yard shadow

10 am on February 25th

Cold frame stats

This was yesterday. Remarkable. It wasn't even sunny.

Onion info from Fedco (Moose Tubers)

This description on growing and storing onions was so good I just had to paste it here for my future reference.

"Onions and Shallots

Allium cepa Onions and shallots are day-length sensitive—to produce large bulbs, plant in spring as soon as soil is workable. Shallow rooted, they require rich, weed-free soil, and consistent water. Plant onions 3" apart in rows 1' apart and thin to 6" as they grow. Mulch when they are 1' tall. Plant shallots 4" apart in rows 1' apart. During the season, pull any plants that begin to bolt and use them as scallions. Clean and grade before storage. Process any double-bulbed onions instead of storing them because they won’t keep. Ideal storage conditions are temperatures at 32° with humidity of 60–70%. If you can’t do that, work to get a total number of 100. For example, at temperatures from 50–55°, humidity should be 45–50%."

You can find the original at http://www.fedcoseeds.com/moose/MooseHeaders.php?title=Onions%20and%20Shallots

Cold Frame Update

This morning the fancy thermometer said the inside temperature was 33F and the outside temperature was 23F. Perfect! I doubt the ground inside is completely thawed, so that inside temperature should keep coming up. I'm delighted.

Unfortunately, with it being 23F outside, I wasn't going to spend any time out there.

Instead, my friend Emma and I finalized our Fedco order and sent it in. More on that later.

Cold frame #1

Two windows from the Restore ($10), salvaged redwood deck boards
(thanks Matt and Emma), Ace weather stripping ($7), digital
indoor/outdoor thermometer for the geek in me (had in a box in the
basement, probably $20).

Finished size is 48"x52".

The ground was frozen hard when I put it out this morning and the high
today was about 43 degrees. Can't wait for some sun.

Garden Planning

This year's method involves listing the crops in an excel spreadsheet, then estimating how many plants of each I would like to have and calculating the square feet needed for each crop based on the planting density. I also went out on a limb and tried to estimate the dollar value of the total harvest assuming I follow through with the plan and everything grows really well (ha).

To estimate the dollar values, I used my memory from the grocery store and the farmers market and checked it with the Atlantic Canadian Organic Retail Network Local Organic Price Tracker posted in November of 2012.

And the grand total, as of right now, is 141 square feet yielding $1300 of produce. Hmmm... It's impressive if you look at the total value, but pretty unimpressive if you think about it in terms of $/hour.

But there's a whole different way of estimating the value isn't there... time in the sun, the fresh air, the dirt. The opportunity for a three-year old mind to see a whole diversity of food growing day after day after day, and appearing on the plate at night. And the nutrition of harvesting and eating within hours. What's that worth?

I'm reminded of the bumper sticker I saw today: "The best things in life aren't things."

Habitat for Humanity Restore

Wonderful.

3 windows, 3'5" x 4'5"
2 windows, 2' x 4'5"

$26 with tax.