Cleaning cast iron tip, and a greenhouse dilemma.COUNTRYSIDE: I am deluged with a plethora plethora /pleth·o·ra/ (pleth´ah-rah) 1. an excess of blood. 2. by extension, a red florid complexion.pletho´ric pleth·o·ra n. 1. of inane and tacky magazines at the local supermarket, and then I come home to an island of calm, practical sense and sensibility Sense and Sensibility is a novel by the English novelist Jane Austen, that was first published in 1811. It was the first of Austen's novels to be published, under the pseudonym "A Lady". : my latest issue of COUNTRYSIDE. Regarding cast iron: I use salt to clean mine. It's just abrasive abrasive, material used to grind, smooth, cut, or polish another substance. Natural abrasives include sand, pumice, corundum, and ground quartz. Carborundum (silicon carbide) and alumina (aluminum oxide) are important synthetically produced abrasives. enough, and I rinse with very hot water and dry immediately. Putting the pan in the oven after you've taken out something else and the oven's still warm is good for getting it really dry, but it needs a swab of olive oil olive oil, pale yellow to greenish oil obtained from the pulp of olives by separating the liquids from solids. Olive oil was used in the ancient world for lighting, in the preparation of food, and as an anointing oil for both ritual and cosmetic purposes. or something after you take it out. A question for gardeners: we have the option of either putting a standalone stand·a·lone adj. Self-contained and usually independently operating: a standalone computer terminal. greenhouse out back by the garden, or closing in our south-facing front porch and using it seasonally to start seeds. It seems like a good idea to use the porch in that the seed flats would be right there with no excuse to ignore caring for them, but I'd like to know if there are reasons to put the greenhouse closer to the garden other than me being lazy and not wanting to walk farther? We'd be using glass with windows or vents that open on the porch, and if we chose to site it out back, the stand-alone greenhouse would be built from double-pane sliding glass doors with a filled concrete block back wall. Thanks for the cast iron tip, Karen. Here are the pros & cons of the porch idea as I see it: Pros: Additional heat/humidity for the house (If you open the doorway.) The southern exposure and northern protection mean it would heat up sooner in the spring and stay warm longer in the fall May add to the value of your house No worries about going outside in inclement in·clem·ent adj. 1. Stormy: inclement weather. 2. Showing no clemency; unmerciful. in·clem weather Source of electricity for lights/heat/ water Easier to keep an eye on to watch. - Shak. See also: Eye those little seedlings May be less expensive since one wall is already up Cons: It might raise your real estate tax base if it's attached to the house vs. a stand-alone If you have an unfortunate insect/rodent problem they may enter the house You may have better ventilation in a stand-alone unit Additional heat/humidity for the house May require a building permit (but then so may a stand-alone unit) Longer trips to the garden with seedlings Does anyone have other thoughts?--Anne-marie |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion