Ultimate Upcycle - building the green house

Two years ago my neighbors helped us build a greenhouse. Separate from the house, insulated with blue board on the walls, and on the floor is blue board with 1/2" of concrete  on the top.  It holds the heat really well but right at this point is not a year round green house.  I have been reading Elliot Colemans book about the year round greenhouse and we have tried some of the methods in there - however - it got down to -52 below and all my stuff died.  So we go forward with faith and a solar system that we are working on - that is for another blog however!

Today I want to tell you about the mostly easy and almost all upcycled greenhouse we built, with a lot of help from my friends, family and my neighbor - who is also a best friend and her husband who was on Chemo for cancer at the time.  He worked us into the dirt literally with his chemo pack on!  I thank the Goddess every day for him and for the amazing greenhouse he built for me!

To start with we cleared a space big enough for the 16x20 foot greenhouse I had planned and then we partially buried treated wood timbers that we were able to find free from Craigslist - we just had to haul them away! 

We then poured sand down as a base for the blue board with concrete on top - which we got on Craigslist for $2.00 per sheet.  After that it was a frame-a-thon, but first we got windows - you can see part of them here - we got them free from one of the contractors doing energy efficiency upgrades for homes in the area.  Again - we just had to haul them away!  We had to choose which windows we were using first so we had the framed areas properly outlined.

We built the greenhouse in a barn shape to catch all of the suns rays in the winter - the sun in Alaska is pretty flat on the landscape and windows on a flat plane dont catch as much of the sun as windows at the angle of the barn shape side.  We did mostly new 2x4's and new roofing material which is rolled felt and rolled shingle lapped and sealed.


 

 The above photo shows the ceiling with the blue board insulation and you can see two mirrors there as well.  Those collect light and reflect it back to the center of the greenhouse so even if my plants grow up tall in front of the windows, the plants in the center of the greenhouse still get light.  It works great and the mirrors are really pretty ones that I got at the Thrift store for about $10.00 each.  They act like skylights.  I will add more as we go to up the effect and once lights are added will arrange them for the best effect.

Here is the back of the greenhouse - two of these three windows open.  Notice the eave of the greenhouse - we started out with the eave right on the roofline of the building but we found that all of the windows would not seal effectively on the angle, and that the summer sun was too hot sometimes for the plants so we added this one foot eave and it has solved all of the probelms with heat and leaks!

The front of the greenhouse is the home of a great set of french doors that open in - traded for some of the left over windows to a friend - so free!  We had them open in so that no matter how deep snow got I can still open them to get into the greenhouse and shovel snow out - or just get in.  Both doors are openers so I can get large loads in the wheelbarrow or yard cart or even from the back of a truck in there! 

 

The greenhouse is plced in the lee of our house so when the wind blows in the winter it is protected by the main house.  It slows the morning sun in the early spring, but usually we have sun on the greenhosue by no later than 10:00 am no matter what time of year we are in.

 

It is still a work in progress - in need of paint, and some foam insulation to seal some gaps and cracks in the blue board, but we are getting produce until Late October right now and one time into November so we are moving in the right direction.  Ill keep posting as we add new features.  If you have any questions please ask and Ill do my best to answer!  Happy producing!

A Promise Kept - A Wicked Raven Designs Tale

About two years ago I made a quilt for the Houston High School Hockey team to raffle off (I actually make one a year for the cause), and while I was parading it around the school selling raffle tickets, one of the young ladies from the school who has had less than a desirable path so far, been homeless, kicked out, couch surfed, etc.... asked me what she would have to do to get a quilt made by me.  She had also been struggling with her grades and getting to and staying in school.  I told her that if she graduated from high school I would make her a quilt.  She kept her promise and I kept mine!

 

 

I won these blocks at a family quilt retreat last November and the colors were just right for a great batik purple fabric I had waiting for the perfect project.  It is bright and cheerful and a little smaller than double sized so it should travel well with her to college - she already is there getting started on doing great things!  We all have something we can do to make someone's life a little better - for me it's quilting and gardening, for some it's cooking, and for others it's helping them plan great things.  Although I am sad to see my family blocks go far away, I know this quilt has a higher purpose and needs to travel with this young lady and not be stored in a closet or on the back of a couch!  Happy Days!

