Tags
ants, bats, caulk, garden, greenhouse, paint, prime, repurpose, restoration, restore, tape, tomatoes, windows
When we bought the cabin last fall, we inherited this quaint little greenhouse. I love that it is made with recycled windows- a great repurposing project! Unfortunately, it had been neglected for many years and was currently being used to store junk. It needed a lot of work. The paint was almost completely worn off, the wood was rotting in places, ten of the window panes were cracked or missing altogether, there was broken glass all over the ground under the extra windows at the back of the greenhouse, and it had become home to a large colony of ants and a family of bats.
Here is a shot taken during the winter. I was told (by our realtor) that the tire is from a Model T Ford. Any collectors out there?
Of course I fell in love with the greenhouse immediately and couldn’t wait for spring to arrive when I could take on the enormous task of lovingly restoring it back to its original purpose: a vibrant place to grow things here in our short Alberta summers.
Inside, the soil was very dry and dusty and covered in bits of plastic sheeting that disintegrated into a million tiny pieces whenever you tried to pick it up. There were layers and layers of spider webs everywhere.
When spring finally arrived, H and I began by moving all of the junk out. I cleaned the interior thoroughly using a broom, a shop vac and buckets of soap and water. Just under the roof (not pictured here), there is a large rectangular reservoir made of tin. I believe it was used to hold water, which then flowed into a tank which directs the warm water into the irrigation hoses that are buried in the soil. This reservoir was one-quarter full of bat guano! I had to get up on a ladder, and wearing a mask and goggles scraped and swept up bucketfuls of bat poo. I also had to remove the birdhouse as it had an active wasp nest in it. I did this early in the morning while it was still cold and the wasps presumably sleeping. I wrapped the birdhouse in a pillowcase (in case they flew up and swarmed me), gently removed the nails holding it in place and put the birdhouse carefully on the ground some distance away, removing the pillowcase.
I replaced all cracked and missing windows with panes taken from the extra windows that were once leaning against the rear of the greenhouse. Then I taped all of the window glass with painter’s tape, inside and out, in preparation for painting. As you can imagine, the taping was very tedious with all of those individual window panes. (And I taped all of the windows THREE TIMES during this process!) We should have bought shares in the company before I started this project!
Next, I primed all of the wood, inside and out. I had to give it two generous coats as the first coat seemed to be completely absorbed into the old, dry wood.
Here is a look at the interior after priming…
Here is a view of the back of the greenhouse…
Next came two coats of exterior semi-gloss black paint. The roof still looks awful as it needs to be replaced but that will have to be a future project.
Once the paint was dry, I took off all of the painter’s tape and washed the widows thoroughly. Then I re-taped the windows in preparation for caulking. I caulked the interior windows with black caulking, peeling off the tape before it set. This makes the caulking job look ‘clean,’ leaving crisp straight lines. Once again, I cleaned the windows.
Here’s a corner view. You can see where I transplanted some peonies that were previously growing in the front yard. My neighbor C also gave me some rhubarb, which I planted on the left side here.
Here is a view of the front. There is still an old damaged door (not shown here). It has some bats living in it so any time I am working in the greenhouse I can hear them scratching away in there. I will be replacing this door with a secondhand French door from the Architectural Clearing House in Edmonton. Unless any of you have a glass door you want to sell me on the cheap? I’ll even cook you dinner out here as part of the deal…
Here is the back of the greenhouse. I hung up some old rusty tools that I found around the property. I also moved the concrete blocks to the future chicken coop location as they will come in handy as part of the foundation there.
Here are a few shots of the interior…
Inside, H and I removed half of the dry, dusty soil. We added and dug in manure, compost and potting soil and then topped this with three inches of mulch to hold the moisture in. This picture was taken in early June.
I planted four different kinds of tomatoes, six different kinds of chili peppers, six different kinds of basil, parsley, cilantro, summer savory, tarragon, chives and there is a nasturtium plant in there as well. (I also have lots of herbs growing in a separate herb and tea garden as well as in my veggie garden).
