I told you earlier in a post about how when we added the eave to to greenhouse to keep the windows from leaking, it made my greenhouse shaded for a greater portion of the day. So I am always looking for ways to brighten the space and make sure my plants are getting enough light. Enter the Senior Prank!
About a year ago - at graduation time- the senior class played a prank - its tradition for the senior class to prank the school - usually the office staff including the principal. This particular year they recognized one of my OCD's as as dislike of massive quantities of bright shiny objects! Thus, they wrapped my whole office in tinfoil! The tin gift wrap included all of the computer screens, door and cabinet handles, telephone and hand set, and various other office items that I use on an everyday basis! Those pictures have been misplaced somehow but not the large ball of tinfoil that they also left in my office as a gift! It looked like one of those diaper cakes for baby showers made out of tinfoil!
So not being one to want to waste all that tinfoil- after I got if off of the chair, door and drawer handles and unwrapped my computer screen of it - I had some cool down time thinking of how I would use that foil to my advantage. Right about that time - since we were getting ready for graduation, someone dragged these sign boards out of storage and was looking for a good home for them. I volunteered them since I had so much tinfoil and a greenhouse that is a little too dark now!
They are a plastic corrugated product and they are 2'x2' square. I unrolled three lengths of tinfoil off of my tinfoil baby cake and wrapped it around the sign board.
It was easy to wrap up around the sign but it wanted to fall off and the fan blew it up each time it went by with it's breeze.
So I got out my handy dandy hand stapler and put a little staple in the back at the spot where each piece of tinfoil meets. Problem solved!
Then I took those foil covered boards and laid them on all of my growing tables. It was amazing how bright it made the greenhouse. I actually had to take some of the foil sheets off of my big table as it was blinding me trying to work in there with all of that shininess! (The OCD kicks in once in a while when it's really sunny out)!
I have it on each end of the table and all along the back where it really reflects the light into the room. It also throws it right up to the mirrors on the ceiling and seems to be working great!
Some great herbs waiting to be potted up into the herb pots. Watch for a new post about those in a few days!
The above shows the happy houseplants from the office at the school! I keep them over the summer in the greenhouse so the break doesn't kill them. (not sure why that picture looks smoky).
Happy peppers in the window on top of the shiny tinfoil! I still have about half of the baby cake left and I will be covering the actual benches that the tomatoes sit on with it - easy. I did use up all of the sign boards - it is nice to have those because they are easy to move to wherever I need a little extra light. The only drawback I have encountered is that the foil rips so you have to lift the plants to move them at all when they are on the foil portions. (the snow shovel is in the greenhouse to be used as an awesome dust pan)!
Stay tuned - my next post will be a new post on the HHS Garden! I know you have all been waiting for that to start this year and we are bigger and better than ever!
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