Oregon Giant pea plant in December
Last post, I noted that I have quite a few pea blossoms in the greenhouse. I wasn’t sure if I’d actually get any pods though. That question has been answered. Now, I’m not exactly thinking I’m going to get a bumper crop, but it is fun to see fresh pea pods growing as we head into December. As I’ve said before, the greenhouse is unheated so we’re pretty much dependent on whatever happens weather-wise and so far we’ve been lucky. We haven’t even had a frost yet, though I hear other pockets of the Puget Sound area have. While we are now starting to get a few pea pods, I did also notice a problem with the pea plants. Some of the blossoms are starting to get moldy. Another reason we need to complete the ventilation system . . .
In chicken news, Salty, our Barred Rock chicken, has started laying eggs. We now how two chickens laying eggs and we’re reliably getting two eggs every other day now. Way to go Salty!
Salty, our Barred Rock
And finally, our new plan. We have a pretty long to-do list already, but lately Derek and I have been talking about adding one more item to the list, a root cellar. I have pretty big plans for expanding the garden next year and have started to think about how to store what we produce so that it can last as long as possible. Doing a little research, I’ve started finding all sorts of information about root cellars. Apparently, interest in root cellars has been growing. A quick search even found an article on the New York Times site, “Food Storage as Grandma Knew It,” about urban dwellers setting up root cellars. There are all sorts of ideas for root cellars. Everything from traditional partially underground cellars to cellars in a basement to converted and buried old freezers or refrigerators. Not sure what we’ll do yet, but we are both intrigued. Guess we’ll officially add this one to our list.
Sandy
The 10 Year Challenge 
My Grandparents have a root cellar although I don’t thing they use it currently. They certainly come in handy if you have a lot of produce to store. I look forward to seeing your root cellar when it gets checked off the to-do list.
I am also very interested in the final design and implementation of a root cellar. Looking forward to your future posts on that topic.
We also experience the ventilation issues in our unheated greenhouse. During the summer I open it up (doors, vented ceiling windows, and louvered windows… so the cross breeze is good…but when we start buttoning it up in the fall – the mildews and molds become a real issue. I need to look into the solar fan systems and set something up.
Great to see I actually got peas about the same time as you in your greenhouse! Of course I am getting wimpy production for starting too late. Shame because nothing stopped me from starting earlier, other than ignorance. Next year!
Congrats on your second layer! My wife is impressed by your consistent 2 egg days. She said that’s more than we eat. Hehe, inch by inch…
Funny, I too have been interested in a root cellar for a while now. My grandparents had one in Montana. My folks had a basement with a canning pantry growing up. Unfortunately, my lot has an extremely high water table so digging is out of the question here and nobody has basements in Mountlake Terrace. Sure would be nice though. I miss a basement. So I too am intregued by your research and process!