Too late

Looks like I'm finishing the greenhouse too late for some plants. It wasn't supposed to freeze last night but I guess there was some frost at ground level. A few of the pumpkin plants suffered frost damage. Unfortunately, the two with the worst damage were the ones with pumpkins actively growing.

In spite of all the effort, going to be using blankets for a while. I'm out of plastic sheeting and out of money to buy more, since I haven't gotten any work for a while now.

It really is a challenge to build a solid enough greenhouse here in NM. Heat in the summer, freezing in the winter, not enough rain at times and torrential rains at others, snow, and winds that pick up suddenly and can blow cars across lanes.

So, it's not great surprise that the landscape staples didn't work. The wind picked up this afternoon and every single one pulled out of the ground. They're still a good idea for areas that don;t have the winds we get here.

So, last night I had cut a lot more snap clamps while watching TV and backed them with weatherstripping. This afternoon, I snapped those in place. But by the time I had finished the last side, they had all popped off the first side. I had a box of self-tapping screws, so I took them and a drill with a screwdriver attachment. Went around and fixed each clamp in place with two screws. Some of the pipes came apart, as well, even some that had been glued with PVC cement. I fixed many of those in place with screws, also.

Some of the posts in sandy soil got blown hard enough to be leaning severely. Blocked those temporarily with other short lengths of PVC. I have 1x2 stakes in the shed, so I can put those down tomorrow. If the holes grow any larger, I can pour concrete in them at some point. I had thought 12" deep would be enough but obviously not in this soil.

I'm really hoping this greenhouse isn't just wasted effort for the next few months. Though I never really consider anything truly wasted effort, as you gain knowledge along the way.

Planted the first tree seeds last night. Not much, just a few lemon seeds. I planted several each in five styrofoam cups. If multiple ones start growing, I'll separate them when they get large enough. Going to plant more seeds in cups this weekend, when my daughter is here. Keeping them all inside for now. By the time they are large enough to transfer to bigger pots, I should have the greenhouse done.