You're in for a treat!
*For anyone not familiar with my construction/building projects, I feel that you should know something - I build things, lots of things.....Some are kinda crazy, but work most of the time. Ha! Quite honestly, I probably get more enjoyment out of "tinkering" with stuff than the garden itself. Oh, it's true! There's nothing like taking some useless item laying around, then converting it into something that will somehow enrich our lives on the property (most of which are gardening related), but I always try to add a few signature twists to each to make them more interesting.
Anyway, now that things are cooling down a bit, you can bet that there's plans for all kinds of projects to take place over the next few months. The colder, the better - because I can always remove layers of clothing if I start sweating too bad. Yeah...i'll be outside when it's 15 degrees and loving every minute of it. Hehe...So, here's the list of things that will be accomplished throughout the cold months:
1. The 4ft x 4ft greenhouse will be completed, and put into action sometime around the end of October. I'm pretty sure of the control scheme i'll use to automatically ventilate it on sunny days, of which will consist of a couple of wheelchair batteries, a small power supply, 1 or 2 miniature motors out of a printer for a computer, some type of thermostat, and maybe a small cooling fan from an old computer. Yeah, it'll be pretty weird....the greenhouse itself will be utilized to overwinter the japanese maple trees growing in pots, and possibly some cole crops as well. It's according to what all can be put in it, I guess.
2. An access ramp for my parents' electric wheelchair will be constructed on the front of their house - which will require alot of hard work, but will allow them to enjoy the outdoors even though their legs want no part of it.
3. I've still got to build a new load bearing wall for their carport, and will of course use my 12 ton jack to lift the entire section of roof while the studs are put into place. This will be a piece of cake.....
4. Since there's an occasional need for a stick welder around here, i'm gonna build one from scratch. I'll take a couple of high voltage transformers from some microwave ovens that have been placed next to the street for garbage pickup, rewire the secondary winding of each, mount them in a plastic case that an old skilsaw came in, and add some cooling fans to the case that will keep the transformers from overheating due to the excessive current draw while welding. It'll be compact, easy to carry, and allow me to perform some lightweight welding from time to time. A homemade welding helmet will be constructed from a cardboard box too, which should be pretty funny looking when finished. Hehe...
5. Of course the coldframes will be put into action too, and I may just have to create an automatic opener for the second one. However, a cordless drill won't be used for the opener this time. Hehe....yeah, there's a different power tool intended for this one. It's gonna be pretty sick......
6. I'll be adding more landscaping timbers to the 4x8 box so that the finished depth will be 15". Also, at least 1 more 4x8 box will be constructed underneath the 24 ft. long trellis at the end of the property - at a finished depth of 15" also. This whole area will become the "happy melon" location in next year's garden, especially since the trellises are already there.
7. If time permits, i'll construct some removable (but sturdy) trellis extensions for the main raised bed. Trying to facilitate the endless growth of the tomatoes this year got pretty interesting, and i'll be more prepared next time around.
8. Lastly, the squirrel trap will be finished. The frame is already built, but I haven't settled on a door/trigger mechanism yet. Sure, a copy could be made from the various designs on the internet - but mine has to be unique. I know....kinda silly, but I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I copied someone else's design....
9. A trebuchet? (modified catapult) - it's possible, but only if I get bored. The other things are way more important right now.
Well, that's the list of things to be done around here over the next several months, and I hope you enjoy them.
Take care, and happy building!
EG
15 comments:
Good news is that I won't need to borrow that trebuchet - the city came and picked up the neighbor's mess this morning LOL! I will have to email this post to hubby on the ship, he'll be salivating thinking of all the projects you have planned, he's quite the builder of all things useful and strange around here but sadly all he gets to work on out on the ship are F-18's !
hehe- EG you are definately on my list of people to be stranded on an island with. I've no doubt that you would be the one to make a radio out of a cocount! (And, I mean that in a good way!)
EG, your mention of the trebuchet reminded me of an old show called Junkyard Wars. Did you ever watch it? It was right up your alley.
Man EG, i was just thinking to myself yesterday how I was starting to miss your *project* posts and haven't really seen you build anything in a while...
Homemade stick welder??? You are a crazy redneck...
I love it!
Perhaps next year you should plant an extra crop of pumpkins so you'll have something to launch with the trebuchet :)
Enjoy your building! Lots of pics please! :)
Wow, you have a lot of projects. We have fall projects too. Among them are building cold frames and fixing the garage. Do you have photos of your greenhouse? That is something we are building next year, a Greenhouse / shed. My husband is going to be so impressed when I tell him you are building a stick welder. He wants one for his car renovation project. He has a 55 Ford in our garage that he's working on. I think it's his excuse to "buy more tools."
What an ambitious list EG!
I can't wait to see the posts about the 4x4 green house!!!!
I'll have to share some of your posts with my son who enjoys building stuff!
I was surprised to hear that it gets down to 15 degrees there...
I love building projects. Will you get this all done?!
Erin - oh, i'd love to work on something like an F-18! I hope hubby likes the projects, as i'll do some detailed posts about them later.
Barbie - well, I guess my tinkering would come in handy - especially if the island had an old wrecked ship next to it..hehe.
Alison - yes, I actually watched it a few times, and really enjoyed the creativity of the contestants.
Hambob - I'm really glad you like my project posts. It's why I put them on here - because of people like yourself. I'll post about the welder later this week - as it's almost ready. Thanks for the feedback!
meemsnyc - I have some photos of the greenhouse frame somewhere, but will take a new one in a few days. It's gonna be quite different than most, but should work like a charm.
I hope your hubby likes the stick welder!
Toni - yes, it is a pretty ambitious list, but will keep me from becoming bored during the winter time. Oh yes...it got down to around 10 degrees on one night last winter...
Wendy - Hi there! I'd say at least 75% of the worklist will get done before spring - if not more. That is...if my problematic back holds out....
And I thought I had an ambitious list. I wondered about your back. Mine would object to all that work. Reminds me I need to see how many muscle relaxers I still have...
EG....I think you need a hobby. ;)
EG have you every thought about getting into Aquaponics? (Aquaponics = raising fish and vegetables together as a single symbiotic system)
I ask because here in north america there really isn't much in the way of off the shelf components/systems so most people have to get pretty creative and build their own systems. I think it would definitely be right up your alley.
link for basic info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics
Happy Building :)
Jeff - The back is doing really well, but I still have to be careful with it. The dr. that treated me with it was pretty upset after I came in the third time last year...
ribbit - hmm....you have a point there. hehe...
Hambob - well, actually I haven't. Although putting everything for it together would probably be fun, my wife would absolutely kill me if I got interested in something else. She already thinks I stay in the backyard too much. :-)
Dang EG. You need to come visit. I've got a shed you could build. I've got some beds you could build. I hate building things. I'll do it, but I hate it. And I saw that junkyard wars too. It was quite fun to watch them build them all. So who are you invading?
You are a real inspiration! I love your blog!
Daphne - Nah, I guess i'd better stay here. Besides, everybody up there talks funny...hehe
JoyceP - well, thank you very much!
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