Steve’s business is so busy now that he could work right up until the ground freezes.
So for several months the talisman word has been “El Nino.”
“It’s going to be an El Nino year.”
“It’s going to be a really big El Nino year.”
It’s the word that has allowed him to wait so long before getting back to the greenhouse construction. Now, finally, end of October– with days in between to do the last of the seed jobs and make the prairie flower mixes and go get sawdust of just the right fluffy quality to mix with the native seed– it’s time to get back to that greenhouse.
The first good news is that the sand point well only had to go down 10 feet before it hit water. The pump is to come. Just imagine. A real drip system. I’m not sure I’ll get raised beds, at least at first, but the idea of water right at the door of the greenhouse will make planting in pots so manageable.
It’s slow going. Good thing it’s an El Nino year. Finally both ends are fully up and yesterday was spent getting the first side panel in place. Steve, always positive, says, “The rest will go more quickly, now that we know what we’re doing,” and “Once we get a system in place it will go more quickly.”
Next week shows more days up in the high 50s, but by Saturday the temperatures look more uncertain.
Then again, it’s an El Nino year.
One mark of the end of the season is that Steve starts making bread again. So in the evening we sit down to fresh bread and soup. Potato leek with a touch of curry. Sauerkraut. Sprouted Lentil and Garlic. Roasted chicken and pork roast.
And we talk about the greenhouse. How early will we be able to start? What will we grow in there? What if we put a cold frame inside the greenhouse and heated that? How late will we be picking tomatoes? Eggplants? How early will we be picking peas? Dreams of spinach and other greens in the middle of winter, sweet carrots pulled from the bed. Dreams of tray upon tray of sunflower sprouts! I’ve told him he’ll need to consult Eliot Coleman about all these details.
He’s already spreading the word that we should have our desserts and maybe even play horse shoes in the greenhouse on Thanksgiving. He thinks it’s going to be the finest place in the world to be this winter.
And here it is, an El Nino year.