Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[chippysmom327]

We don't have much of any green outside yet. Lotsa BROWN mud, that I got stuck in while tramping around the yard today doing cleaning chores. BUT... ....plenty of green started up in the house.

AWESOME!! I planted basil a week ago in egg cartons. I covered it with plastic wrap and watered in every few days. It never sprouted.

 

[LizardCat]

do you have a pic of the skylight, any leakage problems around it ??? thought about this, but was afraid of it leaking.

Sorry Wing. Didn't mean to reply so late!




This is while the coop was still under construction. You can see the skylights at the opposite sides of the roof. The big open hole has since been covered by a 3 pane window.

The skylights were made from some clear plastic trays i salvaged from work. There's a flat surfaced top to these trays that sits over an injection moulded bottom half that was meant to hold little key fobs. (RSA Token shipping trays for anyone here who works in IT.) Kinda like corrugated cardboard or plasticore, but completely clear. The nice thing is, that when both pieces are joined, they're very stiff.

I just cut a hole in the roof to match the trays, then framed around them with 1x3 furring strips. All of the corners and edges have been sealed with silicone caulk on both the inside and outside. We've not yet had a leak.

The side you're seeing here is the south facing of the coop. There's a pair of barn doors on the east side that aren't shown in this picture. On any day that the weather permits, I'll open them up for more morning light. Been thinking about putting windows in those dutch doors too, or perhaps a port-hole window above them.

During the summer (as pictured) the skylights are mostly blocked by the tree you can see in the left of the frame. Keeps the temperatures down. In the winter after the trees have dropped their leaves, any time past mid-morning you're getting light in via the skylights, and the large south facing window.

My only real regret is that I didn't do 2 more while I was building the roof. The girls really like roosting right under them, and they're constantly squabbling for the spots.

I've actually got tons of these things left, so if anyone is interested in a few sheets you're welcome to PM me. Cheap to ship, or I'll give 'em away if you can make your way down here.

 

[LizardCat]

AWESOME!!

I planted basil a week ago in egg cartons. I covered it with plastic wrap and watered in every few days. It never sprouted.

Were these paper or styrofoam egg cartons? The paper ones have a really bad habit of wicking moisture away. You sure it stayed moist? For basil, I don't usually bother trying to keep the moisture in. But the last time I did basil starts, I did them in coco coir in starting trays. Just spritz them once in the AM and you should be fine.

Or it could be bad seed. At $1.29 a packet, you're not out much if you try again with fresh seed.

These days I just direct seed it. Seedling space is too precious around here, and as my DO will attest, we start far too many plants.

My gardening philosophy is to do it like the soviet army... Bring twice as many as you think you'll need. We clash about this all the time, since she's a trained horticulturist who believes in quality over quantity. (As they say, "Quantity is a quality all its own...")

Of course she's from Hawaii, and never had to deal with rabbits or deer till she got here.

 

[stake]

Were these paper or styrofoam egg cartons? The paper ones have a really bad habit of wicking moisture away. You sure it stayed moist? For basil, I don't usually bother trying to keep the moisture in. But the last time I did basil starts, I did them in coco coir in starting trays. Just spritz them once in the AM and you should be fine.

Or it could be bad seed. At $1.29 a packet, you're not out much if you try again with fresh seed.

These days I just direct seed it. Seedling space is too precious around here, and as my DO will attest, we start far too many plants.

My gardening philosophy is to do it like the soviet army... Bring twice as many as you think you'll need. We clash about this all the time, since she's a trained horticulturist who believes in quality over quantity. (As they say, "Quantity is a quality all its own...")

Of course she's from Hawaii, and never had to deal with rabbits or deer till she got here.

It been my experience that some stuff just wants warmer temps to germinate....don't know about basil though....and deer and rabbits are only 1/2 of it, shat about dogs and chooks???

 

[chiques chicks]

Certain seeds take several weeks to germinate. Not sure if Basil falls in that category. I started something the other year, don't remember what, took close to a month.

 

[grandpaw roo]

Anyone get to Strasburgs Mud Sale yesterday?I didn't make it but I know these mud sales often have NEW coops for sale.

http://www.padutchcountry.com/towns-and-heritage/amish-country/amish-mud-sales.asp

 

[grandpaw roo]

Any computer experts know why for weeks I no longer get the bar across the top of the reply box with the smilies,pic,etc?

 

[wingstone]

Any computer experts know why for weeks I no longer get the bar across the top of the reply box with the smilies,pic,etc?

It does that to me, but comes back the next day...

 

[stake]

Any computer experts know why for weeks I no longer get the bar across the top of the reply box with the smilies,pic,etc?

Could it be the more/less twistie on the right...default is closed....this is what I am getting with Firefox won't let me paste the screen scrape.....

 

[wingstone]

he is being good lately,,,,the easter invite must have worked.