Here is a shot taken just today. Notice that the tomatoes are growing up a length of string for support. This is old baling twine that I found near the barn when we were cleaning the manure off of the concrete pad. A length of this twine is tied to a nail on a beam above, the lower end is loosely tied to the base of the tomato plant while it is still young. As the tomato grows you gently wind the string around the plant. Be sure to provide some slack so that the twine doesn’t become too tight.
This is still a work in progress. I still have the door and roof to replace and I would like to caulk the exterior windows. I plan on putting a flagstone path in the ground at the front door along with a few large red clay pots with some bright red flowers. I am also looking for a weathervane to install on the roof. I have planted a few vines at the two front corners of the greenhouse, which, I hope over time will grow up the corners and under the roof line. Next summer, I will install brackets for two hanging baskets for more bright red flowers (yes, I really like red).
All in all, this has been a very useful restoration project so far. Did I mention that the greenhouse already has power, water, shelves to store my terra cotta pots and a little potting table? As it has been a cool, wet spring and summer so far here in Alberta, my plants in the outdoor gardens are healthy but still small. Meanwhile, the plants in the greenhouse are thriving and gigantic in their warm, humid little home. One of my tomatoes is now even touching the ceiling, it has grown so high!
I hope you enjoyed seeing this restoration project take shape. I actually just painted the back wall and installed the rusty tools just this afternoon. We have had so much rain that finishing the painting kept getting postponed.
I’ll keep you posted on any further developments with the greenhouse. In the meantime, I look forward to hearing about your own gardens and restoration projects!
A tour de force, Delena! WoW! You are amazing!
Hey Delena,
Today is the time to tittilate those towering tomatoes with a big hit of phosphate! If you want to go organic, the best thing is bone meal (avoid skin and respiratory contact with bone meal), Phosphate promotes phlowering and phruit phormation. You will want to reduce the amount of nitrogen so don’t add anything like manure which has loads of N. Manure is great for the first half of the year to get great green gargantuan growth. If you still have that bat guano laying around, that is also an amazing source of phosphate.
Potassium is also great for fruit and flower formation too. Our soils are naturally high in potassium already but you could always sprinkle in a touch of ground potash (potash is mega-organic!) to give them a bump especially if there is not a lot of local clay and humus in your soil mix.
Thank you for the tip! I found a bag of bone meal in the greenhouse when I was cleaning it. I still have it and will dig some into the soil tomorrow. I feel like Jack and the Beanstalk in there…!!! Now I want to see some Giant Tomatoes!
By the way, I have a big black sealed but empty barrel (not sure what it had in it previously) that I want to repurpose into a rain barrel. Do you happen to know how to get the lid off cut it off perhaps?) and how to wash it out without harsh chemicals?
Re: Reining in the Rain Barrel, Rah Rah Rah!
Sometimes its nice to keep it sealed so that you can store the barrel horizontally if, for some reason, that creates interesting options. Also, if you want to stack the barrels and if you think the barrel might be under positive pressure (ie beneath an upper barrel) then it is also nice to have the sealed option. This gives you more pressure at the end of the hose when watering so it is useful to think about.
I would just inspect and feel around with my finger inside the barrel and see if it is dirty/greasy. If it is, let me know. Otherwise, the best cleaning agent is to just let it stand and slosh around with rain water and some detergent to break the surface tension of the water. Rain water has a high osmotic potential so it will help “pull stuff” into the water. I would also hit it with shots of bleach which will help break up any weird organics that might be in there as a final treatment. Once you have hit it with shots of bleach, I might recommend a high alcohol treatment which is great for solubilizing things (for you, not the barrel!)
A barrel of laughs…bah ha ha!
Now I have ANOTHER thing to do tomorrow. Project Rain Barrel. Should I just cut a hole in for the rainwater?
It’s official. You are my cabinorganic guru. You should have a hotline for these burning questions. Or better yet… start a blog…?
