What's in the box?!

Where've I been with the posts!? Well, the last few days have been BEEEEAAAAAUUUTIFUL out - maybe a bit chilly in the mornings, but getting warm by evenings. So rather than come in and spend time on the computer with freelance work and web posts (incredibly backdated ones at that!), I'm outside soaking up sunshine and fresh air with the cats (hey, I need a solar charge...I'm running low).

A quick bit of news from tonite's event outside... Recently our Special Collections & Archives dept was doing some spring cleaning and needed to get rid of these two big wooden crates that looked like they came straight out of the first Indiana Jones movie. Mary caught wind of them and asked if we could have them, but two others had already requested them.

Damn!

Only it turns out one person couldn't fit hers in her car, and the other was actually too small for the intended job. So the crates came back to me and Mary!

Sweet!

At 36"x36"x17", the crates are honestly too big for most folks' cars, but they fit just fine in the back of my CR-V, one per trip home from work. They've been sitting in the garage for awhile, and finally our free time matched up - time for the special project Mary concocted: cold frames! This past fall, Mary and Jim had a bunch of their windows replaced, and she saved the old windows for "some sort of gardening project, like cold frames," which I fully supported (yes, we're both garden-crazy). WHO KNEW two crates would come along that would PERFECTLY FIT two of the smaller windows side-by-side!?

Before Mary came over this evening I started work on removing the top and bottom boards - here's what one of the crates looked like before I began dismantling...


The crates had a little wobble without the top and bottom, so I re-used some of the screws to reinforce the structure. I had considered also putting in some cross beams on the bottom, or additional supports in the corners, but we realized once these things are settled down in the soil, they aren't gonna budge.

Cold frames are typically sloped on the top, and you face the sloped side towards the south to catch the most sun. The structure of these crates really isn't conducive to cutting a slope from their tops....so we've decided a sloped burial of one end of the crate should achieve the same effect. Sure, they'll probably rot out in a few years, but it's not like we've got much money in them! I spent MAYBE $10 on our hinges - that was it!

Once Mary arrived with the windows, we got to work...


I unintentionally had the two narrow windows butted up against each other a bit more snuggly than I originally imagined, but we found that works great - you can lift one window, and the other comes with it. You can also slide them apart separate, with it sounding like a creaky haunted house door. For now we can just prop the windows open during warmer weather with a small piece of wood, but we're both discussing rigging up notched boards to give more options for propping open the lids. (Hm, I'm not sure the diagram in that link is actually physically possible!?)



As you can see here, I even made Mary do some of the work! ;-)

Kidding...we both kept busy, but found the project to be VERY easy. Once we got through the first cold frame, the second went even faster. We'll both need to paint on some sort of sealant (so sayeth my dad, and I'm sure he's right) to protect the wood from rotting for as long as possible.

And here's some quick pics taken before this evening's project. First - the first crocus of the season, which I took Saturday morning. By Sunday afternoon there were a couple more crocuses open next to this one, and today there were probably a dozen in the back and a handful in the front. Yay - spring is here!


And here's some pics taken just this afternoon before Mary showed up. You can see the cats love joining me outside. (Ok, it's more like I join them - they want out, but need supervision.)


The boys really love this shady spot on the side steps - the only problem is I can't easily see them over there, so I have to keep checking to make sure they haven't wandered of. Man, I can't wait for the lawn to fill in more and to do some more landscaping!


I brought most of the flats I've started so far out today for their third day out. I'm so tired of carrying them back and forth to the basement, and they seem to be pretty hard, annnnnd the temps aren't dipping low tonite, so I'm going with tough love - they're staying out on the deck tonite! Under each of those flats is a pot with dahlias, canna, calla, caladium and more... I need to uncover them tomorrow - this was just temporary this afternoon.


Off on another adventure...must have a clean face first!


This flat of peppers and tomatoes still needs potted up - these were the last minute winnings of tomato seeds. And on the right is a small pot of cilantro and the eggplants that took forever to sprout.


Our nice new patio umbrella to replace the one that broke during the winter. And if you look close you can see all three cats in this pic!


So that's what 72 tomato plants look like! The flats are just a LITTLE small for them. The good news is I was able to fit them all in the cold frame, which is tucked up against the house - I figure they'll stay there safely tonite and I'll check on them tomorrow. The lid's propped open, tonite's supposed to be warm, and we might get some rain. They're safe and sound...


As pretty as all this looks (and will look even better when mature and in bloom), all the plants STINK tonite after their dousing of fish emulsion. Stiiiiiinky!


Wave petunias.


Coleus...


Happy Gardening!