Revved Up Ragtag, Part 10 - Getting Organized, Plus A Contest!
My first major goal for the 2018 growing season is to build a simple greenhouse.
I picked an easy project to match my skill levels, which are minimal. You'll notice that I've printed out that picture. A daily reminder will keep the project fresh in my thoughts.
I ran across a large corkboard I had salvaged from a prior office job. They were closing down the location, so they allowed us to take a few useful things when we left. It's now serving as my new Dream Board and Organizational Center. The picture of the greenhouse was the first thing pinned.
A while back, I had also ordered a special tool that should help the Ragtag Garden and Revved Up Ragtag be as successful as possible.
If you look closely, you can see the senders were Doug and Stacy from OFF GRID with Doug and Stacy on YouTube.
It was a video on Amish Moon Folklore that captured my attention. First, who knew there was such a thing (!) and Second, it seemingly works - so tell me more!
Not really having a game-plan last year, this looked like as good a start as any for the coming year. So, after having ample time to unfurl, the calendar is going to be central to decisions on when to do certain tasks or put them off for a few days. The theory is by following the recommendations, for example: the best days to do assorted building projects, will help the outcome be better overall. We'll see how well I can apply the advice and if it, indeed, makes a difference.
Here's what the Dream Board looks like at the moment.
A little bare, but it is only the first week of the New Year. To balance things out visually and give some coherence to the project, I've started a contest to design a Brand Logo for the Ragtag Series.
The prize will be 2 Steem and the SBD from the announcement post when it pays out. Check that post for the rules and some guidelines for the new Logo.
GOOD LUCK!
Key Features in The Revved Up Ragtag Project.
Stay Tuned For The Next Installment - Coming Soon!
Latest episodes of the Ragtag Saga:
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 1
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 2
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 3
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 4
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 5
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 6
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 7
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 8
Revved Up Ragtag, Part 9
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THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
I have a dreamboard that I made many years ago tucked away somewhere. At that time in my life, I was focused on building healthy relationships and then I met Mr. Canadian Renegade so I guess it worked! :) I will have to start another for our honestead so thanks for the reminder.
That Almanac is so interesting! With us getting construction underway this year, I may have to pick up one of those calendars. I don't want to lose our gravel too soon! :D
-Aimee
How cool would it be to find it again! It would be a heckuva memento to have for the new place. A second one for this next phase would be a perfect companion.
I don't know if they have any left, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. I think they were a special order item, if memory serves. Wandering gravel is not a helpful thing!
Yeah, I would love to see that board again and what else I may have added on there. It would also be pretty neat to collect the boards and see how much we could bring to fruition. I am looking forward to watching your dreamboard grow.
LOL - Wandering gravel reminds me of my in-laws very long, very muddy driveway. If I can still pick up an Almanac perhaps I should get them one too! >D
-Aimee
Inspiration boards are the best! I’ve always dreamt of a greenhouse, a solárium as well!
I'm hoping it'll help in keeping a focus, as I can get off on tangents and forget to come bac...
Squirrel!!
I need to make me a dream board too. What a great idea.
I've seen folks use them, but this is the first time to actually give it a go. It'll be interesting to compare to next year at this time. You do one, too, and we'll make it a 'homesteader thing'!
That is a really cool calendar - and a dream board is a brilliant idea! I really need to put one together too.
I may be taking notes from your DIY greenhouse. This year hubby and I are focusing on one or two raised garden beds and expanding from there. Perhaps a greenhouse next year? It's on the wish list.
Hi, @merej99. I don't know what part of Florida you are in, but you are in gardening season right now, in any part of the state. Here's a link from the University of Florida that has a monthly garden calendar for different parts of Florida. Winter can be the easiest time to garden in the South -- at least there are fewer insect and mildew problems.
We've just had a week of cold weather with freeze warnings for the morning. I've started some seeds inside to get a jump on the garden; some green peppers, tomatoes and a few herbs (oregano and basil). I just received a really cool catalog of heirloom seeds. I've come a long way from killing my annual tomato plant but I'm still a newbie gardener. I still need to research which plants like each other and which need to be planted separately. I'm just going to enjoy the process. You know I'll probably be bugging you, papa-pepper, aunt-deb and a few others to help make my garden grow!
*editing to add: I'm in Citrus County. Mid state, close to the Gulf. I'm not supposed to be cold right now but I am! :(
I hear you. Im trying to get a few raised beds going this year (I live in the Appalachian mountains so the dirt is too rocky by far and hard to dig into). I also want to get some raspberries going though. And I hope to have a greenhouse one day too. I feel like that might be the mos ideal, but I need to learn more about how to build one.
