Winterizing

     I have harvested all my carrots from the garden now, and am trying the Pedersen method of keeping them...they are in a big pickle bucket, still dirty, and covered with dampish peat moss. The ones that didn't fit are washed and are going into another "Veseys" box - it is a plastic box this time, and I have yet to sew the liner so they're just in the garage for the moment. But all of this is so time-sensitive!
      It was almost 30 degrees in the polytunnel today, the sunshine makes a terrific difference. But it has frozen at night, there are a couple of plants there which have been 'touched' by frost. I may try to save them - they are actually house plants, so they might make a cheery addition indoors - if I can find them a spot somewhere. 

     This is the cold-frame, about half-full of perennials, trees and such to overwinter, we hope successfully. I am going to do more insulating around the sides and front. It still doesn't have hinges, but that it a small detail. Last year I just had a window and bags of wood pellets!
     This weekend we hope to get started on building our shed - we cut down a big double spruce on the site last weekend and it is amazing how much space there is now! Fred thinks we could make it BIGGER than 8 x 16. I'm not sure. Anyway it would be great to have a spot for all the summer furniture and stuff, and then I could concentrate on the food storage in the garage.
     Oh! and of course it's the Guy Fawkes party on Saturday. Remember, remember!

Harvest and storage time

I am already missing my wonderful tomatoes. I had plans to bring in a couple of plants and try to keep them producing for a bit longer, but - alas! - they were stricken with blight at the last and so came to quite an abrupt end. There are quite a few tomatoes in the freezer - the plants were quite productive when they were healthy - but it's not the same as going out and picking a few - or a lot - whenever you wanted to. I must try again with the blight-resistant varieties, and perhaps getting some growing in the greenhouse, next year.
I have closed in the ends of the greenhouse, and am moving annuals (that I think are worth saving) into pots and stashing them in there. And yesterday Anne and I constructed a cold frame, a veritable Rolls Royce of cold frames, with a cover made from poly-carbonate Tuftex. I have to stain it with Water Seal today, and then site it where the sun does shine, and fill it up. It's 5 feet by 3 (150 cm x 90 cm) and looks like it will house quite a bit.

I also made a vegetable storage bin - from jute and an old deep-freeze wire basket. It's full of carrots and damp sawdust, and is in the 'root cellar' - ie., the insulated garage.

Wire basket with jute bag, sewn to fit, inside. I got the jute as a remnant for $1. 

Carrots from a market, washed - and huge.

I used wood pellets for the sawdust - they were free as well.  I think I should look for more wire baskets!

March - Going out like a Lion!

     Well, we have been so blessed with weather this year that, when March came in like a Lamb, I thought of the old rhyme and said to myself, "That will never happen this year...we actually had three wonderful days last week - 20 + degrees! - so I believed it to be all over but the shouting.
       However, Monday brought threats of snow (5-10 cm. Peanuts!) and a wind warning. That was the real Lion. Tuesday it raged all day, and today there are drifts like we haven't seen all winter. 

Would you believe that I set up a cold frame last week by the little deck, with seedlings (cucumbers and zucchini) as well as several geraniums which had been overwintering in the office and taking up lots of space?  It's under this drift. I don't dare open it to see what has survived (if anything) because it might freeze the plants. Snow insulates, right? I had taken out my little patio table to do potting on, and it's up to its knees in snow too. And its grout is still not sealed. It's standing on the little deck.
      Luckily while all this weather is keeping me indoors, I have had an indoor project to work on. We have the new washer hooked up in the new bathroom (and the toilet. They are the only things in there that are in working order at the moment).    
       So, what needs to be done is: build a half-wall to create space for a linen closet at the end of the tub as well as a "cradle" to hold the tub.

Ladder in soon-to-be linen closet - 32 x 26 x 96!

     Then, we have to get the dryer hooked up (means getting the electrician to move the 220-volt receptacle to the new bathroom (from the basement) and then we can stack them up with the stacking kit. Then we have to build another half-wall to separate the washer-dryer from the area where the vanity will go, then build or buy a vanity. Then have the plumber back to hook up the tub and sink, and then we tile around the tub, paint, and decorate, and then we're done. Why is everything so complicated?
     So far I've built the wall for the linen closet and put up the gyproc on both sides. I'm at the stage where I seam-fill a corner and have to wait for it to dry before I can seam-fill an adjacent corner. And I have to buy three of the edge guards because I could only find one in the basement - I never even thought to check because we've had this big stash of them since we built on to the house in 91-92. But now we're out!

The washer is hooked up. The dryer will go on top later.

     I am really impressed with the washer - having it on the main floor is great, first off - you feel you can wash anytime! Then, the clothes come out quite dry already, so it doesn't take long in the (old) dryer to dry them. I did hang out a batch while the weather was good last week, but it didn't dry terribly quickly - we need to move the clothesline to where the wind has more impact. And I suppose I could have put them out in the morning and they would have had a better chance. It was when a lot of snow was melting too, so there was a lot of moisture in the air. Oh well, they *were* dry the next day!