How many sides does a greenhouse have?

201. That is the number of surfaces on all of the windows and door needed for our greenhouse. Each surface has now been scraped, sanded, washed and primed. Yesterday, under a gray and threatening sky, Melissa and I framed our first wall. We were chased off by a steady rain, but we were able to get the plywood-covered north wall put together. Today, with the threat of rain mixed with snow, and my afternoon shift at Makeda Coffee, we will be unable to make much progress. However, we should be able to continue framing in short stretches over the next few days.

We're on schedule and under the gun to finish the walls by the middle of this week. Why? Not only is February ending, but Melissa and I are heading to Montana at the end of the week to go Nordic skiing with my parents. Super exciting, I can't wait to post some pictures of a winter paradise.

 - Ben

Old windows

Die paint, die!!

I'm not talking about Windows 95. Back in the real world, Melissa and I are preparing some hundred-year-old windows from a house in the Mount Baker neighborhood for priming. Once primed we can then begin to frame the greenhouse. See Melissa and I hard at work yesterday. Exciting! We're almost finished prepping the dozen or so windows. We purchased our primer today, so we're nearly there.

Like Windows 95, the prep work for painting is slow and low tech. We have to scrape and sand as much loose and flaking paint off as possible. This will give the new primer and paint coats a better surface to adhere to, and give the greenhouse a longer lease on life in this soggy region.

So the greenhouse is coming along. It is on schedule to be ready for our baby plants by the end of February. As always, look for further updates on the blog. Ciao!

 - Ben

Coffee grounds, flowers, and bees. Oh my!

Melissa adding Makeda Coffee
grounds onto our beds

Coffee grounds are an excellent source of nitrogen for veggie beds. Thankfully we in Seattle have an abundance of sources for this black gold. Around every corner, it seems, there is a barista slinging away coffee grounds by the puck full. I do this every day at Makeda Coffee on 78th just off Greenwood Ave, and we use the very same grounds in our farm patches. In fact, Melissa was doing just that on Saturday at the 92nd Street farm patch.

Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth. There are limited ways to get nitrogen from out atmosphere (where it makes up 78% of all atmospheric gases) into the soil. The most common way is from the decomposition of organic matter (leaves, food waste, manure and coffee grounds). Other ways include nitrogen fixing plants like peas. There are very few plants that do this, and they're very important. Another way is directly from the air through aeration. So nitrogen (N) is our friend, and thankfully has no odor.

In other news, I'm still preparing our old windows for painting before I can start to frame. Melissa is doing arrangements for tomorrow (V Day). Yesterday we attended the NW Flower and Garden Show at the convention center. This is exciting only because I bought a starter lodge for my little matchbook of mason bees! These guys deserve another post all together, but I got my lodge from The Bees Knees up in Snohomish. Check em out!

 - Ben

Slaying, digging and sawing...

A little over a week has passed since our Kickstarter project was successful. Only one thing has been keeping me from the project site during the amazingly warm and sunny weather. Work; as in a paying job. Meet the newest barista at Makeda Coffee on 78th just off Greenwood Ave. I've never slayed coffee before now, but the owner of Makeda, Prashanti, is a great teacher. Now that espresso machine looks a lot less mysterious. But let me tell you, making espresso drinks is no picnic. Your neighborhood barista makes it look easy, believe me. Stop in, say 'hey' and hang out in this cozy, neighborhood coffee shop.

So in true Seattle fashion now that I have a couple of days off to work on the greenhouse what does it do? It rains. At least it is warm, I can be thankful of that. Only a few weeks ago at this time snow was pilling up everywhere.

The project has moved beyond the breaking of ground phase and yesterday I began the highly technical process of leveling the site and our concrete footers to each other. Stay tuned for more updates (and pictures) as I dedicate today and tomorrow to building this greenhouse before February is over.

Stay dry out there,

 - Ben

Food Healing!

Some of y'all might know that my mama, Molly Brown, has just had her hip replaced over this weekend at Swedish Osteopathic Institute, and that I'm going to be her main caretaker for the rehab journey!  She is flying through her healing at the hospital this weekend, which is amazing to see (she got up and walked with a walker the day after her surgery!).

However, this hospital food is in no way conducive to healing in my mind!  So I went to the Ballard Farmer's Market this morning and stocked up on beautiful, seasonal, alive food for next week...I want to facilitate my mama's healing by nourishing every cell in her body with real food, lots of hugs and kisses and crafting magazines!  My choices at the market were beets, Brussel's sprouts, and arugula from Emma at Nash's, Red chard and kale from Chai at Children's Garden Farm, King salmon from Wilson's Fish and potatoes from Olsen Farms. Now to peruse my cook books for some magical recipes!

Nourishing Love,

~Melissa