That was nothing compared to this year though, as I've been putting this job off again and again. I finally took it down last weekend.
I'm really hoping this is the last year for this ugly DIY structure, as I plan to put a nice big garden shed here sometime this year, probably in late summer. (If I keep writing about it, it will have to happen, right?)
Although I mainly pack it with bamboos, right now it's housing a great crop of weeds:
Yes, it's ugly inside, but it's just as horrible outside, as the roof holds rainwater, leaves, and dead cicadas:
The plastic sheeting has started to deteriorate from UV exposure, and it rips very easily:
So I started by ripping and pulling off all of the plastic, which won't be reused:
The garbage pail filled with water used as a heat sink during the winter is just a soupy, nasty mess:
This barrel of fun is making it smell back here. It smells like... well, it smells a lot like the zoo on a hot day.
There are no mosquito larvae in there, as I thankfully used mosquito dunks.
Emptying out the water involved buckets and dumping the water on plants that could use it (and were farthest from the house), and dismantling went pretty quickly after that.
There were some hose clamps and metal poles to remove, but those took just a few minutes, and I soon had the PVC frame reduced to a pile of pipes:
A pile of pipes that I guess I'll have to store in my nice, clean garage (garden shed, where are you?). If I leave them out here they'll just get filled with ant nests.
So the greenhouse is gone, and I've moved several of my potted bamboos into the space instead. I've got several more to move as well, but it's nice to have a little bit of this area reclaimed for use.
I've really got to start thinking about designing that shed. Although I made the greenhouse about the size I think the shed will be, and put it in the right general area, there are still a lot of details left to think about. I better get moving on this project if I want it to happen this year.
I do not want to have to be working with PVC and plastic sheeting again this fall.
.
Mine came down on it's own 2-3 months ago, and probably won't be going back up again since I have to re-inforce it so much, and patch up the torn plastic over and over. My plants coming out of the tarp also did better.
ReplyDeleteHave you found any difference between tarp bamboos and the ones in your greenhouse?
I have always wanted a greenhouse to overwinter plants and start seeds early. They seem to be rather expensive, however I have noticed the prices coming down. Whatever you created was probably worth it.
ReplyDeleteSteve: I didn't keep any big plants in the greenhouse, and didn't tarp over any small ones, so hard to compare. I expect that the smaller ones would be fine tarped over, and that may be my method this year.
ReplyDeleteI'd love a real greenhouse! Another space to fill with plants :)
ReplyDeleteWell, at least it served its purpose. I'm sure the plants were grateful for the green water too. We're short on level ground here, and I kept vacillating between shed and greenhouse...greenhouse and shed. Took me two years to make up my mind! I currently have a greenhouse kit sitting in 10 huge boxes in the garden, waiting to be assembled, and am so looking forward to it being DONE, so I know how excited you'll be to finally get your shed put up! :)
ReplyDeleteVery satisfying to get a bed space converted to something more useful.
ReplyDeleteHail and wind ruined my polycarb GH panels this spring. Fortunately the aluminum frame was not damaged and the panels are replaced. I look forward to fall when it can fill again.