The barrel should have 2 threaded bungs that you can make a sealed connection with. If they are on either side of the barrel then you can store it horizontally and feed into the top bung and draw from the lower one. You will need a small hole to allow air to displace when filling or emptying.
If its a different configuration, let me know and we can figger summat oot!
Thank you! I’ll check it out and get back to you on my progress. If I’m still confused I’ll send a photo… or better yet. Invite you and the misses over and you can do it for me! 🙂
OOOH! We are free all weekend!
Do you prefer red or white wine?
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What a beautiful picture of the pink flowers and very good documentation of the restoration. You are amazing. Hope you get lots of produce from those giant plants,
reminds me of the jack and the beanstalk tale. Maybe the giant plant is going to show you new reality or take you to a golden egg laying goose. You not only made such a fertile soil in the green house but my mind is fertile with ideas for that green house….like hiding from my girlfrind when she is mad with me….Thank You for sharing.
Greenhouse….doghouse…
As long as you are safe from the raging redhead! 🙂
This would be my dream!! I love love LOVE it. I started 16 tomatoes plants from seed in my house this spring. The weather has been really cold so I made a small greenhouse with some old tent pulls and plastic. LOL forever repairing broken tent poles. Last week a friend who grows tomatoes commercially came and showed me how to prune them. We are actually only suppose to have one stalk so all the growing will go into the tomatoes. Because I left it so long I have pruned my back to four or less. If you want some tips message me. Once again, this greenhouse is my dream, greenhouse!
Yes, in our cooler climates (and you are even further north, Shawna!) we really need to do all that we can to lengthen our growing season and plant productivity. Next year, I will construct little hoop tunnels over my outdoor tomatoes and cucumbers. I started a lot if cucumbers from seed and lost all of them this year. A larger greenhouse would also be nice….. hmmmm….. Let me know when you get your greenhouse. I’d love to see some pics!
Our current plan is once our house is sold, to move to Oregon We have land that is being held for us, a subdivided cherry orchard with over 400 cherry trees. Tomatoes won’t need a green house either 🙂
Wow- what wonderful gardening adventures you will have! So you are just waiting for the house to sell?
Yes. Know of anyone wanting a spectacular view of the mountains and beautiful house in B.C.???? 😉
I’ll spread the word 🙂
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I love your little green house. I am dreaming of doing something like that in my house an hour north of Montreal, Quebec. But, how do you heat during winter?
Hi Carolina!
I do not use the greenhouse in the winter as it is just not practical. I would like to set up some grow lights in the basement and possibly even try some hydroponics for those winter months when the gardens are asleep under the snow. It would be quite a luxury to have fresh-picked herbs and even a few veggies during the winter months. i would love to hear what you end up doing with your own place!
Delena
Oh, I see. I am looking into a way to grow food throughout the long Canadian winters. If you have any ideas, please share. Great Blog!
Thank you for this wonderful post and a beautiful blog. It is not often that one can find something that great locally! This particular post is God sent. I have the same type of green house that is in a bad need of repair. It is not producing well and I had thoughts of taking it down. But now, you inspired me to give it a second chance.
Svetlana
Thank you so much for writing – I’d love to see how your greenhouse project turns out! I didn’t use mine last summer as I was in the third trimester of my pregnancy and working full time so kept the gardening to a reasonable minimum. This year I am home with baby and plan to get back to all of the gardens full force including the greenhouse. I’ll make sure to do a few posts on what’s growing in there so that you an see my progress!
All the very best,
Delena
Heyy fantastic blog! Does running a blog such as this require a
massive amoun work? I’ve noo understanding of compputer programming but I had been hoping to start my own blog in the near future.
Anyway, if you have any recommendations or techniques for new
blog owbers please share. I kno thijs is off topic butt I
just had to ask. Cheers!
Hello! As you’ve noticed I haven’t been blogging as much as usual due to my baby boy. I don’t find that it takes massive amounts of work unless I am researching a topic and wanting to share accurate and quality information on it. It does take some commitment though but if you enjoy the writing, photographing and research then it is a very fun pursuit!
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