One of the things I love about living in Florida is the long growing season -- and the fact that I can have fruit trees - but I have to admit that coming here from upstate New York means no more rocks and I am surprised by how much I miss them! We are choosing to go with raised beds mostly because of the hard rains. You would think sandy soil would just soak up the water and take it away but it actually pools. Our first year I had a great garden started and it drowned in one afternoon. Live and learn.
I dont think Id miss the rocks in terms of gardening. I actually grew up on the Virginia part of the Delmarva Peninsula, and the growing conditions there are excellent. The growing season is not as long a Florida, of course, but the soil there is incredible. Gardening is a lot easier there than most places. But thats a good point about the raised beds. I know Florida does get some hard rains but I would not have thought of that either as far as being a problem.
Do the raised beds need to be watched more (to make sure theyre getting enough water) than a typical garden? Im asking because last year I did some growing in air pots and I definitely needed to keep more of an eye on them.
Raised beds solve a lot of problems. There are so many options for building them, that I'm sure you'll find just the right style to fit your property. Once they're in place, you'll be good to go for a long while and have plenty of time left for knocking a greenhouse together!
I think I am going to put some beds on a rather steep hill in front of my house, and I have a few rough ideas on how to go about that. I basically live on a mountain, but I have another spot where I could throw together a small greenhouse. Im thinking about just using that spot for growing raspberries though, so I still have a lot to figure out, and just seeing some of the things you are doing will probably help with that.
Sounds like a real challenge! Good luck, too, on the raspberries. I've not had success with them, so if you do, I'll be hitting you up for tips. I'd like to try some black raspberries. They're hard to find, even frozen. Last batch I managed to track down was at private farm in Michigan. (Road trip!!!)
Thanks and it is unique! And the board already has me pondering the next step. Amazing how that works...
Raised beds are one of my favorite methods, especially for weed control. There are so many different options with them, too, that increase production. Y'all will have a blast!
That's so interesting! I just bought a farmers almanac calendar and was trying to decipher it's meaning. That Amish moon lore video helped. I could see the gravitational pull having impact on projects involving dirt.
The moon lore was new to me in this setting. Once he explained it, it made total sense! It's nice to see this type of generational knowledge gaining new ground, especially with the younger (than me) folks. I'm late to the game, so having this resource gives me a jumpstart on making up for lost time.
Absolutely, thanks for sharing! There's so much lost knowledge out there. Steemit is really helping us gather it back together :)
You are scaling up for 2018 and going to tame the jungle! :D That looks like a pretty achievable greenhouse. I guess you'll be staking it down, even though the picture doesn't show that. Or maybe you don't get much wind in your area. You'll be off to an early start this spring! :D
Yup! The Jungle was threatening to take over. Something had to be done. I figure a greenhouse smack in the middle of it will force me to keep it beaten back.
My first preference would be to have a one or two course concrete block foundation wall, staked in place with rebar. The ends of the cattle panel will rest on the blocks and be fastened to the rebar somehow. That should provide either more headroom or maybe widen the footprint at tad for more sq footage. The details are a bit fuzzy as it's going to depend on my scrounging abilities for materials. That's part of the fun! It's like a perpetual scavenger hunt.
Oh, and wind is a definite consideration. The southernmost tip of Lake Michigan is about 6 or 7 miles straight north of me. I'll make sure everything is well anchored down.
I can barely wait to get started!
I love that you are scavenging for materials. If I had a truck I would be visiting the local landfill quite often. If someone told me 5 years ago that "garbage picking" was going to be a hobby, I would have slapped them silly. LOL
I know, right!?! Evidently, those Depression Era stories grandpa used to tell must've soaked in more than I thought. It does feel good to give items a new purpose and rescue them from the trash. It's probably a good thing I don't have a truck. It'd be easy to go overboard...
You are really getting in gear for growing season. :-)
I'm trying. Lol! Mostly, it's because it's too dang cold out to do anything else.
Making a greenhouse using cattle panels is probably one of the easier ways to do it. It should provide a good structure for holding up the sheet plastic. I might have to try that myself this spring, to possibly get an earlier start with a few plants in the main garden.
That's good to hear. I'm wondering how to get the panels home, tho. Minivans aren't set up to handle this type of cargo, eh? Time to go through my mental rolodex for someone with a pickup, works for gas money and a six pack.
I'm going to try to channel your skills when it comes to assembly. ;~D
its good that you have a game plan this year, will help you accomplish more if you stick to the plan.
Yup! I get side tracked easily, so reminders and yardsticks are necessary if anything is to see completion.
That's a handy calendar! You are really charting things out well this time.
It's a doozy! Lol! It's going to take the whole year just to figure out all the 'moving' parts. I'll be doing a post highlighting some of the stuff it covers.