Groundbreaking on the greenhouse project

Today we officially started work on the greenhouse. Siting was a challenge because most of the property is walled in by towering Douglas firs. We opted for a location that optimized on morning sun but starts getting shade in summer around 2:00 pm (if I remember correctly). Even there, the sun takes a few hours in the morning to reach. The only place that gets sun pretty much all day is a small area near the road where the trees were removed, but since it wasn't practical to run power and water all the way out there, we opted for a compromise between light and convenience. Since it's right next to Stump St. Helens, I really will have to do something about its rather dilapidated state.

We laid out the 4x6 lumber for the foundation, marked off the area, and started digging. Although our property doesn't really have any slopes that would provide interesting topography for landscaping, none of it is truly flat, so there was much fiddling with strings and levels involved in getting the initial trenches dug.

Once we were on the level (I just can't resist a bad joke) we finished digging out the center. Now the project is on hold until we get crushed gravel to finish the foundation and floor. The pile of soil in the back will be used to build up that corner and raise everything up a bit. The alternative was to dig out more ground uphill so that the corner in the forefront wouldn't be completely buried. The option that requires less digging is usually best, in my opinion. Actually, I'm not sure that is my opinion, because I'm considering a gravel garden/dry stream bed between the greenhouse and Stump St. Helens for drainage and a few other reasons.

With the greenhouse project halted for the day, I set about digging out and moving some plants from the driveway island. Photos and details in a later post. I'm chomping at the bit for the fence to go up. I'm not exactly sure when that is happening, and my fingers are getting really itchy to start planting.