Greenhouse Renovation

Both of us walked down to the allotment late this morning. A rare day off for my husband meant we enjoyed a slow start before heading off to feed the chickens.

We arrived to find Cliff and Mick the Greek busy with removing the back section of the greenhouse. They were working at a rate of knots, having cleared space to work in, removed old broken glass panels and amassed several tons of tools.

We quickly ran down to check on Emily – she was fine but I am worried she isn’t coming off the eggs to feed or drink. I found two little bowls and filled one with water and one with her favourite seeds and put them into the broody box next to her.

Next we fed the chickens in the main coop. They were shouty as usual but we’re pleased with the offering of porridge oats and sunflowers as a treat. Even the bread slice was enjoyed after weeks of indifference.

As we walked back to the shed, I noticed the greenhouse shield had been moved. It means I can finally hoe the entire plot without having to try to lug it across the plot in order to remove weeds. Temporarily it is by the chicken coop until we can work out what to do with it.

We walked back to check on the greenhouse and I realised we had forgotten to bring down the greenhouse clips I had bought yesterday. We dashed home to get them and popped to the shop to get some food for lunch. Whilst lunch was cooking at home, I dashed back to the allotment to find the back of the greenhouse had been totally removed. It was possible to see how much room we would have on the patio area and how enormous the greenhouse still is!

I got called home for lunch which I scoffed in the garden before heading back once more. Upon my arrival, Cliff and Mick were in the process of attaching the back panel of the greenhouse. As it turned out, the back section of the greenhouse was a slightly different width to the front part. This made fixing the back door to the front frame difficult. On top of this, the front greenhouse frame had bent slightly out-of shape over the years and the holes for the bolts stubbornly refused to align. Quickly, I volunteered to pass tools, hold bolts and screw on nuts as Cliff and Mick successfully attached the back door. The removal of the back end of the greenhouse meant we could reuse the glass, bolts and nuts to repair the front section of the greenhouse without having to buy new glass or bolts. Both Cliff and Mick have worked their magic on it, it looks amazing!

By now the heat was intense, and Cliff and Mick called it a day. Glass will go in tomorrow and I can set up my greenhouse properly! After they left, my husband came down and did some work on his laptop in the shed whilst I got busy sweeping out the greenhouse and new patio.

Once it was swept, it looked great. I decided to move my potato pots onto the patio area to free up more room in the greenhouse. I think it will be a lovely area to grow things in pots and have a separate seating area, possibly with a parasol for the summer.

Before we left, we watered the plants and I decided to check on the wormery. Both boxes seemed to be busy with happy worms. I added some shredded newspaper and added a layer of damp coconut compost. The worms seem far more active than on previous days so I think they have settled in. I will add some more food scraps tomorrow.

Tomorrow is a busy day as the greenhouse should have a full set of glass, be all tidied and ready to go and the last section of the plot needs to be hoed.