We are expanding.
My dad built me a hoop house for the most awesome Christmas gift EVER. After some leveling and laying some sort of foundation, we can install it in our backyard. It was assembled in my dad's garage in Northern Minnesota, disassembled after I saw it during Christmas, and is now stored in my dad's garage until he trailers it down here to install it. I'm hoping we'll get it installed sometime before July 1st. That is the perfect time to start some winter vegetables, which I'll be able to try for the first time this winter! I'm excited. :)
Even before I knew he was building me a greenhouse, we had planned to expand.
Our current gardens:
- (4) 46" square raised beds (15" tall)
- (2) 4' x 12' rectangular raised beds (8" tall)
- (3) cedar planters with one blueberry bush each
- (2) 24" square raised beds (4" tall) for strawberries
Our expansion plans:
- (2) additional 46" square raised beds
- (4) raised cold frames - approximately 2' x 5' (you might remember from a previous post that we purchased windows for this purpose in 2009 - we are finally getting to it!)
- (1) raised mound bed (raised soil, but no lumber supporting it) - 7' x 12'
- (1) raised mound bed - 4' x 32'
- (1) raised mound bed - 4' x 6'
- (1) bramble patch - approximately 12' x 12'
- (1) pole support system - for beans, peas, anything else that vines
- (1) trellis system for grapes
- (1) trellis system for hardy kiwi
Plus of course... the greenhouse.
You may wonder why we are doing all of this... It's a great question. Why in the world would someone want to do this while attempting to enjoy the lakes of Minnesota over the summer, renovating a house, taking care of two dogs, and owning her own business ... especially with the availability of fresh food year round at our lovely local co-op.
The answer to that question coming up in my next post!
