The Skeeter Daddle Diaries

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Maybe it was the long winter and no getaways to relieve the solar deficit on the rain-sodden South End. Or maybe I just needed an excuse to build another structure on the property, some companion piece for the other 25 or so. Could be too it was just boredom, give me something to do while waiting for spring. In any case I decided to build a greenhouse.

Now we’ve had two prior greenhouses. One we dismantled and one we loaded on a flatbed truck and donated to a small neighborhood community garden near the Head. Looked like a mobile Gitmo with those neighbors holding it down on the two mile drive south. Those two greenhouses weren’t mine – they were mizzus’. This one, by god, would be mine and I wouldn’t be giving it away.

Back behind a shed near where the woods starts I had about 50 tempered sliding door glass panels, some from the previous greenhouse, some from the glass roof in the shack, some must’ve been the result of nocturnal matings since I can’t imagine where so many came from. But I had plenty enough to build two or three greenhouses when I move into commercial growing in my golden years. For now, one would suffice.

Sure, I could have constructed one the usual size you see for sale at the local nurseries … but I had bigger plans. Bought some treated lumber, plenty of cedar fencing boards and went to work. Mostly cleaning off years of scum on those stashed glass door panels…. But a week later and voila’ I had myself a 10 foot by 15 foot greenhouse, stained glass door and side panels, stained glass in the back wall, work benches on one side, growing area on the other. I’d barely closed this in when the sun came out on a 50 degree day and the inside temperature hit over 80. For all you global warming deniers, all I can say is go pound sand in the Sahara.

So I realized I needed a way to vent this accumulated heat if a 75 degree day would fry my tomatoes on the vine in this hothouse. Cut a couple of openings in the back and made hinged cedar door panels. We’ll see what happens on a really hot day. For all you Deniers, good luck cutting a vent hole in the earth’s roof. Course by then I won’t need this greenhouse….

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