to it, and I found my mind and body shifted to simply growing food and plants. I let myself slide into survival mode.

This year, I realized how much I missed it when Kirk and I attended a permaculture class for a couple of days in June. I had forgotten how much I loved being in class and learning new things.

Then, I got an email from Herbal Academy about a new class: Natural Dyes Workshop. I was intrigued.

I love the workshops they run, as they are fast-paced and only require a weekend to learn new skills. It’s online, but the way it’s presented you feel like you are there with them. I have taken other short courses from them in the past.

There are so many flowers to work with and to grow in our gardens. Not only do pollinators love them, you can do art with them.

From Herbal Academy:

In this self-paced and hands-on workshop for all skill levels, you’ll explore how to use the plants you already know and love in a creative new way! From tie-dyeing to bundle dyeing and even learning how to dye with mushrooms, we have you covered with so many inspiring natural dye projects. You will learn exactly how to use dozens of natural elements to dye everyday items, including fabric, homemade cosmetics, paper, and more!

You’ll discover:

The history of botanical dyeing, including traditional uses and sustainability
Which plants create which colors – and how to unlock their most vibrant hues
How to naturally dye fabrics, cosmetics, paper, wood, and more
The supplies needed to get started – and the role they play
Troubleshooting tips for any issues that may arise
How to care for your naturally dyed items so the colors last
A plethora of hands-on projects that will bring your lessons to life
Reflections and advice on the natural dyeing journey from course contributors
And more!

Having said all that, my first attempt at natural dyeing was in the pandemic years. In the fall of 2020, we were homeschooling under the local school district’s umbrella that first year, and as part of that, we were encouraged to attend the farm weekly at the school. The regular students, at home, learning online didn’t. It was very odd, but I signed us up, and we showed up that year. One of the things we worked on was dyeing with Indigo. That was a fun and very educational event, especially for me. I liked that year because I also participated with the boys (3rd and 5th grades) at the in person events.

I really wanted to try it again, so I jumped at the chance to learn more.

I opted to buy the Botanical Dye Kit, along with the course, for $34.99 extra. It came about a week later in a very sweet box.

While I could have sourced everything independently, let’s be honest: This makes it so much easier. That was a major reason I decided to buy the kit.

It has soda ash, Alum, Marigold flower, Calendula flower, and two pieces of fabric to work with.

Going back to the workshop, the videos they created for it, which are part of the class, are well done. Soothing and easy to listen to, you will be excited to make fabric and clothing naturally pretty. I am taking the class in the mornings, as I have time. I will be posting photos of my finished items on my Instagram page.

I am just waiting for early Fall to do the dyeing when it is cool and the kids are in school. Then it is my time.

PS: This is the season to save your botanical flowers and air-dry them in paper bags, so you have lots of botanical matter to dye with.

FTC Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. We paid for this course; all thoughts are ours.

~Sarah

Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

The Homesteading Tool I Didn’t Know I Needed

August 7, 2024 Sarah

Kirk picked me up a hand tool on Amazon, and at first, I thought, “Why would I need this?” After trying it out, I wondered why I hadn’t had one for years.

The tool is so simple. It’s a metal mason jar opener that opens bottle caps and tight metal lids on jars as well.

I use it most to pop the lids on Mason jars. I no longer have to chip my fingernails or try to use a butter knife to pop under the lid.

Can openers used to have a metal tab I could use to pop mason jar lids, but in the past decade, I have noticed they don’t have it on heavy-duty can openers anymore. It works exactly as described. It’s nothing exciting, but it is a tool you will wonder how you got by without.

And you will save your fingernails (and fingernail polish as well).

For less than $10. It was a win and a great gift to recieve.

~Sarah

Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

Voles And Cold Nights In The Garden

August 6, 2024 Sarah

This summer has been so frustrating.

My arm injury occurred at the worst time for summer growth, at the height of the growing season.

But that led to other issues that affected our growth in the gardens. I couldn’t weed for five weeks—I am now only starting to weed, and what a mess it is in the gardens. Then, it led to an invasion of voles invading two of our growing areas; as I pull back the weeds, I can see the telltale signs of the rodent tunnels they run through under the coverage of lush green growth (weeds included). I also catch the blur of small gray rodents zipping out as I make their life miserable. Now, as I am starting to weed, I am bringing the rat dog down with me. She may only catch one or two, but they can smell her and don’t like her. Yesterday, I watched a rabbit light out into the woods. It needed a reminder that my homestead isn’t an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The first sign was I suddenly had a couple Artichoke plants fall over. When I went in to figure out was going on, I could see a hole by each plant, where there had been digging, and tunnels shooting off.

Then I started seeing issues in the tomato bed. Plants were suddenly looking dead or dying. They had been gnawed off in half.

The root balls were highly damaged, all with holes in them.

But I have to say, I had a good run these years growing in the garden. Guess it was my turn to have a crappy year. The irony is that I fantasized about turning this in-ground bed into a beautiful raised bed area over winter. Maybe that might be a good idea in the end. Put down hardware cloth, the farm fabric, and the raised beds. Make it primarily rodent-proof.

The youngest and I worked in the evening to find and remove which tomatoes had been killed. This has made grabbing and pulling the weeds easier, opening up the plants. I think we have lost around 14 plants at this point. It’s not a good number, but it’s still doable. We still have enough plants left.

Then Alistaire saw something in the tomatoes.

It was a Barred Owl feather.

One of our three owls is here looking for a tasty dinner. Thanks, buddy. I’m glad to know they have our back. They had been grooming themselves on top of the strawberry cage, like how they sit on tree snags in the open forest. Most nights, you can listen to the owls talking back and forth.

But the real issue affecting our gardens here in the coastal Salish Sea is that it is a cold night summer. Over and over. It hasn’t gotten over 59° at night.

And that is something I cannot do anything about. Daytime cold is different, I suppose. By 7 p.m., the daytime temperatures drop; by 9 p.m., they are in the low 60s and drop very quickly into the 50s.

It came to me the other evening as I sat outside and noticed how quickly it chilled. I went back and looked at the weather cycle, and there it was.

Normally, we have weeks at least in the 60s at night. Even during the week we had a “heat wave” in the upper 80s, it still cooled at night in the 50s. Most summers, we have those evenings where it never gets cool at night in July.

And that explains so much about our gardening struggles this year. With the colder temperatures at night, plants just don’t grow as robust.

Knowing the reason, though? That makes it OK. I can then deal with my disappointment for this summer and know it isn’t my fault. I cannot control the temperature. But I can work on controlling the rodents and their destruction.

~Sarah