Life Under Glass

Working in the greenhouse continues to surprise me. It feels enclosed, so I am startled by the intrusion of the world outside through that thin skin of glass. I have been enjoying the spring birdsong by jays, robins, mourning doves, and countless others I can't identify. On windy days, the hemlocks in the yard roar and drop a steady patter of tiny cones on the glass roof. Today, I jumped at the sudden thud when one of our resident squirrels leaped from the chimney onto the roof. The greenhouse was once heated by a wood-burning stove, and the chimney still stands attached to the greenhouse. I blocked its access pipe with a spare pane of glass I had lying around, and I can see right through it into the cozy nest two squirrels have made inside using leaves, shredded cardboard, and some old children's tights they gleefully pilfered from the access pipe where I had stuffed them for insulation.

Yesterday, the broccoli and brussels sprouts came up. Today, I found the first few basil seedlings poking their way out as well, along with enormous squash sprouts like compost cuckoos that I've been steadily removing. Today I started cauliflower and a huge amount of kale. This weekend, tomatoes, which means I'll have to bump up the heat in the greenhouse to 75degF for proper germination. I was hoping we'd warm up again, but that's looking doubtful until Sunday, when we may have a high of 55 again. Regardless, as orders for seedlings come in, I've taken to just planting all the seed I have on hand. Whatever I can't sell in advance, I'll take to the Beverly Farmer's Market in June.

Alas, I also seem to be growing a healthy new crop of aphids on the kale. All my ladybugs flew off during our unseasonably warm weather last week, and they probably all perished in last night's freeze. So tomorrow, I'll be mixing up a spray bottle of organic insecticidal soap and use that until it's consistently warm enough for more ladybugs. I'll also start some flowers and more herbs. And then I'll roll more pots and get them ready to be inhabited by fresh new seedlings. I wonder if it's possible to make 6-inch newspaper pots that are strong enough and structural enough to hold that much starter mix. And what would I use to roll them, a coffee can? I think some experimentation is in order...