Guinea Pig Poopa-Loopa

This is Lilly.  Lilly is a 3 year old pet store guinea pig.  Reed (the 13 year old) bought her with his own money that he got for birthdays and Christmas.  We have had her since she was about 6 weeks old - maybe a few weeks older.  Yes - she is very cute - if you aren't the person who is home with her most of the time!  She is very healthy and she likes people.  She knows what the sound of a grocery and Ziplock bags sound like and she knows the sound of the front door opening and the fridge door opening! She squeals with delight when someone comes in thinking they will be bringing her a treat of some kind.  Usually we do.  She likes weeds - dandelion and chickweed are favorites, but she likes lettuce, spinach, and celery leaf really well also.  She is a great pet for the kid, but..... for me she is pretty much a plant eating poop machine!

 

I have told you about our lemon trees - Lilly loves them - she just recently ate one that we grew this year from seed.  She ate roots and all.

She has eaten all of the basil, oregano, a banana tree, an avocado tree, aluminum plant, and anything else she can get her teeth on, including the CAT-5 printer cable.  Yes - we have picked up all the plants off the floor - they are on plant stands - she learned how to climb up the pots and stands to get to the tasty plants.  She has wedged her way up between the wall and a pot to get into one of them.

 

She is very smart and although I would like for her to stay in her cage all the time - that is sad.  It is the biggest cage we could find but it doesn't allow for her to get enough exercise and she starts to get chubby.  So we let her out at least once a week.  She poops and pees on the floor as well as plant eating.  She does have some redeeming factors however!

 

Lilly lives in shavings in her cage.  We use cedar or pine, and sometimes straw if thats all we can find.  She will also eat some of the produce that isn't so pretty and wont work in salad or fresh eats.  And we can use the by-products that she creates in her house for our gardening.

 

 The bottom of the cage gets lined with newspaper for easier cleaning, and then the "fluff"" goes on top of that.  So when her cage needs cleaned, we take it right out the door to the compost pile or the hugelkulture bed that we are building.  Below is the used fluff on the compost pile.

The above photo is the Lilly fluff and cage leavings on one of the newly started hugelkulture beds.  It makes great compost in a rolling composter as well as on the beds or an open compost pile.  The shavings add a mulch factor and the poop add some organic nutrients.  If you have to have a pet that is low care and you dont mind the occasional eaten house plant then this is the way to go. 

 

The boys here all laugh when she eats my plants, not so much when she pees on something of theirs, but over all she is a good little pet and a good starter for any kid.  They are low maintenance and teach responsibility - the squealing reminds the kids what needs done so the mom doesn't have to do the nagging and they provide a little help for the garden as a bonus!

This cleaner handles it all!

 We've covered your dirty dishes and laundry, but I completely forgot about this great hand cleaner that also works for sinks, toilets, countertops and just about anything that needs cleaned.  Both my boys use it as a body wash.  It is a gentle exfoliant that you can change the scent from manly to floral to citrus clean!  It can also be made as an unscented cleaner for those who have allergies.  Depending on what essential oils you use - it can be an antibacterial kitchen and bath cleanser too!  Thyme, Rosemary and Lemon are good oils for cleaning.  Lavendar and sage are both good for showering with.

In a glass bowl using a wooden or  plastic spatula (don't use rubber or metal) mix together the following:

 

1 C. Borax

1 C. Baking Soda

1/2 C. liquid castile soap

1/2 C. vegetable glycerin

1/4 C. vinegar (white, orange, or cider)

10-15 drops of your choice of essential oil

(I recommend thyme and lemon for kitchen, lavendar or rosemary for body wash/shower use)

Mix together to form a stiff paste.  If it will run through your fingers it is too thin - add more Borax and Baking Soda in equal amounts.  If you have to really dig to get it out it may be too thick and add more of the Glycerin and Castile. You can also add a little water - no harm.  Don't add more vinegar as this may add to the problem - it likes to make the baking soda like concrete!

Store in an airtight glass or plastic container.  I like the ones below from Lehmans Non Electric www.lehmans.com

 

I use a plastic tub for the shower - glass could break and damage the kids!  To use as  toilet cleaner drop a tablespoon or two in the toilet, add 1/2 C. of vinegar and let soak for 15-20 minutes.  Use your brush and flush!  You can also use it on the tub ring - just scoop some onto your sponge or brush, rub it on and let it sit briefly and it that ring will come off pretty easily without any gross chemicals!

My hubby uses this cleaner to take grease and other manly substances off of his hands after a day of well drilling and I like having it for after a day in the garden to get that grime off that the gloves didn't keep out - or for when I forgot to wear gloves!

This will also work in a pinch as a dishwasher detergent - use one to two tablespoons in the soap cup and add some vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher.  I like to use a citrus vinegar for dish washing.

Change it to suit your needs, but keep it simple so hyou can remember what you did and repeat it - you will want more when your first batch is gone!  Happy Cleaning!