the last snow?????

       it has been awhile again since i wrote. trying to find a time when i am trying to plant in greenhouse has been hard to do but tonight i have made it my goal to move on as the greenhouse is starting to take shape and the plants are blooming. even if the weather hasn't been to accommodating the weather in the greenhouse has been great.  we have had some severe thunderstorms including the recent 4 inch rain i decided to ride out in the greenhouse. it was loud and i could neither hear any of the storm warnings on the radio , or even on my phone which received 14 warning message alerts but i was oblivious in the old double walled plastic greenhouse .the rain drumming on the plastic echoed inside , ironically drowning out all other sound including the radio and the phone.  the only time i would shudder is when i would see lightning not only cut through the greenhouse but the light would highlight more luminously the confines of the plastic as i would wait for the ground  shaking thunderous roar of thunder clap smacking the earth somewhere. 

       the picture above was selected for an apparent flaw i noticed. it is actually a self portrait of me in ghost form as i was taking the pic through the glass and i could just barely see the reflection of the greenhouse in the background. below is a table of greenhouse plants i have been nurturing along though the cold weather on infusions of propane and wood heat. eventually i went to wood as the propane was far to expensive and i have a never ending supply of dead wood to clean up on the farm here. still i had a loss of over 1000 tomatoes  due to cold temperatures and experiencing a cold ohio winter trying to heat a greenhouse. 

      before next winter which isn't that far away i intend to put in a standoff wood boiler and run the heating tubes in the floor of the greenhouse allowing the heat to rise from the floor up keeping the beds or flatts always warm on the bottom. this will help improve germination times of new seedlings. i still have to market the plants as well as the baskets i have planted. hopefully the baskets will sell them selves and draw attention to other items i have to market. lately it has been a one man show. also soon i will be finishing my arbor day sale of trees as i am sold out hopefully tomorrow. over 400 trees will be planted by arbor day this year. although i didn't hand plant every tree i have had the responsibility of insuring that the survival rate of the young whips were kept to a maximum. you can plant a million trees but if you can only grow out half of them. are you doing so well?  i take the young pine from a dirtless whip to a growing tree with strong roots to begin searching for nutrients on its own.hopefully we will not see the drought conditions return as they were prevalent atmospheric condition inhibiting the growth of all trees. 

     
           these are tulips i have planted in the greenhouse.

      here in the pic below where the words are written , are creeping phlox , a perennial that is usually used as a border plant. i have just a few and plan on using in the landscaping around the yard here at home. this will allow people to see how to use the plants in different settings. also i plan to incorporate my carvings in the different plant settings using one against the other to bring out the beauty in both. some carvings will be or sale and some will never be available. 

 
    i am a sucker for these  gorgeous petunia beauties i have in baskets.

        i still have these pines from last year but should all go tomorrow. i did get a new shipment of whips in and have been trying to get them all potted up. next year i will have a variety of different trees available from hardwoods to edible plants which produce fruit. some nut trees and all in all a much wider variety of trees to be available next spring. 

     below is a view down the wall of the greenhouse as i  start to fill up the inside of the greenhouse with plants. i intend to have an opening here at this location to allow friends and family a chance to view our new operation here and to have first chance at purchasing your gardening supplies. i plan on carving that day and to also have refreshments available. the opening day is not set yet but i will notify on facebook when that day is. 

      finally i need to add that the farm  now has  2 new calves this year and my compost makers now number 6 head. i have one heifer in the front and a small bull but not nearly as small as he looks as he is standing about 6 foot behind and up the hill changing his perspective. wanted to tell all earlier but prefer to make sure babies get through first couple of days of life. the heifer is named mudder as she was born in a storm and knew nothing but rain and mud for first couple of days. it always amazes me when these calf's literally drop out of cows at times then are on their feet in  half hour looking for something to eat. humans  used to be like this . now it is almost industrial the way a child is reared. but then again the sterile way we have come to know is what separates us from the wild animals. we have the ability to find a better way and then the means to make it better. 

        i hope that spring has truly sprung and that soon we will plant outside. the visions of the last snow are raw in my mind and an experience i can do without for a\long while. and hope all feel the same.