It's Garden Prep Week

So hind sight being what it is, I probably should have looked at the weather forecast before getting too excited to plan and create things for the veggie garden this week, but I did it anyway snow on the way or not.  I got a little planting done with the plants that can handle some cold as well as added a cold frame on the cheap to protect them from freezing temps plus a new sign for the coop and I've got to show off our new chicks.

Last weekend on Earth Day we shared this photo on Instragram on what we have growing already from seed.  The seedlings are doing very well this season, and are already getting used to the sun.

I planted the cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and artichokes this week along with some of the onions because these guys all like it a little bit colder while you can't let them freeze they can take much cooler temperatures than say tomatoes or peppers, still have those guys going inside and outside depending on the temps here.

To make these simple cold frames we used foot and half long rebar and ten foot sticks of 1/2 inch PVC tubing.

The rebar gets hammered into the ground and the PVC fits right over the top to give us this half circle, add some plastic tarps over it, and you've got the perfect little greenhouse to protect your plants from the frost.

We anchored our tarps down with enough landscaping rocks so if the wind picks up it doesn't take the tarp with it!

You know how much I like to work with wood so of course we added a wooden sign to spruce up and welcome you to the coop.  

First a rooster image was necessary, so I sketched one out using the silhouette that fit the size rooster I wanted.

Transferred the image to a piece of sub-flooring I had left over from the winter gear organization project, and used the jigsaw to cut out the image.  Click here to learn the transfer method I like to use.

Now I do a quick bit of sanding to get rid of the rough edges, and it's on to the painting.

Had a little mishap in the sanding department and broke off part of the foot, a little wood glue ought to do the trick.

Now to add the wording

After getting a clear coat to protect the paint, the chicken coop is looking better already.

The final project this week to get our garden all ready for spring and summer was to spruce up these old plastic pots.

I was actually going to toss them I think they are so ugly but it's hard to pass up their price tag so instead I gave them a coat of paint, but first they need to be cleaned.

After a scrub and some dry time

I took some sandpaper and roughed up the plastic a bit so the paint would adhere better.

It took a couple of coats of spray paint to get it all covered, and finally after tons of dry time between coats (maybe a little exaggeration!)

it gets a final coat of clear glaze to protect it and give it a nice shine.  With a big snow storm on the way this weekend we aren't quite ready to get these planted just yet, but looking forward to showing you the final product planted and on display.

So much better than before and to think I was going to throw them out.  Bring on the plants!

Can't forget to show you these new guys, so cute.  Our newest chicks to the flock are about 4 weeks already.