February - A short month and a short entry.

 The weather continues to be ridiculously dry.  A much anticipated snow storm passed to our South, robbing us of any snow.  The next week promised another snow storm, which passed to our South. Again, we stayed dry. The next storm was less promising, but still heading our way, but passed to our North. The last storm promised a track that would gift us with snow, ice, or rain, we had none of it.  Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, eh?

We did however get cold with that storm. Previously we had spent February in the mild 40s and 50s, and even a couple 60s during the day, and below freezing at night.  But the last storm brought arctic air with it and we spent a week of not even making it to the freezing mark during the day, all the while, the winds HOWLED. The windchills were brutal, sometimes down to -20F.

But the pendulum has swung the other way, and we're back in the 60s and low 70s for the end of February and beginning of March.

As always nice weather means working outside.  This month's project - a HOOP HOUSE for things earlier and later in the growing season.  It will also allow me to put plants too tall for the Greenhouse into the ground and get growing before the soil in the full garden is ready.

As always, after the first swing of the hammer, I wonder what on earth possessed me to start another project. But once it's started, it has to be finished.  I ripped out the lower production end of the garden, taking out cattle panels and pulling up the irrigation lines and putting them aside.  The T-posts that went 2 feet into the ground, which was still quite cold, were another challenge. I found a T-post lever at the tractor store, which helped greatly with that end of the project.

I plotted out the location of the main supports and got to work pounding in new T-posts.  The plan was to use electrical conduit arches with painted PVC post slides and angles. The problems were many and frequent and frustrating, requiring trips into town for replacements.  My PVC didn't fit over all my T-posts, which caused me to replace some.  I got a batch of a poorly molded PVC reducers, some were from one box, they were fine;the ones from another case, were not. The PVC glue and primer I had on hand was not working between the 45' PVC and the electrical conduit (PVC), but it should have, so a new set was purchased. Conduit that had failed at the fittings and needed new ones, had to be outright replaced. 

 I finally got all the arched made and up.  Now for the connecting pole that runs down the ridge to keep the spacing between all the ribs.  I followed the directions and pre-drilled the holes for the bolt that would connect the ridge pole to to the arch.  Arch one went fine. Arch two, in the middle of drilling, SNAP. right in two.  Arch three, SNAP. Arch four, SNAP.  That was NOT supposed to happen.

Annoyed beyond belief, I ripped all the arches off the posts and tossed them over the garden wall.  Obviously I was going to have to manage a complete redesign, which of course, would require yet ANOTHER trip to the hardware store. Which, if you haven't been recently, is a voyage to Sticker Shock Land.

Luckily the next few days were cold enough to be forced to stay inside and come up with a new plan and a shopping list. I came across a plan using cattle panels and various frame setups. The whole thing was kind of a build to suit, wing-it as you go, situation.  It's been an adventure that's for sure.  Sixteen foot cattle panels are an adventure to haul and even more to carry and install alone.  Trips to Habitat are always hit or miss.  Lumber quality at the moment is HORRIBLE. Material shortages mean getting creative as you're standing in the isles at Home Depot, a now defunct hoop house plan on a napkin, fluttering to the floor.

I still have some work to complete this week before the weather swings the other way.  I should be able to mange at least painting the lumber before the rain/snow/cold arrives.  The plastic requires a windless day to put up, and I'm not sure when that's going to happen.

So there's the outdoor project.

For the cold, chilly, frigid days I turned to the looms, and briefly the sewing machine.

A quick, necessary project was to complete some new, re-usable shopping bags from old T-shirts.  These are a crazy quick project.  The shirts are heavier quality shirts, in children's large, and adult small and medium, that I picked up at the local charity shop for a dime each.  I washed and sanitized them, as well as sun drying, and now I have two dozen new beefy bags.

Fergus and I managed 14 rugs before the warp run came to an end.  Those were all measured and labeled, rolled and tied, and displayed in a wicker market basket.  Four have already sold at a local B&B/Antique Store.

Fergus is now loaded with a blue and white striped warp, which when woven with white or cream rag, will give the illusion of a striped ticking type of rug.

I then turned my attention to the long ignored Nessie, my four harness Tweed and Tartan loom.  Her warp was measured and cut in 2020 right before attention was turned to emergency sewing.  Her warp was finally wrapped in Spring of 2021, when I got busy with just about everything else. Now that she was in her new home, the very fact that the light was amazing, and it was in the heart of the house, I was ready to jump at the chance and finally finishing her thread-up.

She is now fully loaded, and I am almost done with the DunRovin Station Tartan, which will be turned into a dress sash for me, and then the sample for the Scotland Registry.  I have 6 more tartans lined up behind this one already.

So here's to the short month, as we look forward to March-more weaving, and the opening of the Seeding Shed.

What I use for seed starting mix.

I save a lot of money by mixing my own seed starting mix. Not only is the pre-packaged stuff hard to find this year, like last, when you do find it, it's expensive. This is what I use and get great results from it.  

I mix this in a wheelbarrow and it can be scaled down.

11 pounds of Coconut Coir in compressed brick form. (amazon and I have found it at Homedepot and Menards)

9-ish gallons of water (you may need a little more or a little less)

1 T of plant based dish soap - like Eco or Dawn plant based (optional)

4 cups of Vermiculite 

4 cups of Perlite

(I know both Perlite and Vermiculite are hard to find this year. You can do away with one, but not both)

If you want to, you can add 2-3 cups of worm castings.

Mix the soap into the water, you aren't looking to make it foamy.

I place the coir in the wheel barrow and add about half the water and let the coir start to expand. As it does, you can start to break the bricks apart and add a little more water. It's better to add too little and need to add more, than to end up with a Scottish peat bog in your barrow. Let it sit a bit and come back to it and see if you need to add more water.

Place your Vermiculite and/or Perlite and Worm Castings (optional) on the top and use whatever method you like to get it all mixed together.

So what's up with the SOAP?!  That tiny bit of soap in all of that helps break down the surface tension of the water you add to the 'soil'.  So when you water later, you don't get as much floating bits of coir in your starter cells, supposedly.  I really can't see the difference, but it doesn't seem to hurt either.

Coconut Coir has NO nutritional value whatsoever.  So as soon as you see those first sets of TRUE leaves on your seedlings, you will want to start fertilizing your starts with half strength liquid fertilizer.  The worm castings have a little value, but don't let those seedlings starve!  You should continue your half strength feedings once a week until you get the seedlings into the ground and then go full strength at the manufacturer's recommendations. I've personally had better luck with Schultz over MiracleGrow. For that I have NO idea why.  MG always seems to burn out my plants. You're results may very.

Regardless, I steer clear of the pre-fertilized all season soils at the stores.  You have NO control over what your plants need if you get too much or too little rain, or have a season of wacky soil conditions.  You'll constantly be trying to figure out what your plants need and what's wrong with them.

Good luck with your gardening this year!