We planned on doing a lot of planting Thursday, but it was so hot. It was 90F in the shade at the garden site. It wasn’t us that we were concerned about, it was the plants, we didn’t want them exposed to the extreme temperature and the drying wind. That would have put them under too much stress. (with the cool Holiday weekend weather upon us, this all seems like a distant memory)
Instead we went inside the portable plastic greenhouse where the temperature was over 110F (with all the doors open) and began dismantling it. Even with five of us, it took all afternoon in the blazing sun. This greenhouse measures 21′x21′ and is 14 feet tall at the ridge, so it is a fairly good sized structure. We did a lot of climbing up and down ladders to take down the roof.
When you take it all apart you end up with a big pile of parts that all look the same but are different sizes.
The last time we did this we used a “Sharpie” pen to mark the pieces, the so-called permanent ink barely lasted one season before being bleached out in the sun.
This time I used a “paint pen” to label everything. This differs from a “Magic Marker” or “Sharpie” in that it uses a special thick ink formula so that the letters look like they have been painted on. The pen I used was an “Allflex Tag Pen”. These pens are used by livestock farmers to mark numbers on their animal’s ear tags. Those tags need to be able to hold up under some pretty severe conditions.
Five years ago I labled some metal plant markers with this pen and they still look almost like new.
Next year the greenhouse should be easy to piece back together…that is, if I can remember what all those cryptic markings mean!
Bob
Hey, Bob. Keep up the good work. I enjoy your writing style. It’s fun, quirky, and to the point. Good job
Comment by victoria mcintyre — May 30, 2007 @ 8:21 am
I worked in that nasty heat, bu I did get my garden in. As a matter of fact, I finished it up yesterday. Then last night, a cloven hooved varmint came along and ate 1 whole raspberry bush, 6 strawberry plants (including the strawberries) and seven tomato plants.
With thousands of wild strawberries and raspberries out back, why come eat my plants? and since when do deer eat tomato plants? I’m thinking of getting a big dog or taking up bow hunting.
Comment by Vicki — May 31, 2007 @ 11:32 am
Hey Victoria,
Thanks for the complement! It means a lot to me.
(Victoria McIntyre teaches English composition at MCCC)
Comment by Bob — June 1, 2007 @ 4:17 pm
Vicki,
AARRRGGGHH!
What are we to do??…and the tomato plants yet…
Despite all the damage deer do, I still love them… especially when prepared with plenty of onion and garlic!
Comment by Bob — June 1, 2007 @ 4:21 pm